Posts Tagged branding
Business Branding Strategies
Posted by SEO SERVICES in Marketing and Advertising on July 24th, 2011
Obviously, businesses exist to generate revenue and to turn a profit. It goes without saying that if a business receives too few customers, then it will certainly fail. How then does a business, large or small, ensure that it attracts a steady flow of people ready to spend money? The short answer is marketing and advertising. If no one knows that a business exists, then they definitely do not know to go there in order to part with their hard earned money. For a business to be successful, it must practice how to improve brand awareness.
The importance of advertising cannot be overstated. It serves the purpose of introducing those who previously were unaware of the brand to it, and keeps the name at the forefront of the minds of customers who have shopped there before. There really is no limit to the amount of locations to place an ad, but radio and television spots are still near the top of the list when it comes to getting a brand name out there. These advertisements cost more than others, but that is because of the number of ears and eyes they will reach. There is a sea of customers stuck behind the wheel during its morning and afternoon commutes as well as plenty of people who have the radio on while sprucing up the house. And of course, the TV set has become another family member in numerous households.
Small, promotional gifts are another effective method by which to improve brand awareness. A sticker, pin, or some other object that can be affixed to something else is cheap and enables customers to do the advertising for the business. Additionally, placing coupons in mailers not only lets customers know that a business is in operation, but the savings entice them to actually pay a visit to the establishment.
Indirectly, there is no better way to improve brand awareness than with quality customer service. Word of mouth is an invaluable tool when it comes to drumming up new business, especially in the modern world of instantly accessible blogs and reviews on the internet. If someone receives a pleasurable and competent experience at a particular business, he will certainly tell his friends and might even be prompted to post a review online.
At the end of the day, the best way to improve brand awareness is to let people know the business is there. Advertising is the key. Take out a full page ad in the phone book, slap the company logo on a billboard; do whatever it takes for people to see the name. Letting prospects know of your existence will increase traffic through the door and on the website.
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The A To B Of Simple Rebranding
Posted by SEO SERVICES in Business General on December 6th, 2010
Sometimes, your
The Opening Shot Of A Corporate Video
Posted by SEO SERVICES in Video Production on October 22nd, 2010
First impressions are memorable, and a quality corporate video will seek to lead off with an image or logo that makes a meaningful and memorable impression in the minds of the viewer. Frequently, the subject matter of the intro will not merely be an attention grabber; it will also present the ethos of the company and the essence of what the video will subsequently be presenting.
To illustrate my point, I will use the intros of four corporate videos found on You Tube.
The Corporate Video, Treyer Paletten Bad Peterstal, found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_yIt8WLpZg introduces the Treyer company, a corporation that harvests lumber from the Black Forest in Europe. The first visual image on screen is an extreme closeup of the flat surface of a tree trunk. As the camera pans across the surface we clearly see the multicolored circular layers, representing years of the trees seasonal growth. The camera pans across the flat wood surface and we see the system of circular ridges on the face of the wood. The series of ridges, which the tree had added year by year, tell us about the essence of what wood is and tell us also about the corporation, which like the tree, has grown over the years, bit by bit to reach its current size. The background music is ambient forest or jungle music, which adds to the effect created by the visual imagery. The camera subsequently pans to the surrounding forest, as we see leaves and the sun shining through the leaves.
The First Climate Corporate Video found at http://vimeo.com/1406550
begins with a shot of vaporous clouds passing across the sun and obscuring it. The camera then pans away and we see that the vapor is pouring out of the smokestack of a factory. The effect of the scene is enhanced by background music consisting of stringed instruments playing a classical theme such as one might hear in a climactic emotional moment of a movie. The scene then shifts to a dessert, where a nomad is walking across the sands with his burden laded donkey, Together the scenes foreshadow the central theme of the video which is the danagers of global warming and the loss of the ozone layer that protects man from the sun.
The Malaysia Airlines: 2005 Corporate Video
found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISEfIUc_kow begins with a view from an airplane flying above the clouds. As the plane cruises at this high altitude the exhaust trail of a neighboring jet turns into the timeline of the Malaysian air fleet, which is superimposed on the blue sky. Each new plane model is represented by its picture on the time line, which flashes on the screen, one at a time. The scene is enhanced by background music consisting of light percussion and wood flutes, which together produce an airy sounding theme. The desired impression imparted by the opening scene, which is emphasized throughout the video is that Malaysia Airlines is not merely a regional carrier, but in fact a world class carrier with world class airplanes.
