Archive for the ‘Online Video’ Category

Considering Using Video to Promote Your Business? Here Are a Few Things to Consider First

Marketing, Online Video, Uncategorized | Posted by Larry Greenberg
Feb 03 2012
Matt Lagle, Boonedog Video

Matt Lagle, Boonedog Video

Video is a powerful tool for promoting businesses, said Matt Lagle, founder of Boonedog Video, at February’s Westchester Web Presence meeting,  but it had better be part of a broader communications strategy.
Formerly a director on the long-running CBS daytime drama, “The Guiding Light,” Matt described how small to mid-sized businesses can succeed – or miss the boat – when creating promotional spots.

 

  • Businesses sometimes opt for the least expensive option at their own peril.  Some local cable stations, for example, will shoot a video advertisement for free in exchange for an ad buy. Typically, however, stations won’t media training and script-writing in that package.  If the business owner chooses to be the on air spokesperson and isn’t properly coached, the results can undermine both the message and the credibility of the brand.

 

  • Businesses need to make video part of a broader web presence.  If a company is prepared to invest thousands of dollars in making a video and securing air time, it should also have a professional looking website and active social media accounts where customers can go to learn more and interact.  If you’re going to ask consumers to take a next step with a TV ad, enable them to take that next step online.

 

  • Don’t forget the SEO benefit.  Online video, whether embedded into a website or hosted on a YouTube channel, can help position a business higher in search engine rankings.

 

  • A professional video producer should provide a business owner with objective, experienced counsel. This includes recommending how best to present the company’s story through compelling images and narrative, as well as collaborating with other members of a business’ marketing team to ensure consistent branding.

 

  • Video producers must also media train business owners and employees for their video appearances – or be frank enough to dissuade them from serving as on-air spokespeople if doing so would ultimately undercut the video’s intended message.

 

If you’re interested in learning more about Matt Lagle, visit Boonedogvideo.com.

If you’d like to hear about future Westchester Web Presence events, visit Westchester Web Presence.

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The Power of the Keys

Advertising, Audience Demographics, Audience Engagement, Marketing, Media, Online Video, Television | Posted by Larry Greenberg
May 20 2011

 

Will Boomers Soon Dictate TV Programming Tastes or Will Young Viewers Remain in the Driver’s Seat?

When I was a ‘yoot’, as Joe Pesci might put it, my friends and I had an expression for the one among us who was doing the driving on a given evening.  This person, we said, had “the power of the keys.”   The driver, it was tacitly understood, determined where we went – and when. The driver, in other words, had final say over that night’s entertainment.

America’s ‘yoots’ have had “the power of the keys” over ad-supported television for a half century.  Advertisers prize young audiences –particularly 18 to 34-year olds – because, among other reasons, they seek life-long brand relationships with consumers.

At first glance, this week’s network upfronts suggest nothing has really changed.  TBS advertised its lineup in The New York Times business section, “We Don’t Just Create Great Comedy, We Create Young Fans.” Fox’s 2011 fall lineup underscores its efforts to remain the champ of the youth demo.

Some industry watchers, however, think they are starting to see a shift in advertiser outreach strategy, away from a younger to a chronologically more inclusive viewer base.  The Times recently noted that Kellogg’s, Skechers and 5-Hour Energy drink are targeting the over-55 crowd, and that the networks are unveiling more shows with a broader audience appeal.  Alan Wurtzel, the president of research for NBC Universal, told The Times the network was mindful of Boomers when putting together its new fall programming. For example, NBC has renewed Harry’s Law, starring 62-year old Kathy Bates, and is launching Playboy, which, like Mad Men, appeals to 1960s nostalgia.

Meanwhile, Nielsen made news when it announced that the percentage of American households owning televisions dropped for the first time in 20 years.   One main reason:  Young audiences prefer accessing their entertainment via Internet alternatives such as Netflix . So as 78 million Boomers age, they are being joined in front of the TV by a shrinking percentage of viewers from succeeding, smaller generations.

