Taking your company center stage with affordable online video advertising

Companies are catching the wave of online video as a means to communicate to employees, customers, and the investment community. Beyond the obvious advertising value or television commercial, there is an emerging trend to use video for annual reports. Video offers a more vibrant presentation and a significant cost savings over the more traditional print and mail of annual reports.  To get a feel for this trend, click on this link to visit California Pizza Kitchen’s past reports.

But for the small to medium size company, high quality video has been seen as cost-prohibitive. Not anymore. You can take your company to center stage with services from online video production companies at minimal cost.  Two companies I have kept my eye on are PixelFish and SpotRunner.  Although they provide similar services, your advertising and promotion needs may favor one or the other.

John McIntyre, CEO of PixelFish, puts an emphasis on affordable creativity. In our conversation he said, “Lower costs of production combined with new distribution options have finally made video ads worth the investment for SMBs (small to medium businesses). Most SMBs don’t have experience creating and distributing video ads so we have to make the process easy, affordable, and fast.”

Beyond their creative templates, i.e., pre-produced/do-it-yourself video solutions, you can leverage their network of professional videographers to come to your location and create original work.  PixelFish calls this style of video, a Documentary-style where they send a videographer to the business’s location and capture the owner, customers or other spokespeople on camera talking about the business. 

John went on to say , “Although affordable options for TV ads such as Google TV are emerging, we believe online directories and search currently offer the best value for SMBs.” They even offer Yellow Page (online) distribution as an option. In a short time segment of five minutes or less, you will be able to include recognizable examples for the viewer, a reflection of your company and employees, and an integrated message of how you serve your customers needs better than anyone else.

SpotRunner takes an all-encompassing approach; they provide a fully integrated advertising solution that includes creative production, media planning and media buying. Not only can they serve your production needs for video, but they can help you book the airtime on local stations.  When I talked to Keith Wiley, Manager of Corporate Communications at SpotRunner, he said, “We can help create and execute integrated effective, multi-media campaigns for TV, online, radio and print.”

This translates to a highly targeted local advertising and marketing campaign from a single source. Wiley explained it like this, “The Spot Runner Production Network can be quickly deployed to shoot onsite footage of a client's business...whether it be their store front, famous dishes, customer testimonials or interviews with the store's owners." If your production needs include print and mail, as part of a larger marketing campaign, they can help with that, too. SpotRunner has a full complement of in-house services, or they will partner with your advertising agency, to ensure a consistent message and brand recognition.

Video offers you a medium that can reinforce your brand while connecting with the audience. In our conversation, Wiley said, "Video advertising, whether TV or online, is extremely important for SMBs. It's the most powerful form of communication out there -- nothing else combines sight, sound and motion to engage consumers and deliver a message, so it's really important for SMBs to consider the best ways of leveraging it." Adding text to the video can reinforce your message.

How can you put this to use? Beyond the earlier mention of annual reports and online advertising, other applications of online video include press releases, sales and marketing collateral, human resources (HR) and recruiting, meetings and presentations, training, and more. With your newfound ability to serve a wider and more diverse audience, at an affordable price, this can translate into creating a virtual tradeshow for any number of events or market segments. There’s a viral marketing aspect to all this, too.

Here’s a parting thought. By reducing printed materials , you are demonstrating a commitment to social responsibility through “Reduce, reuse, and recycle”. Just one more reason to go video for your next ad campaign.