01May

“We Don’t Have a Devine Right to People’s Attention”

Recently, in Adweek, Global CCO of Leo Burnett Advertising, Mark Tutssel, commented in a video about what judges were looking for in the awarding of the 2013 Clio Awards (awards given to the best tv ads) this year.

Tutsell made his strongest point about the fact that, “We don’t have a devine right to people’s attention.” And that, “connecting with people has never been easier because of technology, but connecting with people emotionally is harder than ever – because there is so much information.”

“The work that we saw that was great was work that credited people with intelligence, that invited them into the communication, that gave them something fo rtheir airtime, and rewarded them accordingly,” said Tutssel.

And finally, “Distillation is the order of the day. Destill your ideas down to a very clear, concise information.”

These are all great points from the top of the industry about what makes great ads, and furthermore, marketing. Connect emotionally. Connect quickly. And connect concisely. AND – be sure to entertain people.

This is information that I would love to see more corporations take to heart when making a film for themselves. Forget about all of the details that are better handled in a website. If you want to really connect, entertain – and go for the heart.

Thanks,
Max

24Apr

Beyond the Resume (or, How to Rock My World in One Easy Lesson)

Beyond the Resume (or, How to Rock My World in One Easy Lesson)

One of the beauties of helping run a film company is that I get a lot of good resumes. A ton of talent. Passion. Initiative. That’s a good thing.

Where most people fall a little short though is that they spend all their (and my) time talking about themselves. A laundry list of achievement or desires that are often impressive and substantial. But not really want I want to hear.

Because in the end, I don’t want to hear about you. I want to hear about me. How do you solve my problems? What solutions do you bring to the table that dovetail perfectly with the challenges I’m facing right now? Have you looked at our work – and how would you fit in? How do you provide the missing piece to the puzzle?

It’s the same approach we have to take with our clients. Sure, they want to know we’re qualified – but what they really want to know is if we’ve listened long and hard enough to know what they need as a company. Are we engaged in coming up with answers that are uniquely crafted to them and them alone? Resumes – even a decent portfolio like ours – are rarely enough.

What everyone wants is that kind of story.

So take the time to know more about me. And ultimately about your true value to our mission. That will rock my world, guaranteed. And I will always email you back, regardless. Because we always appreciate the outreach.

For more on this – check out the amazing site Ask The Headhunter. Though this site is short on design, it’s long on great content that should be REQUIRED READING for every student or recent grad out there.

Look forward to hearing from you. Let’s Roll,

Chris

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19Apr

5 Ways to Find the Heart of the Story

Example Video: “Safety First”: This film shows the hospital chain Catholic Health Initiative’s (CHI) new take on a safety film. It is a good example of showing interviews that get right down to the heart of the story.

—–

The first thing we do when we’re working with a client is to really LISTEN to the client to try and hear their story. This can sometimes take awhile, and can often result in us presenting back to the client a very different tack for telling their story than they might have considered. It’s amazing how often we are poor at listening to ourselves.

Here’s 5 tips we’ve found about how to help a client best get to the true heart of their story. The true heart being that which best connects with their passions and reason for being, and that which, by natural extension, will connect best with their audience. Once we’ve found this, we have a great bedrock upon which to build their film.

1) Can’t Shut Up It
When the client can’t stop talking about a certain subject of their story. Maybe they feel more comfortable here. Maybe they just love this part of their story. Either way, chances are this is either the heart of their story, or a darn good indicator towards it.

2) Something They Think is Stupid, or Silly
As an alternative to 1, sometimes the very heart is something that a client will feel is something silly, or stupid about them. This is often prefaced by, “This probably won’t mean anything to you”, or “Something stupid that we notice again and again, that probably doesn’t mean a thing, but we find funny…” These are great indicators. Remember that the heart is often a vulnerable place, not everyone is comfortable with it right away.

3) Something They Get Misty Eyed About
Again, this can go with 2, if the client is comfortable tearing up. But, the fact of the matter is – people who are passionate about their business will cry about it. Even if it is just about mayonnaise, or a butt-pillow. There’s a lot of love, time and passion that goes into this. When they hit on it, and think on that, and what got them into this all in the first place – you’ve hit gold. NOTE – this doesn’t mean you have to have them cry in the film! (Although, for most, we love that.)

