We’ve put together a chart to highlight some of the key changes that have taken place in corporate video production:

This is the first part in a two-part post. The next post will look at managing your next Corporate Video Project.

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Creating a successful viral video is like creating a hit record – it’s really, really difficult.

Michael Dubin, Co-founder and CEO of the The Dollar Shave Club is on his way to becoming the Victor Kiam of this generation. (A clever reference for the ‘over 40′ crowd…) The Dollar Shave Club launched with over $1,000,000 in funding from former Myspace CEO Mike Jones’s business incubator Science Inc. It has been reported that the video cost less than $5,000 to make but those numbers, like many production figures, probably hide a lot of unpaid or undeclared contributions from various parties.  With video views closing in on 4 million and product reportedly flying off the shelves (figuratively speaking), this marketing campaign is ‘making hay’.

Why this video worked.

There are two claims to success you can make with a viral video: 1. The video drove awareness or, 2. It drove business.  Awareness is good, business is better. The Will it Blend? series is the all time winner in this latter category.  Most viral videos today focus on awareness and even then the creators do their best at hiding any brand message so as not to offend sensitive viewers with anything too ‘salesy’.  Like Will it Blend, this video focuses on the unique attributes of the product in an engaging way and it doesn’t try to hide the fact that it is a promotion. Heck, there’s even an explicit call to action at the end of the video.

Inspired by the Old Spice videos, Dollar Shave Club has a lot going on and it’s a lot of fun to watch. It’s funny, it’s surprising and it actually makes you think (at least enough to consider the merits of the product). In order for a video to spread virally it has to be funny, or shocking, or entertaining – so much so that people want to share it with their friends. This video has certainly benefited from a lot of sharing. It’s very well written and Dubin, who has a background in improv, is fully committed in this video. Using profanity (even veiled profanity) is always a risk, but it works here. It shocks you enough to make you wonder what’s coming next. I can’t remember the last time a Polio reference made me laugh so hard. Great style, great delivery and great writing all came together to create a very engaging video.

Takeaways.

1. You don’t need expensive equipment or special effects to be effective. More than anything, you need a good idea.

2. This video is a shot across the bow of the Broadcast Industrial Complex. It pokes fun at celebrity endorsements, fake marketing technology and just about anything else that broadcast commercials employ to convince people to buy their products. It will be interesting to see if they maintain their internet-only marketing approach over time. (My guess is no.)

3. You can be successful with viral video even when you are ‘selling’ your product.

What’s next.

Dollar Shave Club plans on releasing more products this year, including shaving cream and after-shave moisturizer. Will the company be able to recapture the magic of this video or will they be like the band members of ‘Baha Men‘ sitting around saying ‘Come on dudes… we gotta come up with another “Who Let the Dogs Out?”

Time will tell.

If you are one of few who have yet to see the video here it is:

You’re ready to start your first (or next) corporate video project. You can’t decide whether to shoot it on your iPhone or call the Coen Brothers to see if they can squeeze in a corporate gig between films. What to do?  The following is a list of things to consider before you reach out to a video production company:

1. Establish and communicate a budget

A few weeks back someone called us to get a ballpark figure on a video project. I tried to elicit enough information from them to help frame a reasonable response but I was unsuccessful. I then suggested that they find a reference video, something similar to what they had in mind that would help me come up with a ballpark figure. They did. They sent me a link to an Apple commercial they rather liked. After I explained that a video like that would cost at least $100,000 to make they finally volunteered that they had a budget of ‘around $1,000…  for everything.’ Everyone has a budget.

‘But if I tell them how much my budget is I won’t get a good deal!’… or so it goes. I’ve been on both sides of the desk – client side in two different fortune 500 companies and also on the agency side. At the end of the day everyone has a budget and the sooner you communicate that budget, the easier it is for the production company to frame a viable solution. I’ve had a lot of success in the past approaching agencies or production houses and telling them “I have a budget of  ‘X’ dollars, I want to achieve Y, what can you do for me for this amount?” I believe I always got more than my moneys worth with this approach – especially if I approached two or three agencies to bid on the same project.

A production company can help you ballpark the costs for various types of videos. Having a reference video will speed the process up considerably. To help you understand what goes into developing a quote for video production, here is a link to 25 factors that affect the price of a video.

