Why do some political commercials look better?

With 17 candidates running for judge this election, most of them have television commercials airing, and most have some sort of video on You Tube or on their website. But why is it that some look good, and some look cheesy? Let's take a closer look, shall we?

The Message: "You know me, you trust me." was quoted in one spot. Well, what if I don't know you? Now what? Sounds like you're trying to coerce me into something I'm not comfortable with. The message should be clear: Who are you and what are you going to do that's better than the last person who did the job. There are a lot of neat, clever tricks you can do with a script, but few know how to pull them off without looking corny.

Talent: Talent are the people you see in the commercials, the politicians, the friends and family who give testimonials etc. They can be confident and relaxed, or stiff and forced. Let's face it, not all people are comfortable when you stick a camera in someones face. It is the job of the person who is directing the commercial to know how to get the best performance out of these people, and not leave until they get a good, honest take that will set off a spark in the minds of the viewers.

Technical: This means lighting. audio, graphics, and editing. I shake my head every time I see one of the judge spots. The candidate looks like he was filmed in Norman Bates' basement. You know, that one bulb hanging light that revealed Norman's dead mother? I actually takes a lot of time and effort to do good lighting. The reason it doesn't always happen is that the person doing the lighting does not know how to do it or does not take the time involved.

There are some good commercials out there, and there are some stinkers. One thing I noticed is that candidates do not shop around to get the best quality at the best price. They pick a company or someone by word of a buddy, or they hire a high priced advertising agency, when doing a simple Google search will net them 10 phone numbers and websites they could call to get a quote and a better commercial. But were not electing thifty, economical thinkers here, we're electing politicians!

Solid Cactus Knows

Here is a great article from the Solid Cactus eBiz Insider Magazine with all the fact and figures about how video on your website is the way to go. Did I mention that I web videos?


Is Your E-Commerce Site Ready to Go Visual

By Solid Cactus on Mon (1/26/09) in Marketing | 2 Comments

YouTube, Vimeo, and Hulu. Are they just buzz words that have become part of our daily vocabulary or are they related to a better marketing opportunity? We’ve all hopped on the web video train in the past few years, but there are doubts about whether or not e-commerce sites have been making the most of it. New studies and recent reports indicate that adding video to your site can boost conversions, increase customer trust levels, and differentiate your e-commerce site from the competition. If you haven’t used video marketing tactics in the past, it may be time to start using them to boost the performance of your site.

According to Practical eCommerce, 8 percent of the 2.7 billion video ad impressions studied by Google-owned technology firm DoubleClick involved higher levels of user interaction – a vital element in the overall shopping experience. Another study conducted by Innovate Media, an online video production company, showed staggering increases in conversion rates ranging from 12 to 115 percent.

eMarketer also puts online video viewers at more than three-quarters of US Internet users, and estimates that percentage will rise to 88% by 2012 – in short, video is a wise choice for keeping up with the pace.

“Every page on our web site using video converts two or three times more than pages without,” says Todd Holmberg,
co-owner of AirgunDepot.com.

“Some products were gathering dust on our shelves, but we knew they were good products and people would buy them if they could see how they worked,” Holmberg says. “Two of these items are now among our bestsellers in their category. Video is 100% responsible for the change in sales.”

Uploading just any content won’t give you the results that online merchants like AirgunDepot.com are enjoying. Creating a creative, informative, and well produced video will often receive the best response. By making a clear outline of what exactly goes into producing a quality video it’ll be easier to dictate your next move and give you guidelines around which you can design your video project. Let’s take a look at some of the factors.

Content

The first and one of the most vital parts of the video creation process is deciding on the content. Product demonstrations, merchant information, and answering user questions are some of the most popular video formats for e-commerce sites, however, one form of video may work better than others. Decide which type or format of video works best for the message you’re trying to send to your visitors. Then, develop a well-written script that is easy to both perform and understand. Remember, writing for video is much different than other forms of traditional media. Develop a script that uses a conversational tone, short sentences, and gets your message across in as little time as possible. Also, brainstorm ways that you can set your video content apart from the competition. Personal or creative details may be the competitive edge you’re seeking.

Length

Remember to keep it short, sweet, and to the point. Although you may want to expound on all of the great features of your product down to the manufacturing facility where it was made, working in time frames less than five minutes will be most effective. Site visitors tend to skim product descriptions or articles, rather than spending the time to read carefully. The same principle applies to video. Visitors are looking for fast, easy to understand information presented in a short format that is visually appealing. After developing your content, practice your script to see if it needs to be trimmed to an appropriate length.

