Understanding Net Neutrality

Had an interesting conversation over on Facebook about net neutrality. Thought I'd share it here to see if there was any additional feedback on this important issue.

Post by Rick Grant.

Chipotle does it again

A while back in this space, we took a look at how one "fast food" establishment was building its brand with short animated films. Here is the latest effort from Chipotle:



Next, we're told the company will launch a video game. Appealing to a younger audience has always been a staple of fast food marketing, with Happy Meals from McDonald's arguably setting the standard. But we live in a different world today, one where table computers, smart phones and socially-connected video game consoles have replaced the gaily colored drive-thru bag our kids used to scream for from the back seat.

Say what you want about the company's product and its suitability or superiority to its competitors', but it's video-based marketing is excellent!

The 3-minute Niche Marketing Video

YouTube.com did a lot to blast us out of our decades-old paradigm of 30- and 60-second video commercial spot announcements. This is what you were buying if you were using video in your business in the 70s, 80, and 90s. During the early years of this century, there was a lot of debate about the proper length for a YouTube video.

Today, we have  6-second Vine videos on Twitter all the way up to made-for-the-Web feature films, but the sweet spot for online video viewers seems to be between 2 and 5 minutes, depending upon how engaged the viewer is. Even the most engaged web viewers have a hard time sitting still for more than 5 minutes.

So, it should come as no surprise that we're seeing more 3-minute videos deployed online to appeal to niche markets. One of the best I've seen yet is from Palm Harbor, Fla.-based Nationwide Title Clearing.

The company runs a complicated business that's completely in the industry's back room, making it difficult to explain to prospects who don't really care about the details the company handles for them. This video is an excellent way to show what the company does and why a prospect should trust them with their business.

 

One element I love to see in these videos is current customer testimonials. Those stories go a long way toward proving worth in the mind of the new prospect.

Once a company has a video like this, they can deploy it on their websites, put it up on their social networking sites and even put it in their LinkedIn profile. In the near future, at least in our industry, they'll have another place to put it.

Keep your eyes on the new Mortgage News Network. They'll be bringing video news to the industry soon and will also provide a great place to host your marketing videos. Check them out on the web at www.mortgagenewsnetwork.com.

Telling stories in unconventional ways

Increasingly, short films are carrying our marketing messages. Have you begun to explore this medium?




More brand managers are realizing that their product offerings can become stars, with a little bit of help from a filmmaker. This opens up companies to some very interesting opportunities.

Being Good At What You Do Is Where The Stories Come From

We're really excited to share our latest video with you. Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Celebrating the Books We Ban

One of the most exciting things about living in the Internet Age is that there is absolutely nothing that is hidden from us anymore. Someone, somewhere has posted something that will help us learn or experience just about anything we want.

Everyday we hear about companies and governments who are trying to throttle back the Internet to make some information inaccessible. We should remember that this is nothing new. Censorship has always been a tool used by those who keep others at a disadvantage, though it is often employed under the guise of protecting people from forbidden knowledge.

In our minds, no knowledge should be forbidden for it is what people do that creates good or evil, not what they know.

We were pleased to see that this coming week is Banned Books Week. We support this effort and urge you to learn more about it. What a great way to use New Media, to raise awareness of the need to keep old media free and uncensored.

Never Run out of Content Marketing Ideas

Content Marketing is all the rage these days. People are acting as if this is a new invention and marketing managers are hot to figure out how to use it. This is nothing new and it's been used on a national scale in the United States since the dawn of the radio age.

There was a reason that the biggest brands chose to tie their names to radio networks back in the 20s, 30s and 40s. There was no better way to attract a huge audience. But even back then, they were clever enough to know that you couldn't keep that audience unless you offered them something they valued.

Back then, and for many content marketers today, it was entertainment, but as this info-graphic points out, it can be many other things as well.

At RGA, we specialize in content marketing because we believe that as the lines separating marketing, advertising and public relations continue to blur, the end result will be a massively connected audience capable of defusing any marketing gimmick and uncovering any spin almost instantly. Corporate communications will have to fall back on truth to get their messages out, even when it comes to entertainment (remember the firsts rule of fiction writing: tell the truth!). I'm actually looking forward to it.

Maybe you're already with us on this and busy creating effective content marketing material on your own. If you get stuck, click through to this info-graphic and see if it doesn't get you working again in no time.