Blink Tower: Making money by explaining ideas

If a picture says a thousand words then, some may argue, a video packs in a million.

In the internet age, concentration spans are increasingly shrinking. An effective message makes a point and keeps attention. The fact that there are arguments that social media may be causing attention deficit disorder is perhaps enough to underlie the issue.

Enter Blink Tower, which believes it has a solution.

Its founders, including Skyrove’s Henk Kleynhans say they turn ideas into simple videos which “even your grandmother can understand”.

The company simply titles its videos “explainers”, a term which came up frequently during an exclusive interview with Elodie Kleyhans, the company’s co-founder and the managing director.

Together with Adrian Burger, the two Kleynhans’ say the company began as your run of the mill traditional marketing company: “After making a few explainers which went off like a storm, we decided this was our speciality” says Elodie Kleyhnans, who sees the company’s positioning firmly in the education and marketing space.

She is confident Blink Tower is filling a gap in the market. “If you want an explainer video you can either go to a large design company or a talented freelancer. We sit somewhere in the middle.”

Kleynhans adds that, because the company focuses on explainers only, it is able to go to production faster — a crucial component in the tech space where speed matters in conveying a concept quickly.

The company has an international strategy, claiming extensive overseas demand. “We advertise online and have been working with international clients for some time now”, says Kleynhans. “It’s been great”.

In this industry, however, there is no getting away from the competition. “Locally we have design companies and ad agencies that can produce explainer videos”, says the company. For a start, Common Craft and its network of explainer videos has made a significant mark internationally.

The confidence in Blink Tower’s global strategy comes down to an advantage called specialisation which they claim means faster production. But is this alone sufficient to given the company an edge?

The company began midway through last year. Elodie Kleynhans brings in a background in education and the experience of two previous businesses. Henk Kleynhans’s fame emerges from his role as founder and CEO of South Africa’s largest independent Wi-Fi services provider Skyrove.

On the production side, professional filmmaker Adrian Burger services as creative director.

In five year’s time the company has a straight-forward end goal. By that point, the company wants to be able to help “anyone explain anything, anywhere in the world”.