MDSG met this month to discuss videos and their impact on marketing. I’d like to recap some of the main points for anyone looking to add video to their marketing strategy.
What should the video be about?
Think outside the box. Videos are a great way to tell a story. Perhaps you can turn your case study into an engaging example of how you can help a customer. Take your executive bios to the next level and feature him or her as something more than a head surrounded by text. Illustrate part of your business that might be hard to explain. This is especially important for highly skilled jobs like sub-surface utility engineering or document management. Create an HR video to go over the core values of your business. Then when new employees join, they can feel more connected to the culture of the business. Watching “we help people” means more than reading it.
Remember, going viral should never be your main goal. That usually involves comedy and is very tricky. You want to engage your audience. Think about what they would be looking for and develop something meaningful.
But we don’t have any good visuals?
Sure you do! Video technology has come a long way and its easier for even amateur film makers to add special effects. With careful editing and sound control, even a drab office is engaging for the viewer. Perhaps you don’t even need actual footage to make the spot engaging. Just take a look at this video from School of Rock. They used sound and text to make their point. I’m sure any parent with young kids was immediately engaged:
How long should the video be?
While the statistics vary, studies generally agree that over three minutes and the drop rate is huge. The safe range is between 90 seconds to two and a half minutes. If you have more to say, break it down into chapters and create a series of videos. You can do the filming all at once and break it down into smaller videos for distribution.
Where do I post videos?
The question should really be where not to post videos. YouTube and Vimeo are both great platforms. Once the video is live, share it! Twitter, Facebook, and most blogging platforms allow users to view videos directly on the page. And even though emails haven’t caught up yet, it is still easy to share in an E-newsletter. Just create a screenshot with a play button overlay and link to the hosted content. Also, make sure to optimize the video for mobile. Your video producer can easily do this for you as they export. Once optimized, think about adding a QR code to your printed materials.
But be careful not to over saturate your audience or do more than you can manage. Keep track of what you post and the feedback you receive. From there you can build a track-record for your videos and improve your success rate over time.
What Next?
If you are thinking about adding video to your marketing mix and aren’t sure where to start, we’d be happy to help you. Our team can work with you from developing a strategy, writing a script, and coordinating vendors all the way to distribution and analytics.
Adashmore Creative is looking for a Marketing Communications Intern to aid with various client communication initiatives. Tasks include social media, email marketing, content development, public relations, branding, and analytics research. Opportunity for input on strategy and implementation plans offered. Interns will get real-world experience with exposure to multiple elements of marketing and business, such as sales, account management, media and vendor relations, and production. Training on preferred email and social media management platforms.
Candidates must be organized, energetic, friendly, articulate, focused, detail-oriented and creative with a desire to work for a small business. Ability to manage multiple tasks in an independent, fast-paced environment a must. Microsoft Office and Internet proficiency required. Basic Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Dreamweaver) and/or HTML knowledge preferred, but not required. Position limited to juniors or seniors with relevant coursework. Flexible hours, course credit (if applicable), and stipend are available.
To apply, send resume and cover letter to info@adashmorecreative.com
I received the following email from AAF Baltimore and wanted to make sure other people were aware of the potential bill. If you provide digital services, work for people who do, or buy digital services yourself take the time to respond:
Dear AAF Baltimore Member:
A NEW SALES TAX ON ADVERTISING?
Governor O’Malley wants to impose sales tax on digital products like video, music, software and blogs under Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2012, SB 152/HB 87. Click here to read bill. Currently, Maryland’s sales tax applies mainly to tangible personal property. Digital products are generally considered intangible personal property, and are not now subject to Maryland sales tax. While the Governor maintains that the new tax is limited in scope to digital download versions of products sold in box stores, the tax bill includes any sound recording, video, text or software files. The bill’s broad language could also be used to target digital services, including services we provide to clients to produce digital products.
By taxing digital goods services delivered to advertising and marketing clients, the proposed law could increase the cost of doing business by 6%. And increased legal and accounting costs to figure what is taxable and where a digitial transaction takes place.
Your clients can still easily avoid the 6% increase by shifting business to agencies in jurisdictions without a digital tax, like Washington, DC, Pennsylvania or Delaware.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
The AAF Baltimore Legislative Committee urges you to write key Maryland legislators asking them to delete the language imposing a new digital sales tax from the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2012. Below, you’ll find a link that’ll allow you to quickly and easily email your representatives in Annapolis.
Thanks!
