Are you one of those people who looks forward to the commercials more than the game? The Super Bowl may be the only live television event that holds us all through the commercial breaks. Mainly thanks to some terrific Super Bowl ad storytelling… something every business needs in its online videos.

I’m not going to breakdown the best and worst ads like others have done. I would, however, like to focus on one company that seems to have one of the best ads year-in and year-out.

Budweiser

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Yes… the King of Beers in many ways is also the King of Super Bowl ads. The thing I love most about the company’s ads is that they typically tell a nice story. In many cases, it’s done with little or no dialog or voice-over.

Budweiser went with a pair of spots for this Super Bowl featuring two subjects meant to tug at our heart-strings… soldiers and puppies.

The puppy ad is the one getting the most attention. It depicts a puppy that seems to spark a friendship with one of Budwesier’s famous Clydesdale horses. It’s only a minute long, but the commercial follows a classic storyline.

• introduction to the characters
• present a conflict
• resolution (happy ending)

The other ad taps Americans’ appreciation for the men and women of our armed forces. The commercial shows a surprise homecoming for one soldier returning to his Florida hometown.

What I like here has less to do with formula and more to do with one aspect of the storytelling. It’s authentic. This was a real American soldier, not some actor. It’s obviously a staged event, but we as an audience figure out early on that the soldier had no idea what was coming. Everyone was in on the surprise but him.

Maybe Time to Reinvent the wheel

Both the ads were well-executed. If I have one criticism, it’s that we’ve seen these ads before. Not only have we seen these ads, they came from the same company… only this year’s crop wasn’t as good.

Budweiser’s best ad last year featured a young Clydesdale that grows-up, leaves home and is reunited with the man who raised him. It’s pretty similar to this year’s puppy ad.

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There’s also my favorite Super Bowl ad of all time. A group of soldiers arriving home at an American airport and getting a standing ovation. I challenge you not to tear-up. Again though… same theme as this year’s soldier spot.

Clearly, Budweiser found a sweet spot and isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel. I get it, but I’d love to see them tackle (pun intended) something new.

Super Bowl Ad Storytelling takeaway

Whether it’s following a storyline formula or capturing authenticity, these are both techniques businesses and organizations can use in their own videos.

Using a formula can help business leaders provide a clear focus for their videos. Authenticity is one of the great storytelling techniques available to each and every company or organization producing videos.

Watch these Super Bowl ads with new eyes and they could inspire ideas for your online video campaigns.

–Tony Gnau

 

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Content marketing is on the rise, and video is going to be a big part of it.

We recently shot a video for Content Jam, a professional development event for people in the marketing biz. We got to interview a bunch of experts in the field, so in addition to the event video we were shooting… they were nice enough to agree to answer a question for our vlog.

What role does video play in content marketing?

No surprise… they all think video plays a big part, so we decided to make it the subject of our first vlog post in 2014.

One of the comments that found its way to the cutting room floor remains worth mentioning. It comes from Andy Crestodina at Orbit Media Studios. He said, “Video is the next best thing to being there.”

What video does better than other content

He’s absolutely right. One of the reasons video is such a powerful medium and perfect for content marketing is its ability to transport viewers. They might not be able to physically go on a behind the scenes tour of a company, but video can take them there. They might have missed a recent event, but video can help them experience it. They might never get a chance to meet the person or team making their favorite product, but video can provide the introduction.

You can do those things with text, photos and graphics, but video does it better because video is an emotional medium. That doesn’t have to mean making an audience laugh or cry. The emotional response we frequently try to elicit for our clients is one of confidence. We want viewers to feel confident in our clients’ abilities.

The best way to do that is to introduce viewers to the people at the business, let them go behind the scenes… and… video is the next best thing to being there.

It’s no wonder why experts think video is a great match for companies using content marketing.

–Tony Gnau

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Content marketing has been around a long time but social media has really kicked it into high gear, and few organizations are producing better video content than Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History.

Yeah… that’s right. A museum is kicking some video content butt. They’re consistently doing it better than most Fortune 500 companies.

