reel sweet vids: December 2008

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Predictions for 2009

You're going to hear this a lot, but 2008 was a hell of a year. I don't think anyone saw all that coming and the ramifications, both good and bad, will be felt well into 2009. So on that note, we offer you our humble predictions for the world in 2009.

It's about who's listening, not talking
2008 saw the rise of social media into the mainstream. Everyone was talking about it, and through it, and with it, and, well just talking. A lot. Billions of conversations. But who was listening? Fresh Peel looked into their rear view mirrors and asked some big names in marketing who was the best at listening in 2008. The most mentioned? Dell, Southwest, Zappos. The surprise: Big Oil? Well, you'll have to read the post to figure out how the oil companies got mentioned in the same breath as Zappos.

The lesson here? Online it's about listening, now more than ever. Everyone is talking. So much so that you can't possibly keep up with all the conversations. But if you listen to what your customers are saying you'd be amazed at the inroads you can make. Dell (via twitter) helps get a cheap replacement part (via eBay) to a customer. Zappos CEO twitters honestly about his company, even when they have to layoff employees for the very first time. Pizza hut lets you order a pizza via facebook. These guys aren't slapping together a myspace page and gathering up random friends. They're taking the time and effort required to have an honest conversation with the people they serve. They are listening first, then thinking like a human (rather than a corporate lawyer), and responding in an honest and genuine way. If you'd like to succeed online in 2009 I suggest you do the same.

The Recession will effect you in ways you cannot predict
Perhaps this is an oxymoronic prediction, but I believe it to be true. Bottom line: you will need to re-evaluate how you spend your marketing dollars. Cutting a marketing budget altogether can be dangerous. Look out how Kodak has faded from public view over the last 10 years. They used to be in the top 25 most valuable brands in the world. In 2007 they were 78th. In 2008 they didn't make the list (of 100.) Kodak cut it's marketing budget down to barebones and *just like that* everyone forgot about them. There's a few other reasons of course (if your products have built-in amazingness it helps too) but you get the idea.

What you can do: outsmart, don't outspend. The idea that launched the Fallon ad agency so many years ago still rings true. Don't try to spend yourself out of this recession, but rather use it as a time to re-invent and inject innovation into every thing your company does. Can't afford your usual newspaper ad? Try a facebook page at a fraction of the cost and see if it doesn't increase your connection with your customers (I bet it will.) Can't rent those giant inflatable humanoid figures that flap in the wind (side note: seriously, auto dealerships where's the proof that those have ever, ever lead anyone into your lot?)? Create a video and help it go viral and see how many people talk about your business...for years to come. The possibilities are endless, but you have to be willing to step out of your marketing comfort zone and embrace these new mediums to see results. If you're not willing to do that you might consider the next prediction:

Everyone will become a bank. Everyone will be bailed out
OK, so this one might be a little far fetched, but did you know that the federal form for bailout money is only two pages long? Have you ever gotten a car loan that was only two pages long? Maybe it's time to launch Reel Motion Media Bank Holding Company, Inc. Stay tuned on that one for 2009...

You will succeed. And we can help.
The most successful companies in 2009 will partner with companies that bring experience, creativity, practical strategy and cost effective results to the table. Know anyone who does that? (hint: look below).

Got your own predictions? Or a reason why we're way off? Or right on? Let's hear it in the comments. Oh, and happy new year!

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Reel Motion Media Inc., is a Video & Web Marketing company that understands how to maximize your company's exposure in the internet of tomorrow. Reel Motion has full video production capabilities and an experienced web marketing staff that will make every dollar of your budget count, even if your budget is only a dollar. Contact them today at info@reelmotioninc.com for more information on taking your company to the next level.

Monday, December 29, 2008

How to Waste 15 Minutes

Up Late TV is a surprisingly addictive playback of random Youtube clips. And I do mean random. As in Ronald McDonald falling off a park bench set to a Japanese techno song. Or a segment on how they make crayolas.

