Tag: hold viewers attention

BMW Video: The Essential Guide to Creating Marketing Videos

A famous Leo Burnett saying: The secret of all effective advertising is not the creation of new and tricky words and pictures, but one of putting familiar words and pictures into new relationships. Are these videos a secret marketing strategy? Probably not. But you can certainly learn from them. This BMW video does display some great hidden truths.
BMW video
Check out this BMW
video.
Have you seen these two recent BMW videos? Watch them both here … each is only 60 seconds.
We will then examine each video and what contributes to their strengths and weaknesses and their ability to influence or persuade.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEvpnKRLDO4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15bQjiwzgUA&feature=youtu.be
How many times do you hear “I want my video to go viral”? To make this happen you have to create content that is pretty innovative, exciting and cool so that your audience will want to share. Well here’s the kind of video that ticks all those boxes. BMW Canada has released these videos which have been viewed over 7 million times (at time of writing).
The first one was the most popular and it became the number one worldwide auto video on YouTube after just 2 days. The title of the first video makes you think that you’ll be seeing BMW cars taking on concrete walls and losing. The video is pretty clever and keeps you on the edge of your chair as you watch it.
Related post: 7 Secrets to the Lego Blog Marketing Campaigns … Effective Marketing?
Marketing or advertising, you need to create information that your customers find interesting and worth talking about and remembering. These videos certainly achieve this goal, don’t you think?
Let’s evaluate other keys to effective marketing strategy in these videos:

BMW video show… don’t tell

Certainly, BMW could have talked about its cars design features, in all its technical glory. But that is not the best way to create a story that holds an audience’s attention. It is a much better approach to show the capabilities in person, but if that can’t be done, then an effective video is the next best thing.
It is the only way to effectively to communicate messages to 7 million+ viewers.

 

Grab and hold viewers’ attention

Grab attention with interesting information.  Keep in mind that people don’t watch ads … they watch what interests them. Your ad messages must be interesting to your target communities. This video certainly grabs and holds attention based on simple emotion.

 

be relevant
You must be relevant.

 

Be relevant to your target market

Keep in mind that one message does not fit all. It starts with knowing your target market. Here the target market is people who like fast, stylish automobiles with a focus on sound driving capabilities.
Perhaps they secretly desire to be race car drivers? These videos are certainly relevant to this market.

 

Define your positioning

Your positioning is your frame of reference.  Make comparisons to your competitors if you can. BMW certainly knows who its major competitors are and but chooses to not take them on in these videos. A good move we believe.

 

Define a value proposition

Build unique selling points that truly discriminates you from your competition. Give your customers reasons to select you.
Maybe not the most significant visible feature, it does illustrate BMW as a company that puts a high priority on great automobile design and driving capabilities, which is their clear objective.

 

BMW video … make your messages simple

Simple messages that the reader will quickly understand are the most effective. Keep in mind that pictures are far more valuable than words.
And of course, a video shows much more than pictures. Creating customer emotion does not get any simpler or more memorable than this, does it?

 

Consider the end state values to your customers

Customers and particularly the target customers are looking for new and better auto design features. No reason to buy without these and the marketing strategy certainly is addressing this end state in our opinion.
The videos do not address any specific design features other than turning and maneuverability capabilities. Show, don’t tell is a great strategy, isn’t it?
Related post: Learning from 2 of the Best Marketing Strategy Case Studies
influence and persuasion
Use influence and persuasion.

Influence and persuasion

There is no better means of influence or persuasion than emotion. Emotion is the best, hands down the best, in our opinion. This commercial focuses on emotional appeal in grand fashion.
It is the secret of these videos success and what makes the marketing strategy most effective.
Remember, it is not what advertising does with the consumer; it is what the consumer does after viewing the advertisement.
  
After looking over these enablers, we believe BMW has created a very effective marketing strategy. What do you think? Can these videos persuade you?
  
