Integrated Video For Innovative Marketing
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Presented at Morgantown, WV May 31, 2014.
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Integrated Video For Innovative Marketing
- 2. How Did I Get Here? 1997-98
- 3. How Did I Get Here? 1997-98 1999-2001 KPIX-TV San Francisco 2006-2008 KSTW-TV Seattle 2001-2006 KGO-TV San Francisco
- 4. How Did I Get Here? 1997-98 1999-2001 KPIX-TV San Francisco 2006-2008 KSTW-TV Seattle 2001-2006 KGO-TV San Francisco 2008-Present
- 5. How Did I Get Here? 1997-98 1999-2001 KPIX-TV San Francisco 2006-2008 KSTW-TV Seattle 2001-2006 KGO-TV San Francisco 2008-Present
- 6. How Did I Get Here? 1997-98 1999-2001 KPIX-TV San Francisco 2006-2008 KSTW-TV Seattle 2001-2006 KGO-TV San Francisco 2008-Present 2015 MASTEROFSCIENCESPROGRAM IntegratedMarketingCommunications
- 16. But How Do We Feed The Beast?
- 17. We Can Hire Out…
- 18. We Can Hire Out… • “Cast of Thousands” • “To look good, we have to spend a lot of money.”
- 19. We Can Hire Out… • “Cast of Thousands” • “To look good, we have to spend a lot of money.”
- 20. We Can Hire Out… • “Cast of Thousands” • “To look good, we have to spend a lot of money.”
- 21. We Can Hire Out… • “Cast of Thousands” • “To look good, we have to spend a lot of money.” • How well can you “feed the beast” in this outsourced model?
- 23. VideoVideo Video
Editor's Notes
- Good afternoon! It’s been just great to be here in Morgantown the past few days. Isn’t this a fantastic conference? Hi, I’m Joe Gura from Microsoft, where I manage digital assets for the Trustworthy Computing Communications group. What does Microsoft Trustworthy Computing do? Well, we are the group that works on Security, Privacy, Accessibility, Reliability and Online Safety involving products across Microsoft. This is includes many products many of you use everyday, like Windows, Office, Internet Explorer and many, many more. I’m here today to talk to you about Integrated Video, an owned content production paradigm that the Trustworthy Computing group has adopted over the past several years. Put simply, we moved all video content creation in-house; but, there’s more to it than that. By creating a united video foundation, we were able to create a cohesive video strategy that more clearly defines our brand to customers. What you’re looking at in this picture is the Trustworthy Computing Studio, a place that just a few short years ago was used a large storage closet or windowless office. Today, it houses lights and a set at one end, with three cameras and two teleprompters. On the other end, there sits an audio board, a switcher, various supplies, and computers we use for editing projects- computers that were bought off-the-shelf. The aisle to get to the set is a bit narrow, as we need to store a large wheeled crate that we use to support remote production needs at conferences. At just under 1,000 square feet, this studio punches well above its weight. In an average year, we publish between 80 and 100 projects, or about one every three or four days. I’m here to share the story of how we use this technology in conjunction with well-thought out production processes to create an Integrated Video strategy.
- So, who am I and what am I doing here? I was originally a TV producer by trade, and before that a bit of a sports geek and politics/statistics nerd. In the days before the Internet, the olden times, young sports fans like me had only the backs of baseball cards and newspaper sports sections to soak up knowledge and insight. I’d beg my parents for almanacs and record books, then read them until their pages fell out. So, you can imagine the match-made-in-heaven that was my first “real” job in broadcasting. At the age of 18, seven weeks removed from high school, I got a job working for Fox Sports Northwest out of very remote Pullman, Washington – a place that makes Morgantown look like Manhattan – as a graphics coordinator working on Washington State athletics telecasts. How did I get this gig? Truth be told, I lied about my age. The hiring manager laid out all of these qualifications, which I listened to and thought, “I could totally do that.” Then he said he wanted someone who was at last 20 and a junior at Washington State. A few people walked away; I thought that was one of the dumbest reasons ever to exclude an ordinarily qualified person from an opportunity. So, I went for it, and talked them into picking me. My job was to work in the production truck during football games and other sporting events. I would soak in the game, work with our primary producer, research storylines ahead of time, and pick out storylines in the game as they developed. For the broadcast, and this was the fun part for me- I would work with our statisticians and try and find a way to explain to viewers what’s happening in the game based on the data I was seeing. Put simply, what is the data from this game telling us?
