How to make a product demo video

Before we get to the examples, let’s quickly go over the steps to create a product demo:

1. Define your audience. Think about your target audience’s frustrations, motivations, and favorite video platforms. For example, if you’re selling running shoes to a Gen Z audience, a short-form TikTok video might be the best format for a product demonstration.
2. Set clear objectives. Every product demo aims to drive sales, but it can also meet other objectives like educating customers or creating brand awareness. 
3. Create a script and storyboard. Storyboarding is a key part of any video production process because it keeps your video focused. Plan out each scene and write an accompanying script to talk viewers through how your product solves their problem. If you use Descript, you can script and storyboard in the same place you record and edit your video. 
4. Choose a format and length. Consider how your target audience consumes content. If they prefer short-form videos, create sub-60 second vertical videos for Instagram Reels or TikTok. If they have time to invest in lengthier content, create longer landscape videos for YouTube and your website. 
5. Create a shooting setup. You don’t need a fancy studio to record a product demo video. You can film professional videos at home with your smartphone camera, its built-in microphone, and natural light. Video editing can do a lot of the heavy lifting. 
6. Record your product demo. Hit the record button and start filming your product demonstration. Give a 360-view of your product and show off its best features. Either record yourself throughout the video or add a voiceover after. 
7. Edit your video. Make your product demo video more professional with an editing tool like Descript. It lets you edit videos like a text doc, and you can also remove filler words in one click, enhance speaker audio with AI, record your screen, and more in one video editing platform. 

15 of the best product demo video examples

1. Slack
2. WHOOP
3. Nespresso
4. Apple
5. Rhode Skin
6. YETI
7. Sierra Design
8. HelloFresh
9. Mixpanel
10. IKEA Place
11. Duolingo
12. HOKA
13. Headspace
14. Pipedrive 
15. Descript

1. Slack promotes Canvas as a product, not a feature

If you’re creating a product demonstration video for a software company, you can focus on a single key feature instead of covering everything your app does in one video. 

Communications platform Slack takes this approach by marketing each feature like a product. Instead of telling users everything they can do with its software, Slack singles out Canvas and the main problem it solves: sharing and organizing knowledge in a crowded workplace messaging app. 

2. WHOOP partners with creators to demo its watches

Sometimes the best product demonstration videos don’t feel like ads. WHOOP, for example, uses a TikTok-style video produced by a creator to showcase its stress-monitoring watch in action.

The watch isn’t the protagonist of the video. The story centers on the creator who uses her watch to monitor her stress as she watches the Women’s World Cup. The video subtly shows how WHOOP watches work, the different color bands available, and what its reported stress levels actually mean. 

3. Nespresso gives a visual tour of the Aeroccino Plus

Nespresso creates product demos for each of its coffee machines. But instead of diving right in with feature explanations, there’s a five-second introduction that uses video editing techniques—like slow motion and zoom—to build up to the demo you’re about to watch. 

Nespresso is positioned as a luxury brand, and it communicates the same brand values in its video. There’s no talking head or voiceover, just a smartly dressed coffee connoisseur showing you how to make coffee with its machine.

4. Apple shows off the AirPods Pro by visualizing sound 

Apple’s creative team regularly produces incredible product demonstrations for new items. Take this product launch video for the new AirPods Pro. Switching between close-ups of the earbuds and subtitles to highlight its best features, there’s an exciting background track and accompanying sound effects to keep the viewer’s attention.

To echo Apple’s creativity, the product demo video also showcases a dancer using the AirPods. These elements come together to create a short, simple advertisement that makes people want the product even more.

5. Rhode Skin is used in Hailey Bieber’s skincare routine

Rhode Skin is a skincare brand founded by celebrity Hailey Bieber. Instead of the traditional product demo format where the product is in the foreground, Hailey published a YouTube video walking potential customers through her skincare routine using her own Rhode Skin products.

This type of explainer video is often more impactful because viewers can connect with the founder—in this case, a celebrity they already know and trust. Plus, when people can see a real-life application of a skincare product, they can answer their own question of whether it’ll work on their skin.

6. YETI shows instead of tells with lifestyle videos

YETI is no stranger to video marketing. Its YouTube channel is home to full-length documentary videos to showcase its connection with an outdoor lifestyle. Mixed among those videos are short-form product demonstrations, like the one for its M30 Cooler. 

This product demo video example doesn’t explicitly tell you about the cooler’s features—instead it shows you how the product works through real life moments. Viewers see a 15-second video of a sea diver heading out on their boat and jumping into the sea. When they get back on board, they pull a canned drink from the YETI cooler that has kept their beverages ice cold. 

7. Sierra Designs overlays lifestyle footage with feature specs

Like the last product demonstration video example, Sierra Designs sells their products as part of a lifestyle. We see two people heading up a mountain carrying the brand’s hiking backpack. That’s interrupted by B-roll footage of a close-up of two different bag sizes, with the product’s unique selling points appearing at certain points of the video. 

Sierra Designs also uses subtitles instead of voiceovers. Viewers can listen to a light, upbeat background track and focus the rest of their attention on the story being told in this product demonstration video.

Tip: Take the same approach with your product demonstration video by leaning on Descript’s built-in library of royalty-free music and sound effects.

8. HelloFresh uses animation to explain how its service works

HelloFresh is a meal delivery service that uses an animated product demo video to show how its service works. It addresses the pain points of its ideal customers within the first 15 seconds, promising people they “don’t need to worry about meal times” when signing up for a subscription. 

