Tag Archives: marketing video

Any video professional can produce a video that looks good and sounds good from a technical standpoint. Even amateurs can have a go at it these days with as good as the equipments is getting. The trick is finding someone with a storyteller’s spirit.

Storytelling is a true art. It isn’t a craft you become good at overnight. It takes years of experience and a ton of time behind the viewfinder.

That’s what you’re paying for when you hire a professional storyteller to produce a video for your company. It isn’t cameras, microphones and lighting. It’s the skill and vision of someone who’s dedicated themselves to becoming a craftsman.

You’re paying for their expertise.

–Tony Gnau

Video isn’t about facts and figures. Video is about emotion. That’s one of the reasons I actively encourage our clients to feature their employees because real people tap emotion better than products or services.

One of the organizations doing the best job of this lately is the University of Southern California’s athletic department… in particular the football team.

Yes… the USC Trojans… 6 Heisman Trophies, 11 National Championships, 24 Rose Bowl victories… those USC Trojans.

Watching the school’s videos, it’s clear the university’s leaders are making an effort to promote USC using their star athletes. Sure, they highlight their talents on the field, but more and more they’re figuring out ways to feature them off the field as well.

The theme to those videos… fun… and USC’s most recent video serves as a great example to businesses. It features Heisman Trophy candidate Matt Barkley and some of the team’s other stars walking around campus in their full uniforms… pads and all.

It’s goofy, but it’s goofy that serves a purpose. College and college football are fun.

Now, watch the video again with your business goggles on. If USC football is a company, the athletic director and coaches are senior management, and these players represent their top employees.

The company’s leadership is shinning a spotlight on their top people. They’re highlighting their personalities in an effort to promote the brand. They’re using “fun” to tap emotion.

Heck, they even provide the employees’ Twitter handles to encourage viewers to follow them on the social web.

I’m not suggesting that every business should go out and manufacture “fun” videos. What I’m saying is that they should look at the company and highlight the aspects important to the company culture.

At USC, they’re all about winning football games and having fun, so that’s what their videos are about. At your company, you might be all about excellence and ingenuity. Produce videos that highlight employees who embody those characteristics.

Real people, real spirit.

–Tony Gnau

I’m a big proponent of the notion that your videos don’t need to be about your company… to be about your company. One of the best ways to do this is to feature your clients, or in this case, honor your customers.

Proctor & Gamble is a big Olympic sponsor, and one of the campaigns company leaders have launched around the upcoming London games is focused on an important target market… moms.

At the center of it, a masterful video. I don’t usually like corporate videos that feature actors and staged scenes, but boy… this one really works.

It highlights that notion I mentioned earlier. This video doesn’t scream P&G. If you just happened upon it, you wouldn’t even know it was a corporate video until the end when a few brand logos appear.

What it does is honor moms. The company’s message is clear, we support the hard working women who nurture our children.

That’s powerful stuff for a 2-minute corporate video. It’s no wonder why P&G is a billion-dollar company. It’s leaders know how to reach people.

–Tony Gnau

I read a couple of stories about a “Make-A-Wish” kid who got to attend this year’s USC Spring football game. A young boy with a rare blood disease whose wish was to play with a real football team on a real football field.

“Make-A-Wish” contacted USC… and this kid got more than he could have imagined.

The stories I read are heart-warming. They made me proud of my Alma mater. Proud to call myself a Trojan. Then… I saw this video.

Cue the tears.

That’s what video does better than any other medium. It stirs emotions.

Not every video is going to move someone to tears. I often say my hope for our clients is that our videos leave viewers feeling a sense of confidence in that company. The point is even business videos tap emotion… at least the good ones do.

Make sure your videos are capturing people’s spirit.

–Tony Gnau

Courtesy: Virgin America

Virgin Airlines knows how to throw a party. Every time the airline lands in a new city, they throw a huge bash… and produce a video. The most recent example is Philadelphia.

This is one of my favorite things to pitch to corporate leaders and PR/marketing pros. If you’re about to spend thousands of dollars on a party, you should absolutely work video production into the budget.

Think about it. This is an event where you are hoping to make a splash. It’s something you want people to talk about and remember, and we now have social media to help.

Video takes things to a whole new level. Capturing the event… the spirit behind that event… and having a video to share? Invaluable.

That video can be sent to everyone who attended, and even better to everyone who couldn’t be there. Your event can now live even after it’s ended, being shared by people over and over.

When you’re planning an event… don’t forget video.

–Tony Gnau

Millions of Americans… forking over millions of dollars to Uncle Sam. Paying your taxes can be a painful experience, whether you’re writing a check or just trying to figure out what you owe.