- In the years that followed, I continued in the broadcasting industry, moving on into news production in my native San Francisco, with still some work in sports. I also finished my bachelor’s in communications on-time while working full-time. Post-college, I was working on the evening news at the ABC-owned station in San Francisco, where I was in charge of planning and executing Election Night coverage. Two elections in particular that I ran include the 2004 Presidential election and the 2003 California race where Arnold Schwarzenegger officially became the “gover-nator”. Arnold’s election was the one where I discovered a bug in the software that would’ve thrown off all published media results in the country. About a week before the election. That was a phone call the software vendor enjoyed. So, I’m someone who sweats the details when looking to tell a story right. As part of a desire to advance in my career, I took a management position with CBS at their Seattle-owned CW station, as Director of Digital Media. I conceived and launched the station’s web and social media operation, and also acted as a sales director for digital properties. In those two years inside the TV-station and major broadcast network management bubble, I came away very concerned about the broadcast industry as a career path. I found that the leadership was not seeing the big picture- not only did they not see the potential of new platforms like the Internet, but they still behaved as if there were only four channels, and that we weren’t in deep competition with hundreds of cable TV outlets. CBS had a promotion to a larger market on the table, but I turned it down and took a communications job at Microsoft.
- At Microsoft, I felt much more at home, in tune with technology, and part of a company and industry that is part of where things are going, not where things have been. While I was brought in to do communications work supporting Microsoft’s General Counsel, Brad Smith, my video production skills were called upon pretty quickly. I was able to install a modest program where we produced internal-facing videos not just for the Department of Legal and Corporate Affairs, but also for Microsoft as a whole.
- From there, I moved on to Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing group in 2011, where I took a job in crisis and security response communications; looking to develop my career more. I also was eager to work on something external-facing that could help our customers and educate the public. At that time, our group had just thrown together a mini-video studio of sorts and was sort of feeling its way around how to optimize it. Soon, I would return to the video business exclusively in the role I have now. It may have seemed I was getting away from television and video production, but just when it looked like I was out, they pulled me back in!
- And finally, how can Ii go on without explaining how a West coast guy is standing here in Morgantown, West Virginia on a sunny Saturday afternoon? I am, of course, a grad student in the IMC program. Fun fact--- I actually considered doing my undergrad here back in the 90s; even had my SAT scores sent here. After all these years, I’ve finally made it here! So, thanks again for having me here today, and Go Mountaineers! Now, let’s get into why now is the time to revolutionize video in marketing.
- Digital video has become a more prominent part of the marketing mix than ever before. All sorts of brands have YouTube channels with all sorts of content and product narratives for consumers. More and more, however, brands are using their 30-second TV spots as vehicles to start the video conversation with consumers and refer them to a deeper narrative on the YouTube channel. As a standard, insurance company MetLife points to the YouTube channel, not their Facebook and Twitter, at the end of their spots. You didn’t see this sort of thing a year ago.
- But you will as time goes by and the marketing profession continues to embrace this new avenue of audience engagement. 86% of brands told a 2013 survey they would increase video spend in 2014.
- 61% of younger executives say they will rely more on video marketing strategies and tactics in the next 5-10 years.
- By 2017, 70% of consumer Internet traffic will be online video. Someone’s going to have to make this video, and someone is going to have to consume it. Why not have them consume it about your brand?
- Video is not just growing because it is shiny and pretty. It delivers results. Earlier this year, I took IMC 616, Direct Marketing. And for those of us who took that course, you likely remember this piece of reading: the Direct Marketing Association’s Statistical Fact Book 2013. 213 pages of marketing goodness and factoids galore. Speaking as a person who contributes to dense cybersecurity trend reports, I love data. I love digging into things like this and finding stats and trends.