What do all three corporate video intros have in common. Each one, presents in pictorial form the central theme or ethos of the video to come. Each one is presented as attractive imagery with appropriate musical accompaniment. Each one is designed to leave an indelible impression on the viewer at the moment when he is freshest.
Significantly, when a viewer prepares to watch a new video, it is with a sense of anticipation and expectation that he will have a pleasurable experience. He eagerly awaits the first scene to tell him if his anticipation was justified. If he is not disappointed, then he will probably watch the whole video. So the opening scene of the video has an important task to do, to meet the expectations of the viewer.
While some videos graft on killer intros that attract but have nothing to do with the subject of the video, related theme intros are much more effective. A killer intro might attract viewers only to disappoint them a few seconds later when the actual subject of the video is presented. A related theme intro, on the other hand, that attracts the viewer, will probably hold his attention throughout the whole video, since the viewer already knows what to expects.
Sales Videos That Hold The Viewer’s Attention
Posted by SEO SERVICES in Video Production on October 7th, 2010
The standard paradigm for a sales video incldues showing a problem, and demonstrating that the product being offered has the solution. However, sometimes sales videos alter this paradigm and use a different technique to sell their product. The Cool SAP CRM Marketing Video Throw the Ball, found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GchfVy6hgVA&NR=1 , is an example of a sales video that distorts the normal sales presentation template by giving exaggerated amounts of time to the presentation of the problem, and to the equally important task of holding viewer attention, at the expense of demonstration of how the product solves the problem.
The SAP video exaggerates the emphasis on one of the crucial elements of any sales video, which is to hold the attention of the viewer. SAP CRM does this by presenting a viewer participation game, on screen. Two teams of actors, the whites and the blacks, each pass around a ball and viewers are asked to determine how many times the ball is passed among the white team members. While attention is riveted on counting the passes of the ball, a black belt gorilla walks among the participants, and most viewers fail to see him until the narrator reminds them and then replays the video.
Once the video has made its point, the narrator informs the viewers to “make sure your marketing team doesn’t miss the obvious.” A solution to this challenge, they are told is to use the SAP new CRM, which will allow them to identify hidden marketing trends that lurk beneath the surface of day to day fluxuations in the market.
This video does not entirely change the normal sales video template, however some of the major elements, such as product description, pricing and contact information are presented briefly or not at all. The captivating intro, which spans most of the presentation, introduces the problem, i.e. the danger of missing hidden trends in the market. The short narration at the end tells us that SAP provides the solution, the ability to help the sales team find the hidden trends. What are the advantages and possible disadvantages of this template?
The very apparent positive quality of this video is its powerful ability to rivet audience attention on the screen As the actors dance around, counting the number of passes is difficult. Viewers attention is riveted on the video, as they seek to count the number of passes. Many people probably got the count wrong, and then felt sheepish. But then when viewers find out that they missed seeing the black belt gorilla walking amidst the teams, they feel really foolish. And now they felt obligated to listen to the rest of the message, The video then succeeds, albeit briefly in making one point about their product, it is designed to help sales people spot marketing trends so they know where to focus their efforts.
What are the negative qualities of taking this approach to sales video production? The expansion of one task of a sales video, namely holding the audience’s attention, has forced compression of two other major tasks of a sales video. The video presents only a brief explanation of how this complex technology will help spot trends. And additionally, it merely tells us that the software does this. It shows us what some of the graphs on the software look like, but it doesn’t show the software in action. And normally, showing a product being used by someone else is a good inclusion in any sales video. So the video compresses presentation of the product features, and compresses an explanation as to how the product will solve the problem being presented.
Beyond all this, the video makes no effort to tackle important sales considerations such as pricing or the invitation to contact the company.So while the video is touted as a “sales video,” in many respects, it is more like a branding video, which gets the name of the company out to the public, but does little to actually sell the product.