The Brain Scoop

The video series is called, The Brain Scoop. It features Emily Graslie, who is one of the museum’s scientists and Chief Curiosity Correspondent, as she examines things you’ll find at the museum as well as the natural history and science that surrounds us everyday.

I love the series. I love the commitment to content and the passion that comes through in every video. Emily is clearly bright, but her enthusiasm for what she’s covering jumps off the screen and grabs the audience.

Good example for businesses

For me it’s a classic example that just about every business or organization should pay attention to. Many business leaders think, why would we ever create a video series? We produce bottle openers. Who’s going to watch videos about that? Or… we’re an accounting firm. Who’s going to want to watch videos about accounting?

If you’re one of those people, please watch a few of The Brain Scoop videos. What you’ll get is smart content. The series doesn’t dumb down the subject matter. It’s been created for a select audience that will appreciate its thoughtfulness.

As a matter of fact, some would probably consider the content… dare I say it… boring. That’s hard for me to write because I find the content really interesting. However, if someone glazes over at the thought of science or natural history, the series isn’t for them… and that’s okay.

It just goes to show that whatever content you’re working with, if you commit to it and do it with passion the videos will find an audience.

Video content statistics

Don’t take my word for it. Take a look at the results.

The Field Museum is open 364 days a year and boasts an annual attendance of about 1.2 million visitors. Impressive.

During it’s first year producing The Brain Scoop, they posted about 60 videos that received over 6 million views. WOW!

How’s that break down? How does it average out?

• about 3300 people visit the museum everyday it’s open
• about 100,000 people watch every video that’s produced

Talk about expanding your reach. Think the leaders at the Field Museum are happy with those numbers? How would you like that kind of exposure for you business or organization? Is this video content thing starting to sound a little more interesting?

Your first step to video content

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No doubt… the future of content marketing is bright, and video is going to be a big part of it. If you have an idea for a series, there are some things to think about. You need a strategy.

• who’s our audience?
• how will we deliver it to them?
• how will you promote the video?
• how will we measure success?
• who’s going to produce the videos?

Those are just some things to get you started. If you need help, feel free to ask me some questions of your own.

I’m not going to promise that if you create a video series it’s going to explode like The Brain Scoop. They found a niche. They committed to producing quality videos. They’re doing a lot of things right.

I will say if you have a similar commitment, work on a solid strategy and develop a realistic definition of success… you’ll be on your way.

–Tony Gnau

Tony Gnau is a three-time Emmy-winning journalist. He is also the founder and chief storytelling officer at T60 Productions. T60 has won 12 Telly Awards for its work over the last eight years.

Ever hear the old adage… if you want to do something, study those who do it well. That certainly goes for marketing, and without question the best and brightest in marketing value storytelling. That’s why it’s so important to bring a storyteller into your business.

Whether you hire someone to be a full-time storyteller at the company, or bring in someone from outside the business to occasionally help. A storyteller can communicate with customers and prospects in a way that doesn’t feel like a sales pitch.

Microsoft features people behind the products

That’s what Microsoft does. The company’s Chief Storyteller (glad to know I’m not the only one with that job title), Steve Clayton, was recently featured at ragan.com. He talked about corporate storytelling and the four P’s… people, places, process, and products… and trying to incorporate two into each story.

So… instead of creating a story about the new Microsoft Kinect that was all about the video game device and its latest features, he and his team featured the man who designed the hardware and took the audience into the model shop where products are created and tested.

I love stories like that… behind-the-scenes… taking us to places we can’t normally go… introducing us to the people who put their passion into their jobs. You walk away from a story like that with a new appreciation for the product.

That’s why storytelling is so effective. You can highlight a product’s features all day long. You can list all the services your company offers. None of that connects consumers to the company. Stories like the one from Microsoft help build that connection.

Disney lets us in on how the magic happens

It reminds me of another company… Disney. I know, right? Who knows more about storytelling than Disney, and one video I recently saw really stands out.