2. Establish your business objectives first.

Your video production company should have some skin in the game – they should feel responsible for helping you achieve some business objective. (Hint: Developing a ‘kick-ass’ video isn’t a business objective, unless your sole objective is to win an award.) So instead of asking “can you develop a really cool /creative /dynamic video for me,” you should be telling your prospective video production company that  ”I need a video that will help me achieve this specific business goal, can you help me with that?” and then ask the video production company to explain how the video they produce for you will help you achieve this objective.  If you create a wonderfully irrelevant video for your client you shouldn’t be surprised to never hear from them again. It’s in everyone’s interest to develop a video that solves a measurable business objective. And remember, one size does not fit all. You have to think about where your customer is in their buying cycle and how your video addresses those specific needs. The ‘awareness’, ‘interest’ and ‘consideration’ phases of the buying cycle all require different approaches.

3. What should you look for in a video production company ?

Videographers and video production companies come in many different shapes and sizes and have very different skill sets. Are you looking for a television or film production company to do your corporate work? Are you looking for a videographer to help you position your company? Are you getting your ad agency to do your video because they handle all your other stuff? Every video production company has a specialty. You should be able to see examples of their work and that work should have a close resemblance to the type of work you are looking for.  If you are looking to develop an in-depth product demonstration and the video production company you are talking to shows you their latest cable reality show as reference, you may want to keep looking. If your budget is low you might get more interest and effort out of a younger, hungrier company. Keep in mind that the playing field is continually being leveled in video production. Experience is still key – no question, but you don’t need a big studio or a big budget to get great work. It should be clear what skills and experience the companies you are considering bring to the table. There is a great deal more to developing a successful marketing video than shooting and editing.

4. Trust is more important than ever.

I’ve read a number of recent marketing research articles that list ‘trust’ as the single biggest success factor online. If your website does not engender trust, people will flee. The same holds for video. Authenticity is the new coin of the digital realm. Do you really need a bubbly spokesperson talking on your behalf or should you or one of your employees represent your company. ‘Slick’ isn’t nearly as important as it used to be. Sounding and looking ‘professional’ will always matter but now more than ever, substance has considerably more weight than style. There will always be a place for high production values but spending a whack of money on motion graphics, paid actors and expensive sets just doesn’t move the dial the way it used to.

Start with the goal of delivering a simple, clear message that you know will resonate with your target audience. (The ‘what’.) Then decide who should deliver that message and what visual devices you need to develop your video. (The ‘how’.)

5. Create a storyboard before you shoot.

Once you have established and communicated the business objectives you need to build a storyboard. Your budget will determine how much time goes into this activity. Your storyboard can, but doesn’t have to, include a complete script, but any video plan you create should at least consider all of the following:

• What are the key messages that have to be communicated. Are they general themes that can be answered extemporaneously by a company representative or do you need a more formal script.
• Are there calls to action in your storyboard that need to be included.
• When, how and where do you include branded information. (Talking about your customer and their issues is always better than talking about yourself and your products.)
• Is there a ‘concept’ behind the video that ties it together.
• Do you have a style in mind. (A reference video is a good place to start.)
• Based on the concept and style, how should the message be delivered. It can be delivered as voice-over, delivered on-camera interview style, it can be acted out in a typical use-case scenario, it can be presented direct to the camera with the aid of a teleprompter, it can be delivered visually using kinetic text or motion graphics… there are many ways to communicate the key messages you need to deliver.
• What is happening in the video as these messages are being heard. Are you supporting the messages with b-roll, motion-graphics, animation, on screen text or something else that helps to support the key messages.
• What are the list of shots by location, speaker and time required for the production.

6. Do you have a plan to promote and distribute the video after it is produced?

No? Why not? Video is not an end in itself. (…although it used to be.)

Online marketing video is evoving in many of the same ways websites did 15 years ago. At first it was enough just to have a ‘web presence’ – a brochure in cyber-space. Today having a website is table-stakes for most companies. In fact your website is less relevant than it ever was because people are not ‘going to websites’ they are looking for solutions to problems wherever and whenever they occur.

You need to start thinking about how you are going to get your video to your audience. They may view it on your website, but there are many innovative ways to ensure your valuable content gets noticed.