4) Something That Everyone in the Company Agrees On
This one’s a no brainer. If you keep hearing the same thing from people in pre-pro interviews from the president down to the janitor (more of these should be interviewed!) then you know you’ve got something. If everyone actually says – “our company is all about our people” – then you’d best not ignore that.

5) Something That Amazes Them
9 times out of 10, this is best for product films. Think about an Apple product, sometimes in those films I feel like Jonathon Ives himself cannot believe what they’ve created. Same with Jobs. If someone has this passion – you want to get that out there – people will connect.

Go forth. Find these connections. Any others you can think of?

Thanks!
Max

17Apr

5 Reasons Why You Should Attend the 3rd Annual Content Marketing Retreat

5 Reasons Why You Should Attend the 3rd Annual Content Marketing Retreat

There’s that moment in a pitch when you have to cut through all the B.S. That moment when all the stats, conversion rates, and potential calls to action stop meaning anything to your audience. That moment when the CEO simply raises her hand, leans in and asks “Yeah, but why should we spend that much money on video?”

I’ve got the white papers and a quiver full of answers for that one. Answers that do speak to ROI and marketing efficiencies and moving the bottom-line. But instead of going there, I take a step back and ask this:

“Why do you get out of bed every morning?”

That’s the key. That’s the crux. Because being able to communicate passion – the same passion that gets CEO’s out of bed – is what good marketing to customers is all about. And nothing drives that stronger than film and video.

That’s why The 3rd Annual Content Marketing Retreat is important to your bottom line. And sure, I’ll be speaking there, but here’s 5 much more important reasons why you should attend:

5) Keyboard Cat videos are great. But telling your story is even greater.
4) You’ll learn the essential of Strategic Video Storytelling to drive good marketing, PR, customer service and other vital communications.
3) You’ll walk away with clear insights and actionable steps that can be used today.
2) If you enter the code ‘Chris25′at the EventBrite Checkout, you’ll get 25% off your tickets. (Yes, we want to also make your accountants happy.)
1) Conversion. Conversion. Conversion.

By 2014, Forrester predicts that 90% of all online transactions will be driven in part by video. So take the leap. Join us for an immersive and completely rewarding conference geared to telling stories. Your stories.

Let’s Roll,

Chris

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15Apr

Finding the Heart of NAB

Over 100,000 people descend on NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) each year. This year, three of those people were from Hand Crank Films. Caleb, Jim and I all ventured forth in hopes of seeing cool new gear, getting edified in classes, and maybe playing a little Texas Hold ‘Em.

Overall, NAB gives me the blues a bit since about 99,000 of those people are business guys and gals running around desperately trying to hawk their gear, or convince you that their latest, greatest doo-dad is the must have. These guys really wear me out – and they all look pretty worn out. All you need to know about this is that this year the words 3D barely appeared, and 3 years ago it was all you ever heard the whole time as what you “had to have”. **Note – HCF predicted the demise of this medium at that time! In other words, most of this stuff is pretty faddish.

But, it is great to see that the other people, those going to the production and post production classes were really trying to learn, get better at their craft, and generally get to know some others in the business. These are the people that I think got the most from NAB – I know I felt that way.

NAB reminds me that for all the machines, there is nothing worth it in the whole shebang without the people that use those machines, and use them beautifully. Don’t get me wrong, I’m so happy that people love making these toys, and I love to use them, but the people I really love are those using them to make great works. I met a few of those this week and am better for it.

One class I really loved was Amy Delouise’s session on branding yourself and your work. Mostly, she just really engaged her audience, and made us do some work on who we were and who we wanted to be. Check her out!

Thanks!
Max

10Apr

Dollar Shave Club Video – 5 Reasons You SHOULDN’T Try

There’s a great blog by the NYT called “You’re the Boss”. We follow it because we love small businesses and what makes them tick. We love that this blog gets the people behind the company are the true heart.

This morning they had an article entitled – Are there lessons to be learned from the Dollar Shave Club’s Viral Start-up Video?

It’s all about this video with 10 million hits –

Great article – here’s 5 reasons you shouldn’t try it – that also shows up in a shorter form in the article’s comments section.
—–

1) You’re not that guy.
The owner, and president, was once a member of the funniest tv improv comedy troop on TV – Upright Citizens Brigade with Amy Poehler. Were you? Probably not.