Cynthia Sanders
AAF Baltimore Legislative Chair
Click here to send an email to your representatives. If you’d like, simply paste the following message into your email:
To my elected representatives:
I am a member of the American Advertising Federation of Baltimore (AAFB). Our members are primarily Maryland businesses in the advertising industry. I write to express strong concern regarding the sales tax on digital products and services proposed in the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2012, SB 152/HB 87.
As other media, advertising has migrated to the Internet. Consequently, most AAFB member services are digital and result in digital deliverables. Although the Governor’s office asserts that SB 152/HB 87 focuses on a sales tax on downloadable entertainment products equivalent to those sold in box stores like Best Buy, the broad language of SB 152/HB 87 captures sales of services provided by AAFB members.
Currently, Maryland does not impose sales tax on the sale of digital products and services. Imposition of the sales tax required by SB 152/HB 87 on services AAFB members would increase the cost of these services by 6 % and would put those businesses collecting the “new tax” at competitive disadvantage to companies in Washington, DC, Virginia and Delaware. Furthermore, it provides an incentive for our Maryland AAFB members to move to Virginia if SB 182/HB 87 is enacted. Consequently, enacting this bill damages the vitality of the Maryland economy by targeting AAFB members, a significant part of Maryland’s high-growth high-tech industry.
For the above-stated reasons, I respectfully request that any new tax on digital products and services be rejected. I appreciate the opportunity to present our concerns to your committee.
Thank you for your thoughtful consideration in this very important matter.
It might sound silly, however a relatively simple engagement set up by Coca-Cola had more than half a million people tune in. Sure there were several spots that ran during the game but it was their microsite: cokepolarbowl.com. That really engaged the audience.
For those of you who don’t know, Coca-Cola made it possible for the polar bears to watch the game “live from the north pole.” Not only were videos posted in reaction to commercials, game plays, and even the national anthem, they also had the bears tweeting live. In addition, tags in Facebook and Twitter, allowed fans to interact with the bears. It reached a point where I was eager for big plays in the game, just so I could see how the bears would react.
Even better is that things went off, relatively, without a hitch. Granted there was a lot of pre-planning. Some reports say the team rehearsed for three months! There were three teams of staff on hand and at least 18 servers at their disposal. They watched old games, developed a list of possible outcomes, and had multiple versions of common situations ready to roll. Decisions about which commercial to play were made right before launch. For example, both NY_Bear and NE_Bear had versions of “Argh!” prepared in which the bear walks out of the room to scream.
The real beauty was how seamlessly they integrated Coke into their commercials. When one bear was down, the other would hand him a Coke and hint that things would be OK. At one point a penguin tried to steal one from the side of the screen, only to later come back and plank between two bottles (#awesome).
Screen shot from video on www.cokepolarbowl.com
Now I understand that not everyone has the marketing budget that Coca-Cola does. In an article by AdAge that came out this week stating that Coca-Cola plans to cut expenses by $650 million and then reinvest into marketing and branding. Pepsi also stepped up saying it intends to pump an extra $400 to $500 million in marketing this year!
So what can you take away from this story?
Don’t focus on traditional media – Ad Buys are a big part of a marketing budget. Save some money and use social media or rewards programs to engage your audience. For one client, we can redirect his marketing spend into other outlets, and even make cuts, without affecting his sales. His loyal customers noticed immediately and loved the new specials they receive just by following online.
Integrate your marketing mix – Make sure your print, radio, tv, whatever are all aligned. If you offer different specials or focus on different elements without a strong tie-in, you could confuse your target.
Reward your loyal customers and they’ll help do the talking for you – Let’s face it the consumer mindset has changed. People don’t rely on ads, they look to reviews, their peers, etc. Also, your customers are talking and you can to help control what they are saying. Focus on rewarding your loyal customers, and the referrals are likely to follow. Not only did Coca-Cola get a strong response, they blew out their expectations. Best of all, a large part of those over 600 million people, engaged with the brand on Twitter and Social Media. This means all their followers got a taste of the action too.
Don’t be afraid to take risks – Now this doesn’t mean go and spend thousands of dollars on a trade show in hopes of gaining a few new contacts. What I mean is take a calculated risk. Research what your industry leaders are doing to market and try to get a sense of if its working for them or not. If Coca-Cola had focused on what could have gone wrong (servers, no traffic, wrong posts, missed cues, etc.), they never would have launched.