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Disney’s World of Color has become a must-see event at Disney California Adventure. It’s a light show like no other that includes illuminating Mickey Mouse ears worn by audience members.

It would be easy to sit back, flip on the HD cameras, and let the show speak for itself. Disney goes another direction. Its team tells the story of how the ears work and how they transform the show.

That’s interesting because what the video does is transform the way we see the show. We sit back in wonder about what our eyes are seeing and, now that we know the story behind it, we wonder at how it all works.

Unleash the corporate storytelling behind your business

Here’s what you need to know about each of these examples. They might come from two of our nation’s most recognizable companies, but even small businesses have interesting stories to tell.

That’s why every company needs a storyteller. It’s easy to walk around your business with blinders on. You see what you do everyday and it doesn’t seem special. A storyteller can look at it with a fresh set of eyes. They can take what you do everyday and turn it into a series of stories that will help your customers identify with you.

Storytellers can help you connect with your customers. Connecting with customers will help you sell your products and services.

–Tony Gnau

Tony Gnau is a three-time Emmy-winning journalist. He is also the founder and chief storytelling officer at T60 Productions. T60 has won 12 Telly Awards for its work over the last eight years.

I hope everyone had a terrific Christmas. The entire season was pretty fun for us. Now, it’s time to gear-up for 2014, so I just thought I’d briefly fill you in on what quality content we’ll have for you in the new year.

• the blog  you know and love about video, PR, and marketing will continue right here. We’ll be blogging one day a week and currently plan to release posts every Tuesday morning.
• there will also be some guest blog posts. We’re going to get some of our PR and marketing friends to contribute content here at the T60 Blog, and I’ll also make sure to re-post any blog posts I have writen for other blogs (spinsucks.com comes to mind).
• we’ll also start producing a monthly vlog. We’re planning to post it the last Tuesday of each month and we’ll do that right here at the T60 Blog.
• our newsletter (sign-up) will also drop once a month during the first week of the month. It will contain additional thoughts and case studies based on the previous month’s most popular blog post.

2014 is all about quality content

I’m going to do my best to make sure everything we churn out this year will be helpful to anyone who’s trying to do a better job of marketing their business. We’ll offer video examples as well as our commentary.

Also, we’re always looking for suggestions on what we should cover, so we encourage you to participate. If you have any video-related questions or subjects you’d like to see covered here at the T60 Blog, please feel free to send me a note (tgnau@t60productions.com) and let me know. We’d love to create content focused on what you’re interested in.

We hope to hear from you in the new year.

–Tony Gnau

Tony Gnau is a three-time Emmy-winning journalist. He is also the founder and chief storytelling officer at T60 Productions. T60 has won 12 Telly Awards for its work over the last eight years.

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When it comes right down to it, the thing video does better than any other medium is capture and communicate emotion. If you ever needed an example, the WestJet Christmas video is it.

The idea for the production was simple but bold. Have a Santa Claus ask passengers prior to their flight what they want for Christmas. Then, dispatch Westjet team members to buy the gifts and have them ready when the passengers arrive at their destination.

That must have been one heck of a pitch by the marketing staff. It’s a home run idea. An expensive one, but a home run idea none the less.

It was a sure hit because the idea was bound to elicit emotions. Laughter, tears, shock… you name it… the concept was custom-made to generate those types of responses. Capture it all on video and put it into the hands of a quality storyteller, and you have the makings for a terrific video.

What businesses can learn from the WestJet Christmas Video

What business leaders need to takeaway from the WestJet Christmas video is just how impressive the power of video and storytelling can be for their company. As an American, I had never even heard of WestJet before this video. It’s a Canadian Airline. Now, thanks to this video the company is on my radar.

I know what a lot of small business people are thinking. The takeaway is to dream-up a big idea, back it with a big budget and you can produce an awesome video. Don’t fall into that trap.

You can do this for your business. You don’t even need the “big idea.”

Think differently about emotions

The mistaken assumption a lot business people make is they don’t have emotional stories to tell. That’s just wrong.