It will draw you in. It will waste your time. It will be worth it.

You have been warned. Now go forth and enjoy.

www.upl8.tv

(hint: spacebar goes to the next clip and if you want to pull up a clip on Youtube just double click the video)

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Reel Motion Media Inc., is a Video & Web Marketing company that understands how to maximize your company's exposure in the internet of tomorrow. Reel Motion has full video production capabilities and an experienced web marketing staff that will make every dollar of your budget count, even if your budget is only a dollar. Contact them today at info@reelmotioninc.com for more information on taking your company to the next level.

Friday, December 26, 2008

More of the Year's Best Virals

Another top ten viral video list, this time from the Guardian in the UK. View my favorites below, see all ten at The Guardian.

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Reel Motion Media Inc., is a Video & Web Marketing company that understands how to maximize your company's exposure in the internet of tomorrow. Reel Motion has full video production capabilities and an experienced web marketing staff that will make every dollar of your budget count, even if your budget is only a dollar. Contact them today at info@reelmotioninc.com for more information on taking your company to the next level.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Twitter for Business: An Intro

David Griner at The Social Path shares a spot on presentation on Twitter and how businesses can leverage it to their advantage. Griner nails it, so I'll just get out of the way and let you dive in.

The Tao of Twitter: An intro guide

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: twitter social)

Monday, December 22, 2008

When Local Advertising Goes Bad

Esquire counts down the five worst local Christmas ads. Here's a few of my favorites, see the rest at Esquire.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Inspiration

Some of the best inspirational speeches from the movies, condensed down for your viewing pleasure. (via Lifehacker)

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

What do videos and Christmas cards have in common?

What makes a great video is often what makes a great Christmas card: relevant, interesting, leaves a smile on your face, and makes you want to double check who sent it to you. Sometimes a great Christmas card is a great video, as you can see below. This is from AKQA ad agency in San Francisco. (you'll need sound to have it make sense)

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

What males 18-34 are doing besides dreaming about having sex

Males between the ages of 18-34 buy stuff, more than any other age category in the United States. Sex sells and mainly because it sells with these young males. In a recent study from Break Media and Hall and Partners (which came to me via Scotty Monty's Social Media Marketing Blog) 74% of males age 18-34 would rather have sex than surf the web, however surfing the web is pretty important to. 67% said they couldn't live without the internet compared to 31% who could not live without television.

Scotty is the Social Media Marketing Director for Ford Vehicles Here's what he's sayin about this -

"That's more than a 2:1 margin of the Web over TV. Are you listening, traditional marketers? I'd suggest it's time to look at how you're spreading your media buys."

These guys aren't all nerd skills. They're the cool guys too, the trend setters and the cultural leaders. 79% would rather meet a woman out on the town than online, 71% prefer "a date with a hot girl to a poker game with the boys" and - as I already mentioned - 74% would rather have sex than surf the web. If you think about that though, that last statistic means 26% would rather surf the web...

We all know that men talk a lot more about sex than they are actually having it, so they generally do end up spending quite a bit of their time connected to the web (whether they'd rather be having sex or not)... 40% spend at least 22 hours a week online. Here are some other pertinent findings.

- 63% have a smart phone and 1 in 4 use their mobile device to connect to the Web
- 36% say they can’t live without the Internet for socializing
- 33% say they can’t live without online entertainment
- 59% notice online ads
- 35% like ads that allow them to play a game
- 34% like online ads that allow them to participate in a contest

What does all this mean for the marketing of your brand...

If your business model won't allow you to use sex, than at least use the internet.

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Reel Motion Media Inc., is a Video & Web Marketing company that understands how to maximize your company's exposure in the internet of tomorrow. Reel Motion has full video production capabilities and an experienced web marketing staff that will make every dollar of your budget count, even if your budget is only a dollar. Contact them today at info@reelmotioninc.com for more information on taking your company to the next level.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Street with a View

Where is the line between reality and fantasy? You're answer may be a little more blurry after you read this.

