I often encourage businesses to highlight their own employees in company videos.  The reason is simple… their passion for what they do makes them the company’s biggest, and often best, cheerleaders.

So… let’s end the week with a story about cheerleaders by one of my favorite reporters… Boyd Huppert at KARE-TV in Minneapolis.

Video on the right side of the linked page: The Cougarettes

We’ve got spirit, yes we do.  We’ve got spirit, how ’bout you!?

Happy Weekend!

–Tony Gnau

Northern Illinois had an earthquake this morning.  Yes, an earthquake.  While I’m not suggesting Chicagoland businesses run out and produce videos on earthquake preparedness, it did get me thinking.

Many companies show an orientation video to new employees.  It usually contains all sorts of information about the business, but I don’t know if I’ve ever seen one that includes what to do in case of an emergency.  Who’s in charge?  Are their exit plans?  Is it every man, woman and child for themselves!?

Just some food for thought.  It might be something worth considering next time you update that video or start from scratch.

–Tony Gnau

Video production is a creative process.  You can try to plan things in advance, but sometimes the best idea doesn’t come around until you’re in the middle of a shoot.

Don’t be afraid to roll with it.

–Tony Gnau

That’s right… Oprah aired some T60 video this morning.  Not much, but it was still exciting to see it.

How did that happen?  Walgreens officials called T60 a couple weeks ago and hired us for a quick shoot and edit.  The pharmacy giant needed video of someone getting their glucose level checked at one of its in-store clinics.  We were told it was for an Oprah Winfrey Show episode focused on diabetes, but nobody was sure if our video would ever make the air.

Well, it did… in the last few minutes of the show.  She aired about 10-20 seconds worth.

Thank you Walgreens and Oprah!

–Tony Gnau

T60 is all about supporting the people who support us, so please watch the season premiere of “American Greed” tonight on CNBC (8pm CT, 9pm ET/PT).

The show’s producer is Mike West… a good friend of T60 Productions. We’ll have our DVR set and hope you will too!

–A quick summary of On the Run (HR 25/Samuel Israel III): A look at what happened before and after 6/9/08, the day investment advisor Samuel Israel was scheduled to begin his prison sentence, but went on the run from police instead.

WINTER, slumbering in the open air,

Wears on his smiling face a dream of Spring!

—Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1825

Wedding Blogs.  They’re kind of taking over here at T60.  Katie (T60’s V.P. of Marketing) and I are getting married in June, so our office is wedding Blog central.  They have been a big source of wedding inspiration, but we’re also picking up on some interesting business insights that apply to our clients.

Katie sent me a posting this week from still photographer Scott Bourne.  It was his take on wedding photographers who are selling $500 wedding packages, which he says is well below the national average.  He thinks undercutting on price also means slashing quality and damaging the industry’s reputation.

Bourne mentions that part of the problem is people who think anyone with a good camera will produce images like a professional photographer.  Of course, this couldn’t be further from the truth, and it’s something I see in a lot of corporate videos.  Anyone with a nice camera and a Mac can put together a video on the cheap, but you really do get what you pay for.

This is a real problem.  A company’s prospective clients can tell the difference between a professional video and an amateur one.  Why?  They watch television.  People are savvy video viewers these days.  They’ve seen everything from their own home movies to the best Hollywood has to offer… and they can see the difference.

Companies put a lot of time and effort into offering clients quality products and services.  Why risk that reputation by creating a low-quality, amateur video when professionals are producing videos for as little as $1,200?

–Tony Gnau

Video is a great communications medium because it allows companies to get information to clients, but it can also do something better than that.  It can stir emotion.

Marketing guru Seth Godin recently blogged that data crowds faith.  That it distracts marketers from their real mission… creating an emotional connection.

I couldn’t agree more.  While it’s possible to pack a video with facts and figures, it really isn’t the most effective use of the platform.  A little bit of information goes a long way in video, and the focus should really be on creating a “sense” about a business or product.

It’s all about good solid storytelling.  You want clients finishing the video “feeling” confident about your company.

–Tony Gnau

Scott Brown won the Massachusetts Senate seat using solid campaigning… in-person… and online.  All you have to do is take one look at his web site (brownforussenate.com), and you know this guy had a solid team behind him… guiding him down the right cyber path.

And prominently posted right at the top of his web site… a YouTube video introducing him.  Now, it’s not the best produced video I’ve seen, but it definitely gives you a sense about him.  In the last three days, it’s received more than 127,000 hits!

Introducing yourself… your business… via video… works.

–Tony Gnau

Scott Brown’s stunning Senate election win in Massachusetts last night has in many ways been credited to his use of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.  He posted videos across all these platforms… giving voters a chance to meet and get to know a virtual unknown.

It worked for Barack Obama.  It worked for Scott Brown.  Behold the power of video!

Is your business next?

–Tony Gnau