2) The idea was 100% the owners.
He could push it through with about 0% committee. If this idea had gone to committee it would have been killed in about 1 second. Here’s why:

  • It has bad words in it – even if they are bleeped out. People would say, why not tone that down a bit. It’ll still be funny, he could say something like “We make “fricken” great blades. Yep, no one would catch that little change.
  • It has what could be perceived as racial slurs in it against Latinas. I’ve found a few racial watchdog sites talking about this, but nothing too much. Still, I don’t think any committee would even for a second have allowed Ibeza to be “not working” as her state of life before Dollare Shave Club came along. They would have had the boss “working hand in hand with our great operations managers.”

3) It looks cheap. Do you REALLY want that?
It makes the operation look cheap. I’ve yet to come across a customer that thought the type of mise-en-scene that is in Dollar Shave Club is how they want to be represented. Of course it fits perfectly, that doesn’t mean I’ve ever seen anyone that wants this.

4) You didn’t think of your video before you thought of your pitch, your website, your everything – that guy did.
The boss guy said he’d had the idea for the video before he even had the idea for the company exactly. You can tell that, the website, everything feels just like the video. How exactly is that going to work for you when you’ve already got all of this more generic collateral? I doubt it will.

5) You could do A LOT better for yourself…hits aren’t everything.
What are you likely to make if you try to make a Dollar Shave Club video? A mess. It will feel like a knock off, and it will not feel like YOU. That is the most important thing. This guy wanted a clear representation of himself. His company is that. And his video is that. I’d no sooner make a Dollar Shave Club video for Hand Crank Films than light my building on fire. Do I want a video with over 3 million hits – sure – but I want it on my own terms, and so should you.

If you take one inspirational thing away from the Dollar Shave Club, make it be that you should really dig deep to find out WHO YOU ARE, and then make that video. The one thing you can do that Dollar Shave Club did is TAKE A CHANCE ON YOURSELF!! People will respond to that. They may not come in waves of the millions, but for most of our companies it is not about getting everybody to jump on board, it is about getting the RIGHT people to want our products. Make a few of the RIGHT connections with clients, and you’re in.

Max

28Mar

Tear the Lid off Your Logo – Part 2

Tear the Lid off Your Logo – Part 2

When I presented at MarketMix Seattle 2013, I also offered up a Video Marketing Whitepaper to whoever attended. A lot of people took me up on the offer, so I thought we’d make it available here as well. Basically, what’s discussed is how video can be used to drive good business.





Pulpit rock



Topics include driving business through the entire online ecosystem: PR, Social, Email, newsletters Web and the like. Take a look and let me know what you think. Download it here. And thanks for stopping in.

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21Mar

Tear the Lid Off Your Logo

Tear the Lid Off Your Logo

I was lucky enough to present with Jennifer Bolton from F5 Networks and Shari Campbell from JayRay Communications about the power of film and video in the B2B space. Some of the topics covered included how to use video to get your retail and distribution partners excited about new products, how to maximize fundraising, and how to reach new business prospects with innovative content.

Though this presentation is not self-explanatory by any means (as it was complemented by the spoken word) – it’s sort of fun to take a look at anyway. And if you want, I can always send you the whitepaper that spells all this stuff out in detail. Just Email Me.

Some interesting stats:

> 100 million videos are uploaded a day online.
> 4 billion videos are viewed a day.
> According to Jupiter Research, 65% of executives (C-Suite types) prefer to view video to learn about products, services or companies.
> Of those 65%, 75% say they would click through to learn more.
> In 2014, a full 90% of all online traffic will be driven by video or similar multimedia.

Let me know what you think – and thanks for dropping by.


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14Mar

Your Video as Campfire

Your Video as Campfire

Back in the days of yore, we used to sit around campfires with our tribe and tell stories. This is where great poetic masterpieces like “The Odyssey” were born. And stand-up comedy.

Today, we carry around that campfire in our hip pocket. Our smartphone is the new place to connect, share, and feel like we’re part of a bigger community. We pass along profound (and not so profound) information all the time. We laugh or cry with people we haven’t seen in years. Many of us have become epic storytellers in a 140 characters or less. Or shared hilarious cat videos.

