To film or not to film...

Being at the forefront of creating video content for brands to help them communicate with consumers is both exciting and frustrating.


I have blogged before about the dangers of launching yourself on this discipline without due care and attention (not to mention expertise).


Brands are embracing this 'new' discipline with ever more fervour which is good but there is a danger here of ignoring opportunities that are literally right under their noses.....



When I meet a new client they often tell me that they have no idea how they are going to get to grips with producing branded content, much less distribute it digitally.


They seem to believe that in order to get involved they must start from scratch in this 'new' genre  but brands have been producing branded content for some time now, they just don't know it!




I'm talking about anything that is staged in the brand's name. That could include  events, press conferences, TV commercials, CSR initiatives, Video News Releases even webcasts.


All of these are  established as brand activities and yet they are not often filmed with a clear strategy in mind. They are often an afterthought, essentially a record of events and not used as the basis for  producing engaging and distributable content that delivers substantial viewing and even direct calls to action on a large scale.




With a bit of care and attention you can create an extension to your existing campaign while developing a long term communication strategy with your audience that sits nicely alongside your existing efforts.


You could turn a PR event into a viral sensation, a VNR into a guaranteed editorial hit or even a dry web chat into a global marketing campaign.



Combine editorial know how with the ability to create real entertainment. Utilise an online distribution strategy that covers pure editorial, social media and viral networks and you'll have the keys to unlocking your online video content potential.




It's all about producing things that people will want to watch, very simple  in theory and yet not quite so easy in practice!