Tag Archives: event planning



Event Videos Great With Social Media

Posted on October 16th, 2013 | Leave a Comment

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Event videos are quickly becoming one of the most popular corporate videos being produced today and for good reason. Thanks to social media, they’re easy content to share and frequently clicked.

We’ve been doing a bunch of event videos over the last year… many of them for ChicagoAMA… but I saw one the other day that caught my eye. It’s a great example of what to do and what not to do all rolled into one. The event is Evanston Mashup (VIDEO). It’s essentially a networking event for Evanston-based businesses.

The good and the bad

Here’s what I liked…

  • they used video. I know that may sound overly obvious, but it’s true. I just love when people realize what a great promotional tool video can be.
  • the tone. It’s fun, energetic and it captures the spirit event organizers were probably going for.
  • the shooting style. Hand-held, lots of movement… both lend themselves well to the tone previously mentioned.

Here’s what I didn’t like…

  • too long. It’s 4:00… that’s at least 2-minutes too long. The idea with a video like this is to give people a quick hit of what it was like to be there. The temptation is to make it longer with the hopes of including as many people in it as possible. Don’t fall into this trap. Tell the best story possible at a reasonable length. Shorter videos are easier to share.

What you can do with event videos

Event videos are a great way to get people excited about your event. In the case of this video, it was produced during the actual event. Event organizers now have a video they can send to everyone who attended, as well as everyone who could not attend. They also have a video they can send out via social media and a video they can use to promote the event next year.

Are you an event planner? Have you included a video budget in your plans?

–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.

Just Doing Event Videos Isn’t Enough

Posted on May 6th, 2013 | Leave a Comment

cdw facebookYou know me… I love event videos. Previews that encourage people to attend, and videos shot during the event to share afterwards. I think they’re a great way to get people excited about the event, and a way for the event to live on even after it’s over.

Having said that… you still need to deliver a quality video and tell a good story. Just producing a video isn’t good enough. Case in point… CDW.

The technology retailer launched a new campaign last week and bought some space on Facebook. One of their ads popped-up in my news feed, and while I typically sail over them this one caught my attention.

It featured a video, See the fun people had at Technoliner reveal day (video below). Sounded like a good example of an event video, so I decided to see what they cooked up. It turned out to be a major letdown.

CDW apparently is driving a bus across the country featuring new technology, and they’re promoting the tour hoping people will check out the bus if it stops in their town. Sounds like a good opportunity for a video, right? Well, it is but the story stinks.

It’s all about CDW. Look at our launch party. We had Charles Barkley there. We grilled out. There’s all sorts of technology on-board. In short… they’re totally full of themselves. 

Look… if all your event video is doing is capturing the scene to give people sense of what happened that’s all fine, but that isn’t the goal for this video. I think the goal is to get us to want to see the Technoliner. So here I am… Joe Viewer… thinking… who cares? How does this technology impact me? Why would I make an effort to see the bus? What’s the point?

I don’t have an answer for any of those questions because CDW is too busy patting themselves on the back.

On top of that… they want me to check out the bus, but they don’t say which cities it’ll hit. Okay, maybe it’s too many to list, but give me a call-to-action saying something like, “Check the website for when the Technoliner will be in your neighborhood.”

Just because you’re holding an event and you’re excited about it doesn’t mean the rest of the world will be as well. The video still needs to be focused on audience members and their needs.

That’s the foundation for a good video.

–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 11 Telly Awards for its work over the last eight years.

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Event Planning Lesson Courtesy A State Senator?

Posted on May 2nd, 2013 | Leave a Comment

MurphyAlright, we’ve been celebrating our 12th Telly Award all week by looking back on past winners for some good production lessons. Today’s the day we unveil this year’s winner and offer some insights for event planning.

Drum roll, please. Our 2013 Telly Award winner is… Heroin Abuse Awareness Seminar for Illinois State Sen. Matt Murphy!

Hugh!?

I know, you’re thinking… Tony, your videos always tend to be upbeat, happy and inspirational… what gives?

Well, call it a change of pace if you like, but this video is actually a classic example of what an event video can do.