What’s also interesting about this video is that it’s optimized to reach people on YouTube who are searching for terms like “food delivery subscription” or “fresh meals.” When a new customer finds HelloFresh through this video, they’re primed on exactly how its subscription model works and can address any objections they have about joining. 

9. Mixpanel turns a screen recording into an in-depth product tour

Mixpanel is a business analytics tool that uploaded a product demonstration video to YouTube. At over 11 minutes, it’s longer than the other examples, but is broken down into sections through YouTube chapters (insights, charts, segmentation, etc.) to help people navigate to the feature they’re interested in. 

The software demo video also uses screen recording to walk through the dashboard. This helps people visualize their own data inside the software, and can make the interface feel less overwhelming to new customers once they sign up.

10. IKEA Place uses first-person camera to simulate the app

IKEA is a brand known for its experiential retail experiences. In-store shoppers see entire room setups furnished with IKEA products. As a way to give online shoppers the same experience, the brand launched its own augmented reality app to let you see products in your own home using your smartphone camera.

Its live action video uses the holiday season to showcase how the app works. We see four people choosing where to place an IKEA tree in their home. In the final scene, the 3D model becomes a real tree as several more trees pop up to show off the rest of the product collection.

11. Duolingo enlists its mascot show you around the product

Duolingo is a language-learning app that created an animated video to demonstrate how the app works. Against funky background music, viewers see the brand mascot—a green owl—jumping around the screen and using its most popular features.

12. HOKA combines different video styles to show off its sneakers

Storytelling is a great video marketing technique for engaging viewers. Sneaker brand HOKA takes this approach with its product demo video. It starts by showing two people racing across a city, interrupted with 360-view footage of its new Mach X sneakers. 

Around 17 seconds in, triathlete Sunny Margerum (a credible spokesperson for HOKA’s target audience) starts talking about the sneakers. There are several jump cuts to keep the viewer engaged—including a close-up of the sneakers, a breakdown of its materials, and someone tying their shoelaces on a running track. 

13. Headspace brings the ambiance of the app to its product video    

Headspace is a meditation app that helps people feel more calm and relaxed, so it’s no surprise that its animated product demo video has the same ambiance. The voiceover artist has a calm and soothing voice that’s overlaid onto relaxing background music. 

Headspace also anticipates any doubts and hesitations by addressing them in the video. If a viewer wants to join but thinks they won’t have time to mediate, the product demonstration highlights their “three-minute sessions for when you’re short on time.”

14. Pipedrive shows what happens on screen and behind the screen

Pipedrive is a customer relationship management (CRM) platform for businesses. It’s packed with features, but this product demo video example prioritizes the most impactful ones.

Screen recordings make up the bulk of this video to show the software in action while mixing in live footage of the people behind the tech. A salesperson talks over the recording to explain what they’re demonstrating, the benefits of using Pipedrive, and how customers can extract more value from their own CRM dashboard.

15. Descript embraces YouTube to demo features made for YouTubers

Sure, this is biased. But at least we put ourselves last. Descript has a large collection of YouTube videos that act as both product tutorials and demos for different features in our video editing software.

The example here covers Regenerate: a tool that lets you make those awkward speaker audio cuts sound smooth and liven up voices through the magic of AI.

The introduction covers why Regenerate exists. Then our host Ramdy offers screen recorded tutorials on how to use Regenerate in ways that resonate with YouTubers.

What makes a great product demo video?

As these product demonstration examples show, there are a lot of ways to show off a product or service. But there are key concepts they all use to capture a viewer’s attention and convince them to buy.

You can create a product demo video that does the same by ensuring it checks the following boxes:

• Clear product presentation. The goal of a product demo is to show your product in the best light. Make that possible by putting it front and center, using different camera angles and shots to replicate the experience someone would have interacting with your product in person.
• Emotional appeal. People buy things they’re emotionally connected to. Use your product demo as an opportunity to connect with your viewer and evoke emotion—whether it’s happiness, frustration, or motivation. Bonus points if you can position your product as the solution to a negative emotion.
• Professional production quality. From audio improvements to fancy transitions, the right video editor can turn even screen recordings and iPhone footage into an impressive product demo video.
• Call to action. Don’t assume people who watch your product demonstration will immediately visit your website and buy on their own. Ask them to do so with a call to action that includes a strong verb like “go,” “try,” or “buy.”

Script, storyboard, record, and edit product demos in Descript

As these product demonstration video examples illustrate, the editing process can turn even simple screen recordings into professional video productions.

Descript is a video and audio editing software anyone can use to create product demo videos with features like:

• Professional voiceovers using Studio Sound to enhance speaker audio with AI
• Voice cloning and a roster of stock AI voices for narrating your videos or making changes to speaker audio without rerecording
• Automatic filler word removal that identifies words like “um” and “like” 
• Screen recording functionality to film your screen, camera, and mic 

Sign up for free and start creating your product demo video today.

Product demo video examples FAQ

What should be in a product demo video?

A great product demo video showcases your best product features, use cases, pricing, and the challenges it solves for your target audience. 

How to make a good demo video?

1. Determine your target audience
2. Set clear objectives
3. Create a script and storyboard
4. Choose a format and length
5. Create a shooting set up
6. Record your product demo
7. Edit your video with Descript 

How long should a product demo video be?

This depends on the platform you’ll be publishing it on. Social media demo videos should be short-form and grab attention fast, whereas product demo videos published on your website or YouTube can be several minutes long.

What is the difference between brand video and product video?

A brand video talks about a company’s values, products, or services. A product video, however, focuses on a single product. It covers the product’s best features and use cases.