What is the take away lesson from this video? While there are several well accepted components of any sales video, producers have the option to emphasize or deemphasize any component. In doing so, however, they need to consider the advantages and disadvantages of their strategy to be sure that the gain is greater than the sacrifice.
Some Tips For Getting The Most Out Of Your Corporate Video
Posted by SEO SERVICES in Video Production on September 29th, 2010
Corporate video is a broad term which subsumes any type of video that helps serve a corporate need. The Nike Corporate Presentation Video is an example of a corporate video that was made to present shareholders and investors the conceptual plans for construction of the new Nikke corporate headquarters plant in the Midwest.
The video is creative in that it precedes documentation of the plans for the new headquarters with a 1 minute segment dedicated to presenting the spirit of what Nikke is. This is a pleasant interlude, and artfully done as well.
The videographers who produced the intro segment present a parallel between athletes preparing for a contes, then beginning the contest and then finishing it, to the Nikke Corporation which is preparing to create a new corporate headquarters. At the beginning of this segment we see athletes who are concentrating and preparing themselves mentally to begin a contest. These clips are accompanied by other images illustrating the theme of beginning something, including a flower unfolding and a baby preparing to emerge from the womb. Subsequent to that we see scenes of athletes starting a contest. Finally towards the end of the segment we see images of athletes who have finished their contest, collapsing at the finishing line, in some cases, or simply being helped along by friends after crossing the finishing line.
The message NIkke presents to its shareholders is clear. Just as athletes, who use Nikke products, must prepare intensely for a competition, so must the corporateion prepare for the creation of a new corporate headquarters. At the end of the project, Nikke like athletes who use their shoes, will have used all their resources, and will be dependent on loans musch like athletes who are held aloft by friends after crossing the finishing line.
The video enhances its effect by preceeding and concluding the one minute intro segment with important take home messages, displayed as captions. The message at the beginning is “A legacy of innovation.” The message at the end is ” Nike design refining endurance plus sustainability.”
The effect of the video is enhanced by music which was specially composed for the video. The tune is short catchy and repetitive, without being domineering, qualities which together make very effective background music. The one line verse is ” I got a sole but I’m not a soldier.” The vocal line uses a pun between soul and sole to convince viewers that Nikke has a “soul.” This is a powerful branding concept. But Nikke are not soldiers. Images in the film show men and women involved in powerful contests of strength, but for whatever reason, we don’t see scenes of military combat, rather the healthy wholesome peacetime combat that takes place in athletic contests.
It is well known that videos with background music that have a beat are more effective at holding viewer attention, and the music in this video has an incessant yet not overpowering sound.At the end of the intro interlude, the video transitions to the presentation segment which displays floor plans and concepts about the new corporate headquarters.
What are some of the concepts of corporate video production illustrated by the first half of the video. One concept is that well chosen and well placed short theme messages can be effective when used in a video. The second concept is that presentation of corporate images can be enhanced by the inclusion of similar types of images taken from life in general, i.e. images of speedy athletes who use Nikke shoes, are juxtaposed with speedy animals. A third concept is the power of unity of concept and presentation. This video doesn’t merely present images of athletes who use Nikke shoes, it presents these images in a way that speaks about the effort of Nikke to prepare to undertake a major corporate endeavor. The fourth concept is that a company song or jangle can be very effective when the words are well chosen and appropriate to the message of the video. In this video, “I’ve got a sole but I’m not a soldier,” is pleasant to listen to. Of course, it might not be appealing to veterans, and this could be a negative factor affecting the popularity of this video. Finally, while corporate videos are neatly divided into different categories, depending on their function, as this video has shown, sometimes you can creatively combine two corporate video categories into one. This video has an intro, which functions much like a general Corporate branding video, followed by a presentation video, all combined into one package.
Planning On Hiring An Online Digital Agency?
Posted by SEO SERVICES in Marketing and Advertising on August 23rd, 2010
Online digital agencies help companies build, preserve and maintain a good reputation. If, in the past, your company has not had the best reputation, an online digital agency can help smooth over old rifts and patch up old wounds. digital agencies can make your company known in your industry. Repeat customers are important in business and online digital agencies can help you secure these kinds of customers. They are experts at building a company?s reputation and making it sound reliable and trustworthy.
