Why a High-Production Promo Video Changed How We Get Booked

In the spring of 2025, I did something I'd been putting off for years: I rebuilt my promo video from scratch. Not a quick refresh. A full production, documented across a three-part video series, with an original music score, a two-year footage bank, and a 110-pound whiteboard that nearly broke us.

Now, almost a year later, I can say without hesitation: it was one of the best investments I've made in Bao Magic.

But let me take you back to where it started.

For years, I'd been running Bao Magic with a promo video I put together quickly during the peak of holiday season, right after leaving my marketing job, sitting at my desk with a mic, a camera, and a bank of old footage. It did the job. But it no longer told the right story.

Why Your Promo Video Is Your First Performance

I've been doing magic for 19 years. And one of the most important things I've learned, later than I should have, is that you can't just let your work speak for itself. You have to give it a voice.

For most new clients, the promo video is their very first interaction with Bao Magic. They found me through a Google search or a Google Ad. They've never seen me perform live. They don't know me at all.

Before they ever reach out, that video has to answer three things:

1. What exactly do I offer? Close-up mingling magic that happens right in your guests' hands: a deck of cards moving on its own, a thought being plucked from someone's mind, even unlocking a phone. Or a full stage show designed to captivate a room of 20 or 2,000. The video needed to make all of this crystal clear.

2. Why should they trust me? Event planners have a lot on their plates. Whether they've booked entertainment before or this is their first time, I want them to feel confident that booking Bao Magic is a reliable, stress-free decision. That means showing social proof: real Google reviews, real client logos, real moments from real events.

3. What's the quality of experience they can expect? Here's the subtle one: the production quality of the video itself is a signal. If I put this much care into a promo video, it tells you something about the care I bring to every live performance.

Behind the Scenes: What It Actually Took

This video was more work than it needed to be. But we did it that way on purpose.

The project took over three months from ideation to final edit. The footage bank behind it? Two years in the making, captured by my collaborators Dany Dao and Raymond Francisco at real events, in real moments, with real reactions from guests.

A few things that made this production unlike anything I'd done before:

We filmed everything TWICE, in English and in French. No dubbing. Full reshoots. Parce qu'on est au Québec. Every scene, including the whiteboard sequences, was redone by hand in both languages.

The whiteboard almost derailed the whole shoot. I knew I needed one to visually communicate how much event planners juggle at once. The first one I ordered on Amazon never arrived. The second one, sourced off Facebook Marketplace, weighed 110 pounds, didn't fit in most cars including SUVs, and was a nightmare to move. We made it work anyway.

We used a $14,000 lens. My director, Ray, recommended it. It wasn't necessary, but it allowed us to capture motion and crash zooms with a character you simply can't replicate with standard glass. Once I saw the results, I didn't regret the investment for a second.

Every logo, every review was physical. Client logos were printed on playing cards. Google reviews were printed on paper. Screens were filmed with a camera rather than composited in post. We wanted an analog, crafted feel, and that intentionality shows in every frame.

The music is original. After hours of searching for the right track and coming up empty, we brought in Annda to compose an original piece exclusively for this video. Most people won't go that far. Ray and I believe the little details matter.

There's a quote from the magician Teller that guided this entire project:

“Sometimes magic is just someone spending more time on something than anyone else might reasonably expect.”

— Teller (of Penn & Teller)

That's exactly how this video came together.

What the Video Is Really About

At its core, this promo video isn't about showcasing tricks. It's about speaking directly to the person planning the event: the coordinator, the office manager, the executive who needs the night to land.

Events disappear from memory fast. The right experience changes that. When guests feel genuine awe, excitement, and connection, science backs what we already know intuitively: high emotions create lasting memories. And those memories get tied to your brand, your company, your moment.

That's the case for magic at corporate events. And that's the story this video tells.

The Result (And What Happened Next)

Brands like McLaren, Michael Kors, ALDO, and Amazon have trusted Bao Magic to deliver. Hundreds of five-star Google reviews back that up. And when the video finally went live in May 2025, it immediately started doing what I'd hoped, and then some.

Looking back nearly a year later, a few things stand out.

Inbound inquiries went up. More people were reaching out without me having to chase them, and they were arriving warmer, already familiar with what Bao Magic is and what to expect.

Clients mentioned the video when they reached out. That was the clearest signal it was working. When someone emails you and opens with "I watched your video and knew I had to reach out," that's a promo video doing exactly what it was built to do.

It opened doors to bigger, higher-profile events. Since the video went live, companies like RBC, Accenture, and Bombardier have booked Bao Magic for their corporate events. You can read about the RBC experience here. The production quality signalled a level of professionalism that matched the calibre of events I was already performing at, and it's continued to attract more of the same.

It became a tool for internal buy-in. This one I didn't fully anticipate. Many corporate bookings don't get decided by one person. There's a planning committee, a manager, a board to convince. The video gave my contacts something polished and persuasive to share internally, so they could advocate for the booking without me being in the room. That kind of asset is invaluable when the decision goes beyond the person you're speaking with.

The Teller quote I kept coming back to during production turned out to apply just as much to what came after. The extra investment paid off in ways I'm still seeing today.

If you're planning a corporate event and want an experience your guests will actually remember, let's make it happen.

Want to see the behind-the-scenes process? Follow along on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

Final Promo Video in ENGLISH