What are some of your experiences with videos as a component of an integrated marketing campaign?
 
So what’s the conclusion? The conclusion is there is no conclusion. There is only the next step. And that next step is completely up to you. But believe in the effectiveness of word of mouth marketing created by remarkable customer service. And put it to good use.
 
It’s up to you to keep improving your creative marketing strategies. Lessons are all around you. In this case, your competitor may be providing the ideas and or inspiration. But the key is in knowing that it is within you already.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new lessons.
When things go wrong, what’s most important is your next step.
Try. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy to improving your marketing, branding, and advertising?
Do you have a lesson about making your marketing strategy better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?
 
Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he writes about topics to help improve the performance of small business. Find him on G+, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change.  We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed at how reasonable we will be.
 More reading on marketing  strategy from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
13 Extraordinary Marketing Lessons from Taylor Swift
Visual Content … 13 Remarkable Marketing Examples to Study
14 Jaw-Dropping Guerilla Marketing Lessons and Examples
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Would These Galaxy Marketing Videos Persuade You?

Have you seen these new Samsung Galaxy marketing videos? We are interested in whether they persuaded you. When we evaluated the Samsung Galaxy S4 marketing video, we were big fans of their marketing strategy. Now the question is, did Samsung improve on the S4 marketing video?

Galaxy marketing video
Galaxy marketing video.

The secret of all effective advertising is not the creation of new and tricky words and pictures, but one of putting familiar words and pictures into new relationships.

– Leo Burnett

About 2 years ago, Samsung launched one of the most hyped smartphones, the Galaxy S4. It had a lengthy list of special features.

However, it failed to impress critics because it was too confusing and difficult to use, despite their excellent marketing.

Then, Samsung took a step back with its newest flagship phone, the Galaxy S5.

Here they refined the experience to focus on the stuff people care about the most like screen size, camera, and battery life.  And in many ways, it trumps its competitor’s thanks to a superior screen and excellent camera performance.

Have you seen any of the recent Samsung Galaxy S5 advertisements? If not, or in any case, here is the

Guinness Marketing Campaign … 7 Ways They Make Storytelling a Winner

Have you seen the recent Guinness marketing video? A significant change in the Guinness marketing campaign we believe. The strategy is using simple storytelling to gain our attention. Refreshing.
Start here with this short video showing an excellent Guinness marketing campaign.
Let’s examine this video and strategy and what contributes to their strengths and weaknesses. We want to evaluate if it has the ability to influence and persuade with its storytelling.
Everyone hates TV commercials, and this is a well-known fact amongst the people who make TV commercials. Fortunately, a few brands and ad agencies are turning things around with genuine, heartfelt storytelling marketing. Guinness is trying to become one of these brands.
First, some comments about the video. Here is a useful marketing video.
As you can see, this Guinness ad veers away from the clichéd beer model and creates its own: beer-drinking, manly men that can be both strong and sensitive. It also creates an impactful and unique message promoting qualities like dedication, loyalty and friendship:
The choices we make reveal the true nature of our character.
Guinness is no stranger to effective video marketing. This new video reached three million views within four days of online release. A simple plot; a game of wheelchair basketball followed by a pint of Guinness. The twist is that only one of the men in the group is an actual wheelchair user – the rest, it seems, are his friends who are playing wheelchair basketball so that they can all play together.
Related post: 11 Steps to Media Framing Messages for Optimum Engagement
Marketing or advertising, you need to create information that your customers find interesting and worth talking about and remembering. This video certainly achieves this goal, don’t you think?
Let’s evaluate other keys to this video and storytelling marketing strategy:

Guinness marketing campaign … be relevant to your target market

Keep in mind that one message does not fit all. It starts with knowing your target market. Here the target market is young adults with a high focus on maturity. It focuses on the traits of friendship and sharing happiness. This video is certainly relevant to this market.

