My wife and I recently had our first baby, and when that happens you’re hit with all sorts of health information. One of the big ones, and these days somewhat controversial, is the push to make sure you immunize the child.

This isn’t a post about that issue… it’s just about a really lame video produced by the Centers for Disease Control.

The video is intended as an educational piece on why people should immunize. They gather a small group of mothers in someone’s family room and they ask a pediatrician questions about the vaccinations.

All of this would be fine if the moms weren’t so phony. We know all of this is staged, and you know the problem with that? It takes away from the message.

When the video looks staged, we feel like we’re not getting authentic information. It’s been sanitized for us… the audience… and we know it.

The whole thing feels dishonest. Not exactly the impression you want to make on people.

Speak from the heart, be honest with people when producing videos. You shouldn’t immunize the audience.

–Tony Gnau

My wife and I were bouncing in and out of a few stores this weekend, and I couldn’t help but think about the opportunities some retailers are missing.

Two of the stores we visited are major chain home decorating stores, and each had multiple living room configurations. One store used fake plastic televisions and the other used a piece of plywood with a TV drawn on it.

Clever, but neither is going to help them sell stuff.

I’d advocate for real televisions. I’d also encourage them to create their own video programming to put on those TVs. Maybe simple decorating tips that incorporate their goods.

Even if they don’t want to invest the time and expense of creating their own videos, a real TV would encourage people to sit down and soak in the environment they set up.

There’s all sorts of applications for video. It’s not all about the web.

–Tony Gnau

Yesterday I decided to share via Facebook and Twitter our most popular blog entry from 2011… Put On A Black Jersey And Share Your PR/Marketing Message.

I love the video created by Ohio University. It may be a “football” video, but when you look at it with a critical eye there’s definitely corporate applications.

The idea behind the blog post was about enthusiasm and what it can do for your business, and this is a great time to reiterate that thought. It’s the start of a new year. Chances are you have all sorts of things you’re excited about for 2012.

Share them. Create videos that let customers and prospects in on your team’s enthusiasm for what’s happening at your company.

Enthusiasm breeds enthusiasm.

–Tony Gnau

I hope everyone had a nice New Year’s celebration, and I thought I’d keep the party going by starting 2012 with a look at a good video.

General Electric has all sorts of stories at its YouTube channel.  This one jumped out as a perfect example of a couple of things I wished more businesses did… highlight employees and give viewers a behind the scenes look at the company.

I love the way the video is about GE but doesn’t reek of self-promotion. It’s about an important job and the people who get it done. Every business with passionate team members can produce this sort of video. You might not build jet engines, but you do something your customers value.

Show them how much you care about your products and/or services by telling your stories.

–Tony Gnau

Wait a second!? It’s Archive Friday. T60 usually doesn’t post a blog on Friday. It’s a day to unabashedly promote its past videos!

Well, today we can serve you as well as our shameless plug. :-)

All week we’ve been highlighting Christmas videos and how they can serve companies in their PR/marketing efforts. In most cases, it’s simply putting a holiday spin on the same types of videos businesses should be doing all year-long.

Demonstrating company culture, focusing on charity efforts, highlighting standout employees, and now… promoting company events.

T60 has done a couple of videos in the past for NBA All-Star Chris Bosh. While he was playing for the Toronto Raptors, we were hired to document his annual Christmas party for local kids.

• VIDEO: Bosh Christmas Bash

Businesses hold all sorts of holiday events. Having a video produced like this allows them to share the experience via social media, and also provide a terrific promotional tool for the next year.

–Tony Gnau

Great example today of a storyteller versus a corporate video production. Both center around the same story, but they are not created equal.

American Airlines produces a lot of videos for its YouTube channel. Some are clearly done by pros… others… not so much.

On this occasion, they produced something on their annual charity… The Snowball Express. WTVF Newschannel 5 in Nashville also covered the story. What a difference!

WTVF’s story is well-shot, well-edited, and tells an excellent story. The American Airlines version… well… you be the judge. Watch the WTVF story first…

• VIDEO: WTVF-Snowball Express
• VIDEO: American Airlines-Snowball Express

This is a missed opportunity for American. They had the right idea to highlight their charity effort. It’s a wonderful cause, but they fail to tap any emotions.

Shooting and editing some video isn’t good enough. This is a great example of why businesses need to find quality storytellers for their content.

–Tony Gnau

CBS’s Steve Hartman is my favorite features reporter. He also happens to be one of the generous journalists whom I consider a mentor… offering a young reporter all sorts of critiques to improve their storytelling.

Every year Steve follows around Secret Santa. You can see the 2011 story and a few from past years at the following link to cbsnews.com. All of them are AWESOME!

Here’s the thing to keep in mind while you watch them… you have generous people like this working at your company. Whether they donate their time or money, your employees are giving back at this time of year… so help them.

Producing a video that highlights their efforts can help their cause. Your business can share the video with its followers, the employee can share it with their friends, and the benefiting charity can share the video with its supporters.

Today’s video serves as your reminder to spotlight the people doing good at your company.

–Tony Gnau

I blogged yesterday about how video helps stir emotions. While the holidays are a natural for tearjerkers, just wait until tomorrow’s post… yup, that’s a TEASE!… they also provide an opportunity for some goofy fun.

Do you decorate your office? Do workers dress up their cubicles? Producing videos on these things give customers and prospects a behind-the-scenes look into your company culture.

I found a perfect example from the UK. Chapman Entertainment clearly has a sense of humor and decided to share it at Christmas time.

–Tony Gnau

No Lords ‘o leeping… no maids a milking… and no partridge. Instead, this week you’re going to get T60’s Five Days of Christmas Videos.

Some may be corporate videos, others might not, but the idea behind all of them is to demonstrate how video is about stirring emotions. The holidays provide a perfect example. They tend to stir emotions by themselves, so tapping video as a medium to communicate their stories brings out the best in us producers.

I can’t think of a better video to start with than Brad Houston’s “I’ll Be Home For Christmas.” Brad shot and edited this Emmy award winning TV news story while working at KUSA-TV in Denver. It’s flat-out, one of my favorite stories of all-time. I watch it every December.

I’m not sure what year it was created… certainly pre-911… so probably the late 1990’s. Regardless, this is a timeless example of stirring emotions through video.

–Tony Gnau

Video is art… not a science. That’s an important thing for business leaders to consider, and something important for PR and marketing pros to help them understand.

Being clear on that fact will make your company’s production run much smoother.