- So, one can imagine my delight when I came across page 19 and found this graph. Content with the best return-on-investment, according to marketing professionals. Take a look at items #2, #4, and #5- all of it involving digital video or photo content: Video. Photos. Interactive Media. All of these are outpacing media form factors like whitepapers, sales copy, and buyer’s guides. Think about it: how much time do you spend working out the finer points of whitepapers and sales copy? And, by contrast: how much time do you spend thinking about and planning for video and photography?
- Also along my IMC educational travels, I came across a few studies that re-enforce the effectiveness of video and/or graphical content. During my time in IMC 612, I came across a study from the Stockholm School of Economics, published in the Journal of Advertising published last fall. “Can Advertising Creativity Benefit More Than The Advertiser?” In the study, researchers attempted to discern the impact of graphical, highly-creative advertising- specifically, they were looking to discover how that content impacted adjacent editorial content. The Stockholm researchers hypothesized that the reading comprehension skills as well as the creative skills of the participants would be better stimulated if the adjacent article copy was accompanied by creative, engrossing advertisements.
- Their hypothesis were proven correct, but as I review this study, it made me think of all the webpages out there in the world- all those webpages that our brands own. All those webpages that market a business or a product. Our biggest goal for visitors to this owned content should be for maximum comprehension of the content and a greater understanding of our company and offerings. How can we get there? We can make web pages more robust. We can add creative, dynamic digital content to these pages to stimulate readers. After all, don’t we want stimulated readers? Don’t we want consumers as much as possible out of our owned content?
- In my humble opinion, we can make more video. That should stimulate the audience. So, we have a need.
- But how can we feed great video to the ravenously hungry content beast?
- Option 1, and this is often the first thing people think of, We Can Hire Out! Video is hard, according to the conventional wisdom. You need a producer, and a director, and an editor, and a camera-guy, plus an audio guy, and a grip. It’ll take weeks, maybe months! And what if I want animation? Then I have to run it past legal and other approval boards! That will take at least six months. And cost? It’ll be high!
- But one of the perils of hiring out is, the person telling you that you need a producer, and a director, and an editor, and a camera guy, plus an audio guy, and a grip, is often the one who is selling you these services. Think about that. In many respects, the required “cast of thousands” is a myth. Speaking as someone who has produced TV in one form or fashion for about 20 years, I can tell you I’m one of the first to argue the merits of doing the job right and having the appropriate budget. However, what I’ve also seen in two decades (am I really that old?) is the affordability and democratization of media technology has allowed us to scale video production in ways we never have before. Almost all of the projects I direct are done with what’s basically a staff of one-and-a-half: myself, and my cameraman/editor, who works on part-time, hourly basis. This is the sort of result we get with just one day of shooting and editing. <<PLAY VIDEO: Accessibility Profiles: Tyler>> http://youtu.be/FesIgASOL7A
- That video took one day to produce, shoot, and edit, and was posted on 25 days ago, on May 5th. It has garnered about 20,000 views- that’s 20,000 more people who likely have a more positive opinion about how people with disabilities connect with the world using Microsoft products and services. Like I said, that was done with myself and a freelance cameraperson/editor. So, let’s consider the “cast of thousands” myth busted. And, while we’re at it, let’s bust the myth of “to do it right, video is expensive”. Well, with a high-priced production company and a large crew, it can be. But let’s say I can’t convince you. Let’s say you’re blessed with an enormous marketing budget, and by golly, you expect to spend every last cent of it. You could hire Stephen Spielberg if you wanted to, and still have enough left over to have Matthew Weiner write your script and have George Lucas provide special effects. You demand nothing but the best, and let’s face it, that cast of thousands just looks impressive to your stakeholders and clients.
- And, like the guy who owned Jurassic Park, you love to say, “We spared no expense”. That’s fine. I can bust all the myths I want about what’s possible in terms of hired-out video production. But let’s look at this from the other side of the coin. Let’s talk about your customers, your audience. Those people that you want to convince to buy your product.
- Let’s ask ourselves a few hard questions: Even if you hired out for every video and can afford to pay top-dollar, ask yourself: How many videos am I able to publish in a month or a week? Am I really feeding the content beast? Am I leaving the audience hungry by constantly hiring out? Am I telling every story I possibly can about my product? But with a honed process and a clear game-plan for an integrated video strategy, costs can plummet dramatically, and more content can be delivered to customers. Also, look at this from the other side of the coin. Let’s talk about your customers, your audience. Those people that you want to convince to buy your product.