This video is very effective.  It’s fun, it’s memorable, it’s evocative and it’s something that you want to share.  It informs you, it engages you, it moves you and it’s very well done. Wow.

Sponsored by RIOTUR, the City of Rio de Janeiro’s tourism authority, this video was created to support RIO’s bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. RIO won the bid making it the first South American city to host the Olympic games. I have to believe that this video contributed in at least some small way to RIO’s successful bid.

Like Paris, San Francisco, Vancouver and Venice, RIO is blessed with iconic scenery and natural beauty so an argument could be made that creating a video to promote the city shouldn’t be that difficult. There’s more to it than beautiful shots, however. This video works for a number of reasons:

1. There’s a strong story-line that carries the video. By story-line, I don’t mean ‘boy meets girl, boy leaves girl, etc.” The story-line is much more subtle in this video, but just as important. Music is at the heart of the video. Music not only sets the mood and pace of this video, it becomes clear that music is a core element that makes up the character of the city and the people of RIO. That’s the story being told. Music is an integral part of the culture. That’s a very compelling story.

2. The video is engaging. You want to watch the video, you are interested to see what comes next. This is a difficult thing to do in a video – make the viewer want to keep watching.

3. It solves a specific business problem. The business problem for the Olympic committee was ‘what city do we chose for the 2016 Olympics?’ RIOTUR provides ample reasons for IOC judges to consider RIO as the 2016 destination city: RIO is a ‘lifestyle city’ as evidenced by the myriad of activities shown in the video; RIO has a strong and obvious tradition of sports; RIO already has existing sporting facilities that could accommodate some of the different events; RIO will be a huge draw as a destination for travelers which will ensure that the games are well attended; and like the Vancouver Winter Olympics, the natural beauty of the hosting city will certainly have a halo effect on the games themselves.

4. Simple message. Show me don’t tell me. No talking heads, no spoken words, no happy talk or marketing bluster, just a compelling video highlighting the people, the lifestyle and the beauty of RIO all centered around a theme of music and culture.

5. The video is very well produced. From the inclusion of familiar iconic scenary like the cable car to Sugarloaf Mountain and the Christ the Redeemer statue overlooking the city to an array of lifestyle and beauty shots of the city and it’s inhabitants, this video covers all bases.  A clever concept interweaving a combination of sound and music is complemented by beautiful cinematography and great editing.

I don’t know the name of the company that produced this video but they deserve a lot of credit for helping RIO win the 2016 Olympic bid.

I was able to squeeze in a couple hours of night and daytime shooting while working on a project down in Miami. “Vibrant” doesn’t begin to describe Miami. You can literally turn your camera on, point it in any direction and find something interesting to shoot. Makes you wonder why you chose to live ‘up north’.

{This is a commissioned travel article I wrote a while back.}

“The rewards of the journey far outweigh the risk of leaving the harbour.”

1.You are a better person when you travel: more adventurous, more outgoing, and probably a lot more fun. You’re less inhibited and more open minded when you travel. Put on a Hawaiian shirt and a goofy sun hat and the world is your oyster. When is the last time you lead a conga line at your local Denny’s or regaled perfect strangers with your harrowing experience at the infamous ‘Running of the Kittens?’ Strangers and fellow travellers find you more interesting when you travel… because you are.

2. No place in the world is really like home – that’s why you travel. You always say ‘man it’s good to be back in my own bed’ after returning home from travelling. By the second or third night, well… it’s just a bed. After a week or two you realize that the dumpy little hotel room above the fish market wasn’t so bad. After a couple of months you even begin to appreciate that while still arrogant, condescending and heroically rude, foreign waiters did have their charms. After a year you’ve read and re-read Hemmingway, Michener, Bryson and Mayle and you just have to get back out there to explore the world.

3. Everyone knows what is going on and exactly how everything works at your travel destination, except you. Wherever you go, there you are: In the middle of a busy train station staring blankly at the schedule. You are working up the nerve to go over to the ticket window and engage the sour looking man behind the window knowing that he won’t, or will pretend that he doesn’t understand a word you say. Or you suddenly realize that you are lost and that you and your family have just wandered in to the part of town your travel agent nervously referred to as ‘Hell’s Bathroom’.  Or a major delay has just been announced at your airport/seaport/train station and everyone around you is already jumping into action. You, on the other hand, just stand there gazing in all directions at once – absolutely clueless.