Most of us have found Google Maps to be a pretty useful piece of technology. I've personally found my way to more places than I can remember using maps, all without ever having to stop for directions (ok, maybe once, but I wasn't lost!) But have you ever stopped to think about some of the images captured in Google's Street View? Sure, they're a useful and fun way to look around a city, but they're also like a time capsule. Everything happening on that street at that moment was captured by Google's camera and preserved for all to see online. But what if what the cameras captured wasn't real?

Enter the Street with a View Project, a master's art project from Ben Kinsley and Robin Hewlett of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. With a little help from Google these artists were able to act out an elaborate medieval sword fight and a "love ray" that brought together Steelers and Browns fans, among other things. Now users who browse 514 Sampsonia Way in Pittsburgh will be treated to a lot more than an alleyway.

Could this be the next trend, a la Improv Everywhere? Will brands begin sneeking in messages to this space? Will Google begin censoring street views? Who knows, but one thing is for sure: as technology marches forward so do people's imaginations.

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Reel Motion Media Inc., is a Video & Web Marketing company that understands how to maximize your company's exposure in the internet of tomorrow. Reel Motion has full video production capabilities and an experienced web marketing staff that will make every dollar of your budget count, even if your budget is only a dollar. Contact them today at info@reelmotioninc.com for more information on taking your company to the next level.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

The Top 10 Viral Videos of 2008

Time Magazine has compiled the top 10 viral videos of 2008. Which ones have you seen? Which ones did you like? Which ones did you pass on to friends?

1. Where the Hell Is Matt?

Monday, December 8, 2008

A Quick Tweet

Things are crazy busy here in Blogtron land, so I wanted to direct you over to a site I've found really useful lately: http://www.twitip.com/

Twitip is a blog of Twitter tips for everyone from beginner to advanced tweeter. If you're looking to dive into Twitter you won't find a better resource for tools and strategy on making the most of your 140 characters.

If you're still wondering about Twitter or social media or web video or quantum mechanics get in touch with your local web marketing company (hint: see below.) Ok, if you're looking for answers about quantum mechanics you'd better call a scientist, but we'd love to talk about Quantum of Solace if you're interested.

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Reel Motion Media Inc., is a Video & Web Marketing company that understands how to maximize your company's exposure in the internet of tomorrow. Reel Motion has full video production capabilities and an experienced web marketing staff that will make every dollar of your budget count, even if your budget is only a dollar. Contact them today at info@reelmotioninc.com for more information on taking your company to the next level.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Extreme Telecommuting

Here's something I'd have never thought of and sounds really attractive after the commute into work this morning:

When your company changes its policy and allows you to telecommute, and when meetings are conducted online instead of in-person, you might be freed to live in another country for a few months, or even a year or two. The financial advantage of this can be enormous. You can take advantage of the digital nomad dream combination of a first-world income and third-world costs. The extreme telecommuting sweet spot is when you earn a big-city salary, but live in, say, Bolivia, where a mansion with servants costs $500 per month.

Mike Elgan wrote this in Computerworld recently and it has me thinking today. What else is possible in today's ever-connected, always-on world? Are you using technology to your advantage or is technology taking advantage of you?

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Reel Motion Media Inc., is a Video & Web Marketing company that understands how to maximize your company's exposure in the internet of tomorrow. Reel Motion has full video production capabilities and an experienced web marketing staff that will make every dollar of your budget count, even if your budget is only a dollar. Contact them today at info@reelmotioninc.com for more information on taking your company to the next level.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Whopper Virgins

So with one hand, Boulder's Crispin Porter + Bogusky creates ads for the likes of Domino's Pizza and Burger King, like the video below. With the other hand, the agency's creative powerhouse, Alex Bogusky writes a diet book. Is anyone else confused?

In the ad below people who have never been exposed to fast food burgers before, "Whopper Virgins" as they're called, are given a taste to see what their reactions are. Some are saying that this is going too far and promotes spreading the unhealthy "American" diet of fast food and large portions around the globe faster than it already is. Others say it's a great insight and twist on the classic taste test and it's just advertising so leave it alone. In any case it has people talking. What do you think?

