A Customized HD Flash Video Theatre Using Director’s View®
I’ve explained on our website and in previous posts that Director’s View® is a highly customizable and powerful way to provide flash video theatres on your website. I’ve also explained how our customers are using our flash video theaters for many different purposes. Well, here’s another great example.
The Power of Flash Video Flash Video gives you the power to leverage the flash plugin and provide great-looking, crisp-sounding web video. And, Director’s View® enables you to provide flash video in an easy to use, customizable video player. So, as the growth of broadband explodes, professional videographers are looking for better ways to show off their top-notch work (and especially their HD work.) Hello Dave Williams (once again)…
Director’s View® HD Flash Video Theatre We recently worked with DVideography to customize their Director’s View® theatre to better show off their HD footage. The result is a 640x360, 16x9 video player that enables Dave and his crew at DVideography to give visitors what they are truly looking for…HD video!
The Result? Take a look for yourself, but when you mix DVideography’s outstanding video productions with a powerful HD theatre, you can expect great things… You won’t be disappointed. :-)
Actober.com : Getting Into The Act With Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) decided to jump into the amplified word of mouth ring this year with Actober, a chance for baseball fans to reenact their favorite postseason moments by creating their own user generated content (UGC). Participants got to script, shoot, and edit their own video and upload it to MLB for a chance to win 2 tickets to this year’s World Series. MLB is even providing participants with downloadable video clips (of baseball's famous moments) ready to be edited into their own user generated videos. More on this later in the post.
How it Works Each week for 10 weeks, MLB posted a list of famous postseason moments on the website. Participants could then choose a famous moment and create their own video reenacting that moment. The 5 most compelling videos each week were chosen by MLB and posted on the site (actober.com) where fans were able to vote for their favorites. After each of the 10 weekly winners was chosen, the finalists were posted on the actober website for a final fan vote. That’s where they are now in the contest… The 3 winners will receive 2 tickets (each) to this year’s World Series. Pretty interesting concept… so I decided to check it out.
Cast Your Vote Right now, you can check out the website to view the 10 finalists as chosen by the fans. As you would expect with UGC, some clips are great and others make you cringe a little… That said, the concept for the campaign is a good one. Get people involved, make it fun, promote sharing, and give away something of worth to your targeted audience. My favorite video is definitely the Time Machine by Andrew Bradley. Now, I’m a Yankees fan (as most of my readers know already), so you better believe I wasn’t about to vote for a Red Sox video! :-) That said, the curse of A-Rod even made me laugh… Definitely check it out.
Some notes about the site and contest: * I love that MLB provided the actual video and audio for participants to download so they can use that footage in their own UGC videos. Very smart… and obviously increases the production value of the videos. The music industry should take note of this…
* The entries tab took me to a page that had links for past winners and all other entries, but I wasn’t really sure I was seeing all of the entries… It seemed that I was only allowed to view a select group. I really wanted to check out a page holding thumbnails of all the other videos (youtube-like). This might have been just a usability issue, but it’s something they should change for future video contests.
* They have a lame forward to a friend email. The process is solid on the site, but the creative that is sent to you is really flat. It’s plain text, no baseball visuals, and a one line message that yields as much excitement as watching the Royals play the Devil Rays…in May. They definitely need to improve this…
* MLB might be asking too much from its audience. For example, they might be asking too much of visitors and participants to vote on a weekly basis and then wait for a final vote up to 10 weeks later. Let’s face it, when it comes to user participation, requiring too much from your community is the kiss of death. I like the contest, but I’m not sure the process was the best one to use.
Did it Work? So, did the campaign drive more people to watch the postseason? I doubt it. I’m a huge baseball fan, but too much of the audience draw is based on factors outside of what MLB does from a marketing standpoint. For example, the team locations drive ratings, so Colorado and Arizona won’t help MLB gain much needed viewers for advertising dollars. Also, since the Yankees and Mets aren’t involved at this stage knocks out a HUGE audience in the Greater New York area. Football (both college and the NFL) are now in season, which takes away viewers from the baseball postseason. And of course, how competitive and compelling each postseason series is will help or hurt ratings… For example, if a game is 7-1 by the fourth inning, you are going to lose viewers… If a team is going to sweep another in a championship series, then you’ll lose viewers. Boston is the only team with a widespread following still in the postseason, so the ALCS is probably doing ok. However, if Cleveland wins, ratings will sink even lower… On the other hand, the NLCS is probably tanking ratings-wise, with Colorado and Arizona fighting it out. Let’s face, both are small market teams.