Anyone who feels that way needs to broaden the way they look at the word, “emotion.” Say that word and talk about video and many people immediately assume it means you’re trying to make people laugh or cry. Both are fantastic reactions to get from a video. In the case of the WestJet Christmas video, the audience gets both. Like I said, home run.

Here’s the thing though… those aren’t the only emotions that should matter to a business producing a video.

One definition of emotion according to Merriam-Webster is “a state of feeling.” What if the majority of people who watched a marketing video produced by your company walked away feeling good about the business? Feeling confident that you’re a quality company? Believing you can get the job done?

From a marketing perspective, would you be happy with that? I sure hope so. There are all sorts of positive emotions your videos can elicit. You don’t need to get a laugh or shed a tear for videos to be a success.

Okay smarty-pants, where do we find these stories? 

Do you have team members? How about customers? If so, then you have stories to tell. You just need to start looking for them.

Every one of the people who works at your company or hires your company has a story. They all have stories that relate back to their jobs and your business. Telling their stories allows your customers and prospects to get to know the people who are serving them. The more they get to know the people at your company and the people you serve, the more they’ll want to buy from you. It’s human nature. We tend to buy from people we like.

Sounds good but still struggling with how to do it at your business? Ask for help. Start contacting experienced storytellers who can help you bring those stories to life and put them to work for your company.

You don’t need a home run idea like the WestJet Christmas video. You can have video success with the stories already populating your company.

–Tony Gnau

Tony Gnau is a three-time Emmy-winning journalist. He is also the founder and chief storytelling officer at T60 Productions. T60 has won 12 Telly Awards for its work over the last eight years.

One of our clients is pretty big in the convention industry. Okay, they don’t get any bigger or better… it’s Chicago’s McCormick Place… the nation’s largest convention center. We’ve been shooting in and around the facility a lot lately and it has led to all sorts of thoughts surrounding why video content needs to be a part of your convention services.

There are many ways you can incorporate video into your convention presentation. Sure, you can put up huge displays pumping out video during the event, but I’d like to focus on video you can use to market your business and brand throughout the convention.

Before the convention

Your very first video should be in the can before you ever get to the convention site. It’s the preview video and there are various ways you can handle it.

• customize your existing About Us video. You should already have a video at your website that tells people who you are as a business and what you stand for. Take that same video and add a sound bite or two that focuses it on the convention. Since you’re building off an existing video, this should be an inexpensive option. If you don’t have an existing About Us video, now’s your chance to kill two birds with one stone. Produce one for the convention, but make sure it’s something you can also use moving forward at your website.
• produce something from scratch that previews what people will find at the convention. You don’t want to give away the farm here. It’s an opportunity to tease people with what you’ll highlight at the convention. Feature issues or problems facing your customers, then talk briefly about how you’re about to solve those problems. The key word here is “briefly.” Give them enough information to get them interested, but not enough that they know the full story. Remember, this video is supposed to entice them to visit you at the convention.

With either video, you can then use it as a promotional video through social media and email. It’s something that you can distribute in the weeks and/or days leading up to the convention, but you can also continue to send it out during the convention as well. Adding the event’s hashtag will help with exposing it to a relevant audience beyond your own database.

During the convention

This is becoming more and more popular among conventioneers. I was just at the Radiological Society of North America‘s convention, and Philips Health was producing videos all week. Having a video crew on-site during the show works on many levels. It allows you to spotlight whatever products or services you’re pushing at the convention. Those videos might inspire attendees to stop-by. Even better… it opens the convention doors to people who couldn’t make it.

Think about how amazing that is. Conventions were once only for the people who were attending, but not anymore. Producing videos at the event and sending them out via email and your social networks turns your convention audience into anyone who has online access. It also allows that audience to share the experience with their colleagues and friends.

The thing to keep in mind here is that you have to continue to focus these videos on your customers. Fight against the trap of simply promoting yourself. Don’t just interview the C-Suite and sales force, also make sure to involve the people who are visiting your space. Interview them about why they’re there, what they do and what they think of the solutions you’re providing them. Get their email address so you can send them a link to the video. Think they’ll share it?