This Wednesday at MarketMix in Seattle, I’ll be leading a panel discussing the power of story-telling, especially as it relates to the use of video online. I’ll be joined by the prestigious Jennifer Bolton from F5 Networks and Shari Campbell from JayRay Communications, and together we’ll discuss how video has become the web’s main driver of interaction and engagement. We’ll also discuss the future of mobile and how video might be used in that important space to drive results. So if you’re looking for new ways to grab audiences, take a look and join us. You’ll walk away with a lot of good ideas.

What: ‘Video Marketing: Tearing the Lid Off Your Logo’
When: Wednesday, March 20th at 10:00AM
Where: Bell Harbor International Conference Center, Seattle

One of the videos we’ll be looking at as a B2B case study is the below by F5 Networks – an excellent example of grabbing an audience’s attention in an unexpected way.

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07Mar

To the Mad Men and Women in Creative

Today marks about a week since the AAF Seattle Speakers Series hosted a panel discussion covering the topic of “Women in Creativity”. Through the range of issues covered, a recurring theme developed: as a woman trying to succeed in a creative field, you will be met with resistance. This resistance might come directly from those around you or it may simply be an internal hesitation based on a preconceived notion of what your role, as a woman, should be. Varied though they were, the panelists’ responses had a consistent message to the women in the creative world: stop at nothing to be who it is you want to be.

So, what kind of resistance will you be met with?

Long and arduous days? Yes. Creative impedance? Most certainly. Time spent away from family and friends? Without a doubt. A future sure to be filled with similar struggles? Guaranteed.

Daunting as it may seem, the solution to overcoming is quite simple: keep moving forward. Whether at a full sprint or a painstaking crawl, stop at nothing until you reach your destination. It will make your arrival that much more satisfying.

This event got us thinking about the road we, at Hand Crank Films, travel and the resistance we meet. Being a video production company out of Bellingham, WA, we face challenges and prejudices all the time, especially when talking to the Big Guns in the industry. But that’s a subject for a different post.

In the meantime, check out this interesting article about the CTO of Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg, who has a new book talking about her attempt at smashing the status quo. Provocative stuff. The bottomline message: Push On!

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05Mar

What makes actors great.

As a director, probably my favorite thing is working with great actors. There is nothing better than an actor who brings enthusiasm, charm, excitement, and innovation to a role. Actors who see what is written on the page merely as a notion of what their character might become. Then, they grow it. They own that one part of the production and take it all the way – on their own. Amazing.

One of these actors is Michael Mitchell. Michael originally was from Bellingham, but then made the big move to Seattle to get more acting work – good idea! We have been lucky enough to work with Michael on a few different productions. He did a great turn for us as the “Entrepreneur” in one of my favorite spots for Saturna, and then most recently, he worked with Caleb on “You Go Through Vladimir” for Mackie.

Attached is a little video that Michael did for us in preparation for that role that really shows off why he’s so great. He makes these little vids for us all the time. This one shows him trying on different warddrobe. But note how much fun he makes it. How he starts giving us peeks into his character. He likes to show us how he’s working through the gears on it – it’s all right there for us to talk about and get ideas going. It’s just a beautiful thing, and a great way to use technology when we’re not always in the same place to do this stuff.

Here’s to you Michael – and we’re looking forward to seeing a lot more of you! Watch this video and get me.

Max

26Feb

AAF Seattle Speakers Series: Women in Creativity

AAF Seattle Speakers Series: Women in Creativity

Here’s an interesting stat we hope improves with the next evolution in advertising: In a society where 80% of the buying decisions are made by women, women make up just 3-4% of ad agency creative leaders. So in a business that lives or dies based on a woman’s decision, it most often men who are figuring out the best ways to engage that audience. Crazy right? We think so.

This week, there’s a great event held by the AAF Seattle Speakers Series that explores this subject in detail. Speakers include Mary Knight, Executive Creative Director at Hydrogen, Kerry Antezana, Freelance Creative Director/Copywriter, Mary Olson, Brand Director at Seattle University, and Laurie Fritts, Freelance Creative Director/Copywriter. This prestigious panel will be moderated by Hillary Miller, the VP of Global Strategic Services at Wunderman. Should be great stuff and Hand Crank Films looks forward to seeing you there.

To honor ‘Women in Creativity’ as a whole, we’d like to introduce you to one of the mainstays of Hand Crank Films, editor Leslie McCullough. Leslie has been with the company since ground zero back in 2006, and has watched the company grow, hiccup, then grow again (with more hiccups certainly in the future). To say that we couldn’t get along without her is an understatement.