Define your positioning

The positioning of your business is your frame of reference.  Make comparisons to your competitors if you can.
Not only does this ad do a great job of building a beautiful story, it positions Guinness as a different kind of beer brand. By taking the opportunity to break the mold, Guinness stands apart from a pool of brands targeting the stereotypical girl-chasing, party-loving man-child. Guinness is much more than that and we like it.
Guinness certainly knows who its major competitors are and but chooses to not take them on in this video. A good move we believe.

Grab and hold viewers’ attention

The Guinness goal is to hold the audience’s attention with interesting information.  Keep in mind that people don’t watch ads … they watch what interests them. Your ad messages must be interesting to your target communities. This message certainly grabs and holds attention based on simple emotion.

Define a value proposition

The value proposition should truly discriminate you from your competition. Give your customers reasons to select you. Maybe not the most significant visible feature, it does illustrate Guinness as a company that puts high priority on caring, which is their clear objective.

simple messages
Winning with simple messages.

Guinness marketing campaign … simple messages

Simple messages that the reader will quickly understand are the goal. Keep in mind that pictures are far more valuable than words. Videos, well, they do even better than pictures. Creating customer emotion does not get any simpler than this, does it?
This video from Guinness flips the switch by presenting a group of athletic, beer-drinking men who are defined as much by their kindness as their physical strength.
The spot’s “Made of More” message is refreshing, memorable and heartwarming—acting as a breath of fresh air within the beer industry.

Consider the end state values to your customers

Guinness’s marketing strategy has flipped traditional beer advertising on its head by getting rid of the template and telling a story – a real story – that connects with people.
The responses were overwhelmingly positive… customers and particularly the target customers are looking for meaningful stories. The marketing strategy certainly is addressing this end state in our opinion.

Guinness marketing campaign … influence and persuasion

There is no better means of influence or persuasion than emotion. It is hands down the best, in our opinion. The video focuses on emotional appeal in grand fashion. They are saying that people who drink Guinness are decent people who are good to the core. This advert scores 10/10 for emotional engagement factor. It is the secret of this video’s message and story’s success.
Related post: Marketing Branding … 9 Secrets to a Continuous Improvement Strategy

The bottom line

Aaron Tube hit the nail on the head when he wrote:
“For the most part, [beer commercials] depict men as unfeeling doofuses who only want to hook up with hot women and watch sports without being bothered by their wives.
… Guinness flips the switch by presenting a group of athletic, beer-drinking men who are defined as much by their kindness as their physical strength.”
The reason I admire this spot so much is simple: it’s different, thoughtful and has an unexpected ending. While many beer advertisements rely on slapstick humor, an overkill of masculinity and a simple message, “drink our beer,” this one takes a different approach. It is both effective and creative. The spot’s “Made of More” message is refreshing, memorable and heartwarming—acting as a breath of fresh air within the beer industry.
Guinness has definitely taken advantage of this open opportunity in the beer marketplace—and they are doing it with style and class.

EMPLOY CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
Employ customer experience, yes?

After looking over these enablers, we believe Guinness has created a very effective commercial. What do you think? Does this video story persuade you?
 
What are some of your experiences with advertising as a component of an integrated marketing campaign?
 
Need some help in capturing more customers from your marketing strategies? Creative ideas to help the differentiation with potential customers?
  
Call today for a FREE consultation or a FREE quote. Learn about some options to scope your job.
Call Mike at 607-725-8240.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas.
When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step. Call today.
 
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
 
Are you devoting enough energy improving your marketing, branding, and advertising?
 Do you have a lesson about making your marketing strategy better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?
  
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change.  We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed how reasonable we will be.
  
More reading on marketing  strategy from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
Target Market … How to Target for Best Marketing Campaigns
11 Steps to Media Framing Messages for Optimum Engagement
What Marketers Need to Know about Personalization Strategies 
Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of small business. Find him on Facebook, Twitter, Digital Spark Marketing, and LinkedIn.