What Is a Video Retainer? A Guide for Beverage Brands

What Is a Video Retainer?

A video retainer is a monthly partnership where you pay a fixed fee for ongoing video content production. Think of it like having an in-house video team—but without hiring full-time staff, buying equipment, or managing freelancers.

For beverage brands running performance marketing, retainers solve a fundamental problem: you need fresh content constantly, but project-based production is slow and expensive.

How Retainers Work

The Basic Model

You commit to a monthly fee (typically $3,500–$10,000)

You get a set amount of content (5-10+ pieces per month)

Production happens on a recurring schedule (monthly shoot days, ongoing editing)

You maintain priority status (faster turnaround, dedicated resources)

What's Typically Included

At OCT, our retainers include:

• Scheduled shoot days (1-2 per month depending on tier)
• Editing and post-production for all captured content
• Platform-optimized exports (9:16, 1:1, 16:9, multiple lengths)
• Creative strategy and ad performance insights
• Revision rounds included in the package
• Priority scheduling over project-based clients

Why Beverage Brands Use Retainers

The Ad Fatigue Problem

If you're running paid ads on Meta, TikTok, or YouTube, your creative gets stale fast. Most successful DTC brands rotate in new content every 2-3 weeks. That means you need 4-6 new pieces per month minimum just to maintain performance.

Project-based production can't keep up with this pace—and even if it could, the costs would be prohibitive.

The Math Makes Sense

Project-based: 4 videos × $1,200/piece = $4,800/month

Growth retainer: 5 videos included at $3,500/month = $700/piece

At higher volumes, the savings compound:

Project-based: 8 videos × $1,200/piece = $9,600/month

Scale retainer: 9 videos included at $6,000/month = $667/piece

Who Should Use a Retainer?

Retainers Are Right For You If:

• You spend $10,000+/month on paid ads
• You need 4+ pieces of fresh content monthly
• Ad creative fatigue is killing your ROAS
• You want consistent brand aesthetics
• You value speed and priority scheduling

Retainers Probably Aren't Right If:

• You need content sporadically (2-3 times per year)
• Your marketing is mostly organic
• You're pre-launch with no ad budget
• You're testing whether video works at all

Not Ready for a Retainer?

That's exactly why we created The First Drop—our $3,500 starter project.

You get:

• Half-day shoot
• 2-3 finished videos
• Vertical + horizontal formats
• Zero commitment to ongoing work

It's the lowest-risk way to see what working with OCT looks like. If you love the content and want ongoing production, we can discuss a retainer. If not, you walk away with great video assets and no strings attached.

Learn about The First Drop →

Our Retainer Options

Growth — $3,500/mo

For brands starting to scale paid spend. Includes 4-6 videos monthly, 1 shoot day, and quick-turn editing.

Scale — $6,000/mo

For brands running multi-platform campaigns. Includes 8-10 videos monthly, 1.5 shoot days, and hook variations for testing.

Enterprise — $10,000+/mo

For established brands with aggressive content needs. Includes 12+ videos monthly, 2+ shoot days, and full creative direction.

See all retainer details →