Parc Entertainment - A Video Production Company - Birmingham, AL

Experts agree - online video will continue its growth over the next several years as consumption of video content continues to increase. In this video from Beet.TV, Jeff Cole, director of USC’s Center for the Digital Future, predicts that people will soon be spending up to 50 hours per week watching video. This rise (up from only 16 hours in 1975), will be due to the popularity of mobile video. This presents an incredible opportunity for advertisers and marketers, who will be able to use video to reach their audience while consumers are outside the home. This is TV without borders.

The question, however, is on the content itself. Where do you see the trend heading? Do you foresee an audience willing to watch 30 or 60-minute shows on their mobile devices, like Cole predicts? Or, do you you predict that the trend will continue to favor shorter, easily consumable 2-3 minute clips?

In regards to advertisers and marketers, what direction do you see video taking? Will production quality give way to production quantity? In other words, is it more important for advertisers to churn out as much video content as quickly as possible? Or, should they take their time with crafting and creating a well-polished, well-produced marketing video that has a longer shelf life?

A disconnect now exists between advertisers and consumers. People don’t like being interrupted by hard-sell advertising messages. They don’t like the idea of being “talked to.” They would rather be “talked with.” They crave conversation and engagement. The old rules of broadcasting to large audiences are slowly giving away to “small”-casting; that is, carving specific messages for a niche audience. For example, a few years ago I shot a video for a hospital. Rather than create a broad overview commercial for use on television, they specifically targeted those interested in nursing. They launched a microsite for their recruitment campaign and placed several short videos throughout. Each video featured a nurse from a specific area of the hospital talking on camera about his/her discipline. The nurse also spoke about the surrounding community - its social scene and nightlife. The campaign was successful because it spoke directly to a niche group. The videos used terminology the audience could understand. And it didn’t interrupt them with a hard sell. The following video humorously illustrates the current relationship between advertisers and consumers. The challenge for marketers is to adapt to this growing change in the way products and services are advertised.

Knowing how much to spend on advertising is a struggle all businesses deal with - especially during a recession. When economic times are lean, the gut reaction is to jettison all the weight you deem “unnecessary,” batten down the hatches, huddle together with your staff, and pray for daylight. In the long run, however, how will that strategy help your business? Sure, you may weather the storm, but when you come out safe on the other side, you may find that your competitors have taken a huge lead in the marketplace. How come? Because while you were hiding in your office, they were still out there in front of the public, maintaining their visibility.

A.G. Lafley, former CEO of Procter & Gamble, said, “I think it’s more essential to innovate through a recession, and certainly what we are trying to do at P&G is to continue to bring sustaining and even disruptive new brands and products for our consumers, to make their lives better, to offer them a little more value.”

Professor Andrew J. Razeghi of Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University said, “Moments of economic turbulence provide the unique opportunity to start new businesses, launch disruptive new products, and strengthen customer loyalty - often at a discount.” Razeghi has a great presentation entitled, “Innovating Through Recession.” You can read it in its entirety here.

Or consider this statistic from a McGraw Hill study that surveyed over 600 businesses: In the 1981-1982 recession, businesses that cut advertising spending, increased their sales 19%. Businesses that continued to spend on advertising increased their sales 275%.

The key difference between those who continued to spend money on advertising and those who didn’t is visibility. Businesses who continued to advertise were in a better position once the recession ended. They were in the forefront of the customer’s mind when he/she was ready to buy. Make the word “visibility” your motto this year. Get out in front of your customers. Advertise. Market your business. Strive to be the first company people think of when they are ready to buy.

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Grab the Market While the Competition Makes Cuts

While watching a recent episode of the New Minute Minute from Daisy Whitney, I was treated to this little nugget of information. According to eMarketer, online advertisers are spending more and more money on video, versus any other format. The chart below details the advertising spending growth (in percentages) for various online formats from 2008-2014. As you can see, advertisers definitely favor online video. Look at the statistic for 2009. Advertisers spent 20 times more money in video than in Search, which is ranked second. And the amount of spending growth for online video is expected to remain a favorite format for advertisers through 2014.

Here are a few things we can take away from these statistics:

• Utilizing video for your online presence is a necessity in today’s market
• Video has impact
• Video is an effective communication tool
• Your competition is using video
• The use of video is one of the best ways you can gain an audience and improve your bottom line.

It’s been said that the simplest solution is usually the best solution. Over the years, we have had the privilege of working on some large-budget projects requiring extensive creative, several crew members, dollies, camera cranes, professional talent, a five-day shoot and several weeks of post. However, not every company needs such scale in their video marketing efforts. This is especially true in the world of online video. Clients sometimes need a  simple solution.

Over the past 18 months, we have worked with law firms on projects specifically for the web. The purpose of these online videos is to provide viewers with an informal, personal glimpse of an attorney’s practice. These videos educate, inform, and help the viewer to feel more at ease before they step into the office. After all, wouldn’t you feel more comfortable and confident in hiring an attorney if you had the chance to see and hear him/her first?

This format can be duplicated for any business that needs to inform the viewer about the company, introduce key personnel, and educate the viewer on relevant issues, laws, procedures, etc. These videos, although simple in their approach, never compromise on production quality. And they are always effective in increasing traffic to a website and generating new business.

Many of the videos we produce end up on a website. It’s a growing trend. More and more companies are integrating video into their online presence. Soon, internet users will expect to see videos on the sites they visit. In the September 4 issue of the Birmingham Business Journal, Haley Aaron writes about the popularity of online videos and the impact they have on today’s consumer. Below are some highlights from the article.

