Finally… a sports agency with some vision! I’ve pitched several agents in the past on the idea of producing an NFL Draft video for their clients. I’m glad to see someone is jumping onboard… even if it wasn’t T60 creating the video.

USC Trojans tight end Jordan Cameron is entering this year’s draft. He also has a YouTube video hyping his abilities courtesy NBA Slam Dunk Champ Blake Griffin.

Do I think this is going to improve his draft status. Maybe. Cameron isn’t the biggest name on the draft board, so maybe a little extra exposure gets him some needed attention.

Where I think the video will really have an impact is after the draft. Whichever team selects Cameron, many of their fans will immediate Google “Jordan Cameron,” and what will they find? A fun video they can share with other fans. He instantly becomes a marketable figure for that team, and he hasn’t even played a snap.

That’s the power of video and how it can work for individuals.

–Tony Gnau

SIDE NOTE: I wonder if anyone had to explain to Jordan and Griffin that their video mimics the famous 1989 Nike ad campaign featuring Michael Jordan and Spike Lee. USC’s Jordan and the Clippers’ Griffin had to be in diapers back then! :-)

Have you seen Jennifer Aniston’s new video for Smartwater?  It deserves a brief word… lame.

I have no doubt this video will go viral… it features Jennifer Aniston for crying out loud… but is this the best her team could come up with?

The video is trying to be funny. The irony is that it will go viral because it fails. This would have been so much better had they simply done all the viral “tricks” and not talked about them.

It’s something I speak with clients about all the time. You don’t have to hold the viewer’s hand and hit them over the head with your concept or message. Let them watch and draw their own conclusion. It becomes a far more effective message when viewers figure it out for themselves.

People are smart. Smarter than Smartwater for sure.

–Tony Gnau

Give ’em all the facts and figures you want, but in the end many consumers will take a good story over logic any day.

Yesterday, Seth Godin blogged about the limits of evidence-based marketing. He also offered up an alternative… persistent storytelling.

I like the sound of that. As a matter of fact, regular readers here know it’s one of my favorite subjects.

Simply put, storytelling sells. Give viewers interesting stories, deliver them on a regular basis, and good things will happen.

That’s because they trigger and emotional response. The better the stories, the more favorably people view the subject matter.

So… are you ready to tell people the stories surrounding your business?

–Tony Gnau

Figuring out what a customer needs, expects, and then surpassing it. Tough to do in some cases, easy in others, but you should always give it a try.

It doesn’t have to be a big gesture. For us, it often involves including a little piece of video our client isn’t anticipating. I got to do that last week and it always makes me smile. I can’t wait to hear back from the client about the little surprise we slipped into their video.

Little things go a long way to satisfying a client.

–Tony Gnau

It’s okay to ask for help. Sometimes it can be humbling, but it’s okay.

I got a little reminder about this yesterday. A short video has expanded into long video… a very long video… and it’s kind of b-roll challenged. We shot a bunch of raw video, but it started to get a little thin as the production grew in the edit bay.

So as much as it pained me, I turned to my client for help. And you know what? It paid off. Turns out they had exactly what I needed, was no work for them at all, and the video will now benefit.

It’s hard to ask for help sometimes, but when you get it you wonder why you ever made a fuss.

–Tony Gnau

Videos don’t need to long, substantial… epic. A series of short videos done on a regular basis can actually have a bigger impact than a single, big time production.

Why? Good quality, short videos are something people can look forward to, they’re easy to share with friends, and they’ll earn you a following.

One incredible video might get you some attention at first, but a solid series will keep people coming back for more. Business leaders should decide whether they prefer a big splash or a steady stream.

–Tony Gnau

We did a same-day shoot and edit for Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo last week at the Regenstein Center for African Apes, and it presented a common situation worth noting.

We were only doing a single interview, and someone from the zoo asked if we would like to sit the subject next to the animal enclosure to use it as a backdrop. That’s when a silverback gorilla walked in and sat down.

I declined and the person suggesting it was surprised. I explained that on the surface it looks like a great backdrop. I mean, come on, gorillas are pretty cool, but think about the backdrop from a visual perspective.

If you’re interviewing someone and a gorilla walks up behind them, will you as the viewer be looking at the interview subject or the 800-lbs. gorilla?

A good interview backdrop is one that looks nice, but also isn’t distracting. Keep the focus on the person being interviewed, not the backdrop.

–Tony Gnau

VIDEO: Lincoln Park Zoo – Dr. Fisher Birthday Party

Content is king these days. Cyber consumers are demand it, and businesses are struggling to deliver it.

Don’t get me wrong. They’re trying. Many businesses are churning out lots content, but is it worth-while content? Is it stuff that will benefit customers? Does it make a good impression? I’d argue that a lot of the content is pointless, and even worse, some of it could put companies in a bad light.

Take a look at many of the YouTube/Facebook videos companies are posting. They’re boring, poorly produced, and a waste of time. Is that the image a business wants to convey?

In the midst of this content push, someone at these companies needs to stand up and be the voice of reason. Let’s not just produce content. Let’s produce quality content.

–Tony Gnau

I was excited to see an article at chicagotribune.com yesterday about Goose Island Beer Company’s expansion. Their success appears to be sudsing over, and it’s no wonder… they have a great product and a terrific marketing team.

We’ve been privileged to work with them on several occasions (T60-Goose Island Videos), but I always go back to our first meeting when thinking about their creativity.

The majority of video work we do these days is bound for the web, so when I first met with the Goose Island team I was surprised to find out they wanted videos for nine beers and none of them were for the company website.

Those videos have since landed there… why not, right?… but their original audiences were wholesalers and retailers. Their marketing strategy was to send these people videos about their beers so they would be better educated about the products. The marketing team figured wholesalers have to sell Goose Island to retailers… retailers have to sell Goose Island to the public… so why not make sure both groups know a little something about the beers to help those sales pitches.

That was a few years ago.  Now they’re bursting at the seams and looking for more space. Sounds like there’s been barely enough time to relax and have a beer, but I guess when beer is your business that’s probably not the case.

–Tony Gnau

T60 VIDEOS: Goose Island Beer Company

Ford’s been doing a lot of things right lately. Its producing good-looking, well-made vehicles and consumers seem to be responding by buying them.

Company leaders have certainly jumped on the social media marketing bandwagon as well, but their video strategy is kind of head-scratching. Some videos are clearly professionally done, and others look pretty basic like someone inside the company is putting them together.  A couple of examples…

Good: Ford Fiesta vs. Lamborghini

Boring: 2011 Ford Explorer Clay Mockup in the Wind Tunnel

The “good” video works. It has upbeat music, a fun concept, and tight editing. Do your best to ignore the annoying host and you have a memorable video.

The “boring” video doesn’t need to be. It’s focusing on the aerodynamic attention put into the Ford Explorer. This could be really interesting in the hands of a professional storyteller. Instead, we get no music to set a mood and poorly-paced editing.

The reason this drives me crazy… yes, I wrote “drives”… is that someone at Ford clearly understands the power of video and social media but still short-changes us. They raise our expectations with quality work only to disappoint us with a ho-hum effort.

If you’re going to do something, do it right. If you’re only going to half-try, you can expect half-results.

–Tony Gnau