Need some help? How about advice from the IRS? You can find it on YouTube. That’s right, the federal government has a bunch of playlists featuring tax tips.

I watched a few, and I won’t sugar coat it. They are booorrrring! Professionally produced, but boring.

Here’s my takeaway though… the channel has more than 3.3 million views. The IRS has expertise people want, and people are watching.

Are you or your business an expert on something? Are you producing videos that offer that expertise? No? Why not!?

I know change is hard. You might have a tough time getting people within a company on-board doing something like this, but here’s the thing. Is there any group that moves slower than government? Governments move at… well… the speed of government. They make the tortoise look like the hare.

If someone with the government has convinced their higher-ups to jump on the video train… why can’t you?

–Tony Gnau

The tide has turned. It’s no longer enough to simply tell people “what” a company does. Audiences are demanding better content, making storytelling a important part of any PR/marketing strategy.

There are countless stories at each and every business. Finding them is just a matter of opening your eyes and looking for things that will connect with viewers.

Turn to the employees. Everyone has a story. Chances are some of them have stories that are not only interesting, but relevant to the company and its clients and prospects.

Examine the business itself. Are there any fun traditions? Maybe there’s an interesting way the company communicates with clients? How about ways the company cleans its equipment and facilities?

Tell those stories. What seems boring and mundane to you can be interesting stuff when put into the hands of a master storyteller.

–Tony Gnau

I saw a Verizon piece on YouTube recently that really drives home what an effective communication tool video can be.

The Verizon video is about how their network is helping firefighters get home safe. The video itself is highly produced. They obviously staged some sort of training exercise and also inserted some fancy graphics.

Some thoughts… first, I had no idea Verizon was doing this kind of work, so I took away some new information. Second, the video did a great job of visually making an impact on me. Had I simply read this information, I don’t think it would have captured my attention the way this did.

Folks… that’s the power of video. It communicates information and does it in a way that makes an impact.

Every business has products being created, services that are available, programs taking place that their audience doesn’t know about. Producing videos on these efforts will drive home all the great things a business is working on.

–Tony Gnau

Everyone has tight budgets these days, so when you’re shopping around for a video producer don’t be afraid to share that budget with them.

I know… nobody wants to give up the farm. You don’t want to tell them you have a $4,000 budget if there’s the possibility they’re going to give you a quote for $3,000.

Here’s the thing though… there are so many variables when it comes to putting together a video quote that you’re better off sharing the budget from the start. That way the producer isn’t building in things you may not need and don’t want to pay for.

Occasionally, we’ll have clients come to us and say, “We want to produce a video on x, y, z… what could you do for us on a $5,000 budget?”

Trust me, when you have a dollar figure to work from the project becomes much clearer. How many shoots will it take versus how many they can afford? How much time creating a script, building graphics, editing the final video, again, versus how much they can afford.

If a production company wants your business, they’re going to bend over backwards to make that budget work. Now, keeping that in mind, use this approach when you start shopping around and that’s when things get interesting.

Every company has their own way of pricing and executing the project. One company might only be willing to spend three days on your project, another might be willing to devote ten. You’ll also get a sense of their customer service. Are they working with you to get the deal done, or maybe your budget isn’t worth their time. You’ll find out.

You might not save any money by sharing your budget in advance, but what you’ll find is what sort of value you’re getting for your dollar.

–Tony Gnau

The message business leaders need to understand… storytelling is the way to reach people. Need an example? I have one in the form of a young entrepreneur.

Please… I repeat… PLEASE… watch this video entitled, Caine’s Arcade. It’s 10-minutes long, but I assure you it’s worth it.

As you watch, I want you to think about what you’re viewing. Don’t think of it as a video about a cute kid with a fun idea. Think about it as a business story… how a new venture is born.

Also, consider the storytelling taking place. The video producer doesn’t come right out and tell you what’s happening. They allow the story build. They release small bits of information in the form of surprises. This is quality stuff!

Every business has a story. They might not have a cute kid from East L.A., but look back at a company’s humble beginnings and you’ll find compelling material.

A quality storyteller can bring that past to life. Jane in accounting might have made some good home movies. Jack in the marketing department might have put together a fun video in college… but this is the company’s image we’re talking about.

Put it into the hands of a professional. They can tell a compelling story.

–Tony Gnau

p.s. I’m not advocating 10-minute corporate videos. You don’t need that long to tell a good story. A pro can do it in 3-minutes… 2-minutes… even 60-seconds.