- Let’s say you’re promoting four products or services. Each has a marketing manager has been told, “have at it… bring me only the best video content”. So they hire out. Oftentimes, they hire out to different companies. Hey, it’s the free market at work!
- Four different types of projects get made- sure, it’s all video, but it’s all a little different. It’s not quite brand consistent across the four. Common, company-wide themes aren’t universally evident. After all, there were four different production teams handling the work.
- Now, what happens when you go to publish your project? Everybody’s got their own idea for video, so often they’ll have their own idea for publishing and distribution. Before long, you’ve got four separate distribution channels. But its fine, you argue. My marketers are doing good work. That’s all fine and good, I say, but where are your consumers getting the full picture of who you are as a company? Can customers find your full spectrum of video marketing? In this model of producing, editing, and publishing video content, they cannot.
- So, it looks like it’s time to integrate video. For the sake of your customers. For the sake of brand alignment and consistent marketing. For the sake of your operating budget, and let’s face it, for the sake of your sanity! I’ll share some of the steps we took and lessons learned in how we’ve created an integrated production model.
- Let’s go back to our marketing teams. Instead of having them look outward for video and digital media needs, let’s have them look inwards.
- After combining some resources across the business, I took on a role as a centralized video strategist for the group. We still let people be who they are, and do what they do, but now there is one centralized production template, with consistent branding elements and look-and-feel.
- Beyond that, I implemented, launched, and marketed a united, external-facing channel where the public could come and get all-up video view of the depth and breadth Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing initiative has to offer. The strategy doesn’t just stop with publication; I’ve also spent a significant amount of time going through the metrics and usage statistics, and using that knowledge as a way to make our productions more effective for our customers.
- Beyond that, I implemented, launched, and marketed a united, external-facing channel where the public could come and get all-up video view of the depth and breadth Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing initiative has to offer. The strategy doesn’t just stop with publication; I’ve also spent a significant amount of time going through the metrics and usage statistics, and using that knowledge as a way to make our productions more effective for our customers. Views only tell a part of a story. I regularly refer back to something I call the “Consumption Rate”, a figure that YouTube likes to call the “Average View Duration”. Basically, it asks: how long did the average viewer stick with the video? After all, why make a 10-minute video if people are only watching the first 2 minutes? One of the best things about publishing online that we never had when I worked in television is the ability to see exactly how well our viewers are engaged with the content. When I worked on the morning news, we never had any idea if you were watching our six-times-per-hour traffic reports with bated breath, or if you were off brushing your teeth. The consumption rate tells us exactly what’s happening, and helps inform future productions. On occasion, I have people who come by and the first thing they ask for is a 7-minute video, without even telling me what the subject matter is. As the stakeholder and I talk more, I can often suggest little things we can do in production to get the project down to 3 or 4 minutes. Often, that works in consolidating the script and helping keep the content brief and the consumption rate healthy. However, some people can be insistent, and passionate about their need for 7 minutes of video time. This is where the consumption rate comes in. I take them through a series of similar video projects’ consumption statistics and show them how they performed. After reviewing these figures, I’ll tell my stakeholder: “At the end of the day, you’re not negotiating with me. You’re negotiating with the audience.”
- Beyond just producing projects and keeping video length down, there’s more to this paradigm. A content development program has many facets to it, but one that has the most impact, and is the least-talked about, is process. What processes could we implement from an integrated video perspective that we could implement to help all of our marketing workstreams? From a strategic perspective, what could I do to have us produce and publish high-quality video better, faster, and cheaper than anyone else could?