After the convention

Here’s your chance to wrap-up the whole convention experience. Create something that captures the spirit of the event. You want something that’s going to remind attendees about what a good time they had and how much they learned, as well as providing people who couldn’t attend a sense of what went on.

This is also an opportunity for you to give people a sense of where things are going now that the convention is over. Talk about the future of your industry and how your company is going to be a part of it.

Adding video to your convention services

This really is an incredible time for companies that participate in conventions. Conventions have always been a great opportunity to meet customers and prospects one-on-one. Video can help you draw them to your convention space.

The really great part though is that you can now share the convention experience with all of those people who aren’t attending. You may not get a chance to speak with them face-to-face, but it still gives you an opportunity to market to them. It even helps attendees share what they’ve learned with decision makers back home.

Adding video to your convention plans can take the experience to a whole new level.

–Tony Gnau

Tony Gnau is a three-time Emmy-winning journalist. He is also the founder and chief storytelling officer at T60 Productions. T60 has won 12 Telly Awards for its work over the last eight years.

Tooooo muuuucchhh turkey! Okay, not really, our family actually had a really nice Thanksgiving, and we hope you did too. Now, it’s time for the big push through the end of the year. That starts with evaluating our 2014 content strategy, and we’re making some changes that should benefit you.

What we’ve decided is to try is fewer but more in-depth blog posts. We’re going to cut back to one post a week, but really concentrate on topics we can sink our teeth into. We’ll have more on video production, more on storytelling and more focus on how you can improve on both. Also, while we’ve always used video examples here, we’re going to start creating more video content specifically for the blog.

The truth is while we’ll have fewer posts each week, we’ll probably be delivering just as much content… if not more.

We were originally planning to start in January, but then I thought, why? We’re not some big business that can’t turn on a dime, so we’re kicking it off this week. We’ll have a fresh post up on Thursday. 

So… are you evaluating your 2014 content strategy? Are you planning any changes?

–Tony Gnau

Tony Gnau is a three-time Emmy-winning journalist. He is also the founder and chief storytelling officer at T60 Productions. T60 has won 12 Telly Awards for its work over the last eight years.

From everyone at T60 Productions…

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I’m really loving AT&T’s commercial series that features various kid focus groups, and it has me thinking about how to turn the idea into a focus group video series.

The latest AT&T commercial centers around Thanksgiving. It follows the same pattern as the others… four kids… one man asking questions… and typically a cute comment that’s turned into a fun joke.

How can we turn this into an effective online marketing series?

I don’t know… I’m brainstorming here.

• maybe put together a focus group using a company’s team members’ kids… have them test company products and then comment on them?
• how about having someone in sales do a pitch to a group of kids and then ask for questions?
• it could be an internal video series… a focus group of kids asked to talk about various company policies and initiatives?

The series doesn’t even have to focus around kids. You could do the same thing using the company’s team members as the focus group. I just like the idea of getting people talking about products or services and seeing where it leads. As a professional storyteller, I know I could get a conversation going that would result in something interesting.

Focus group video serves as inspiration

What am I getting at here? Simple. I’m trying to get you to think like a video producer. You see something you like on TV or online and reshape it into something that might work for your company.

The idea is to find a series idea that will grab an audience’s attention. A series that will keep them interested in the information being discussed. A series that will have them looking forward to the next video.

That’s how a video producer thinks. In my case, it’s turning a fun commercial series into something that might work for one of our clients. For you, it might be a music video, a TV show or a movie.

It’s not stealing. I’m not talking about producing something identical to what you like. It’s a way of finding creative inspiration.

Look at the videos that entertain you and find a way to put them to work for your business.

–Tony Gnau

Tony Gnau is a three-time Emmy-winning journalist. He is also the founder and chief storytelling officer at T60 Productions. T60 has won 12 Telly Awards for its work over the last eight years.