“I’d always thought of something ‘creative’ as just a hobby,” she says. “I had no idea you could actually make a living at something creative like film until I started to edit. It’s being creative at the most basic level, being able to control emotion and pace, the pauses, to make the viewer see a particular point of view or feel something. You have tremendous power, and it’s your responsibility to honor the actors and the story to the best of your ability. To find truth in the work.”

Leslie has been involved in the editing of some of our best work, including “9/11 Happened to Us All” – which garnered a Gold ADDY® and got a million hits in just over two week across Youtube and Yahoo!.

“I always have some trepidation at the beginning of a project, a little unsure and wondering if I can truly do justice to the story. However, I find that if I start a project systematically and work through to the creative, things seem to work out. It’s a long involved process – but one that I really enjoy.”

To Leslie and all the women out there who are slaying dragons, keep up the good work. Or, as Leslie likes to say to quote her favorite movie, “May the force be with you.”

Women in Creativity, indeed.

21Jan

Your Story: Why Zombies Matter

Your Story: Why Zombies Matter

It’s pretty crazy how much zombies have taken off in the last few years as cultural touchstones. From the Walking Dead to World War Z, a lot of production dollars have been pointed at this undead mythology. Perhaps its because zombies have come to represent the darkest parts of our nightmares, have successfully gnawed away at the lightness of our being, have us looking over our shoulders while unlocking cars at midnight. Or maybe it’s because they remind us of ex-boyfriends, old bosses, people ahead of us in the supermarket lines counting coupons, or better yet dishonest bankers milking the American populace. Zombies are never as far away as we hope them to be.

Since we’re getting ready to release our own zombie piece into the lexicon, I’ve been thinking alot about them in the context of ‘Story’. Zombies as a metaphor for conflict. For most of our projects rise or fall in how well we can communicate conflict (a problem) and then offer up a solution. Whether it’s blowing the heads of the reanimated or showing how lives are saved at Overlake Hospital , any good story needs that element of uncertainty and shadow. The lurching, persistent, slow march of life’s challenges. And hordes of zombies seem to me to be the perfect symbol for that.

So no matter how small the project, or how ‘feel-good’ it’s supposed to be, we always try to find the Zombie in it. This zombie may not have a large role, and in fact may never appear at all. But if we don’t know what forces we’re fighting, what equity we’re trying to restore, or problem we’re trying to solve, then the Story will be flat. Lifeless. All blood gone.

And who wants that?

So we’ll continue to take arms against those things that go bump in the night. We’ll sharpen our pens to stave off the animated corpses dressed like old friends. For though the scary parts never really do die completely, we can at least swing a few axes, turn it up to 11, and maybe help save the world. What else is there?

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16Jan

Old Media Left at the Altar

There is no doubt we have to understand our customers better. This involves listening, seeing around corners, and perhaps most importantly: empathizing with the problems they are trying to solve, no matter how small.

I could go on and on about that, but once a year I like to wheel out this old chestnut of a video that explains the new media landscape better than I ever could. Props to Microsoft for telling this story well (BTW – are they on the comeback trail? That assumes they ever left).

 
Don’t be left holding the tab in 2013. Let’s all start paying attention.

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Hand Crank Films is a Seattle video production company with offices in Bellingham and Washington D.C.

01Jan

5 New Years Resolutions You Should Steal

5 New Years Resolutions You Should Steal

This is a post we made last year, but thought it was worth a reprint. Here’s to a great 2013.

Every New Year, I make the standard list of resolutions. They often involve exercising more and eating less. But this year more than ever, we’re on a search for Quality. And to me, quality means connecting with things and people that resonate, fulfill their purpose, and last.

