Focus Group Video As Marketing

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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.