Own it. That’s what a leader does if they make a mistake, especially in social media land, and there’s a great example of why this week.

The American Red Cross was embarrassed when someone goofed and posted what should have been a personal Tweet to the organization’s official Twitter account. You can read the full story and see the Tweet at the American Red Cross Blog, but basically it gave the appearance someone was drinking beer on the job.

Instead of going into damage control mode and getting defensive, Red Cross leaders responded with an honest explanation of what happened, apologized, and even injected a little humor. The result… their supporters rewarded the honesty with sympathetic posts and even donations.

A great lesson in corporate accountability.

–Tony Gnau

Gini Dietrich blogged yesterday about positive attitudes being an important component to successful leadership. I couldn’t agree more.

A positive attitude can influence everything you do. It’s something I see all the time on video shoots. You can plan all you want, visualize all your shots in advance, but chances are once you get to the location you’ll have to throw it all out the window.

Things rarely go as we envision them. How you react and adjust to them will determine how the situation turns out. A positive, upbeat reaction will likely produce the same result.

Want to see what a positive leader looks like?  Just watch former USC head football coach Pete Carroll (now the Seattle Seahawks’ head coach).

“Something good’s just about to happen.”

–Tony Gnau

VIDEO: 60 Minutes “Coach Carroll” (2008)

Seems like more and more companies are getting into the video testimonial game. Now, I wonder why that could be? Maybe it’s because they work. A good testimonial from a real person using a product or service can have a big impact on fellow consumers.

Latest example… American Airlines. The company rolled out this video to promote it’s frequent flyer business program. Not real impressed with how it was shot. I love hip, handheld shooting styles, but this looks like it was done by someone who isn’t quite comfortable shooting that way. Having said that, the video’s message is still pretty good.

Actually, good enough to get me to click the link for more information. T60 frequently travels for shoots.

–Tony Gnau

VIDEO: American Airlines Business Suite

We recently finished the Warrenville Police Department recruiting video, and their leadership did a lot of things right during the process that deserve mentioning. Here’s a few…

First, leaders identified a problem and developed a plan to deal with it. They want to attract the best and brightest recruits graduating from the police academy, and they decided to use the power of video to show them what their department is all about.

Second, they knew their audience. Graduating recruits are eager and looking for opportunities to put their new skills to work, so everything from the message to the music and shooting style were done with that in mind.

Finally, department leaders didn’t micromanage. They know they’re not marketing experts, so they put forth some basic guidelines and turned it over to some pros.

The end result… a video sure to appeal to the police recruits they’re chasing.

–Tony Gnau

VIDEO: Warrenville Police Recruiting

Whether you’re researching trends or just keeping an eye on your competition, monitoring marketing videos can give you a lot of valuable insight.

Case in point, we just completed a recruiting video for the Warrenville Police Department and will debut it next week. The reason we got contacted was leaders there saw a similar video we produced for the Bloomingdale Police Department a few years ago.

Seeing the Bloomingdale video made them realize that a recruiting video of their own might help them attract better candidates. Same is true for marketing. By monitoring other marketing videos within your field, it could lead you to a great video idea of your own.

–Tony Gnau

VIDEO: Bloomingdale Police Department

We all have it. Something at our jobs we just don’t like. For me, it’s logging sound. In other words… transcribing sound bites.

It’s labor intensive and frankly pretty boring, but here’s the deal. It’s a key component to creating a great video, so you better not take any shortcuts.

Sure, it’s a job that could easily be handed down to someone else… maybe an intern. The problem is the written word is just different from the spoken word. When you’re putting together a script, you have to know “what” was said, but it’s also important to know “how” it was said.

The better the sound bites, the more likely your video will be remembered.

–Tony Gnau

You’re making a marketing video. It’s something you’d like potential customers to see. This is your chance to make a great first impression. Here’s my tip… don’t settle.

Don’t drop the task of producing a video into the lap of Ted in HR or Sue in accounting because they make some “neat” home movies. This is your business. Find someone who really knows how to tell a story… an artist.

You have passion for what you do. They have passion for what they do. It should make for a great first impression.

–Tony Gnau

We all know you can’t please everyone, and yet it’s a big problem with marketing videos. Business leaders that insist on a video that speaks to everyone usually end up with something that appeals to no one.

I thought about this a lot after seeing my favorite Super Bowl ad… “The Force” by Volkswagen. Yes, I am a Star Wars nerd… a devoted fan. It’s hard for me to comprehend, but there are people out there who haven’t seen Star Wars. There are even more who just don’t connect with the iconic series, and I talked with a few of them yesterday who didn’t get the commercial. Not… they didn’t like it. They flat-out didn’t understand it.

So Volkswagen spent all this money on a Super Bowl ad, and it went right over the heads of a bunch of potential car buyers.

Bottom line… who cares. Millions of people do get and love it. Over 17-million hits on YouTube and counting. I’ve never been interested in Volkswagen, but the commercial inspired me to visit the company’s website and check out its cars.

Now, not every company can use Star Wars as a hook. The point is if you have a good idea, run with it… even if it might not appeal to everyone.

I’ll always take a video that has an impact on a devoted audience over one without a soul that doesn’t touch anyone in particular.

Smart marketing it is.

–Tony Gnau

It takes little time and little effort, but having a solid backup plan can save you in the end. Equipment breaks down, you could face travel delays, you just never know what’s going to happen.

Take 15 minutes the day before a shoot to check your gear and make sure everything works. Find a weather report and confirm all’s clear. Then make sure you have a backup plan in case something goes wrong.

You’ll thank me later.

–Tony Gnau

Snow happens.  So when you’re shooting a marketing video, you better be flexible. That goes for “you” the client, as well as “you” the production team.

We shot a video last week during a snowfall. A video where the client would prefer not to show any snow. That’s a tough task with four inches on the ground and more falling throughout the shoot.

The solution… since there’s a deadline, shoot a complete video now that includes snow and go back for a mini-shoot when the weather breaks and the snow is gone.

We’re not charging for the extra shoot, so it’ll cost us some time and money.  The client will have to settle for a video with some snow until they get the updated version, so for them it requires some patience.

Not the situation either of us planned for when we scheduled the shoot date, but hey… snow happens. Instead of fighting it and ending up with an inferior product, better to be flexible and get the best possible video.

That’s true for snow or any other unplanned circumstance.

–Tony Gnau