At times a company may want to use one of their own employees or possibly even the CEO to deliver an on-camera message. When that’s the case their are some things that you should be aware of so that there aren’t any surprises.

If you are going to be on camera delivering a message, plan on budgeting for a teleprompter. In trying to save money, more time is spent looking for alternative methods to a teleprompter such as taping script notes on cards placed by a camera. It’s a nuisance for those on camera and something that slows down a production. A teleprompter ensures that your presenter will come across as professional. You are also guaranteed that his or her eye contact will be spot on with the camera. An extremely important point.

Don’t let mistakes get you down. Being on camera requires a little bit of confidence. Even professional talent that are hired as on-camera spokesmen make mistakes. The important thing is not to lose focus. Put the mistakes behind you and forge on. Staying loose but still concentrating on what you’re doing is the best approach.

As we mentioned in an earlier blog entry…it’s best not to wear a white shirt. The luminance levels of a white shirt play havoc with cameras. The same goes for tight and intricate tie patterns. That type of pattern can cause a visual effect known as moiré. It’s a distracting element and takes away from the on-camera message.

The most important thing of all is preparation. Even with a teleprompter make sure you’re prepared going into the day of the shoot. Study the script, rehearse it, understand your content. No matter how experienced or inexperienced you may be, preparation is an essential key and makes a world of difference.

Recently, Bright Circle has attended a number of different trade shows in our marketing efforts. It’s also been an effective means of research.

The Orange County Convention Center is the 2nd largest convention center in the United States. Every year companies from all over the world come to attend trade shows and conduct business. A great number of these companies have a video at their booth or exhibit to promote their services.

Here’s a few quick pointers for companies to remember.

This is your product, the labor of your life. Your company needs to be represented well. Don’t try to produce the video yourself. You’ll be better served not doing one at all instead of attempting to learn the craft of producing video in the weeks leading up to your event. Never has there been a point in time where we as a people have been trained to know what constitutes a good video and a bad video. With over 200 cable networks broadcasting worldwide, and the whole world streaming online, viewers are more sophisticated than ever before. We know what’s good, we know what’s really bad. This is your name….it has to be good. It’s worth the investment to have it professionally done.

Determining the proper length of your video is crucial. Shorter is better. At trade shows people are on the go, there’s constant movement. For example, ten to twelve minutes is an extremely long time for a group of people to camp out at an exhibit…even to watch a video. Five to seven minutes is a much better length. You’ll be able to play the video more often to more people….and that’s a good strategy.

You need the wow factor.

What will make people stop at your booth to watch your presentation? Well if you can manage the cost, a nice plasma display could pay handsome dividends. High Definition is here and people are still fascinated by the imagery. Displays are costing less and less. HD or HDV production guarantees a much longer shelf life, ensuring you a higher ROI.

Trade show videos also are tools that can be converted quickly and for the most part inexpensively into a video for your web site. It’s a valuable asset to have in marketing your firm.

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Whether your shoot necessitates HD, HDV, Beta Sp, P2 or Mini DV we have the solution needed to meet your requirements. Call 407-393-5692 today and book with confidence.

In Part 1 of Beating the Economy Blues we asked the question: What do companies do when times are hard? Cut back…be more conservative; or try a more aggressive route?

Marketing Loop offers “Five Recession Proof Strategies to Grow Your Business During Hard Times.” It’s a good read with some practical advice on how to manage the storm of a challenging economy.

Part 1 of Beating the Economy Blues offered two solutions to how companies could use video to spur more growth. Let’s take a look at two other strategies.

1) Video Newsletters. Ok, so everyone has gotten onboard the monthly newsletter bandwagon. It’s a great vehicle to build your opt-in list. But now it’s time for something else….all aboard! Video newsletters take your clientele inside your company and show what your latest offerings are. Feature an employee of your company and highlight the customer service that they deliver. Showcase technological advancements that your company has made. Use it in an entertaining style. Be personable…connect! Stay away from anything longer than three minutes. It’s faster to download and quicker to watch. Get to the heart of what makes your company wonderful!

2) Live Webcasting! Webcasting a seminar and providing a site for prospects that can’t attend makes good business sense. It puts you out there in the front trenches ahead of your competition. It’s another avenue for you to market your services and provide proof that your organization is ahead of the game.

Beating the economy blues is simply a matter of offering more service and value. In today’s world, media and online communications play a big part of that strategy.

So, what do companies do when times are hard? Cut back…be more conservative; or try a more aggressive route?

What works for you?

CNN Money recently published an interesting report detailing how five small businesses “defied the downturn.” The upshot of the story was the need to change what might not be working into a model that does work. Often times that meant investing or expanding to offer a more attractive product.

So how can companies that might be falling a little short this year use video to entice their clientele, or prospective clientele? Here are 2 quick examples. We’ll take a look at two others in Part 2.

1) Restaurant owners…people don’t have the same disposable income to eat out as much. But, using video clips played on your website that showed a dish being created in a savory manner with all the beautiful close-ups of the textures and pop & sizzles that happen in the creation of the dish will make those mouths water in no time. Interviewing a chef with pizzazz and charisma and including that into the mix wouldn’t hurt either!

2) Not-For-Profits…are donations down? Implementing a video email campaign can have a strong positive impact on your bottom line. Sending out an on-camera endorsement from a known community business leader to other local businesses or employing a strategy whereby someone that has depended on the services of your Not-For-Profit provides an on-camera testimonial of how important those services actually are, can prove to be quite fruitful.

Part 2 of this entry will examine two other options that businesses and organizations might consider to combat a struggling economy.