The Communications Department

I recently completed a video project that started out as a simple one-day shoot with a little over day to edit. However, as I stepped back and looked at what we created, I was struck by how much video has evolved during the last few years as a viable and cost-effective communication medium, due in large part to improved technology and improved distribution efficiency.

I have a corporate client whose company has an exclusive relationship with a gentleman who is recognized nationally as a leader in his field of expertise. My client would love to bring this gentleman to client meetings, sales finalist meetings and special events, but it just does not make sense from a practical and logistical perspective. So instead of taking this gentleman on the road and filling up every minute of every day with meetings and events, my client asked me to spend a day with the gentleman interviewing him on camera in order to produce a video she could use in place of his physical presence.

While this was a fairly straightforward video project, there are some observations worth noting about using video in this fashion, including:

Video is an effective tool for delivering a clear and specific message. I shot a lengthy interview with the subject matter expert, which gave me a lot of content when it came time for the edit. Working with my client, I was able to whittle down the content in the edit to reflect the exact messages my client wanted to communicate to her audience. The total run time of the video is less than ten minutes, but it clearly and succinctly delivers the key messages for which my client was looking.

The message is consistent. My client wanted this video for distribution to her company’s sales force, which is several hundred people strong and located across the nation. Incorporating the video into each salesperson’s presentation ensures a consistent message from the company with regard to the messages communicated by the gentleman in the video. Since the gentleman is not present to deliver his messages in person, my client does not have to rely on a salesperson’s interpretation and delivery of those key messages. The video delivers those messages consistently the around the country.

Video can be distributed many ways in many formats. The days of producing a video, making a bunch of duplications on VHS and distributing via the postal system are long gone. For this project, my client requested a few DVDs for key locations where they were having an event. However, the primary distribution channel was online through an internal Web portal. My client uploaded the video along with an updated sales presentation PowerPoint to the portal. I embedded the video in one version of the PowerPoint. In another version, a PowerPoint slide has a link to the video. My client ultimately will decide which way is best for her organization. The flexibility in format also significantly reduced cost due to the elimination of duplications and shipping fees.

Video can have a lengthy shelf life. From one interview on one afternoon, my client has a video her company can use for many months, perhaps even years, as long as the key messages do not change much over time. In this instance, I believe that will be the case and she will get at least a year out of the video.

I guess it’s true. No one reads anymore, even when they’re supposed to be reading. According to a story in USA Today, CBS and Pepsi Max recently announced that they would run an ad promoting the upcoming Fall television season in Entertainment Weekly that shows video clips of upcoming CBS programs. The video runs on a wafer-thin screen and, according to the story, “the sound is akin to one of those talking, musical greeting cards.”

And, remarkably, the player can contain up to 40 minutes of video and play continuously for up to six hours.

The article does not state the cost for producing the video ads and insert. However, as with most things, as the technology grows and become more prevalent, the odds are good that whatever the price is, it will come down over time.

There are several implications of this technology that are interesting to think about. Imagine medical text books with video and sounds of surgical procedures, or health benefits collateral with a video explaining how your health savings account works. Kind of makes me think of the newspapers with the moving images in the Harry Potter movies. 

The improved portability of the video also is impressive. We are now viewing video without the need for a device to view it – no DVD or VHS player or Internet hook-up required. Video just got even more portable, which is quite a statement when you consider the recent advances in just the last two years in video playback on handheld devices like cellphones and PDAs.

I’m not sure of the quality of the video that will be used in the ad. There’s only so much you can expect on a screen that thin and only 2-inch-by-1.5-inch screen. But I’m guessing the quality will be fine for what CBS and Pepsi Max are hoping to accomplish: getting some buzz about the new television season.

I look forward to seeing where this technology is going to take us. Hopefully, I won’t have to explain to my grandkids what a book is. But then again, I have explained to my son all about records and 8-track tapes.

This is progress, right?

YouTube may be the biggest and best known video sharing site, but there are other platforms in cyberspace that are doing quite well for themselves as viable video sharing platforms. Some are more niche than others and some have greater and more interesting functionality than the ususal YouTube experience. For a list of fifteen video sites, with usage and demographic information, check out the posting on the Smart Market Media blog. They’ve done a nice job compiling relevant information to help you learn about YouTube alternatives.

After reading the list, you may be wondering if you have the time and energy to post to all of those sites. Don’t fret. Check out TubeMogul and learn how to post to mutliple video sharing sites simultaneously.

And if you want information on how to create video to post on any of these sites, drop me a note.