Interactive Agency “Eats Its Own Dogfood” October 3, 2007
Posted by nalts in Blogs on Video, Making Money, Making Videos, Online Video, Profit, Video, Video Advertising, Video Business, Video Contests, Viral Video, YouTube, advertising, popular videos, viral videologist.trackback
A lot of interactive agencies are now pitching clients on the value of online video to promote products and services. But how many of them are brave enough to throw themself in the mix?
At a recent “lunch and learn” for Atlanta-based “Spunlogic,” I spoke about online-video marketing to some major media and marketing companies. I’ve posted the presentation, titled “Online Video Marketing” publicly.
After the presentation, the Spunglogic founder helped me pull this prank video (Drunk Interviews) on some of the employees. Here are the outtakes.
First of all: First. (Unless someone gets in while I’m typing this)
Secondly, I got a question — actually, several: Is this kind of viral marketing limited to large brands? The Mentos and the Heinz? Or can small, local businesses benefit from it as well?
Also, as an offshoot of the above, is it possible to DELIBERATELY viralize a Brand, or does true viralization come from spontaneity, or under unintentional pretenses?
You can get back to me privately if you don’t wanna give away your trade secrets… Later!
Absolutely viral video isn’t just for big brands. It’s just easier to do for big CPG brands. I’m working with a small temp company now, and I think we’ll pull it off. If for NO other reason it’s good for small businesses because it will help them in search engines. And while the classic viral videos were spontantious I do believe that most viral stuff is by design. Note that viral marketing doesn’t yet rank among the top viral videos, but that’s no reason not to do it (anymore than the 30 second ad doesn’t have the ratings of the 24-minute TV show). My two cents. And there are no trade secrets. Give away the info and charge for the consulting.
Too bad A&P didn’t take that approach, eh?
I talked to a moderately popular guy on youtube a while back who did a little branding early on for a small local outfit and asked if it generated any business, he said some. Which was pretty good considering. It’s nice to know there’s a new market in the making for the little guy. The fact that uploading to online video is free and you can even make money doing is pretty amazing and an area that really should be tapped, if not soon to be required, part of the advertising package.
Maybe it’s time to push forward and start a production company?
Is there a lawyer in the house?
whatchu talkin bout willis?
Nice presintation. I’m expecially empressed by the lac of typo’s.
Really appreciate the slide information, very useful for a quick over view of the market and its potential. Have posted them in the forums of my network for creative people, trying to earn online (extraordinarytourist.ning.com).
Interesting that you used scarydave as an example of a ‘not always positive’ response (though I’d say that was more about how he looks rather than the content of the video its self - which I know you liked).
I like butter
Hmmm, let’s see. I’d rather reply to Slater than to Kevin.
I firmly believe in the potential for online video helping out small local businesses. That’s why we’re doing it at one of the places I work. It provides us with an opportunity to connect with potential customers in what I see as a more personal manner than just posting information about our business on a website.
Here’s the main concept i’m working with-
Local bowling alley working to try and draw customers in. Identified a market segment to try and court - TEENS. Set up a MySpace here - http://www.myspace.com/interstatelanes Created an event called Rock-N-Bowl, aimed at the target segment. Play rock music, etc etc. The original idea was simple, take the digital camera, and take pictures of the kids having a good time at the Rock-N-Bowl event to put on MySpace (drive traffic to the MySpace). The pictures went over really well. We were doing some simple contests at the event, and I actually had a YouTube account that I had setup prior to use as a means of hosting some video to play at the main website - http://www.interstatelanes.com In kicking around ideas I decided that I would start using the video on the still camera in our contests at the Rock-N-Bowl event, and make some good use out of the YouTube account - http://www.youtube.com/interstatelanes Sure we try to be funny. We’ve even tried our hand at going viral - http://youtube.com/watch?v=PjFfHxUcYPI (BTW, the search engine part Kevin pointed out is right on. If you go to Google or Yahoo and type in bowling and jackass, this video will be at the top of the results) Yeah, I know the editing sucks, but at that point I didn’t really care about production value and how it could enhance the video.
So where does that leave me? What I can provide to the customer is a personal interaction that they can’t get anywhere else. The goal in all of this is not to make money off of the online videos themselves, it’s to show customers what they can get if they actually come in to the business. Kind of like an ad. (ooops, did I say the A word? Hopefully the YouTube Underground isn’t listening)
Can you deliberately viralize a brand? Sure. If you use concepts that tend to lend themselves to viralization I can see a lot of cases where it would work.
Good topic.
Sukatra- spell much?
I agree with both Matt and Nalts… (By the way, Matt, great ideas with the bowling alley) Increasingly in our culture, YT and MySpace have become places for people to congregate — the social food court at the internet mall, so to speak… Businesses, both local AND national, are nuts to not want to have some sort of presence hereupon, especially when it’s so easy and CHEAP.
Thanks for the input, gents…
Nalts, WHAT did you do to my comment??
[...] both an online video star and a marketing executive, Kevin Nalts walks between two worlds. That’s why he’s perfectly positioned to serve as a geek [...]
Thanks Slater, and you’re welcome.
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