4. The bank* is always closed wherever you travel. {*Substitute ‘bank’ for pharmacy, hospital, post office or any establishment that is critical to you at that moment.} Is it a religious holiday? Are they closed for a Siesta? Are they operating on special holiday hours? Is there a strike? Are they out to lunch? Have they been closed for repairs since the end of the Second World War? Are they all hiding under their desks? Do they even care? A corollary to Murphy’s Law: The likelihood of an institution being closed is directly proportionate to the importance to you of it being open.

5. There’s plenty of time to see everything – until the last week/day/hour of travel, then you panic. Parkinson’s Law states ‘work expands to fill the amount of time you have to do it.’ This applies to travel as well. You believe you have forever to do the all the things that you had planned until the eleventh hour when you’re not remotely close to completing your list of ‘must-sees.’ So you panic. “Okay, listen-up, we can zip over to the Grand Cathedral, swing by the Museum of Modern Taxidermy, work our way back through the ancient city of Badluck and make it back before the breakfast buffet closes.” In the end, you rationalize that you’ll be back. Perhaps you will.

6. Everyone puts off travel for some time in the future. “I’m waiting until: 1. “I have more time.” 2. “I have more money.” 3. “I retire.” 4. “I win the lottery.” 5. “Hell freezes over and then I can skate there.” You fill your life with busywork and the weeks fly by. You make plans and revise them and the months go by. You experience a series of major life events and years go by. There’s always time to see the rest of the world… tomorrow.

7. It’s the little things that will make, or break your vacation. It won’t be the grand palaces, magnificent vistas or the spectacular architecture that make the holiday. It will be something small. The kind gesture of a local, the ray of moonlight that breaks through the clouds just when you need it to, or the fellow countrymen you run into at a local market.  Those small experiences set the tone for the rest of your trip.

8. You never regret traveling (…but those tech stocks will haunt you for years.) Life is what happens to you along the road to achieving your goals. Traveling makes that journey a little more interesting. Even the trips that seemed like disasters at the time benefit from the perspective that only time and maturity can provide. No one’s dying words were “I wish I traveled less.” (Except perhaps Amelia Earhart or Willy Loman)

9. The best travel experiences are the ones you don’t plan. Sure, continue finessing that twelve page itinerary, buy all the travel guides, do your online research, talk to fellow travelers – that’s all great stuff. But the memories that last a lifetime come from things that were unintended {planned spontaneity doesn’t count}. You can’t plan on good fortune. It just happens – and usually at the most unexpected places and times. Doing the unexpected, taking a few risks and choosing the road less travelled tends to please the gods of serendipity.

10. The more you travel, the smaller the world becomes. One of the wonderful benefits of travelling is that you gain a broader perspective on different cultures, attitudes and ways of life. The planet gets a little bit smaller with each new adventure.

I help people tell their stories. I get to do marketing – my chosen vocation for the last 20 years. I get to do creative stuff,  to meet some really interesting people, to hang out of a helicopter at 1,500 feet and more than anything, I get to have fun doing what I do.

{These are a collection of clips from a couple different aerial projects I shot a few days ago.}

My son Sam (who works with me) and I, accompanied by some ‘friends and relatives’ shuffled off to Buffalo to take in the full ‘Tailgate Experience”. What a blast – there’s nothing like it. We captured a bit of the mayhem on camera.

(Note: I assume that anyone who runs up to me and belches out “Hey you with the camera thingy, take my freak’in picture” is authorizing me to reproduce their likeness.)

Interesting Fact: I was not aware there are blood alcohol minimum requirements for Bill’s games.

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You just spent $2,000, $20,000 or $200,000 on your most recent corporate video project and it didn’t move the dial. What happened?

The creation of your corporate video should follow a structured development process. When it doesn’t your chance of success is low. Here are ten common mistakes made by companies developing marketing videos:

1. Poorly defined objectives.
Can you easily fill in the following blanks?: This video will help ___{this audience}____  understand that our product or service solves ___{this problem}___  and provides ____ {these benefits)____ . We will measure the success of this video by ___{this rating mechanism}____.
If you can’t clearly and succinctly fill in the first three blanks chances are your video will fail to achieve any measurable results.  If you can’t fill in the last blank you’ll never know what was achieved.

