Are course trailers worth it? 100M+ views

I am sure you’ve seen the trailers from Masterclass.com as ads on youtube for example. The super high production value, unskippable videos that the company says people often watch in full (“people who encountered its advertisements were often watching them in full.”) are a study in how the best in the world sell their digital products.

With a non-physical product like MasterClass it is important to show exactly what you are getting for your money. Trailers serve as both enticing advertising, attention grabber and as a taste of what is on the other side of that purchase. You get a sense of the vibe, the kinds of subjects that will be taught and first and foremost what the end result of taking the course will be.

Because these trailers serve as the main touch-point for people signing up for Masterclass, there is a lot of focus on making them excellent. Some even say that the trailers are so well done that they can be much better than the actual content of their courses.

But is the enormous investment that Masterclass is throwing into ads working?

MasterClass is currently running right around 460 individual ads on Facebook, with 117 of those having launched this month according to Facebook Ad transparency. And as the co-founder David Rogier says: “If you’ve seen more ads, it is because they are working”

The types of ads they are running range from the full 2 min+ trailers, to smaller social cuts in all shapes and sizes. We have a 15 second short ad that is almost like a one-liner attention grabber. There is the 1 minute cut from an actual lesson that gives you a quick learning. And there is the static images re-utilizing hero shots from the trailer. They all follow a formula to a certain degree that we will look at in this article.

Chris Voss Teaches the Art of Negotiation

The current most watched trailer on Youtube is “Chris Voss Teaches the Art of Negotiation” with 21M views. But that is not the whole story, the Youtube channel Brand Origins (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGqzBwTqow4) shows a view count of 95M for the Gordon Ramsey trailer earlier this year. It is therefore likely that they have unlisted some of their most popular videos.

And this is only Youtube. Currently the main Gordon Ramsey trailer has been watched 28M times on one Facebook video link. No wonder everyone has seen these unskippable trailers.

How to structure a persuasive course trailer

The trailer we will be looking at is the current most viewed listed MasterClass trailer on youtube, Chris Voss Teaches the Art of Negotiation. This particular course is also being heavily marketed as of Sep 2021 so it’s a good example of a trailer that is effective in translating ad spend to customers.

Structure

Section 1: Hook the viewer

This section serves to get initial attention from the viewer. Remember, without a beginning that hooks the viewer, there is no rest of the video to do the subsequent persuasion.
Also remember that you are communicating in a noisy environment where the viewer just watched a Russian car crash compilation and an Ali Abdaal video, oh, and they are now on the way to watch a video about note-taking apps. Whatever the current situation of your viewer, a serious pattern interrupt is needed to get this initial attention.

The Hook
The trailer starts by saying “everything in life is a negotiation”. That way he is positioning the topic as being relevant to everyone in the world. It’s a surprising statement that stops you in your tracks, What does he mean? It peaks your curiosity.

He paints a picture of the future, where you are a better negotiator and literally says, “Your life will be in a completely different place” if you take this course, alluding to a transformation.

Section 2: Prove it!

This whole section serves to prove that Chris is really the authority on negotiation. Masterclass is given the viewer irrefutable proof that this guy is the best in the world.

Real life Action, Proof-points, A surprising fact
He is not just some guy, but the actual head honcho for negotiation. This is just theoretical knowledge, but has actually been used in real life.
The sentence, “Everybody really deserves to have somebody hear what they have to say.” serves as yet another surprising fact and a pattern interrupt that gets us to stay engaged with the video.

In this whole proof points section the viewer is treated to an action movie soundtrack, utilizing all senses to keep the audience engaged and to keep watching.

Section 3: Presenting the Course

Contents of course & Proof-point
Almost a minute in and for the first time, we are given a description of what this really is, it is a masterclass.

Chris proceeds to pitch the course in the most succinct, brief and punchy way, we get the line: “You’re gonna learn everything from bargaining, to reading body language, to the neuroscience that you can use to literally bend people’s reality.”