When local law firm Cory Watson Crowder & DeGaris wants to share information about their company and cases they are working on, the company doesn’t just post a press release or add a link to their Web site.

Instead, the firm uses Web video to tell its story. It created short films that give a brief introduction to its lawyers, as well as information about high-profile personal injury lawsuits the company represents.

“We want people to be able to come on to our Web site and not just look at who we say we are, but really get a much better feel not only for the firm and the work we do, but also for the individual partners,” said Melanie McCraney, director of communications at Cory Watson.

Internet video is a relatively new medium, but Americans are spending more time watching it. According to a survey compiled by comScore, a Virginia-based research company, Americans watched a total of 16.8 billion Web videos in April, from Web sites and video sharing sites such as YouTube. The average viewer spent 6.4 hours watching videos online during the month.

While consumers look to web video for entertainment and education, businesses are discovering the advantages of using it to market themselves…

Even more importantly, the nature of Web video may allow businesses to reach a more engaged audience since viewers can watch at their convenience…

Companies interested in producing web video should consider their tone and message carefully before producing and uploading videos… While free distribution through YouTube and Facebook cuts costs, it’s important that businesses don’t place cost over quality when filming and producing Web video.

A well-executed video can have an incredibly positive impact on your brand and shouldn’t be the last thing you think of when planning your marketing strategy.

I’ve written several posts discussing Web 2.0 and the evolution of media across all platforms. Any person, business, organization, etc. that fails to recognize the participatory nature of today’s media and refuses to get involved, will fall way behind in the areas of marketing, advertising and public exposure. I came across this great video today by Niko Pereira, featuring Henry Jenkins of MIT, who discusses how media is changing. Worth watching.

Henry Jenkins on Transmedia - November 2009 from niko on Vimeo.

Keith Krininger (left) received an extreme retail makeover

I was browsing through a back-issue of the Birmingham Business Journal and came across the following article by Lauren Cooper about a local business owner who saw his sales improve from a complete store makeover, including logo design, displays, advertising, and marketing. Many people like using the economy as an excuse to slash marketing and advertising budgets, but this particular case study demonstrates the value of good, solid marketing efforts.

Local businessman Keith Krininger said last week was a whirlwind at a few of his local Bedzzz Express stores.

With a film crew documenting every moment, representatives from mattress component manufacturer Leggett & Platt Inc. conducted an “Extreme Retail Makeover” of four of his eight stores – modeled after the television show Extreme Home Makeover.

Krininger was chosen from hundreds of mattress retailers across the country to be the Fortune 500 company’s test case in proving the industry can profit from touting the health benefits of sleep, said Mark Quinn, Leggett & Platt’s executive vice president of bedding sales and marketing .

Four of Krininger’s stores underwent a visual, marketing and process makeover, including logos, displays and advertising, to improve traffic and profitability.

And one week after its implementation, Krininger said he can tell a difference.

“Customers are responding to it,” he said. “Right off the bat, we’re selling the sheets (now offered), which I was skeptical about that.”

Sales of bed frames have noticeably changed as well, he said.

“We used to have just one, but now we have three choices and – amazing enough – if you give (the customer) the choice they’ll say ‘I don’t want the cheaper one, I want the one in the middle or the higher.”

And one of the most important shifts was in his 31 employees and sales associates, he said. The experience was exciting and invigorating for them and has expanded their thinking to new levels, he said.

Leggett & Platt’s Quinn said a lot of the credit goes to Krininger, who agreed to have his business totally up-ended.

“He’s been in business for 15 years and has been successful,” said Quinn. “But it’s a different time. If you are not willing to expand your comfort zone now, then you’re not going to do it.”

The makeover at Bedzzz Express is a great example of bringing new life to an old business plan, said Betsy Holloway, associate professor of marketing at Samford University’s Brock School of Business.

By differentiating himself and educating customers on the benefits of sleep, he’ll have a competitive advantage relative to other bedding retailers, she said.

“Before it was just the product, but now it’s the presentation, product promotion and personnel to articulate the benefit,” said Holloway. “He’s offering more value, which allows him to charge higher prices and create a higher volume. Sounds like a recipe for success.”

Krininger said his next step will be to implement the makeover in his remaining Bedzzz Express stores and to offer it to his nine licensed Bedzzz Express’ outside of Birmingham.

With that done and the national recognition within the industry he’ll get from the makeover, he’ll be able to concentrate on growing his license business beyond the state’s borders, he said.

Leggett & Platt’s Quinn said the video from the Extreme Retail Makeover will be shown at a large industry conference this spring, a Web site will be dedicated to the makeover and certain components will be offered to others in the industry.

Ameriquest Mortgage created a memorable TV campaign with a series of spots centered on the theme “Don’t Judge Too Quickly.” Each spot features someone in a perfectly innocent situation that doesn’t seem so innocent to other characters who walk in at just the wrong moment.

The campaign has a solid theme which is executable in a variety of fresh ways. Each spot is funny, simple, and memorable. However, when I first saw these spots I was a little surprised that they were advertising a mortgage company. The creative approach to each ad just didn’t feel right, considering the client. Take a look at a some of the spots below and tell me whether you think the strategy was smart move for Ameriquest.

I first saw this presentation at Doc Yankee’s Marketing Mojo blog. You can also follow Doc Yankee on Twitter. The slide show presentation is from Jay Conrad Levinson and features 90 things you can do to market yourself and your business in low-cost, but creative ways. Some items on the list won’t be for everyone, but I’m sure you will be able to find a lot of useful information.