2. No clear message(s).
“Expertocom is a world leader in the provisioning of leading edge solutions and robust, mission critical systems to it’s global client base.” Uh-huh. Even if you have a well defined audience, problem statement and benefit, you still need to communicate in clear and convincing manner. Some common mistakes:
- The video is all about you. No one cares about you, they only care about how you can solve their problem.
- B2N (Business to No one) If your message is so general that it applies to everyone it probably won’t resonate with anyone. Be specific. Pick one audience and deliver one really strong, concise message tailored to that specific audience’s needs.
- Jargon-loading. If you “utilize leading-edge best practices to incentivize and leverage your best-of-breed base through groundbreaking, synergistic and outside-the-box thinking” then… no one will understand you.
- Saying too much. “I’m sorry I wrote you such a long letter but I didn’t have time to write a short one” – Mark Twain. It’s really difficult to be succinct. It also seems risky. Script-by-committee is death to most video projects. In video, shorter is almost always better.

3. Your video doesn’t resonate with your audience.
The best messages work on a visceral level. They make you think, even better, they make you feel something.  If your video is dull (i.e. a talking head) and if you don’t use video effectively (show me, don’t tell me!) then you will quickly lose your audience. Facts are important but a good story is better. While it may be interesting to note that your lubricant is 27% more viscous than any other on the market it may be more interesting to show that your product is the one that your local fire department depends on. Translating the key benefits you are trying to illustrate into ideas and building that into a compelling visual story is done before any crew show up to start shooting.  This is the most important part of the video development process and it’s also the hardest to get right, yet it’s usually the piece that gets the least attention. How do you find a company with this type of experience? Look at their previous work. If it’s not engaging, yours won’t be either.

4. Loose, or no processes at all to develop and promote the video.
The most important part of the video production process is pre-production. Chances are that if you are either surprised or disappointed by the results of your video it is because the planning process was flawed. A well defined storyboard should tell everyone involved exactly what is being said and what visuals are being shown to support those messages. A shotlist tells you exactly what needs to be shot, with whom and when.  When the video is shot and edited a marketing plan tells you exactly what the video is supposed to accomplish, how you are going to get your video in front of your intended audience (…who may or may not ever show up at your website) and how the results of the video should be measured. Again, all of this happens before anyone shows up with a camera. If your video production company tells you what your video should look like with little or no input from you – it probably won’t help your business.

5. You started with creative.
“Our President has this really cool idea!” Just like graphic design is the last step in the pre-development phase of a website (often it is first),  ’creative’ is the last step in the development of a video script and storyboard. Again… too often it is first. Creativity is an essential part of the video production process but it should never be be the tail wagging the dog. Sure, if you have a budget to create a whack of branded entertainment, that’s a different story – but for most corporate video projects, branded entertainment is not the goal.

6. Your video doesn’t support your brand.
Too often, videos are created in isolation. Your brand is the sum total of all of the experiences people have with your company, that includes video. Your video has to support and complement the tone and key messages that you want associated with your brand. {Warning: Wacky viral videos often do more harm than good.)  Video production is not an isolated activity. Your video production company has to understand how you are marketing your business and has to be keen to engage with your marketing department and /or the marketing agency that is helping guide your brand.

7. Budget isn’t large enough.
“We took a couple thousand out of our cleaning budget to do this video.” “Yep, that’s all we’ve got, but we still want it to look like Avatar.” “My cousin Eddy said it would only cost him $400 to make the same video.” The cost of video production has decreased dramatically over the last five years. That said, there is little point in developing a video if you haven’t allocated a reasonable budget for the project. What does a video cost: Here are 25 factors and their prices that go into the cost of developing a corporate video.

8. Wrong type of video.
There are many different styles, structures and purposes for corporate video. Here are 51 different types of video you can develop to promote your business.  A thirty second pre-roll promotion video is probably too long and a one minute recruitment video is probably too short. Hiring actors to speak to a technical audience isn’t a good idea.  Putting your President on camera may (or may not be) a good idea. A talking head is often a waste of time.  A detailed technical video won’t resonate with people in the awareness phase of the sales cycle but can work very well for people in the consideration phase. What type of video you develop and what structure you use for the video is just as important as what messages you chose.