We couldn’t call ourselves marketers if we didn’t comment on the one of the biggest advertising days of the year. I’m sure by now you’ve had plenty of time to recap your favorite commercials, or lack there of as the case may be. I know I don’t stand-alone when I say the commercials were pretty lackluster this year. Sure you had your standbys, such GoDaddy, with similar plot lines to ads they’ve been running for years. But very few brought anything new to the table.
It really makes me wonder how much thought people put into their commercials before running. Take this Chevy ad for example. Sure, they were able to show that their trucks could “survive” the end of the world (anyone else tired of hearing about this?). However, they associated their brand with the apocalypse and a world where only men and Twinkies survive. Their other ads made very little sense too- a bungy jumping Sonic? For car brand that is suffering in the economic downturn and had to take a bail out, does it really make sense to spend so much on the production and airing of ads that don’t speak to the actual values of your product?
Another disappointment was that almost all the commercials were released ahead of time. So most of what I saw wasn’t new or exciting. Now you could argue that I seek this out, but my Husband, the property manager, said the same thing. And I’m pretty sure Doritos wasn’t making a point to preview their Superbowl commercials on real estate or Vegas blogs anywhere.
There are a few commercials that stood out to me.
1. Subaru “Dog-Tested. Dog-Approved”
You can watch two from the campaign here and here.
Most car commercials seem to focus on special features or the people who make them (American vs. Foreign). However, Subaru stepped outside of that and really focused on how their cars are used. Sure a dog doesn’t drive the car, but it gets your attention and alludes to the active lifestyle of their users. The people who own a Subaru aren’t afraid to bring their dogs along for the ride. The users like skiing and camping with friends and aren’t afraid to take their car off-roading.
Their last ad featuring the little Darth Vader will be talked about for a long time. However the symbolism in this ad identifies with me much more. The dog was in a rut, frustrated with his life and the fact he wasn’t doing the things he used to love. However, the new Volkswagen came along and changed all that. He was now motivated to major changes and was finally able to run free to chase his passion. Then to continue the tie in, the extended version shows Darth Vader in the bar with some supporters of the dog.
A simple concept and great execution made up this ad that both males and females can identify with. While I have never known someone to strip down at a party, the idea of men and women interrupting a situation completely differently is very common. Plus, who can forget Red stripping out of his shell!
Check back soon for a post on my absolute favorite brand engagement from the Superbowl (and of recent memory).
2012 is officially here, and almost everyone is starting with a positive outlook (except those that think the world will end in December…). Many people are also setting personal goals for themselves. Lose weight, exercise more, quit smoking and eat better are just four of the most popular resolutions. But have you considered setting professional goals too?
Professional goals are just as important as personal goals. However, just like your personal resolutions, you must be realistic in your outlook. Sure, we can all set an ambitious goal to gain a hundred new clients this year and make $100,000 a month, but is that realistic? We here at Adashmore are working on some of our 2012 goals, and so we thought we’d share some of our own guidelines on doing so.
Be realistic. If you set a goal to make a million dollars in one year, and you only make $500,000, according to your goal you’ve failed! However… you’ve made $500,000! Isn’t that a huge success worth celebrating? So why not set your goal at $100,000 dollars in one year, and beat the heck out of it over and over?
Be passionate. If your goal is related to something you love to do, and you have the utmost passion for, it will be easier to achieve in the end. So maybe you don’t love all aspects of your job. It can be hard to set realistic, reachable goals for the parts that involve your least favorite activities. Perhaps instead set goals around the parts you like the most, and that will help drive success in the areas you feel you are lacking.
Seek support. While you may feel like a superhero that can accomplish anything, we often won’t achieve our goals on our own. Share your goals with others you feel close to. They can hold you accountable to these goals. A good friend will also provide support and coaching to help you through those times you think you just can’t do it anymore.
Don’t give up. What if you don’t achieve these goals you’ve set? Don’t give up! There’s still time! Focus on the smaller steps you have taken to reach closer to your goal, and consider them each a little victory. Maybe you have to rework your goal into a different one. That’s okay. The point is you’ve made progress, and your goal is still within sight.
In addition to sharing these goals in others you trust, once you’ve set them, write them down! We recently got an email with a great tip from Manta:
“Written goals provide you with focus and clarity. So take the time to write down what you WANT (results or outcomes) and what you need to DO (actions) to make it happen this year.”
- www.manta.com
Tell us some of your goals for 2012 (personal or professional!) in the comments. What do you want to accomplish this year?