Here’s a few ways I think we can all add quality to our stories in 2013:

> Find the Romantic Hook: Romance is the deepest connection – the way we find joy in the smallest things. While it’s the most powerful of all the hooks, it’s also often the first to be let go under the grind of the day to day. Don’t let this be buried under the incessant paperwork. Fight for it.
> Listen to Better Soundtracks: Every piece of media we consume affects how we feel. Don’t waste much time (other than a few guilty pleasures on content that doesn’t reinforce who you want to be. Instead, find the soundtrack that inspires.
> Find a Better Cast: Surrounding yourself with people that don’t dream the same way you do is a killer. Cut their scenes as much as possible from your script, and hang with people who want to share the same crazy life you do. That’s the best way to reach new heights.
>Produce Quality Content: Every email, every tweet, every Facebook post and video, is part of your brand and reflects who you are. Your content is what fills your own personal TV channel, and if you want people to watch, you have to focus on quality. No, it may never be perfect, but it should add value and make people’s lives better.
> Ignore the Critics: Producing (rather than just consuming) is risky business. You’re going to have to eventually throw stuff out there for people to see. Inevitably, you’ll get feedback that is negative, snarky, and mean. But you’ll also get good feedback. Use it to improve and fuel the engine. Don’t get dragged down by people who never had the guts in the first place.
My last couple of posts have been ‘soft’ in video production advice, and have focused instead on some general philosophies. Maybe it’s the holidays and the New Year that’s bringing this time of reflection. Or the eggnog. Regardless, I’m going to get back to more ‘How To’ posts soon.

But the Big Questions and the Big Answers do matter. By stealing some of these resolutions, maybe we can all do well and put a ‘dent in the universe’.

Your thoughts for 2013? Let us know.

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16Nov

How to Piss off a Client in 3 Easy Steps

At Hand Crank Films, we like to pride ourselves on the level of systems that we’re integrating into the company to assure everything arrives on time, on budget, and is a great piece of work. But there’s an old Yiddish saying that perhaps states it best:

“You want to make God laugh? Tell her your plans.”

Just recently, we had a project go sideways due to what I’ll call the trifecta of perfect storms: mediocre communication, a team that had been working too hard, and some technology failures. These three things combined led to a first round product that was, frankly, well below our standards – and the result was a deeply concerned client who literally said “is this the same company that I hired?”

Click below for the only three words that matter when you #$&! up:

So what did we do? We were quick to acknowledge the mistake, empathize with the client, and take a step back. This allowed us to come up with a new game plan that, yes, required us to bend over backwards – but in the end we got the project back on track.

But we’re not out of the woods by any means. The client has every right to wonder if this will happen again. When you make a mistake, it certainly dings your brand. Credibility that’s taken years to build up can be wiped away in a matter of minutes. But it also can be a great opportunity if you accept accountability, buck up, and get the job done.

We may never work with this client again. That would be a shame but we can’t always control that. But what we can control (mostly) is the output of what we do, help solve problems, and move past the bumps in the road with the best grace possible. That’s the most important brand equity of all, and a great learning moment if you can do it right.

That’s the goal anyway. But I hear God laughing now…..

01Nov

Storyboards as a Linchpin

I have never been lost. But I will admit to not knowing where I was for a few weeks – Daniel Boone

One of the things we’ve been putting an emphasis on more and more here at Hand Crank Films is pre-production. More and more of our time and effort are pointed at at this phase to make sure we share the same vision with our clients before the cameras even roll. This looks something like:

1) Concept Development (often in concert with an agency); in association with budgeting and project schedule
2) Script Development
3) Story Boarding
4) Shot lists
5) Shoot Day Schedules, dialed into the 1/2 hour.

We’re using the Google Cloud to share all of this, and the approach helps us see red flags before they turn into major project potholes. By walking through a project and visualizing it as much as possible, we can help determine early on if something is going to hit or miss. Storyboards, for example, help us visualize how the story might unfold. We did close to 80 boards for a project we’re working on for Mackie, and though this process is time and thought intensive, it forces us to hit the ground running. Need to escape from a zombie? Let’s see how that looks on paper.

Our Hero Runs from Zombies

We find that if we front load this phase of the project, we save considerable time, effort and budget during both the shoot and in editing. But more importantly, we come out with a much better film.

This sort of ‘pre-production’ philosophy has also begun to carry itself across our company as a whole. Sure, we’ve always tried to dial in on financial projections, marketing plans, and solid business strategy in an effort to know what the future might hold, but we’re putting even more of an emphasis on that as we go along. By really defining ‘What Success Looks Like to Us’, we can develop better roadmaps to getting there and hopefully not get too lost in the wilderness (though this does still happen, believe me).

We’re working on it. We’re getting better at it. And maybe there’s some ideas here that can help what you’re up to as well. Let us know.

