A very, very cold bike ride yesterday had me thinking of a viral product video that’s been making the rounds.

Winter time in Chicago is tough as a bike rider. Finding a hat that’s warm enough but still fits under a bike helmet can be a challenge, which brings me to the video. It’s called, The Invisible Bike Helmet. It uses a technique that when done well, can be a really effective form a storytelling.

The Jaws Technique

How you seen the movie, Jaws? If you haven’t, it’s a classic and a must-watch. The behind-the-scenes stories about Jaws also happen to be just as good as the movie itself.… Read More

Well… I was planning to write today’s post last night, but I didn’t quite get to it. Why? Parenthood.

I was helping my toddler daughter fall asleep at about 7:30-8:00, and I apparently did such a good job I put myself to sleep as well. That means no video insights today… back next week with more.

–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.… Read More

How do you take a public relations hit or joke and turn it to your favor… have fun with it. Take Chicago pizza chain Lou Malnati’s and their new PR video.

How it all started

As you may or may not be aware, One World Trade Center in New York recently unseated Chicago’s Willis Tower as the nation’s tallest building. While Willis Tower has more floors, 1 WTC’s spire atop the building makes it 47-feet taller. This led to a funny story on The Daily Show that evolved into Jon Stewart ripping Chicago pizza.

Okay… it was all in fun.… Read More

Let your team carry the company torch through internal videos. If you run a quality organization, they’re ready to do it. They want to shout to all their friends about how much they enjoy working at the company.

I blogged yesterday about attending the Ragan Communications 2013 Best Practices in Video for Communicators Summit, and a lot of the conference was focused on producing internal videos. It’s a good idea for a couple of reasons.

First, producing internal videos is a great way to boost morale. Featuring team members and bragging about the job their doing, well, who doesn’t like a pat on the back?… Read More

Last week, I attended the 2013 Best Practices in Video for Communicators Summit put on by Ragan Communications… thanks for the invite Jenny Fukumoto! It was mainly geared towards HR, PR and marketing people, but I looked at it as a chance for some professional development. My biggest takeaway was a terrific reminder as to the importance of video strategy.

Most of the speakers talked about strategy, but the person who really stressed it was George Wright. You know him as the man behind the hugely successful video campaign for BlendTec blenders… Will it blend? Side note… he concluded his presentation by pulling out a BlendTec and blending a tape measure.… Read More

Hoping to provide inspiration today for some fun marketing videos by using a recent Sports Illustrated production.

Earl Thomas is the starting free safety for the Seattle Seahawks. Sports Illustrated decided to have some fun with him… dropping him at Pike Place Market and asking him to give people passing by free safety advice.

Get it? He’s a free safety. He’s giving free safety advice. Clever, right? Note to Mrs. G… “free safety” is a football position. I’ll point it out during the next Bears game.

Anyway, adding to the fun is that taken out of context nobody recognized him as a pro football player.… Read More

I met a woman yesterday who’s facing a common problem… getting the C-Suite to think like their corporate video target audience. Sometimes the two groups operate in opposite ways from one another and it can be a problem.

How it happens

An executive hands down a directive… make a video about “X.” It should include this “Y” and “Z” information.

Unfortunately, they walked right past the first question that needs to be asked. Who’s the audience?

Without that information, their video about “X” that includes “Y” and “Z” information is pointless. Who’s going to watch? That question will shape everything else, even the information you decide to include.… Read More

Some business leaders freakout a little over their video script. They want it to be perfect, and I certainly understand the place they’re coming from. The only problem is that video is art, so there is no such thing as “perfect.”

There is good news though for anyone worried about not being able to create the perfect video script. You don’t need one. As a matter of fact, you don’t need a script at all.

All the control freaks out there go ahead and read that paragraph a second time. You read it right. You don’t need a video script… in a manner of speaking.… Read More

Thank you for your service to our nation.

Thank you for being will to volunteer.

Thank you for pushing yourself physically and mentally.

Thank you for being willing to move from place to place and rarely settle down.

Thank you for giving up personal time for additional training.

Thank you for sacrificing sleep to accomplish your missions.

Thank you for enduring unbearable heat and cold.

Thank you for your willingness to eat MREs.

Thank your for being professionals.

Thank you for facing bullets and shrapnel. 

Thank you for being tough in mind, body and spirit.

Thank your for enduring incredible stress.… Read More

We’re wrapping up a special Dave Ramsey Week here at T60 the best way possible… with our debt-free scream. All week we’ve been focusing on some EntreLeadership marketing lessons, but today it’s all about wrapping-up our debt-free story.

Mrs. G and I became debt-free (besides our mortgage) a couple of months ago. Over the last four years we have paid-off the lease on an SUV, all of our credit cards, business debt and a student loan. Let me tell you… that debt-free scream last Friday felt pretty good.

I blogged about our debt-free journey back in September, so I won’t rehash what’s already there.… Read More