Get the most out of your video studio: 5 formats that double your ROI

Last year, our consultant Jacqueline Borremans heard this frustration during a consultation with a Communications Manager at an international SME. Their in-house video studio, built during the pandemic, sat empty for most of the week.

Sound familiar?

You invest in a professional video studio to create content more quickly, reduce costs and become less dependent on external production companies. But in practice, the studio only gets used for a monthly leadership update or the occasional webinar. Meanwhile, the costs of outsourced video production continue to rise. A video studio that was meant to make communication more efficient can start to feel like an underused investment rather than a strategic communications tool.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

We were asked to redesign the studio and train employees to use it more effectively. The result?

“This was the best decision we made all year. We’re now using the studio for far more purposes, we’ve cut our external video production costs in half, and multiple departments are regularly booking studio time.”

At AVEX, we’ve spent years helping organisations design, build and implement in-house studios. And we see the same pattern time and again.

The organisations that achieve the greatest return on investment don’t use their studio for just one purpose. They make it part of their day-to-day communications strategy. Marketing, HR, leadership, sales and internal communications all work from the same studio.

Those that don’t risk ending up with a studio that’s collecting dust.

In this article, you’ll discover:

• The 5 most valuable applications for increasing your studio’s ROI
• Real-world examples of organisations successfully using their studio
• Which departments typically own each application
• How to implement each use case successfully
• Practical tips for encouraging studio adoption across your organisation

By the end of this article, you’ll know how to turn your video studio into a strategic asset that’s used across the entire organisation.

From underused investment to essential business asset

Our colleague Jacqueline explains:

“That Communications Manager isn’t the only one. As a consultant, I see this regularly. Organisations invest in a professional studio but end up using it for just one or two purposes. It’s no surprise they start questioning whether the investment was worthwhile.” Jacqueline Borremans Business Consultant AVEX

The difference between a studio that’s rarely used and one that adds value every day? Successful organisations look beyond a single use case.

They don’t see the studio as ‘the leadership team’s studio’, but as a communication tool for the entire organisation. As a result, multiple departments use the same facility and the return on investment naturally increases.

What are the 5 most valuable uses for an in-house video studio?

A video studio delivers real value when it’s used for multiple types of content. The more departments use it, the faster the investment pays for itself and the less reliant you become on external production agencies.

The five applications we see most often in successful organisations are:

1. Leadership communication and executive content
2. Training and instructional videos
3. Marketing and sales content
4. Webinars and thought leadership
5. Internal communications and town halls

Each use case serves a different audience, has a different owner within the organisation and contributes to keeping the studio in regular use.

1. Leadership communication and executive content

Why it’s so effective
An in-house video studio allows CEOs and senior leaders to respond quickly to developments as they happen. There’s no need to coordinate with external production companies, complicated schedules or travel arrangements.

That makes it easier to record regular messages for employees, customers and partners. Many organisations use their studio for leadership updates, strategic announcements and crisis communications. More visibility leads to greater engagement and helps important messages stick.

Practical implementation

• Schedule recurring recording slots for leadership teams, for example every Tuesday from 2pm to 3pm
• Keep operation as simple as possible so no technical expertise is required
• Use a consistent format for familiarity and efficiency
• Assign a single point of contact for support when needed

Who uses the studio? Leadership and Communications
Frequency: Weekly to monthly
ROI indicator: Faster decision-making, increased engagement, lower external production costs

2. Training and instructional videos

Why this often delivers the highest ROI

You record a training session once and use it for years. That’s why onboarding programmes, product training, compliance courses and safety instructions often deliver the highest return on investment.

For example, St. Antonius Hospital makes extensive use of its studio for medical training.

“We can now record a training session in half an hour that we’d previously have delivered live several times.” St. Antonius Hospital Functional Administrator

As a result, organisations save time while also ensuring training quality remains consistent.

Practical implementation

• Create standard templates for different types of training
• Invest in excellent audio quality, as clarity matters more than perfect visuals
• Batch multiple recordings together to maximise efficiency
• Build a central video library that’s easy to search and access

Who uses the studio? HR, product specialists and team leaders
Frequency: Ongoing, with high reuse value
ROI indicator: Lower training costs, consistent quality, scalable knowledge sharing

3. Marketing and sales content

Why it creates a competitive advantage

The demand for video content continues to grow. Customers expect product demonstrations, social media videos, customer stories and explanations of new products and services.

