Evian Roller Babies

Here's a video ad that went viral quickly. Interestingly, Evian displays a gentle product slide at the start and then the end of the video, leaving the viewer with just a slight reminder that the entertainment is associated with a product ad. The downside of this relatively effective technique of course, is that companies need to invest heavily to develop entertaining content like this, for the consumer market. 



How can your company create entertaining video content for the consumer market, while still getting your product in there?

IdeaPaint - Now Any Surface is a Whiteboard

We at Brave Boat Studios Love this - From CNN Money.com:


(CNNMoney.com) -- In 2002, a group of Babson College entrepreneurship students ran out of room on their whiteboard. They had spent hours brainstorming new business possibilities, and the sudden space crunch threatened to cramp their creativity.



Instead, it sparked a new idea: Why not make paint that turned walls into giant whiteboards? The ideas kept popping: you could paint chairs, doors, tabletops, playrooms, entire corporate offices. Any surface could be a canvas for inspiration. The company would be called IdeaPaint.

Unique and Engaging Use of Technology by Ikea

Ikea has created a terrific interactive site this time, which allows the viewer to use music or voice to interact with the site.  Really great!
Ikea's Terrific New Interactive Site

The Cheering Squad

This is one of those "banned " ads. Why do you think it was banned, when it's simply funny?
Why is it funny?

London Video Captures Spirit of Local Culture

Here's a video that's clearly the best tool for capturing the unique local culture of Cockney Rhyming Slang. Text and images couldn't have conveyed the essence of the language so well.

Don't Miss This!

What an amazing gift! If you haven't caught this yet, don't miss it. Viewer demand has been so heavy, all video embedding has been disabled by YouTube. So check it out at the link above.

It'll make your day.

How to Market a Hoover Creatively over YouTube

We're back, having been away for the first 2 months of 2009. We were busy opening a new line of business (making everyone at Brave Boat Studios certifiably crazy, I suppose.)

Here's an innovative video ad from China, with a surprise twist at the end. Somehow it isn't quite what you'd expect, which is probably why it was so popular on YouTube:

Hoover Marketing Ad Popular on YouTube

Well, we're back. We've been away for the first few months of 2009, opening a new line of business. (Yes, we're all certifiably crazy here at Brave Boat Studios.)

This is an ad from China which kind of transcends the language barrier. With a surprise ending, you can see why it was so popular on YouTube:

Unique Market Niche

We've been closed down for a week due to a severe ice storm. So here we are, back in Studio, with more interesting video marketing for you.

Here's a most unusual line of business:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

This is one of those product lines for which web video is ideally suited, don't you agree? Can you think of any other unusual product lines that would be best served by streaming video web marketing?

Nuns on a Family Phone Plan? Check it Out - It's a Great Ad!

We're back, after a hefty Thanksgiving hiaitus...
Here's a terrific, well-done ad from Macedonia -
The nuns in this convent need a Family Phone Plan!


Don't you think it's terrific? What a great idea! How could this ad have been even better?

Amazing Jellyfish-like Simulation - Smart Technology

Here's our favorite of the week. It's from Festo, a German technology firm. Can you imagine having simulated so perfectly the movements of a jellyfish?




What will they use this technology for? Without video, wouldn't it be hard to explain what they'd accomplished?

Visual Artist Creating Forms of LIfe - Compelling Visuals

Artist Theo Jansen demonstrates the amazingly lifelike kinetic sculptures he builds from plastic tubes and lemonade bottles. His creatures are designed to move -- and even survive -- on their own.


These are really engaging ideas. Doesn't it change the way you think visually? Theo has been called another DaVinci and we agree. Do you?

Elevator Pitch for a "Frankenstein" Product

This is an interesting 60-second Moment of Fame for a most unusual product:



Would you invest?

Giant Flipper - Don't Litter Campaign

Against Litter's 2007 campaign in Belgium. Wow. This'll teach him:




This is an example of using extreme video. Do you think it'd work for you company's product line? (We understand this was a very successful and well-received ad in Belgium late last year. )

Yellow Cabs Rebranded? Marketing Expert Martin Lindstrom Comments

Worldwide branding changes are highlighted by well-known marketing expert Martin Lindstrom. 3 key lessons - watch:


Minimal changes can still drive major publicity buzz. What are some other examples of modest branding changes that drove significant PR buzz?

Skoda Fabia Ad: Sweet!

Skoda's ad is delectable and one we can all relate to, don't you think?

Market Research via In-the-Street-Video

Here's one entrepreneur who takes his market research right to the customer, on the street, on video. Watch his technique and think about the amount of valuable market research he captures:



We think this sponteneous form of video makes a great web marketing tool - it's like a video testimonial to the uniquely desirable attributes of the product. Does your firm do this? Why or why not? Is it harder or somewhat different, if your product is a service?

Smart Business: Creating Buzz for New Products

Here's video picked up by MSNBC about a small company that knows how to create new product buzz and time it perfectly, for new product introduction. Who says video stories aren't powerful press opportunities?