25Oct

Gearing Back Up – Mackie Loudspeakers

This is one of our favorite spots we’ve ever produced, in part because it was truly a team effort:

As we gear back up to shoot Part Deux of this bad boy this week and November 4th, I also thought it would be a good idea to reinvigorate our blog and get that going again. But it’s a challenge: finding the time to create quality content is a bit like grabbing an oiled pig. The process can’t be automated, and therefore is limited by linear scalability. That is, output is directly proportional to time or overhead. That’s true of everyone’s blog post or creative content, and is the single greatest challenge of marketing in this age of social media. (We’ll discuss more on that later)

But boy, it sure can be fun. Looking forward to sharing some ideas, and hearing from you.

12Sep

The New Frontier: Immersive Content

The New Frontier: Immersive Content

If you haven’t checked out Take this Lillipop yet, go there if you dare. This is a crazy example of your online personna being mashed into a pretty wild short film that will leave you looking over your shoulder.

Then, just this week, I stumbled on Zombies, Run! – an iPhone and Android app that drops you into an apocalyptic world populated by zombies that you have to outrun. The twist?  Not only are you a character in the story, but you have to really run, caught in an engaging audio story that interweaves with your favorite running music playlist. Using GPS, the first mission starts, your music plays, and a computerized voice informs you where the zombies are, when you need to outrun them, and what items you need to pick up along the way to bring back to basecamp: USB Keys, first aid kits, batteries, clothes . . . the list goes on. Your ultimate goal is to save the world, and lose a few pounds along the way.

 


More and more, these types of digital content will merge with our ‘reality’ – and the more relevant and fun this content is, the more we’ll embrace it. From a marketing standpoint – this new immersive content points to the importance of making our own content that much more interesting, fresh, and engaging. Otherwise, it will surely die a slow, zombie death.

And as an interesting point of reference, the developers of Zombies, Run! used Kickstarter to get financing, and raised $75K with the video on their homepage. Check it.

05Sep

Guest Post: Puget Sound American Marketing Association

Guest Post: Puget Sound American Marketing Association

I was lucky enough to be be asked to guest post on the PSAMA website this week. Here’s the first part, then head over to their site to read the rest:

I’ve just finished reading ‘Start with Why’ by Simon Sinek, which dovetails nicely with Don’s recent post about ‘The Power of Habit’. This is an especially relevant book as well, as it explores what it means to be alive and create transformation both in your personal life and in business.

The premise is clear: we must discover and communicate the WHY behind what we do to be effective and successful.
WHY is the looking glass we should all be holding up to the world to determine next choices and next steps, especially if we’re stuck on a project or need a massive dose of inspiration. People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.

Most people know WHAT they do and HOW they do it. But only the major players, the luminaries, understand the critical value of the WHY. Southwest Airlines, for example, knows WHAT their company is – an inexpensive airline. It knows HOW they do it: quick simple flights with very little frills. But in order to really move the needle, they started with the WHY: To be a travel champion for the masses. To empower average people with possibility. To live and breathe this cause day after day, year after year, decade after decade.

The result? They’ve turned a profit every year, while other airlines have been brought to their knees.

Read the rest here….

15Aug

Social in the Palm of Your Hand

Social in the Palm of Your Hand

If I were to log the number of hours I spend in front of the keyboard doing whatever it is I do, I’d be amazed. And maybe a little discouraged. My kids, for example, think my job is ‘sitting in front of the computer’. Which I’m sure makes my mother proud.

So I was inspired to hear Ted Rubin (@TedRubin) a few weeks ago at MarketMix talking about an often forgotten tool in our toolkit: the phone. Phones have become so tricked out as rocket launchers, movie makers, and game players that we’ve glossed over their initial purpose, which is to talk. Create voice. And listen.

Ted’s challenge was simple: call someone everyday to touch base and reconnect. An old friend to catch up. A client or employee to check the pulse. Someone in the Rolodex to just brighten their day and say hello.

I’m guilty of getting caught up in what I think is easy: email. But email has very little soul. And soul is what we need more of these days.

So I’m going to give it a go. My first call on Monday will be to Ted Rubin himself – then I’ll rock it from there.  And who knows, you might be next. And if you want to return the favor, my digits are 360.383-6376.

Make it ring.