With your own studio, you no longer need to wait for an external production partner. You can respond quickly to market developments and create content while it’s still relevant.

Organisations that actively use their studio for marketing and sales typically produce more content, react faster to opportunities and maintain a more consistent brand image.

Practical implementation

• Design the studio to support multiple recording formats
• Create repeatable formats for product demos, customer stories and tutorials
• Train marketing and sales teams in basic video production skills
• Maintain a content calendar to ensure regular use of the studio

Who uses the studio? Marketing, Sales and Product Management
Frequency: Weekly to daily
ROI indicator: Increased conversion rates, stronger lead generation, shorter time-to-market

4. Webinars and thought leadership

Why it strengthens your expert position

An in-house studio makes it simple to host professional webinars, knowledge-sharing sessions and expert interviews. This allows you to share valuable expertise with customers and prospects while demonstrating what your organisation stands for.

Not only does this strengthen your brand, it also helps generate new leads.

ABN AMRO, for example, regularly hosts webinars for clients and prospects, sharing knowledge, strengthening its expert position and maintaining engagement with its audience.

Practical implementation

• Use a professional multi-camera setup
• Include interaction through chat, polls and Q&A sessions
• Develop a consistent webinar format
• Schedule webinars around topics relevant to your audience

Who uses the studio? Marketing, Management and Subject Matter Experts
Frequency: Weekly to monthly
ROI indicator: New leads, increased brand awareness, stronger expert positioning

5. Internal communication & town halls

Why it creates stronger employee engagement

Effective internal communication has never been more important, particularly for organisations with multiple locations or hybrid teams.

An in-house studio enables you to communicate with employees professionally and consistently. Whether it’s a monthly update, a town hall or a major organisational change, video helps make messages more personal and engaging.

One financial services provider used its studio for monthly town halls and departmental updates.

“We’re now reaching more than 90% of our colleagues, compared with around 30% previously.” Communications Manager

Keeping employees informed and involved leads to stronger engagement across the organisation.

Practical implementation

• Design the studio for both presentations and panel discussions
• Combine live broadcasts with recordings available on demand
• Enable interaction for remote employees
• Create recurring formats for regular updates

Who uses the studio? Internal Communications, HR and Management
Frequency: Monthly to quarterly
ROI indicator: Greater reach, stronger engagement, more efficient communication

The real value isn’t in the technology, it’s in how you use it

A video studio only delivers its full value when multiple departments use it consistently. Organisations that limit their studio to executive updates miss significant opportunities.

By also using it for training, marketing, webinars and internal communications, utilisation increases, external production costs decrease and video becomes a natural part of everyday communication.

The key to success: build adoption step by step

The difference between a studio that’s occasionally used and one that’s embedded in the organisation isn’t the technology.

It’s the implementation approach.

The organisations achieving the highest ROI don’t try to do everything at once. They start with one successful use case and expand gradually from there. This creates internal buy-in and helps every department discover how video can support its goals.

You’ve now seen five powerful applications:

1. Leadership communication for faster decision-making
2. Training videos for scalable knowledge sharing
3. Marketing content for competitive advantage
4. Webinars for thought leadership
5. Internal communications for stronger employee engagement

Organisations such as St. Antonius Hospital, Heineken, ABN AMRO and UWV demonstrate that a video studio can be much more than a room with cameras and lights.

By making video a consistent part of communication, the studio becomes a strategic asset that delivers value every day.

AVEX helps you go beyond the technology

A successful video studio starts with the right technology, but that’s only the beginning.

At AVEX, we don’t just help organisations design and build in-house studios. We also help answer the next question: How do we make sure people actually use it?

That’s why we support organisations throughout the entire process, including:

• Identifying the most valuable use cases for your organisation
• Optimising the studio setup
• Training employees
• Developing repeatable formats and workflows
• Increasing adoption across multiple departments

This ensures your investment isn’t just technically successful, but delivers measurable business value.