What's your business story?

Really Serious Eats - Japan Dairy Council

This is some teacher!


An ad for dairy - what do you think of the special effects? We think they somewhat overwhelm the marketing message. What do you think the actual message is?

Seth Godin again: Ideas That Spread, Win!

Food for thought, literally!
Do you know what TV THINKING is? Watch:


PAY ATTENTION (and start actively blogging with us. We'll look forward to hearing what you think.)

Microsoft's Shoe Circus- Bill Gates & Jerry Seinfeld

We love this series from Microsoft. In this one, Jerry and Bill meet at Shoe Circus and the point of the Ad is subtly made at the very end. Really cute:



Is this Marketing Genius or is it just silly? What's so compelling about this Ad?

Mike's Hard Lemonade: Personification Makes Great Ad

Are you thinking there's not much one could do to create mystery around a lemonade product? Think again. Mike's Hard Lemonade has done just that:



Lemons with personality!
How can you personify your product or its ingredients, to differentiate it from competitors? Tell us about it (no more lurking - WRITE or at least DRAW.)

Even funnier actually, is the initial page of Mike's site (see it here) where you can create a Tragic Accident Report which you can use to get out of work for the day. (The Crew at Brave Boat Studios has been tinkering with Tragic Accident Reports since about 6 this morning. The Cap'n is on to them, though. )

The Klondike Contest - This Guy Won $100,000!

Check this out: Klondike sponsored a contest in which the best Klondike video wins $100,000 as a grand prize. Here's Joel Levinson, who won. He literally took himself on a POLAR TREK, ending at the Arctic Circle:



Would a contest like this promote your firm's product well? We're trying to see if it'd work for us, (although the prize would likely be more like a hefty $2.00. )

Question to our (still silent, ever-lurking) minions of viewers: Why do you think these contests have such widespread public appeal? There were multiple top contenders for this contest prize and the traffic to their videos is astounding. Klondike got some great press out of this one. Why do people watch or participate in video contests like this?

Bitter Beer Reinforces its Brand with an Unusual Rendering of its Theme Song

Here's a great video ad from Australia. They've got the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra playing the theme song for Bitter Beer, on beer bottles, no less! Ingenious and very well done:




Creating video ads to run on the web is an interesting marketing exercise, as long as you're thinking outside the box. In fact, we suggest you try giving the assignment to the IT folk, or some group that isn't generally charged with responsibility for marketing at all. Sometimes those are the people with the best ideas. What's your product or service, and what might you do to get creative, inexpensively?

Schweppes Beautiful Video Ad

Here's an example of a video ad that applied imagination and beautiful presentation to get its message across. This is a 2008 Ad which used slow motion cameras capturing at 10k frames/second:




Let's hear it, what do you think of this? Could you imagine your product presented similarly?

Company Creates Video Episodes to Promote Product

Here's Blendtec of Utah, a company that sells Blenders. They've created a terrific series of Video episodes as a marketing platform. The theme of the marketing video channel is "WILL IT BLEND?"

And wow, will it ever!

View Episode here


Check out the site for the rest of the episodes and tell us what you think about this form of marketing. We've got several clients beginning to use this method, so stay tuned...

What can you do with your product or service to create a video magnet like this? Tell us - we can hear you breathing... lurking... take the chance and WRITE (or at least draw.)

Grins- Carol & the Crew
Brave Boat Studios
www.braveboat.net

Thinking Outside the Big Umbrella with Video

Now here's an interesting new product Ad - Nubrella! (We want one.) The company does a pretty good job of showing right up front what specific problems it's product solves. (Step #1 in marketing, right?)

Then, because the products os so, well... unusual, your eyes sort of force you to march along with the Ad in thinking outside the box. Interesting idea, isn't it?


Do you have an unusual product and have you thought about how to market it with video? Tell us about it and we'll all help.

Meet the Inventor, on ABC NEWS.

Tell us what you think about this product and the Ad.

Our GURU - Seth, on Social Networking & Small Business

Don't you just love this guy? Carol reads/watches/lurks incessantly... The Crew's getting sick of watching her hunt down every book he ever wrote, etc.

Here Seth tells us what's worth it and what isn't, about social networking for small business:



We at Brave Boat Studios have a really good habit of actively participating in the forums and blogs that are relevant to our business, but we won't "friend" you just because you need another link in your profile. Wouldn't you think by now, social networking in an effective fashion would be more well-understood than it is today? We often encounter clients who don't know what social networking is, and who are literally afraid of it. What's been your experience? (C'mon, quit lurking. Speak up... we won't shove you overboard !)

Carol

Passion (and viral marketing) Can Drive Your Business Forward

Here's an interesting case:
Tom's passion is providing shoes for children who cannot afford any. He has very little money and zero marketing budget. Watch how he successfully uses his passion to drive word-of-mouth and word-of-mouse, to propell his mission/company forward:



Tell us how you get creative about driving word-of-mouth& mouse. Does your passion drive any part of your business and how do you incorporate that?