In 2010, the CW began a concerted effort to follow young viewers to the Internet.  This year, Variety reports, CW’s “convergence of screens” approach is paying dividends, as viewers seem willing to consume advertising online.  According to the article, about 94% of the CW’s online ads are being watched to conclusion.

So will the networks start paying more attention to older viewers?  It seems so.  Will the networks continue to put young audiences in the driver’s seat?  It seems so – as far as the broader entertainment universe is concerned.  But targeting of audiences will have to become more, well, targeted.

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For Some, A World Wide Web That Never Was

Broadband, Internet, Mobile, Music, Online Video, Radio | Posted by Larry Greenberg
Aug 24 2010

Chris Anderson, Wired’s Editor-In-Chief, and Michael Wolff, Vanity Fair columnist and Rupert Murdoch biographer, recently wrote dueling columns in a special Wired feature called “The Web is Dead.”   For his part, Anderson described the World Wide Web’s diminishing role as the all-purpose gateway to the Internet.  Other Internet platforms and devices, including mobile, have become the preferred means of online access.

The piece speaks for the United States and probably reflects trends in many other developed countries.  A decade ago, especially in the United States, the Web was synonymous with the Internet future.  Today the terms “Web” and “Internet” are used interchangeably, although the web is just one way to get on the Internet.  As Anderson points out, thanks to iPhones, iPads, Blackberries and other smart mobile devices,  a majority of users’ online time is spent outside the confines of web browsers.  If the Internet is the Super Information Highway (sorry about the hackneyed metaphor), then the Web is becoming more like Route 66, a historic road that has since been bypassed by quicker and better ways of reaching their destinations.

The success of non-Web platforms has to do with an improved user experience, that is, the ability to get desired content more easily.   “Every time you pick an iPhone app instead of a Web site, you are voting with your finger,” Anderson wrote.  “A better experience is worth paying for, either in cash or in implicit acceptance of a non-Web standard.”

Of course, “The Web is Dead” title was likely meant to be more provocative than literal.  Perhaps it’s more accurate to say the Web is waning, evolving into just another useful means of Internet access.

So if the Web really is ebbing in the United States and other developed countries, what about emerging nations such as India?

In a July 30, 2009 post, “India’s Flourishing Newspaper Industry and Its Internet Future,” I discussed how India may well follow its own path to the online world.  In India, where landline penetration is low, the mobile subscriber base was nearly 525 million in 2009, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, up from 234 million connections at the end of 2007.  In May 2010, the government auctioned off its 3G broadband spectrum, creating opportunities for carriers and content providers to offer an infinite array of revenue-generating Value Added Services (VAS), including music streaming, radio, videos and online games.

In July 2010, the GSMA announced that the number of global mobile connections has surpassed the 5 billion mark. As 3G is adopted around the world, there could be hundreds of millions of people enjoying their first taste of advanced Internet connectivity without ever having surfed the Web. For these users, perhaps the Wired article might aptly be re-titled, “The Web: You Can’t Die If You Never Lived.”

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Gary Vaynerchuk: Insights from a Successful Web Entrepreneur

Audience Engagement, Branding, Free Content, Internet, Media, Online Video, Social Media | Posted by Larry Greenberg
Jul 30 2010

If you didn’t attend the July 28 NY Video Meetup, I recommend watching the following James Lipton-style interview that group founder Yaron Samid conducted with Gary Vaynerchuk.

nyvideo on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

A key discussion topic:  What can content producers learn from the 34-year-old Vaynerchuk’s Wine Library TV, a daily video blog about wine that he started in February 2006 and which now enjoys more than 90,000 daily viewers?

In 1997, before the emergence of such social networking platforms as Twitter and Facebook, Vaynerchuk used the web to rebrand his father’s wine business.  With the launch of Wine Library, a retail site, he increased the company’s annual revenue from $4 million to $60 million as of 2008.  Success begat success for Vaynerchuk, with the release of The New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller, Crush It! Why Now is the Time to Cash in on your Passion, in 2009, numerous national television appearances including Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and the co-founding with his brother AJ of VaynerMedia, a boutique agency that works with personal brands, consumer brands, and startups. He is also an angel investor in various startups.