I know, I know everyone does a year-in-review post. But the past year has been especially huge for Adashmore Creative. Here are some highlights:
JANUARY
Though work had started with clients and we filed our LLC, our company was still on the DL. We had a lot to do and to complete before we had our full public launch on January 24. Who would have thought QuickBooks was so complicated!!
With the website live and the business side of things under control, we turned our promotions to Facebook and Twitter. We also started networking like crazy, joined AAF and the Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce, and renewed our AIGA memberships. If there was an event, you could probably find us there.
Top Tweet: “Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?”
MARCH
With a strong foundation built, Whitney and I were both able to take the leap into working for Adashmore Creative full-time! People were starting to recognize us and clients from outside our original network were starting to call us instead of us calling them!
Top Tweet: “Work is much easier with a mascot by your side”
Jen's Dog/Adashmore's Mascot
APRIL
Our first out-of-state project! We started working with Kingsland Foundation in New York City on revamping the marketing and registration materials for their annual golf tournament. We also worked with a client who found us on Twitter to design their booths for mall promotions. (And you thought social media didn’t work!)
Top Tweet: “It is such a good feeling to wake up extra early thinking about work – because you are actually excited about new project!”
MAY
Lots of work was going on for a big event with Jobs, Housing and Recovery in June – logo, tickets, ads, fliers, website, and a program. We also managed a few direct mail and social media campaigns. We even had our first appearance in the Baltimore Business Journal (http://ow.ly/588EH)!
Top Tweet: “You can spend time, waste time or invest time. How are you using your time?”
JUNE
This month was all about event marketing. With the Kingsland golf tournament right around the corner, we were busy finalizing promotional items and day-of signage. We also helped the Alzheimer’s Association with some promotions for their annual walk in Baltimore.
Top Tweet: “”Doing biz without advertising is like winking to a girl in the dark. U know what u r doing but no one else does” #HOWlive”
JULY
Adashmore Creative goes nationwide! As fates would have it, Whitney’s and my schedules were almost completely opposite for the month. We were so thankful for Google docs and cloud services that allowed us to work remotely. In addition to Maryland, we worked from Illinois, Delaware, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Florida!!
Top Tweet: “Check out our “2 1/2 Minutes” of Fame in the Baltimore Business Journal! Pic: http://ow.ly/i/eHr4 Full: http://ow.ly/5KVEl @BBJonline”
AUGUST
Enough was enough! We needed help and started an employee search. Of course this meant a whole new level of legal obligations and the need for another computer. What great timing, because we weren’t already too busy building websites, training on social media, or designing collateral.
Top Tweet: “We helped a non-profit in New York raise almost $500,000 for cancer research… What can we do for you?”
SEPTEMBER
We participated in the Small Business Survival Summit at the Baltimore Convention Center. While attendance wasn’t huge, we got several strong leads and expanded our network. Speaking of trade shows, we also worked with one of our clients on refining their brand for a trade show. With our help they were able to have a unified appearance between their website, banners, business cards, and collateral.
Top Tweet: “RT @buzzinbaltimore: Drunk Swedish Moose Gets Stuck In Tree: A moose that was drunk on fermenting apples got stuck in a tree this week…”
OCTOBER
Officially a year after we started the business, we were able to get accredited with the Better Business Bureau! We also spent some time working with the start-up Proteus Personal Training on building their brand and getting their website optimized for search engines. Check out their site and services – especially good for New Year’s resolutions. Did you see our Halloween Card?
Top Tweet: “Don’t say anything online that you wouldn’t want plastered on a billboard with your face on it. #socialmediaconference”
NOVEMBER
Our first official business trip! A client invited me to check out the SEMA/APEX show in Las Vegas. I learned so much about the auto industry, and Vegas in general. We were also nominated in the Mobbies for “Best on Twitter (Organization)”! We didn’t win but ended up #13 out of 37, which we were pretty excited about. Thanks to everyone who voted for us!
Top Tweet: “”Your most unhappy customers are your greatest sources of learning” – Bill Gates”
As you can tell, we’re big on questions - but there is a reason for it. By asking the right questions we can get down to the real problem at hand. Think about your day-to-day job. You can definitely explain WHAT is you do. Chances are you could even explain to someone who is not familiar with your industry. If you took a bit more time, you could probably even explain HOW you do it: the process, programs, etc. This is very important because at the end of the day, it’s not about what you do; it’s about how you do it.
The real challenge is identifying WHY. There is a reason someone implemented the specific process. Do you what it is or who started it? Do you think it could be done a better way? Have you even asked yourself these questions?