Our sizeable, growing viewer audience is extremely quiet, but we know most are businesses not entirely accustomed to the VLOG format. It's ok to LURK awhile longer, but we'd like to start hearing from our viewers. We don't expect you to load up video here, just text your thoughts. Perhaps you have links to other, related video content; just insert the links and the entire audience will likely check out the content.

So, comment-away!

Carol & Crew
Brave Boat Studios, York Harbor, ME

The Hula Chair - Great Idea, But We're Seasick...

The Crew here at Brave Boat Studios got kind of seasick watching this next Infomercial. Interesting idea, but the usual poor quality of video. (This company didn't know about Brave Boat Studios...)



It's kind of a neat product idea we suppose, if you have a high tolerance for wiggling. If only the video quality had been better, we could have built one heck of an interesting microsite to sell it.

Just another example of a unique product which missed a great marketing opportunity due to low quality video. If you've got a great product, call the Crew here at Brave Boat Studios and we'll shoot/encode your video stream so it's sharp and clear on your web.

You've Got 60 Seconds. What's Your Elevator Pitch?

Everyone has about 60 seconds of Fame in this life, according to MSNBC (well, Andy Warhol too...) What's your business "elevator pitch?" Anything like this one? Check it out:

Video on your web lets you take advantage of the very brief time you have to make visitors stay or click off elsewhere. If your commercial web doesn't have a video "elevator pitch," you're missing a very productive marketing opportunity.

Ready, set, go: You've got 60 seconds. What's your pitch? My mouse is right here and I'm ready to click away if I don't SEE some VIDEO that gives it to me, short-and-sweet.

What does it take to storyboard your business Elevator Pitch? Just a little brainstorming, perhaps with the Motley Crew here aboard this Brave (and somewhat leaky) Boat.

I'm getting the feeling lots of folk are LURKING on this vlog but not getting aboard by commenting and sharing their ideas. Go ahead, comment! (We won't make you walk the plank. )

Carol Hamel-White
Brave Boat Studios

Seinfeld/Gates Video Ad vs. "I'm a PC" Video Ad

Interestingly, Microsoft's Seinfeld/Bill Gates commercials actually surpassed their "I'm a PC" counterpart ads. (You'll remember that the "I'm a PC" Ad was in response to Apple's "Get a MAC" ads.)

We read that the Seinfeld/Gates ad surpassed "I'm a PC" by over 4 million viral video views. (And judging by the Seinfeld/Gates video content, probably at significantly lower cost!)

See the videos here:

I'm a PC:


Seinfeld/Gates Ad:



So, why was Seinfeld/Gates more popular? The pundits have a few guesses:


Abbey Klasson of Advertising Age reports: BrandIndex, which measures online buzz, said the Gates/Seinfeld campaign was successful in generating buzz and that Microsoft has carried that momentum into its new campaign. And while buzz scores have flattened out over the past five to six days, when the Gates/Seinfeld ads were replaced by the "I'm a PC" ads, Microsoft's buzz levels are still significantly higher than where they were just before the campaign launched.
paidContent weighs in:The reason [for the Seinfeld / Gates commercials’ success]? All the hate sparked dialogue and interest online.
Peter Kafka of Silicon Alley Insider proposes:Here's the thing, though: People love watching the horrible, despicable, please-don't-make-us-see-this-anymore Seinfeld/Gates ads.

So in the ends, the Crew at Brave Boat Studios offers the idea that if your Ad doesn't show people something that irritates them, wakes them up or shocks them, it's unlikely to go truly viral. Ideas and content that rock people's thinking is really what you're after. Put together things that don't normally go together and don't be afraid to try something a little edgy.

Guerilla Marketing - Creativity Accelerated

Increasingly, more companies are turning to guerilla marketing to steal the public's attention in creative and surprising ways. Thinking creatively and using the latest streaming video technology can produce new sales leads and market "buzz" for your company. In this next video, Wendy Bounds reports on how some business owners are succeeding with guerilla marketing:






Even OfficeMax is using guerilla marketing! Here's the new StickyNotes campaign you'll see on TV:





Here's how the Cool Girl Skate Team came to be; Guerilla Marketing at it's best:



Does your marketing approach get the prospect's attention visually and by piquing curiosity?

93 Year Old Co. Sure Fit, Inc. Uses Video Marketing

Who says a 93 year old company can't be hip, fresh and well.... ugly?

Here's a (low resolution) video ad by slipcover manufacturer Sure Fit, Inc. that shows how even companies with traditional product lines can use web video to raise brand awareness. Without ever trying to pitch or sell anything, this video webmercial informs about the brand and product line through a simply messy story:





According to national studies done earlier this year, webmercials that have a humorous tint seem to make the strongest impression.

What storyline creates brand awareness for your company without selling anything directly? Get Creative! Tell us what you think about this webmercial.