- We had to scale to the needs of our business. Video isn’t about shooting and editing; it’s about planning and executing. Every business is unique and has their own set of needs. This is what I saw when I looked at ours:
- First, I looked at some of the most time-critical information we distribute to customers. The Trustworthy Computing group handles communication to customers related to security bulletins. You know how every once in awhile, your Windows PC says it needs to install updates? That’s what that is. And I would be remiss if I didn’t remind you all to keep your computer updated. As I said at the start of my talk, the very idea to construct a small, on-site studio came from our response team, but it is the simplified production process we’ve worked together to implement that has made this successful. We identified several repeatable steps in the process, including in the writing, shooting and approvals phase, and found ways to cut production time down significantly. As a result, our security bulletin overview video, which can draw an audience into the hundreds of thousands of views, can be written, shot, edited, and distributed to the public in under three hours.
- Secondly, I looked at our communications patterns with video. Were we really doing everything we could to humanize technology and policy with our audience? Working around security, online safety, privacy and reliability, I get a chance to meet and work with an eclectic group of people ranging from senior citizens to executives, to advocates to lawyers all the way to hackers who refuse to tell you their real name. These are interesting, passionate people. Are we doing their best to show our customers their passion for technology? So, I looked for creative opportunities to capture this passion through video.
- Originally designed to be a press release announcing a Microsoft prize winner, I advocated turning a software security contest into an American Idol-style reveal, which press enjoyed immensely. This took place at a party we were already planning to have, adding video really wasn’t that expensive. We just had the DJ move his setup over to the side slightly. When computer security reporters in Singapore and India use the words “flashy” and “suspenseful” in a policy article, you know you’ve done something right.
- We found excellent stories to tell in the seniors and disability communities about using Microsoft technologies like Xbox and Skype to overcome adversity and bring people together. After finding these stories, we documented them through effective visual storytelling, in close alignment with all-up messaging strategies.
- Finally, we saw an opportunity to tell a global story. Our experts in Trustworthy Computing engage with customers and experts from all over the world, through conferences and site visits. This is an opportunity to prove to our customers around the globe that we understand and appreciate their perspectives. However, it’s not just about jet-setting- It’s about planning and economizing remote production and getting rapid results. The shoot seen at right on this slide took only 30 minutes of my stakeholder’s time, just to come out to the Sydney waterfront and tape the “hosted” section of the video, which I wrote for them. I took care of the rest of the details, directing two-and-a-half days of shoots in Sydney, Melbourne, Oslo, and Helsinki. We then came back to Redmond and edited the piece and published it within two days. This worked quickly because we knew the subject matter well and had the details worked out well ahead of time. The reason we have been able to take advantage of these opportunities and produce video content so quickly and efficiently is because we have an integrated video program. It’s because I walk the same hallways as our communications, marketing and PR colleagues. It’s because I attend the same meetings and am steeped in the same culture that I can look at a situation and make a suggestion that capitalizes on opportunities. It’s because of this familiarity with our subject matter that I can run with a project, writing, editing, and producing it with not much extra work or supervision needed from my marketing, PR or communications colleagues, freeing them up to focus on other tasks. If I was an external video producer, just trying to complete projects on-time and with a healthy profit margin, I believe I would not be as effective with my recommendations or strategy. External video producers of course want to deliver on quality, but they simply cannot have the same strategic storytelling perspective that an integrated video storyteller can offer.
- At the end of the day, nobody is going to know your content, and love your content, and treat your content the way you do. Trust yourself. Trust your expertise as a marketer. Trust your knowledge of the product, and ask yourself: Am I doing everything I can to tell this story visually? Is our all-up strategy showing through all of our communications? As marketers, are we doing more than just “checking the box” with video? Are we giving customers one-stop shopping to see the whole picture, the depth and breadth of who we are?
- You may not have every resource. But you have every opportunity. For those of you who are graduate students here at WVU, we have video and digital media electives which can help sharpen skills and introduce these strategies. For those of you elsewhere in the profession, it is extremely likely that you have colleagues who moved over from digital media or broadcasting whose expertise you can leverage in laying the groundwork for an integrated video strategy. And finally, video technology continues to be democratized and more available than ever. Cameras are better and cheaper now than ever before. Editing software, either through the cloud or standard software, is cheaper than I’ve ever seen it. So, I encourage you to invest your time and your passion for telling your client’s story into an integrated video strategy. Leverage the media experience of your colleagues. Take workshops of your own to learn more about production. Always remember, your perspective is valuable. Use it to integrate video and innovate your IMC efforts.
- Thank you!