Multiplying Your Audience

Sen. Murphy was hosting a pair of seminars in his district just outside Chicago to highlight an important issue facing his constituents, suburban heroin abuse. He brought together law enforcement officials, addiction experts and family members of addicts to give parents a wake-up call.

Certainly a worthy effort, but he knew the seminars would only draw a few hundred people. He represents tens of thousands and wanted to be able to get this message out to as many of them as possible.

Enter video. He asked for a short story highlighting the major points… something that would leave an impression on viewers. Once it was produced, he and the Illinois Senate Republicans used their social networks to share the video with constituents (VIDEO BELOW).

Put aside politics, and instead, examine that through your PR and marketing lens. They took an event attended by hundreds and turned it into something that could impact thousands.

That’s why PR, marketing and event planning pros need a new line item in every significant event they put on… video budget.

–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 11 Telly Awards for its work over the last eight years.

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Medinah “Masters” Event Videos

Posted on April 15th, 2013 | Leave a Comment

Screen Shot 2013-04-12 at 9.29.19 AMThe Masters wrapped up yesterday. I can’t help watching a major golf tournament without thinking about one of our biggest projects ever. In 2006, we produced a DVD for Medinah Country Club that was the mother or all event videos T60 has ever produced.

For those of you not into golf, Medinah Country Club is Chicago’s championship golf club. It has hosted three U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships and last year… the Ryder Cup. You can be anywhere in the world and say, “Medinah,” and golf fans know what you’re talking about. As a golf fan, you can imagine how honored I was to work on this project.

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

Club leaders wanted a keepsake they could give to members after hosting the 2006 PGA Championship. Putting on one of golf’s major championships is a huge undertaking. Hundreds of members volunteer a lot of time and effort to make sure every detail is covered. The club leadership wanted to give every member a gift as a thank you.

It’s common at many tournaments for members to get a video… all the highlights, interviews with the golfers, things like that. What the club’s leaders wanted in this case was something different. They essentially proposed producing a 30-minute special on all the efforts to put on the tournament. So while Tiger Woods won the 2006 PGA Championship, he wasn’t the focus of the video… the members were.

See… they understood their audience. GIve the members a highlight video, some may watch, some may not. Give them a video featuring themselves and all their friends… everyone will watch. At the very least, they’ll want to see who made it into the video. It was a great idea, and it was a huge success.

EVENT PLANNING TAKEAWAY

Most events don’t need a 30-minute show produced, but they do need a little something. A short video, maybe 1-3 minutes long is just fine. Something to share with people who attended, those who couldn’t make it and anyone else who might be interested.

Why? People like to know they were a part of something special. Putting it on video and sharing it with them, and allowing them to share it with their friends and colleagues makes them feel like they were.

–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 11 Telly Awards for its work over the last eight years. 

See one segment of T60’s video for Medinah Country Club…

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Don’t Plan A Corporate Event Without This

Posted on September 17th, 2012 | Leave a Comment

This post is for anyone who’s hosting an event. PR pros, event coordinators or the company employee who’s been given the task of organizing an important party, launch or meeting.

You booked the venue, worked out catering, created the invites… did you remember a videographer?

Sure, a photographer might be on your to-do list, but a videographer brings even greater social value.

I’m not talking about shooting some general video, slapping it together and sending it out. I’m talking about creative video, interviews and quality storytelling that gives viewers a sense of what it was like to be at the event.

perfect for email follow-ups

Now you have something special. Now you have something to email to everyone who attended. “Thanks for attending our event.  We hope you enjoy the video we produced and share it with your friends and colleagues.”

Now you have something to email to everyone who couldn’t make it. “Sorry you weren’t able to attend, but you can still be a part of the party! Check out this short video.”

Social Media and future promotion

We haven’t even gotten to social media yet. You can share the video there as well.

Did I mention you can use the video to promote the same or similar event the next year?

You spend lots of time, energy and cash on these events, and they’re usually over in a matter of hours. Why not produce a video that allows the it to live on well after the party ends?

–Tony Gnau

Want to see how some of our clients have done it?Event Videos