9. No call to action.
What do you want people to do after they have watched your video? If you don’t know, your viewer won’t either.

10. No distribution, SEO or promotion plan.
Even if your video is great, if no one sees it you’ve wasted your money. Are you optimizing a webpage with keywords to help promote the video? Are you promoting the video on industry portals or other related sites where you intended audience might be? Have you developed an email campaign to promote the video to key audiences? Do you have a process to move prospective viewers through your sales cycle once they have viewed the video? Have you tested the video before widely launching it to make sure it accomplishes what you want it to? Do you have any budget for changes or do you assume that you’ll get it exactly right the first time through? Do you have a social media campaign, a PR campaign, a media campaign or some other promotional activity to build interest and awareness for the video?

The video production piece (shooting and editing) represents about 1/3 of the total value in the video development process. Planning (building the right messages for your audience) and promotion (making sure the video is seen) are both equally important.

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{Note: regarding ‘Jargon -Loading’, thanks to Lindsey McCaffrey for inspiration on ‘Words and phrases I don’t want to see in your copy‘}

Technology has had a dramatic effect on the video production industry over the last 5 years. A few years ago video production was a highly specialized service that required very expensive equipment. Today anyone can pick up some cheap equipment and start making videos. At the same time many businesses are starting to embrace video, primarily on the web, as a means of reaching their audiences with engaging and persuasive new content. It’s both the perfect storm and the perfect opportunity for providers and purchasers of corporate video production services.

I am often asked about the state industry – how it’s changing, where it’s going, so I created this brief summary of how I see the industry evolving.  The numbers are my own – based on observation, research and discussions with other video productions companies.

Level 1. Equipment Owners
(Trend – Growing number of providers, resulting in both new opportunities and risks for businesses).

For under $5,000 you can pick up an HD camera, a cheap three point lighting system, audio equipment, computer and software to edit the video and just like that, you are now a video production services supplier.  It may take you a few weeks or months to get the hang of it but eventually you’ll be able to produce some decent video: Simple point and shoot projects, talking heads and perhaps even a corporate overview. Most new entrants will start by providing free or virtually free services and most will exit the industry in under a year realizing that, in spite of hype, it’s difficult to make a full time living in video production. We’re bound to see a lot of churn over the next few years.  This trend is not new to the creative services industry. We’ve seen the same thing with photography and graphic design. When anyone and everyone can provide services the market has difficulty in discerning value and as a result, there is bound to be a fair degree of uncertainty and disappointment in the marketplace. Who benefits? – the businesses who find capable low cost video production suppliers and the video equipment manufactures. Those suppliers with both perseverance and talent will evolve to the next level:

Level 2. Experienced Videographers.
(Trend – numbers are growing but the capabilities of this group are also changing quickly)

The two principle distinctions with this group are 1. Experience and  2. They are usually one person businesses. Whatever their legal business structure (i.e. sole proprietor or incorporated business) this group have been shooting for a while – both for their own clients and also doing freelance work for larger video production companies. Some of these guys (over 90% are male for some reason….) specialize in weddings or events and some do mostly corporate work. The big change for this group is that they are doing more now than ever. They are having to sell and promote themselves in different ways. They are being squeezed by the equipment owners on price but they are also competing for the first time with the larger video production companies. It’s okay today if you are a one man band. It didn’t use to be -  primarily because it was very difficult (and expensive) to do it all. Today you can. Many videographers used to be just shooters, either because they didn’t want to do editing or they didn’t want to appear to be competing with their principle source of income -  the next group in the food chain – the video production companies. {Interestingly, you are also seeing video production companies downsizing to three, two or one man operations working from home – again, because the market and technology allow this to happen and also because the ongoing cost pressures demand it.}

Level 3. (Pure) Video Production Companies.
(Trend – this group is experiencing the most pain, the numbers of these providers are shrinking)

