Corporate Videos Finally Find a Home

So I’m on the phone with a fellow producer the other day and out of the blue I say…

“Finally, after all these years, videos now have a home on the web- they’re not homeless anymore.”

“What do you mean?” he says.

“Well, think about it. For so many years, videos- especially videos for most organizations- have never had a venue where the stories were integrated into the larger picture. Remember, videos went out on tapes and then discs. Those stories were islands unto themselves; they were rarely seen in a larger context. Oh, sure, sometimes they’d get seen at meetings, conferences, etc. But really, the majority of the stories weren’t seen in a larger context- they weren’t integrated into an organization’s larger brand or message.”

And so here we are.

Thanks to the web, videos are, indeed, finding a home.

If your organization wants to see how video stories can effectively be integrated into the larger story, take a look at these five examples- you’ll have a instant roadmap to discover how video stories can possibly be part of something larger than just a disc or file.

1. Sputnik Observatory for the Study of Contemporary Culture

If you believe ideas are a form of energy, you’re going to love this site. (A big hat tip to Mark Levy for pointing this site out to me!)

From Sputnik’s “About Us” page:
“Sputnik Observatory is a New York not-for-profit educational organization dedicated to the study of contemporary culture. We fulfill this mission by documenting, archiving, and disseminating ideas that are shaping modern thought by interviewing leading thinkers in the arts, sciences and technology from around the world. Our philosophy is that ideas are NOT selfish, ideas are NOT viruses. Ideas survive because they fit in with the rest of life. Our position is that ideas are energy, and should interconnect and re-connect continuously because by linking ideas together we learn, and new ideas emerge.”

2. Lance Armstrong’s “It’s About You” Campaign
You’re in for a treat with this one. Nike and Lance Armstrong teamed up to raise cancer awareness by launching “It’s About You.” Launched July 4th, the campaign integrates mixed media with the ability to share and tell our own stories. While you’re there, be sure to check out Evan Handlers’s video, “It’s About Telling Your Story.”

3. “The Soul of Athens”
The county of Athens in Southeast Ohio, is steeped in Appalachian culture.
From their “About” page: “Produced by students at Ohio University’s School of Visual Communication and E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, the award-winning Soul of Athens has been placed in the same competitive arena as National Geographic, The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times.”

4. “Capturing Reality: The Art of Documentary”
My favorite site video/website ever. “Capturing Reality” seamlessly integrates “snack-sized” videos from worldclass documentary filmmakers along with educational material to inspire and educate filmmakers-to-be and film enthusiats.

5. David Lynch’s “Interview Project”
Think you need a big budget to produce corporate videos? Not so. David Lynch’s latest project proves simple video production values combined with interesting people and integrated seamlessly on a site can capture and holed the attention of viewers.

I'll be sharing more sites with you as I run across them. Feel free to add yours here.

Tom

Corporate Videos Finally Have a Home

What's Next for Company Videos? 5 Links to Get You Thinking

I’ve recently bookmarked so many interesting sites on how companies use video I figured it’s time to open the vault and share a few of my favorite discoveries with you. I hope you’ll find something interesting, useful and thought-provoking here.

While I don't have a crystal ball, the trends are crystal clear.

1. Herman Miller Video: Making of Setu
Watch how the team members sit around a table and one team member shares their compliments about another person on the team; interesting spin on the traditional interview. We also get a quick tour, see the chair in action and catch some philosophy along the way. It’s a simple video with a simple design structure. A perfect compliment to the Herman Miller brand.
(Hat tip to my blogging friend and branding guru Tom Asacker for this link.)

2. Multimedia Journalists Discover Life After Newspapers

Welcome to the future of corporate video storytelling. A must-read article pointing to how former newspaper photographers are preparing for new career directions by creating web videos that help companies and nonprofits tell their stories.

3. Have you seen the Rhode Island School of Design videos?
Definitely check out the “RISD Profile” videos. I really enjoyed John Maeda’s interview, the President of RISD.

4. Video to Flood Corporate Networks, Too
Hold on to your hats, folks. From the article: “Cisco's famous "Zettaflood" report last year predicted that video would make up half of the Internet's traffic by 2012…” This brief article is a great snapshot indicating the enormous rise in video usage; now and in the future.

5. NYTimes “Conversations” Videos
I love these short conversational videos from the NYTimes. This is from the home page: “Candid conversations with some of today’s most interesting people about their passions, their lives and NYTimes.com.” Perhaps it’s another glimpse into one of the ways organizations will use video?

What do you think? How are organizations using new media? Is the trend internal? External? Over to you.

---Tom

What's Next for Company Videos? 5 Links to Get You Thinking

The AGE CURVE and Corporate Video Storytelling

I’m really not into numbers. I’ll take a story any day, thank you.

But wait.

What happens when a demographer, a numbers guy, takes a bunch of U.S. census data from five generations and shows you through simple, practical, real-life stories how this information can affect every aspect of your business?

You get “The Age Curve,” a fascinating new book by visionary demographer Ken Gronbach.

And what exactly does generational marketing have to do with your corporate video? Everything.

Let’s start with this. There are five generational markets in Ken’s model:

1. The GI Generation (born 1905 to 1924)
2. The Silent Generation (born 1924 to 1944)
3. The Baby Boomers (born 1945 to 1964)
4. Generation X (born 1965 to 1984)
5. Generation Y (born 1985 to 2010)

Of the five generations, it’s Gen Y that caught my attention. It should catch yours, too.

By 2010, Gen Y, 100 million of them, will be the largest generation we have ever seen in the history of the United States; the most consuming generation ever. Can you say “marketing opportunities?”

On page 212, Ken writes, “However, selling to this generation is not going to be a given just because your company has a cool product or service. Generation Y will look deeper into who you are and want to know about your company policies on recycling, environmental responsibility, company initiatives, pollution history, and human rights.”

Now add (as I see it) into the mix Gen Y’s media habits and values:

• Social networking
• Reality television
• User-generated content
• On-line video
• Humanitarian causes
• Honesty
• Family time
• Flexible hours

At the end of a recent phone call with Ken, he said this:

“Communicating to Gen Y = Telling a poignant story.”

Ken nailed it.

As a filmmaker, I'm now wondering how "poignant stories" will impact video creation within organizations. Here's a few questions racing through my mind:

• How will video be used in your organization’s communications efforts?
• Who will discover and capture your company’s message on video?
• What kinds of video stories will your organization produce?
• Will they be about your policies? Initiatives? Products? Services? HR issues?
• Will your stories share your company’s humanitarian and green efforts?
• Who will be your audience? Internal? External? Both?
• How will you distribute your video stories?
• Who will be the “voice” in sharing your company’s story on video?

Not sure where this leaves us, but it certainly raises some important questions.

Does Generation Y storming the workforce change how your organization will use video from a content and story perspective? Is it business as usual? Or is it a game-changer?

What do you think?


* Disclosure: I’ve produced films for Ken and received The Age Curve book for free through his publicist. Regardless, it still doesn't change the importance of his message.

The AGE CURVE and Corporate Video Storytelling