Online digital agencies grow leadership, business, sales and markets ? especially in companies that don?t have the internal resources to do this on their own. Agencies develop and manage websites, build your list of email addresses, provide search engine strategies and help your business to be a success online. So what exactly can an online digital agency do for you?
- It can develop and manage your company?s email marketing campaigns to promote your business. This is an economical and efficient way to increase business and communicate with customers. Direct mail campaigns are much more expensive, both time wise and monetarily.
- Online digital agencies work with SEO or search engine optimization to make sure that your company gets the online exposure that it needs to grow. These agencies work to find the keywords and use them so that your website will consistently be found at the top of search engine rankings.
- social media optimization is a specialty of online digital agencies. Social media are technologies that offer online information sharing. Better known social media include Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and others. There are also smaller blogs and podcasts, often within your industry, that can be used to promote your business.
- An online digital agency will build a successful social media strategy that is built on trust, engagement, authenticity and transparency. For this reason, some companies are loath to entrust their social media activities to either traditional or online digital agencies.
Most companies don?t have the internal capabilities to deal with their own online needs. An online digital agency is often less expensive than hiring staff to work on social media optimization for a business. And if existing staff is used, these skills are usually learned on the payroll. Outside online digital agencies are experts in their field and can get your company the online exposure it needs in no time at all.
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Branding Agencies - Information & Advice
Posted by SEO SERVICES in Marketing and Advertising on July 25th, 2010
When you start your own business, you want to make sure that your company is the first one that people think of when they need your product or service. But, sometimes this can be a daunting task, especially when you are just starting out and you do not have a lot of experience with advertising and marketing. That is where a branding agency can come in and help you increase sales, visibility and viability in an ever changing marketplace.
Your brand identity goes beyond just what your logo looks like, it also encompasses advertising, promotional campaigns, and the whole breadth of marketing. A good branding agency will educate themselves about your consumer base and target audience and come up with ways to increase your company’s visibility with these demographics. They will be able to hammer out all the details of your company’s market appeal, from visuals to the marketing strategies.
It is best to let the experts do what they do. You already have more than enough to handle with running your business. Let your branding expert know what you want, what you would like to see and how you would like it to enthrall your customers and they should be able to put together a logo or slogan that will catch the attention of everyone. A good logo and slogan are key to keeping a business running smoothly.
When you hire a branding agency to do these things for you, you should expect your investment to pay off quickly. As your company name gets out there, you will see you customer base grow exponentially, especially if your logo and slogan are “catchy”. A branding agency is invested in your success since it means that you will not only be a repeat customer, but you will also tell other business owners about your success thanks to their hard work. It is a win-win situation.
You will be so happy that you thought to hire a professional agency to handle all this vital work. Your company’s success will continue to grow as its brand development moves ahead over time. Eventually, just the view of your company logo or typeface will make it come into many customer’s minds. There are just so many of the benefits that are self-propagating and as more and more people become aware of your company and your brand, this will be a regular occurrence.
Branding agencies are all around you but you have to look for them. Ask other business owners that you know who are successful who they use. Usually, they will be more than happy to point you in the right direction. And if they do not know, you can always research on the internet for a highly reputable branding agency. You want a company that will work hard for you and has seen success with other companies, time and again. A good branding agency will help you build your business, but a great branding agency can help you build a dynasty.
Adding Excitement To Your Corporate Video
Posted by SEO SERVICES in Video Production on July 12th, 2010
The University of Kibangsaan Malaysia produced their latest corporate video, which is published on You Tube. The video emphasizes the work the University is doing to teach western topics in the native Malyasian language, so presumably the decision to create a corporate video in English is based on the desire to target wealthy Malaysians living in the west, who will potentially support the Univeristy.
Based on the video content, the University apparently decided to feature important discoveries and breakthroughs made at the University, which have lead to social, technological and economical advances for humanity. The approach is certainly meritorious, and as the corporate video describes the list of advances, one can appreciate that many of these contributions are exciting cutting edge scientific developments. The discoveries presented include computerized monitoring of the eye movements of a driver to look for evidence he is too tired to drive and a computerized robot with the capability of detecting even minute smells.
