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

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