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02Aug

The Tao of Content Marketing

I had the good fortune of hanging out at #MarketMix here in Seattle, an event that brings together some of the best marketing minds in the PNW. There were a ton of good talks and generally a nice buzz to the event – and overall I was reminded of how vibrant our community is.

But the highpoint of the day for me was remembering something I can sometimes forget in my rush to make things happen. All this content marketing, all the planning, all the video production, all the blogposts and outreach to drive SEO? All the rest of that stuff we’re supposed to be doing to feed the insatiable maw of social media?

It’s supposed to be fun. We’re supposed to be getting a kick out of it.

And few people  have more fun than Cheezburger Network CEO Ben Huh. Ben was the keynote speaker at lunch (good food, BTW) – and his whole message was find your niche, wave your freak flag high, and enjoy this amazing thing we call the InterWebs. Yeah, it’s work. And yeah, we all have deadlines and mortgages to meet. But don’t forget to ROFL, exchange a little LOL Cat Love, and engage in the greatest communications boon the world has ever seen.

Enjoy and Share. No spreadsheet can replace that.

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13Mar

Case Study: Video that Builds Business

Last week brought us two of the most popular viral videos ever. The first, Kony 2012, has over 74 million views since it launched on March 5. It’s the fastest spreading video of all time. It’s engaging, stimulating, and provocative. It hopes to change the world through discussion and revelation.  It’s  very good.

Its also a major anomaly.  It would be a mistake to think that everyone can rush out, follow this ‘formula’, and instantly bag this sort of audience. The flint hits the steel like this very rarely.

The second video is from DollarShaveClub.com  – and this one deserves a look not just because it’s funny – but because it’s a business model.

This video launched on March 5th as well, and now has close to 3 million views. Compared to 70 million, this seems like child’s play. But from a business perspective, I bet this video created more fans that turned into buyers that turned into repeat buyers.

Here’s how:

  • Create a brilliant video that makes razors fun, exciting, and something you want to be a part of.
  • Point your audience to a fun, easy to use website that leads to conversion. This approach wasn’t just about the video.
  • Present a real problem: getting razors is a drag and expensive.
  • Provide a real solution: for a few bucks a month, we’ll send you high quality razors and remove this drag from your life forever.
  • Begin building repeat customers that you can communicate with forever.

My guess is the conversion was pretty substantial. Every time I tried to go to the site for the first few days, the traffic had crashed the servers. And I’m betting the good natured spirit of the video combined with the expert website resulted in a healthy number of sign-ups, me being one of them. Not to mention the press and blogosphere buzz for substantial Earned Media bonus points.

The takeaway: great video that speaks to brand is an important key. But only in the context of the big picture business plan. Whether a non-profit organization looking to raise money or a business looking to drive more sales, you have to know what success looks like to you before deciding on the best way to get there.

DollarShaveClub.com is certainly one great approach.

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29Feb

Superfeet and The Magic of Tent Pole Marketing

In the movie biz, all the studios have their ‘tent-pole’ releases. These are usually the big-budget films like Mission Impossible 4 or Harry Potter. The movies that the studios bank on to provide a lion’s share of the year’s profits.

The question is, how do we take a tent-pole mentality and roll it into all our marketing initiatives? What are those things happening throughout the course of the calendar year that you could really blow the doors off and move the needle on?

For one of our clients, Superfeet Worldwide, one tent pole event is Outdoor Retailer – one of the biggest trade shows around. This is where retail partners, distributors, competitors and consumers all mix, showing off the best of the best for next year’s market and beyond. It’s a place where you can either make a big splash, or be buried under all the noise.

So although this show doesn’t happen until summer, the planning starts now. They begin planning what success looks like to them, what metrics they want to reach, what products they want to highlight in market.

Last year, for example, they decided they wanted to produce a ‘major motion picture’ quality short film announcing their new Superfeet Sandal. They wanted something new, something fresh, something that spoke directly to the lifestyle of the product and could be shown prominently at the show. We added the seaplane as an extra bonus.

View the project here:

 

What are your tent-pole events? What are some things that you can do to really shake things up? Do they revolve around holidays, summer, the end of a quarter?

Sure, Superfeet picked video production as one way to rise above the noise with great success, but what are your plans? What are those three or four moments in the year you can fully wrap your arms around, embrace, and use to spread the word. Understanding that can lead to your own personal box office success.

Want more? Let’s share some ideas.

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