Without understanding the “core” issue, it’s hard to build something that will serve its full purpose. Say you came to us looking for a brochure. You understand that we will use design software, typefaces, pretty colors, and a variety of photos to make the final piece. But does either of us know WHY you are creating brochure: What is the purpose? Who is the audience? How is it being distributed?
Chances are after going through these questions, you can find a solution you didn’t think of before. Maybe it’s still a brochure, but you use inserts to call out specific programs. Or maybe you actually need a small publication to give regular information to more people. Perhaps your sell sheet could be taken to the next level by using a spot UV or upgrading the paper quality. The more we know, the better we can do our job, and the better your product will be.
You could use this logic against us. You know what needs get done and basically know how it will get done, so WHY should you use a specific company over another? There is no special formula and no one company is for everyone. Sure we have great in-house experience and have worked a variety of initiatives – but that doesn’t mean every in-house department should hire us. Take the time to think through the WHAT, HOW, and WHY before making any decision. It will make the real process easier.
This week it was our great honor and privilege to be able to sponsor Kevin & Jennifer’s Holiday Networking Event. This particular happy hour, typically a bi-monthly event, was Cornerstone Real Estate‘s annual holiday party. We can’t tell you how excited we were at the chance to sponsor such a wonderful night!
The event was held Monday in Locust Point at Hull Street Blues Cafe. Guests were encouraged to bring new unwrapped toys and monetary donations, all to benefit the Family Health Centers of Baltimore. You could really tell how much the organizers put into the event. There was great food, a 50/50 raffle, and Ravens Nest #11 even donated tickets to a Ravens home game to raffle off, all in support of the Family Health Center. Not only was there a table full of toys by the end of the night, an additional $2,000 was raised for underprivileged children. WOW!
Kevin Anselmi from Cornerstone Real Estate speaks to the crowd
We’re so thankful to be a part of this event, and help out the Family Health Centers of Baltimore. It is our hope to be a sponsor of this event every year!
“Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.”
– Washington Irving
The toys will be given out on Tuesday, December 13 in Cherry Hill and Mercy. If you know of any children who may not get toys for Christmas and would like to invite them to see Santa, let us know. We’d be happy to help coordinate.
You’re a Graphic Design Major and it’s your junior year in college. You’ve heard horror stories of portfolio class, and you begin to weigh out your options: switch majors, work at the local Arby’s, or tough it out and go for it. After some serious soul searching, and almost choosing Arby’s, you’ve decided to go for it. There’s no turning back. Seriously.
If you’ve made the decision to go for it then keep reading. If you haven’t yet decided, I hope to make your decision a little bit easier. If after reading this you feel even slightly better about the monumental task of creating a portfolio then I have succeeded! I hope to offer some helpful advice based on my own experiences.
Become best, best friends with the older Graphic Design students. Do this as soon as possible; they’ll offer you some great advice. It’s always nice to talk to someone who knows more than you do. You’ll also get the scoop on all of the teachers; and trust me, you’ll want to avoid a few.
Get involved with design clubs. They’ll provide you with a lot of helpful resources. Clubs are also a great place to show off your work and to get feedback. Look into AIGA.
Don’t be intimidated by your teachers. They’ll try to scare you early on to weed out the weaklings. You’re not one of them, so ignore their nonsense! Stay confident and use their scare tactics as motivation to keep going.
Work hard. Do the best work that you can and do it early. You should be creating portfolio-worthy work your junior year. If you haven’t, as I did, you’ll become very familiar with all-nighters. We became pretty tight.
Your portfolio should have 9-12 projects of your absolute best work. If it’s anything less than great, leave it out.
Order your projects in a way that makes sense. You can organize by project type, color scheme, subject matter, or any other way that makes sense for your book.
Go crazy with your projects. This is your chance to do projects that wouldn’t work in real life. Come up with memorable projects but don’t be offensive. There are better ways to stand out than designing for condoms. Remember, you’ll be presenting your book at interviews. What will be remembered are great ideas. There are lots of people who can create pretty pictures. There are less people who can come up with great ideas. Few can do both.
There will be times when you want to give up, and that’s ok. Be aware that those times are coming and when they do roll around your life will be much easier. All the blood (from X-ACTO blade accidents), sweat (from running to class after oversleeping), and tears (from losing files that you forgot to back up) are part of the design student experience. Work hard, stay positive, and have fun. The result will be a great portfolio. Everything will be worth it when you have a portfolio you like, and the confidence to get your dream job. Now go get it.
