A strange question... never been in this position before...

[Paul FilmMaker]

We're a UK video production house. We have a customer which is a mixture of the Department for Transport and a couple of other bodies.

We created the concept for a video using a ton of data, filmed and edited it. This is for road safety. Turns out that this video has just scored incredibly well by an independent body and opened up a completely new concept in videos for road safety. The government uses the Uni of Nottingham to analyse this stuff. They get a load of car drivers, ask them their behaviours, show them the video and then measure the change in behaviour and the change in behaviour is massive.

This is the first time we've been in a position where we've done something game changing and now we need to tell the world about it. We've had some marketing ideas and will be talking to a marketing agency on Monday but the UKBF hive mind usually has some crazy ideas and we'd love to hear what you'd do to market this.

So what would you do? How would you market this?

 

[MOIC]

Contact local councils and all transport bodies (AA, RAC), insurance companies and any car related online magazines.

All obvious I know but best to get the thread up and running.

The fact it’s (hopefully) endorsed by the DOT should open peoples eyes to the benefits.

Also think outside of UK.

Good luck with it.

 

[The Byre]

Congratulations on making a good video!

First off, I'd get permission (via email, so that there is an audit trail) to be able to use the video's success as an example of your work.

Secondly, I would examine WHY this video (when there have been thousands of others that were less effective!) made a difference. Ask yourself exactly why is this video different from all the goofball videos that have gone before.

Then get together with the commissioning body and start telling the world - well, tell the press. Make a video about how you made the video. The consultation, the research, the focus groups - whatever! And then get that video with a copy of the real game-changing video into the hands of the press, TV in particular! Remember to include the agencies, so Reuters, DPA, AP and all that lot are as important as the likes of ZDF, RAI, ITN and the BBC, etc., etc.

Put together a print package as well, killer images online, descriptions, all that usual sort of stuff.

A radio package is also important.

The key here is to be telling a bigger story. Work with road safety bodies to campaign for better information for road users that will change the way people view what they are doing on the road.

Imagine you are marketing a film. You cannot start with the movie as a product, cold turkey. First, you must start with the story - that could be an illustrated novel for kids, or a comic book, whatever! Then, and only then, can you make a short film, thereby slowly building a constituency or a fan base. Once you have a whole body of people who want to find out about that story and go into it in-depth, then you can start on a feature-length movie.

That is how successful modern marketing for the past ten to fifteen years has been working. It's called transmedia marketing. Building a brand across several outlets, all the time targeting specific groups that you know will be interested in your product, beginning small and spreading outwards.

 

[Paul FilmMaker]

Congratulations on making a good video!

First off, I'd get permission (via email, so that there is an audit trail) to be able to use the video's success as an example of your work.

Secondly, I would examine WHY this video (when there have been thousands of others that were less effective!) made a difference. Ask yourself exactly why is this video different from all the goofball videos that have gone before.

Then get together with the commissioning body and start telling the world - well, tell the press. Make a video about how you made the video. The consultation, the research, the focus groups - whatever! And then get that video with a copy of the real game-changing video into the hands of the press, TV in particular! Remember to include the agencies, so Reuters, DPA, AP and all that lot are as important as the likes of ZDF, RAI, ITN and the BBC, etc., etc.

Put together a print package as well, killer images online, descriptions, all that usual sort of stuff.

A radio package is also important.

The key here is to be telling a bigger story. Work with road safety bodies to campaign for better information for road users that will change the way people view what they are doing on the road.

Imagine you are marketing a film. You cannot start with the movie as a product, cold turkey. First, you must start with the story - that could be an illustrated novel for kids, or a comic book, whatever! Then, and only then, can you make a short film, thereby slowly building a constituency or a fan base. Once you have a whole body of people who want to find out about that story and go into it in-depth, then you can start on a feature-length movie.

That is how successful modern marketing for the past ten to fifteen years has been working. It's called transmedia marketing. Building a brand across several outlets, all the time targeting specific groups that you know will be interested in your product, beginning small and spreading outwards.

Thanks and just to answer one of these elements which is the key to the effectiveness: We used data. A ton of it. And then we tried to steer the customer way from being 'subjective' because the reality is data steers us towards what works.

 

[Paul FilmMaker]

And here's something really bizarre. The video we created is being presented at an important event where there will be a load of industry buyers and experts. But we're not allowed to present it! This is incredibly weird! I mean, we did it, but the independent analysts who assessed it are presenting it (they are the UK's experts in this field).

 

[fisicx]

Why is that bizarre? If you did an promo for a company would you normally present it to the board?

 

[Paul FilmMaker]

Why is that bizarre? If you did an promo for a company would you normally present it to the board?

What board? There is no board being presented to. The video is so good the 'independent analysts' want to share their analysis with the biggest players in the industry. They want to win more 'analysis' work and we want to win more video work. The analytical people have won the battle over the actual creators.

It's like a journalist talking about a product rather than the person who actually the product.

It's bizarre.

 

[fisicx]

‘The board’ was just an example. Are these analytical people the ones who paid for the video?

I’d have no problem with a journalist marketing a product rather than the manufacturer.

I build plugins. They are then presented to the client by the website developer. The client doesn’t even know I exist.

 

[Paul FilmMaker]

‘The board’ was just an example. Are these analytical people the ones who paid for the video?

I’d have no problem with a journalist marketing a product rather than the manufacturer.

I build plugins. They are then presented to the client by the website developer. The client doesn’t even know I exist.

No, the analytical people are analytical people. All they do is analysis.

The customer bought our concept that we created. They very much know we exist. They're going to be telling us how amazing we are in a video customer testimonial...

 

[fisicx]

We obviously have different opinions on this. It might be how you normally present your work but I don’t find it bizarre that someone else is doing the presenting.