Having plotted out the content of the corporate video the university and videographers next had to decide how they wanted to organize their material. They chose a format not unlike the dialogue in the famous John Lennon song, Imagine. In Imagine, the late John Lennon presented his ideas as a series of parallel sentences each starting with the word imagine. The song was set to softe melodious music composed by Lennon.
The UKM corporate video, they presents a series of questions and responses about the future set to a soft slow playing background. For example, the first caption starts with a question, “What if a computer could see what your eyes cannot?” Another caption responds: “Driver drowsiness detection system developed by the faculty of engineering.” Question: “What if we could invent a machine with a sense of smell? Response: “The optical e-nose detects smells up to a millionth of a micron.”
The entire 9 minute video consists of additional segments organized just like these, up until the very end. In the background we watch imagery related to the discovery begin touted, and or the people who developed it. In the final segment, the video poses a series of questions without answers. Who is driving the nation forward with a strong sense of national identity?” “Who has the will to advance humanity? Finally, “What if it is a National University? Then the video flashes the name University of Kibangsaan Malaysia.
I wouldn’t call this a boring video, because the question answer format does generate amazement about the achievements. The wording of the questions focuses on the remarkable aspect of each discovery. However, with respect to the visual presentation I do believe the video missed presenting enough clips of the discoveries in action and therefore may not have reached to the level of excitement it could have.
For example, the video initially poses the question as to what if a computer could see what your eyes cannot? And it then presents the driver drowsiness detection system. The question and response arouses interest. However, the video fails to show a depiction of the produc being used in real life. A visual presentation of a driver driving down the road at night and almost falling asleep and being aroused by the computer and then pulling over, would have, in my opinion, added more excitement. This type of vidual segment would have been comparable to contemporary videos of androids, which feature the androids performing a variety of feats on screen and talking to people. The question and answer format wins for consistency, yet by the end everyone knows what to expect, and so it loses some effectiveness. Furthermore, after a while viewers probably would like to know the name of the university presenting this research. While this might make some of the watchers stay to the end, it could also cause some of them to lose focus on each individual discovery. Finally, the one short appearance of the name of the University, which is the subject of the video is probably not enough to create powerful image branding. I would recommend that the name should have come out at the beginning, so viewers can associate all the advancements with the University.
A Successful Branding Style Trade Show Video
Posted by SEO SERVICES in Video Production on June 6th, 2010
The mark of a successful company is one that can be challenged with a project that takes them to a new level of excellence, and can successful meet the challenge and fulfill the expectations of their client. Diginovations, home of creative video solutions, was challenged to create a trade show video for Microwave Radio Communications for the 2007 NAB trade show. Microwave had rented prime space booth, and so their trade show video would be the first video seen by visitors to the 2007 NAB convention convention floor. By 2006, HD video was the accepted standard at NAD, so this added yet one more requirement to the exacting challenge.
Diginovations accepted the challenge, and created an exciting video, which drew myriads of spectators to the Microwave Booth.Their video was imagistic, it was a branding video, and it succeeded in capturing and conveying the excitement, which wireless radio communication has brought to broadcasting.
The video excelled in its completeness. In four minutes, it presented all or most of the types of exciting scenarios that we think of as being associated with wireless communication. We watch as television crews travel by helicopter to cover on the minute spots news events, accidents, sporting events, rescues, fires. We watch broadcasting crews setting up their equipment and dismantling it. We see several fast motion segments which transform the routine actions of the broadcast crew into rapid action scenes that serve to convey the sense of urgency and haste which we associate with on the spot broadcasting.
As the video progresses, we watch scenes of cameraman making the live shoots of skiing events, or winter Olympics. These scenes reflect strong editing inclusion choices because these are sports which connote speed, accuracy, action, all elements that enhance the image the video is creating about Microwave Radio Communications.
The visual story line is backed up by exciting synthesizer music, which presents an enlarged theme not unlike the short music spots we are used to hearing before live televised broadcasts. While the video presents occasional captions, which enhance the branding, they present some of the written material in a very creative way. The company name is blazoned on the inside of their large concave disc microwave broadcasting antennae, which appear in the video from time to time.
The Microwave Radio Communications %KLINK3% presents exciting ways in which branding can be conveyed through good choices of video footage, which convey the imagery that people expect and want to see, in the companies field of endeavor.
