French publisher L’Express has a long-running, successful social video strategy. Their creative team crafts memorable, standout videos on a wide variety of subjects. This recent piece about a cold snap in France is a creative and playful way to cover the weather.

Watch the video below:

The weather is a subject that everyone talks about. With over 1.6 million views, 47,000 shares, and 2,400 comments, it’s clear that the audience of L’Express are interested in the falling temperatures and having something to say about it.

Playful gifs and funny clips give the video a lighthearted character that is perfect for social. The memorable snippets from well-known television shows and films give viewers an entertaining experience and tug on feelings of nostalgia for some. Paired with other wintry assets, the video stands out as something special.

Visual assets aren’t the only great production choice. The creators hit all the best practices for social success.

Text-overlay is used to tell the story. Key phrases are highlighted in red, giving the text a color scheme that complements the branding of L’Express.

The video is made to work on mute. In addition to the text-overlay, some of the clips are captioned. But for viewers who have the sound on, they get the full audio of key scenes, in addition to a groovy backing track.

Of course, the square format is a winning choice for Facebook. It previews in full-size on Facebook, taking up more visual real estate in feeds than other videos. This helps naturally attract eyes (and views!)

The preview still for this video deserves a special mention. It’s a simple shot of ice forming on water with a big, bold “-25ºC” in bright red. In a cluttered newsfeed, it jumps out at potential viewers.

This video is a great example of the creative talent of the L’Express video team. As always, we look forward to more of their outstanding videos!