Production Director, PrimeImage Media
We’ve been pretty busy lately here at PrimeImage Media, right after the shoot on San Juan Island, we headed up to Reno. This was another JP King shoot and this time our job was to cover a 16 floor condo complex with a huge commercial space that used to be a casino. One of the things I like best about working for JP King is that we not only shoot the property, but also the surrounding area as well. In this case, that meant grabbing video of the Reno riverwalk, a long path that runs along the Truckee river which cuts straight through the city. Of course, Tiffany and I had to sample some of the local coffee houses along the way and we weren’t disappointed. It was a fun trip and another successful video for us.
JP King is a great client to have because they “get it” it terms of how video can be integrated into their overall marketing mix. They have a large print budget and a strong Web presence all geared at making the auction profitable. The recent addition of Web video serves to enhance all of their other marketing efforts and adds some extra ‘sizzle”.
So what does that mean? What does video do that makes it worth the dollars coming out of the marketing budget? Well here are 3 things that video adds to the mix.
1. Face Time: We like using hosts with our videos at PrimeImage because they add that human touch to the presentation. As a rule, people relate to people and having a person as a personal guide keeps the viewer engaged and interested in what you have to say. Look around at the magazines at the check out stand and you’ll see what I mean. In fact our sub-conscience affinity for faces shows up in online advertising in the fact that ads with faces are more likely to be clicked on than those that don’t.
2. Gaining Perspective: The other benefit to having a host is less obvious but just as important. Having a person in a scene adds scale to the surroundings. A big room or space looks a lot larger when you see it in comparison to the person standing in it. This also works in the opposite way when you’re doing a product shot of something smaller. Using video as the media type adds movement within the space and allows you to reveal it in surprising or interesting ways to keep your viewer engaged.
3. Getting the Message Out: I don’t know about you, but my attention span has seemed to get shorter with all the hype and content that gets thrown at us today. Take that and add a busy schedule and that brochure or fancy flyer may get only a quick scan. The last thing you want to have happen is when you finally get your message in front of someone and they overlook the key features that makes your product or service compelling and unique. The one thing I’ve noticed about video, especially when you have a host and/or voice over, is how much information you can fit in a short amount of time. Not only can you deliver a number of details quickly, but you reinforce it with images that can explain more than your words can. The old ‘a picture is worth a thousands words” adage. And of course with video, once you get them hooked at the beginning, your viewer is most likely going to see the whole thing if you keep it short and to the point.
Speaking of keeping it short and sweet, that’s it for this post, we’ll have lots more to cover in the future. In the meantime, if you have particular topics or questions that you’d like to see covered here, be sure to drop us an email and we’ll do our best to keep you informed and hopefully, entertained along the way.
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Before Jay started doing video, he worked in a cubicle marketing interactive advertising and Web services. You can reach him with questions or comments at jay@primeimagemedia.com.
