Recycling

Sometimes clients are best served by recycling their old content.

While those on the production side would prefer to create (and bill for) a spectacular new project involving helicopters, marching bands and a dozen different effect shots, that may not be in the client's best interest. They probably have something on the shelf that can be freshened up and reused.

Taking the long view, purposely create marketing content where the beginning and end is created for each new use, but the center- the heart of the message- is static and consistent for ever audience. Both parties win: The client gets value out of creating one great package, yet retains the flexibility to shape the message for each new audience, while the producer gets a steady stream of small updates as new uses are found.

Take the long view for both you and your client.

Know Your Presenter

Excuse the political message of this piece- watch for three things:

-Simplicity of message. A bunch of complicated ideas are boiled down to easily understood bits;
-A clarifying visual is used to illustrate each one;
-An understanding of who the presenter is, and what his strengths are.


"The Truth About The Economy in 2:15"

Robert Reich is 4' 10", but you have no hint of that in the video. The camera is below his eyeline, making him appear tall. The easel is at his height, keeping the perspectives right. He is well lit, and uses a mic so the audio is clear.

He also has art skills- which provides the visuals that move the piece along. The whole thing is well crafted.

Too often we allow our messages to be overwhelmed by the details. Step back, look at the big (possibly cartoon) picture, and simplify.

Scope

A friend sent me a link to a live video stream of a conference he had gotten on his corporate website. He was very proud of it, as it required changing many policies within IT, finding funding to pay for it, and convincing the conference operators that a live stream would be good for their event. The stream represented several firsts for his organization.

The stream also looked like streams I had worked on- back in the 90's.

There is often a gap between a first for your group and a first for the industry. My friend was making the mistake of promoting a first for his group as some kind of cutting edge service. Since his perceptions didn't match the perceptions of the market, he appears a bit clueless. The better message would have been to not mention that the stream was a first for your organization, but simple tell the interested that it was available- since they may have assumed it was anyway.

Peter

Current

I'm all for keeping current updates on your home page, and pushing upcoming events where users can learn about them.

The key word is current.

A notice of an upcoming event that is 10 weeks old only tells me that you aren't really paying attention or you don't care.

Whatever bits of marketing you choose to do, do them all the way, or don't do them at all. A few things done well is far better than a bad scattershot approach.

Peter

Single Size

Trying to speak with one voice has another down side: A One-Size-Fits-All message doesn't really fit anyone. The small group it does fit finds that its been so watered down as to be immaterial, so they ignore it.

Your carefully crafted generalist message has done nothing. Congrats!

Peter

Vehicles

The explosion in ways to communicate electronically is both good and bad news.

The good news is that you now have dozens of ways to communicate with your consumers. The bad news is that those dozens of channels have to be filled. The days of printing a brochure, mailing it out, and waiting for the phone to ring are gone.

To further complicate things, each channel's message needs to have a different feel even if the overall message doesn't change. Your eNewsletter will be a different read than your Twitter stream.

Each customer will receive your message in the ways they prefer, too. The user on your email list may never go to your Twitter feed. Plenty of customers will still want to read a physical brochure before calling in.

You no longer have one audience, but dozens. Stop speaking with one voice.

Peter