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

What is so Great About Talcum Powder?

It's not just for your grandparents. Talcum powder has always been good for counteracting the stank in your shoes and the rash on your babies backside but why are more and more basketball players using it? Probably a few days after Michael Jordan started his pre-game ritual of tossing "chalk" in the air above the scorer's table, other players began to replicate this purely for its stylistic attributes, much like the tongue wag that helped everybody be like Mike. Nowadays though it seems like the tongue is passe and the chalk toss is really, really the thing you gotta do. And just to confirm that notion, Nike, in cooperation with Portland, Oregon based advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy, created a beautiful black and white piece that is going to have everybody just doing it. Tossing up some talcum powder that is.

But why did Mike do it? For the extra grip on the ball the powder gave him by reducing the sweat and moisture on his hands, that's why. But why is Nike-Basketball's latest commercial spotlighting the chalk? Well for one thing Lebron James has taken to doing it, as well as Boston Celtics star Kevin Garnett. It also just looks cool, especially in black and white. Now, I wanna throw some chalk. I guess I still want to be like Mike. I wanna be, I wanna be. And with cameos by basketball players Greg Oden, LaMarcus Aldridge, Brandon Roy, Daniel Gibson, Anderson Varejao, J.J. Hicks and hip-hop artist Lil Wayne it seems like everybody grew up wanting to be like Mike. The barber, the baker and the junior high girls basketball team, everybody throw some chalk.

Legend has it that Jordan, when he first started using talcum powder, didn't want anybody to "be like Mike" and created the fist bump as an alternative to the high five in the process. After throwing up the chalk he would walk down the line of opposing players offering up his fist for a "bump" instead of the traditional hand slap that would have rubbed off some of his magic powder on the other teams hands. And thus the fist bump was born and the tossing of the chalk became a regular pre-game display. So now you know where that came from. Not only do we owe signature athlete shoes to MJ but to him we also owe the fist bump. He's pretty much the man. Well it's a good story anyway and smartly, Nike also created a good story for the Zoom LeBron VI, and posted it alongside the commercial spot on nikebasketball.com. This is just good marketing all the way around and entertaining to boot, especially with the throwback hip hop track Candyman by the Cornershop holding it down.

Monday, December 1, 2008

You get what you ask for

Unless you've begun screening out all the bad financial news lately, you've probably heard that GM, Ford and Chrysler are asking for a bailout. In the most simple terms, congress said "What do you plan to do with your bailout?" when the Big 3 asked. They didn't seem to really know what they would do with the money, just that they needed it. Congress said "Uhhh, you can't just have $25 billion. You need a plan first." and the auto execs hopped back onto their private jets to Detroit to figure it out.

Of course, this blog really isn't about the failing economy or the automakers. The point I'm trying to illustrate is that you need to have a plan before you spend any money. Too often a business will dive into a marketing initiative with little idea what they want out of it. Or almost worse, unrealistic expectations. That's why it's so important to work with someone who can step back and look at the big picture. You'd be surprised how much integration and cross-pollination you can get between "traditional" advertising and "new media" like Twitter, email, web video and the rest of the social media that's out there. That way you're not just taking a shot in the dark, but rather casting a very strategically placed net.

Oh, and another lesson to be learned from the Big 3: Don't rest on your laurels. The businesses with the best chance of survival in the future are the ones that aren't afraid to make themselves obsolete. They realize that if they don't obsolete their own business model (by improving some aspect of it) then a competitor will.

Plan for the future and embrace the change it brings.

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Reel Motion Media Inc., is a Video & Web Marketing company that understands how to maximize your company's exposure in the internet of tomorrow. Reel Motion has full video production capabilities and an experienced web marketing staff that will make every dollar of your budget count, even if your budget is only a dollar. Contact them today at info@reelmotioninc.com for more information on taking your company to the next level.