The traditional video production companies (two or more staff and lots of experience) are getting squeezed from both ends. They are seeing tremendous price pressure and are not able to sustain the same high rates that used to comfortably pay their overhead. Big studios, lot’s of expensive equipment, layers of management and admin are all luxuries that few production companies can afford today. Most people in this group started in video – doing sound, doing lighting, etc. The entrepreneurs eventually started their own production houses. Having experience isn’t enough, however. Sure, the market will still pay for experience – but what it will pay is a moving (lower) target. The other challenge this group is facing is that they are seeing people with other talents and backgrounds (i.e ad agencies, marketing consultancies, online media companies, etc) jump into the fray. The traditional video production companies will argue that these new entrants don’t have the required video production skills but the reality is that the market places more value on ideas and application than on technical competency. Shaky camera, focus hunting, imperfect lighting and a litany of other video transgressions are not only acceptable today, they are sometimes preferred. New entrants often shape a market in strange and wonderful ways…

Having great video production skills today are becoming table stakes for higher end productions. The next level is application – what do you do with the video.

Level 4. Value-added Corporate Video Production.
(Trend – this group will grow quickly over the next few years)

The ‘value’ in the video production industry used to be in the expensive equipment and the experience in using it. A few years ago ‘corporate video’ meant either a TV commercial or a ten minute video containing a whack of superfluous motion graphics. The number and uses of video are growing faster than anyone can keep track of (here are 51 different types of video being used by businesses today).

The value today is in how you apply video to your market, not in how you make the video. As such, there are a number of new market entrants to video production who are not only creating video but coming up with new ways to apply that video to specific business objectives. Social media, interactive video and mobile video are all examples of purpose-built content to solve a specific business problem. One size doesn’t fit all. You will start to see video production companies specialize in the creation and delivery (creating the video is only the first step) of video. You will also start to see video production companies specialize in certain types of video (like HR or PR) as vertical knowledge will become more important than general video production knowledge. As such, you are seeing either new hybrid companies with marketing or social media capabilities enter the video production industry of you are seeing very tight collaborations (sometimes evolving into new business entities) between creative or marketing agencies with video production companies. Ultimately all of these companies are trying to get to the top of the food chain:

Level 5. Regional Market Leader
(Trend – No change here, every region has a couple of leaders)

By ‘Market Leader’ I don’t mean “Our firm is a Market Leader that provides leading edge expertise in…”  Anyone can lay claim to leadership but there are only a couple of true leaders in every market. The leaders command the big budgets. They are the regional go-to companies for the biggest brands or government agencies. Every services company looks to become the leader for one reason (O.K…. probably more than one): Market Leaders command the largest budgets on jobs – and that means not having to compromise and that also means having the greatest latitude to do the best work. Sure, everyone is being asked to do more with less – but more is better.  These guys are easy to find. Their body of work speaks for itself. The reason they got to where they are will (most likely) be the reason they will also be able to adapt to new trends and changes in the video production industry.

Technology has had a tremendous impact on the corporate video production industry. That said, you still tend to get what you pay for ( you just get more now…)

Newt Gingrich {Grade: F}

As John Stewart pointed out last week – it looks like Newt’s video was shot in a Sears portrait studio. This video is all Newt. Nothing to see but Newt’s ample cranium for over two minutes. Talking heads are one the most common and least valuable uses of video.  Most are dull and forgettable – like this one. The message, if you listened to it, is pretty much a litany of cliches and generic promises. Video is a visual medium. Show people what you are talking about. Better yet, get other people to talk about what is important to them. No one wants to hear your company president blather on for two minutes about your product or service either. Show people the benefits of the product. Appeal to the buyers emotions. Get satisfied customers to gush about how your product changed their lives. Sure, if your candidate (or CEO) looks like JFK or Ronald Reagan then a bit of camera time is probably a good thing. This video is old school, it’s dull and there is absolutely no reason to share it with anyone.

Mitt Romney {Grade: D+}

This video has a number of things going for it that Newt’s doesn’t: 1. Mitt took the time to shoot the video somewhere (no doubt this video will solidify the New Hampshire High School football vote), 2. Let’s face it – Mitt looks like he was pulled out of central casting (“hey, we need a presidential looking guy… and not Martin Sheen”), 3. Mitt makes reference to conversations with people and speaks about their concerns. 4. It didn’t looked too staged. (Of course it’s staged – all of these things are staged. There is no ‘real’ in reality TV) but at least he made the effort to be seen in a fairly natural setting. The video felt comfortable – that’s a good thing. But in the end it is was still dull and there were very few messages or ideas that really stick with you in this video. People understand and remember if you tell them and show them what you are talking about. If you sell fertilizer (a purely coincidental choice of analogy…) it would make some sense to get your spokesperson out on a farm delivering your message – so kudos to team Mitt for that. But wouldn’t it be better hearing a farmer describe how and why your fertilizer is the best stuff around.