Talent

Adding a professional actor or voiceover can add value to your production, but sometimes site visitors would like a more personal approach. Starring in your own video gives your visitors a chance to get to know your site on a much more intimate level, which can increase their overall trust in your brand. This is up to you though. Professional actors are not for everyone, but the right actor can significantly enhance the quality of your footage, especially if you’re someone who doesn’t like to be in front of the camera.

Graphics

The images and text used in your video presentation can make or break the level of engagement in your visitors. Graphics can be created using special software by either yourself or a professional production company, however, be mindful of the way they are going to look on screen. Try to choose graphics, logos or colors that are easy to read and cleanly designed. Choosing opulent graphics can distort or cloud your video’s overall message or goal. Remember, keep it simple.

Music

Choosing the right music may seem easy enough, but copyright laws may indicate otherwise. When choosing music for your video, be sure that you either have permission to use it or are paying the appropriate royalties, or if you’re creative, compose your own.

Setting

Shooting video footage can be challenging depending on what facilities you have available. While the outdoors can seem like a great idea, wind and other elements can impact the comfort of your talent, the quality of your sound, and the safety of your equipment. Using a studio space would be ideal, but may not be within reach of your budget. Try to improvise by creating a well-lit, comfortable atmosphere, or be modern and go with a solid color backdrop. If you’re doing a product demonstration, put the product in a setting where it would normally be used.

Equipment

Quality footage can start or end behind the lens of a camera. If you have access to professional video and sound equipment, utilize it, or hire a production company to take the headache out of filming. . If you’re working on a small budget, using a personal video camera can suffice; however, you will be sacrificing image quality. Be sure to read up on best filming practices if you’re shooting the footage yourself.

Editing

When it comes time to put it all together, you have two options. The first is to edit the video using editing software like Cyberlink PowerDirector, Adobe Premier, or Pinnacle Studio yourself. The second is to hire a professional editor. If you don’t have experience in making and editing videos, hiring a professional is the better way to go, mostly out of necessity of time, convenience, and knowledge.

Quantity

After you’ve made a successful video, try not to overload your site with too many that could make loading times slower for visitors or can bog down your server space. Try selecting some of your best performing products and creating a few videos for various landing pages, or under the “About Us” section, upload a video tour of your operations. Moderation, as in most things, will be essential. The video is supposed to add to the appearance and integrity of your site, not detract from it.

The opportunities offered in e-commerce are endless, especially for the merchant who is willing to develop and adapt his or her site to the changing needs of visitors and the demands of our economy. Investing in video this year is just what you need to give your site a boost in sales, conversion rates, and customer satisfaction. You have the ideas. You have the tools. Now it’s time to make it happen.

By Mandy Boyle
mandy.boyle@ebizinsider.com

Would you eat here?!

I love to surf YouTube for local videos. Type in Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, or Luzerne County, and you’ll find a range of content from totally useless and a waste of time, to political opinions, and to highly polished informative viral videos. I wanted to see if any local pizza places were posting videos on YouTube, because if bloggers like to talk about any thing, it’s their favorite food.

I found this video, and I don’t know what to make of it. It is a “Banned” commercial for this pizza parlor complete with the F-bomb and several disturbing subliminal still shots throughout the video.



It is probably one of two things.
1. Someone hates this pizza place so much that they made faux commercial to discredit the pizza parlor.
2. Someone actually tried to make a commercial for this pizza place, and decided it would be a good idea to post this on the internet.

Judging by the comments left by people, I see I’m not the only one who thinks this is a marketing train wreck. Recently Domino’s Pizza was brought to its knees when two idiot employees posted a video of one of the cooks doing disgusting things with the food they were about to serve. Who’s knows how many dollars were lost because of this video.

With all the good that can come from internet marketing, it’s scary to think that your business could be in the hands of someone you don’t even know. So, go and Google your business, you might be surprised at what you find.

Local Political Commercials 101 - Your Good Image

What is the main reason for a local candidate to run TV commercial? Is it to express a certain issue? Is it to point out flaws in a competitor? Maybe, but the main reason to do local TV is about image. You are introducing yourself to people you don’t know and the best way to do that besides showing up at all the meet and greet events and shaking hands is a finely crafted TV commercial. I use the words finely crafted, because it takes a lot of skill from a TV commercial producer to make a good, effective commercial, where the candidate comes across as professional, caring, and knowledgeable about the position they’re running for. It’s easy to throw something together for a few hundred bucks, but if it doesn’t make the candidate look good, it’s a waste of money. It only takes one badly light scene to tarnish a good image.