The 3 topics serve as little golden nuggets that hook the viewer as the ideal prospect is already super interested in this product. Neuroscience is thrown in there as an extra surprising fact / “interest peaker”. Side-note: He literally says, you will learn to bend people’s reality. That is not an amazing claim, I don’t know what is.

He reiterates the fact that he is one of the top hostage negotiators and describes the tactics and techniques that he himself has developed. Again, he is not just anybody, he is the top guy.

Section 4: Teach me something quick

Embedded Lesson
This section brings it back around to the fact that this is an educational course.
What better way to hook your ideal prospect, and to give them a quick win, right in the course trailer.

1. The ideal buyer is already hooked from the beginning of the video, meaning they have their full attention dedicated to it
2. They have been convinced by the proof points presented in the video.
3. Their interests have piqued by the description of what you get in the course and they are loving it.
4. On top of all of that, now here is a quick win, an embedded lesson that gives them value from having watched the video. The way that this is presented is genius:

First we learn the concept. Then we see it being used in an actual hostage negotiation situation. We actually hear the bank robbers’ voice. The point is literally hammered home. And it is as entertaining as a Hollywood movie.

How is that for taking the learning out of the theoretical realm and smashing it right into reality.

Section 5: Why is this important?

Why you need this & handling objections.
The contents of the curriculum flash across the screen
with the first one being “everyday negotiation”, we’re bringing it back to “this is applicable to your daily life” and not just for FBI hostage negotiators.

Of the people watching the video at this point, there’s a certain percentage that have a nagging thought in the back of their mind: “but isn’t this manipulation? Isn’t this dishonesty?” Chris tackles this head on and uses another surprising fact to say that great negotiation is about great collaboration. (I don’t know what that means)

We are given a shot of the best selling book, “Never split the difference” further cementing Chris’s expertise.

Again we echoed back the central question “Why should negotiation matter to you?”, and we are given an answer: “because your life can become better”. Negotiation is positioned as a core skill in life, a skill you didn’t have that you didn’t even know you needed.

Section 6: End

End Call to Action
With all the bravado of a theatrical performance Chris ends the trailer by saying “This is my master class”

Aesthetics and Production value

Part of the reason that Masterclass trailers are watched all the way to the end is the production value.

Thanks to a few sources we can deduct the exact setups used by masterclass, these set ups that look like a million bucks actually also cost a million bucks.

The cameras used to film a Masterclass

Adam Bricker (https://adambricker.com/portfolio/gordon-ramsays-masterclass/), a director of photography, used the 3 following cameras for the Gordon Ramsey Shoot: Arri Amira, Arri Alexa Mini, Sony a7s. The first 2 require a crew to operate, with only the last one being usable by non-giant crews. (The Fujinon 25-300mm is a $44,000 lense)

On Lighting a Masterclass

The lighting setups vary from class to class, but in general it is built around a large softbox, like a 5ft Octabox. This is the key light that floods the celebrities face with that signature soft light. This is supported by a bounce card below the celebrity to soften up the shadows below the chin for example.

Set and setting

At least as important as the gear is the set and setting. The founder Rogier has said that the goal is to feel like you are sitting on a sofa with the best in the world and they are telling you everything they know. That bond is created through set design, lighting and cinematography.

The future of Online education

With Masterclass’ recent influx of a 800M investment it is clear that they have built an amazing business of creating once — sell forever assets. By merging entertainment and education they are really developing at the frontier of what learning can become. By packaging knowledge they have created an irresistible format that has customers paying $180 a piece, to learn from their favorite celebrity.

“online education can be beautiful and cinematic”

Aaron Rasmussen, Masterclass co-founder

Before there was classroom education, you learn from the teacher that happens to be around and if you are lucky they are not half bad at their craft. But now you can actually learn from the best in the world, and be massively entertained while you are doing it.

A new wave of online learning that is designed specifically for the internet is beginning to become popular. It is disrupting education and the way we consume, digest and apply knowledge. At Uptick we are super excited and we think we are just getting started.