“There’s no overnight success,” Vaynerchuk told the NY Video audience, which consisted of about 200 video producers, entrepreneurs and other industry professionals.  Building an audience is a “marathon,” in which expertise is “massively important” and the traditional concept that ‘content is king’ is “really a big deal.”

He also said that content providers really need to care about their audience, taking the time to respond to each inquiry, including emails.  “If anyone follows you or watches you, you should be grateful.  It’s not the size but the emotion” of the following that matters.  Vaynerchuk said the Twitter phenomenon has hurt because, “it’s created a culture about numbers.  How many of those (followers) really care, at least from a business standpoint.  To get them to really care, you must care about them first.”

Vaynerchuk said online entrepreneurs should be focusing on the revenue-generating potential of mobile.  He foresees possibly developing a Wine Library smartphone application that would include a barcode scanner that enables shoppers in the store to see if his show has reviewed a particular wine or to determine whether a store has a recommended wine in stock.  He also envisions each Wine Library TV episode ending with shopping list.

Oh, and he made this one prediction: Facebook Connect is going to win search over Google. He said people would prefer getting a friend’s recommendations than some anonymous opinion positioned through SEO.  “Context of relationship is really powerful,” Vaynerchuk said.

If you’re interested in developing a following for original web content, I highly recommend listening to Vaynerchuk’s entertaining and insightful discussion.

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Appealing to the Youngest Common Denominator

Audience Demographics, Branding, Film, Internet, Marketing, Media, Online Video, Television | Posted by Larry Greenberg
Aug 11 2009

New York Times film reviewer A.O. Scott recently lamented Hollywood’s reliance on formulaic juvenility.  Just look at this summer’s crop of sequels, comic-book based adventures and bawdy comedies. For Scott, the issue wasn’t whether they were financially successful – many were – but whether box office success means movie-goers actually liked what they saw.

Cinemas continue to attract audiences, despite countless other entertainment options. It could be that unlike professional movie critics,  ticket buyers, both young and old, enjoy what the studios are offering. It could also be that going to a movie theater is still a relatively inexpensive (if you forgo the super combo at the concession stand), immersive and social experience. It’s a good excuse to get out of the house. For many, it would take a record string of stinkers to break their movie-going habit.

Scott’s wish that Hollywood give more original, mature and complex films a chance to find an audience has been echoed by many.  I share the sentiment. I would probably go to the theater more often if only there were more interesting choices.  But the studio statisticians aren’t about to ignore numbers like these: According to a 2007 MPAA Movie Attendance Study, “although 12-24 year-olds represent 22% of the total population in the United States, they represent 27% of all moviegoers and 41% of all frequent moviegoers.”   No surprise that the teenager perspective totally rules.

Scott is not the only one to recently express unhappiness with Hollywood’s long-accepted youth marketing strategy. Late night talk show host Craig Ferguson recently railed in his monologue against television advertisers, their obsession with the young adult demo, and how this is the reason why many shows tend to be sophomoric or, as he puts it, “why everything sucks.”

You can view Craig Ferguson’s monologue here:

The conventional wisdom, established by the television advertising industry some time back in the 1950s, is that young audiences are most valued because they represent an opportunity to build a lifetime brand relationship. Television programming executives, therefore, must design shows to reel them in; to do otherwise would be innovative, but possibly career-ending, risk-taking.

Can we expect studios and networks to continue to cater to the tastes of a young audience at the expense of the older demographic?  Or will the emerging economics of the online world enable new opportunities for producers to serve the diverse tastes of a chronologically broader audience?

Decades after U.S. homes began being wired, cable networks finally began to deliver programming with the sophistication, interwoven plotting and nuanced character development of a great novel.  Premium networks like HBO broke the mold with The Sopranos and Six Feet Under, and now the basic cable networks have followed suit with such series as Mad Men and Breaking Bad.

Online “television,” which is associated typically with user-generated content, is often accused of celebrating juvenility.  As the technology grows up, it’ll develop into a platform that better serves a broader demographic. And then, who knows? If the quality of the content is good enough, some people might be willing to pay for it.

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