Tim Pawlenty  {Grade B}

I give this video a lot of credit, it has it all: Epic soundtrack – check. Lots of special effects (especially ‘lens flare’) – check. Lot’s of quick cuts and shaky camera – check. This would have made a good movie trailer or John Mellancamp video. No question it’s slick, maybe too slick, but there is no denying it gets and keeps your attention, it delivers well on a few key messages and it is something you would share, or at least want to watch all the way through. Problem is Tim is going to find it difficult to live up to the hype of this video. I’m not sure he’s really that cool in real life.

President Obama {Grade B}

I really like this video because it focuses on real people saying real things (sure it’s staged… this is marketing we’re talking about) but it does what the Obama campaign team do so well and what few republican teams seem to grasp – it seems to relate to people on a human level. It makes a real connection. (Those connections drive involvement which wins elections.) Obama isn’t even in this video (he’s got a day job that precludes him from appearing too ‘campaigny’) but that doesn’t really matter. People talking about Obama on a personal level resonates with many people – it’ll stick and it’ll get people thinking. Most of the other videos don’t make you think – they don’t try very hard to engage you – they just talk about what they think you want to hear.  Whether you are promoting a new cleaning solvent or your presidential candidacy the message has to resonate – it has to appeal emotionally or you’re wasting your time.

Bonus Video:

Congressman Paul Ryan’s Pathway to Prosperity {Grade A-}

Ryan won’t be running in 2012 but this is still a great video that shows how to effectively promote an idea. (Isn’t that what the elections should be about…) I’m not going to comment on the oversimplification of some very complicated issues being shown in this video but I do believe the style and approach are very effective. Probably the best of the lot. It’s well produced, interesting to watch and more importantly, it communicates something of lasting value. It gives you a clear (at least in Ryan’s mind) view of where he sees the specific problems and discusses how these problems should be addresses. The biggest issue with most political videos is that they are usually forgettable, have little lasting value and most importantly, they never make a convincing point. Ryan has taken a stand and also taken the time to clearly and effectively communicate his position on a very specific issue.  Any company would benefit from taking this type of approach: Clearly identifying a specific pain, addressing the specific solution(s) to stop that pain, and most important - clearly demonstrating the benefits of fixing that pain. Marketing 101. Kudos to Ryan for this. See you in 2016.

{Follow-up note: Time magazine just named Ryan as a runner-up for their ‘Time, Man of the Year“.  And while Ryan claims in this article he doesn’t have the fire in his belly to be President, I’d be willing to bet that  will change in the near future.}

Even more bonus videos

Go to Ron Paul’s site and watch some of his older videos – they’re the most fun to watch.  He’s the only guy who you believe isn’t just saying whatever is needed to get elected. You actually feel that he believes what he says and probably won’t change his mind once elected. (He doesn’t stand a chance.)

Salesforce provides cloud-based CRM tools and is a global leader in web-based services.  With over 1500 videos it’s safe to say that Salesforce is fully committed to web video as a means of reaching their customers and driving new business. If the internet is important to your business the above Saleforce video case study will show you how web-based video can support your ongoing business objectives. Saleforce presented this video at a recent Google B2B Think conference.

The video shows why Saleforce has chosen YouTube to manage their video assets,  promote awareness and drive new leads to the company. Some highlights from the video:

- YouTube is now one of Salesforce’s most important online marketing tactics.
- Saleforce equates their YouTube effort to adding 46 sales reps.
- Interestingly, one of the reasons Saleforce chose YouTube as their video delivery platform was that it was one of the most trusted by users.
- They have seen much greater success with video SEO since using YouTube to host their video.
- They have also tested YouTube Display Ads, Promoted Videos and on video Calls to action.

Many businesses today are considering what is the best option for hosting their marketing video. Obviously Salesforce isn’t concerned about issues such as YouTube being blocked by some sites or the possibility of other videos being shown around your video if you happen to click through to the YouTube site itself.  Should they be?