Cost of Production

The cost a producing a good TV commercial has come down in price drastically over the past 10 years. I used to work on political spots in the 80’s and 90’s that cost upwards of $6,000 for a 30 second commercial. The same commercials today cost around $1,000, mostly because of the technology coming down in price. I shoot all of my spots in HD (High Definition) to give even more bang for the buck.

Beware of the free commercial giveaway! Some stations and cable outlets will offer you free commercial production if you spent over a certain amount on placement. I look at your commercial as a vehicle (It’s you and your messege, image, ideas, etc.) and the placement is the tires, the things that get your message out there and seen. So imagine going to a tire store and the salesman says, “If you buy 4 tires, we’ll throw in a car for free!”. Well tell me, just how good is that car going to be? It will most likely fail after a few miles on the road.

Cost of Placement

Placement is actually buying time to run the commercials on TV. There are only 2 outlets you can go to. Local network affiliates (WNEP, WBRE, FOX), and a cable insertion company, The latter can place the commercials in specific regions on cable networks like Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, etc.

Spots that air on the local news can cost around a $1,000 dollars, and can reach lots of people throughout the entire county, while the cable insertion rates are only 5-10 dollars a pop, so $1000 and get you about 150 airs in a specific region of the county.

One service that Video Innovations offers to all clients free of charge is that we upload the all of our clients commercials to our YouTube Channel so people can see the spots at their convenience, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We also give them an unloadable copy of the video so they can send it to their FaceBook, MySpace, and other social media accounts.

I wish all the local candidates well, and regardless of what common sense may tell us, image can be everything!

All the Neat Things you can do with a Marketing Video!

So you all know how important it is to have a video on your business website, right? A marketing video lets people who are surfing the internet for your products know what your business does, it lets them see and understand your products and services, and gives you instant credibility as an expert in your field far better than words and pictures.

So with that in mind, here are some not so obvious things you can do with a marketing video from Video Innovations:

1. Put it on your website to keep customers there. It gives them the “feeling” of your company better than words and pictures.

2. Upload it to any Facebook, MySpace, or other social medial accounts you have.

3. Play it on a TV in your office lobby to inform visitors about you.

4. Use it to grab attention at trade shows.

5. Give the video to your sales staff on DVD to use as a sales tool out in the field.

6. You can email the video to perspective clients and e-mailing lists.

7. The videos we produce are high definition and broadcast quality, so they can double as TV commercials.

IN YOUR FACE - A video of you on your website

Let’s say a friend of yours takes you to a business meet and greet. You walk in the room and you look around. You don’t see anyone you know. You do notice Josh Hodell, the local weatherman from WBRE TV standing there, chatting with a few people. You have to start mingling with people, so what do you do? Do you randomly pick someone out of the crowd and introduce yourself and hope they are interested in talking to you? Do you think to yourself, “That Josh Hodell guy seem approachable and friendly on the TV, and he certainly knows a lot about the weather. I could go up to him and ask him what the weather will be like tomorrow, and start a conversation.”

That is the power of video. People can get a sense of who you are and what you know, without ever meeting you in person. By having a video of YOU on your website, you will be showing potential customers who you are, your knowledge and expertise about your products and services, and maybe most importantly, your passion for your business.

Now some people were just born to be in front of the camera, other, not so. It’s my job as a video producer to educate my clients on the video process and to ease the nervous client into the on-camera process so they fell comfortable and confident in their presentation. Sometimes, a lot of effort goes into making the client look good. It’s an art, and something I take great pride in.

I can tell you first hand that this works. Since I put a video of me talking about my services on my website, perspective clients that call to inquire about my services tell me they saw my video on my website. So before they talk to me, they already know this:

1. They know what I look like
2. They know how I sound and act
3. They know exactly what I do
4. They know how much experience I have
5. They know that I am serious and passionate about producing videos

Website video is a very powerful tool, and you can do much more with the video than just put it on your website, but that will be in the next blog!

An Introduction

Hello and welcome to my blog! Over the course of the year, I’d like to post some information on using video to market your business effectively through television and the internet.

I’ve been in the video business since 1986, working at local TV stations WBRE and WVIA in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton market. I’ve seen the transition from 1 inch video tape costing $120 for a one hour reel to a mini DV tape costing $4. I’ve also used a “portable” Ikegami tube camera tethered to a Sony 1 inch “portable” recording deck (in those days, the camera and recording unit were 2 separate pieces) that totaled a whopping $130,000 dollars! Today, a $4,000 camera offers a much better picture and high resolution to boot.

While a lot changes, some things stay the same. Video’s role in marketing is to tell the story of your business, and to make people want to buy your services and products, regardless of whether it’s delivered on disc, television, or over the internet. I hope you will find this blog helpful and informative.