Anyway, definitely check out the actober website to view the top 10 clips and to cast your vote. With regard to watching the postseason, I’ll help MLB out here! Boston plays at Cleveland tonight, October 15th at 7PM on FOX. That said, the New York Giants (football) also play tonight on Monday Night Football... So, unfortunately for baseball, you can probably guess which station NY sports fans will be watching…
After you check out the actober website, let me know what you think.
World War II - Are High School Students Really That Dumb?
Unless you've been living under a rock, you have heard of the documentary series on PBS called The War, directed by Ken Burns. I'm a huge World War II buff, so you better believe that my DVR was set to record each episode. And believe me, it doesn't disappoint. Actually, I read that over 18.7 Million people watched the premiere on Sunday, September 23rd. That is outrageously strong for PBS...actually it's strong for NBC, ABC, CBS, or FOX!
Anyway, I was watching a recent episode of Bill Maher on HBO and he interviewed the Director, Ken Burns. During the interview, I literally fell out of my seat as I heard one response... Bill and Ken were speaking about how important it is for the young people in our country to understand World War II (which I couldn't agree with more), but Ken went on to explain how there are actually High School students in the US that think the United States fought alongside Germany against Russia............ {Lean, Fall, Choke, Grunt}. What??? Seriously? Do kids really think that? If so, I'm afraid what this country is going to look like in 10 years. Are they really that un-informed?
Teachers, if you are reading this post, drop what you're doing in class and dedicate the next month to World War II. Between 50 and 60 Million people (that's Million) died during the war. It spanned the entire globe and our country stood up, fought hard, sacrificed, and liberated the world. Literally. What can be more important?
Anyway, I'd love to see the actual survey numbers to see how many high school students really thought we fought alongside Germany. I hope and pray it's a small number. Ken, if you read this post, please let me know where you heard this. I think the entire country would love to know.
I've included a video below of the trailer for The War. Check the PBS website for the schedule, or just buy The War on DVD. It's too important not to...
Yankees Win in Extra Innings [Cell Phone Video] What it’s really like to be at Yankee Stadium During a Dramatic Win
I’m a huge Yankees fan, which isn’t shocking since my father grew up a few blocks from Yankee Stadium. :-) Although I don’t have time to go to many games anymore, I was lucky enough to be at Saturday’s Yankee game against the Blue Jays. If you didn’t catch it (no pun intended), Melky Cabrera won the game in the bottom of the 10th inning with 2 outs and bases loaded. It was one of the best games I’ve ever seen, and was easily the best game I’ve ever witnessed in person.
A Quick Rundown of the Game The Yankees and the Blue Jays battled back and forth over 9 innings to an 11-11 tie. The stadium was packed with over 50,000 fans, and the energy at the stadium rose with each inning. Actually, the energy at the stadium could probably power the entire country for a few weeks! Yankee Stadium is an amazing place to watch baseball…being the original stadium where Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Micky Mantle, Yogi Berra, Thurmun Munson, Don Mattingly, Derek Jeter, and now A-Rod play. Even if you’re not a Yankee fan, you have to go to a game at Yankee Stadium to experience the energy. And…with the new stadium being built, you don’t have much time left to visit the original… Even though the new stadium is going to be incredible, it’s sad that the original stadium (the house that Ruth built), will be going away. This is especially true for someone like my father, who used to walk to the stadium, spend all day watching the Yankees, while only dishing out $.50 (that’s fifty cents…) to watch the best team in the land.
Catching Some Key Video Clips on my Cell Phone Anyway, I was able to catch some of the game's great moments on my cell phone. Yes, the video is small and grainy, but you can feel the electricity even in the postage stamp-sized video.
1. The first clip is of the game winning hit by Melky Cabrera with 2 outs in the bottom of the 10th and the bases loaded.
2. The second clip is of ARod giving the Yankees the lead earlier in the game.
3. The third clip is of ARod once again giving the Yanks the lead.
By the way, ARod is having a super-human year. The fans killed him last year (and years before too). This year, he is proving that he might be the best player to ever wear a uniform. When even my father (a huge DiMaggio fan) starts to explain ARod as "extraordinary", you know he’s winning over all Yankee fans. Now, we just need him to come through in the playoffs. :-) That’s New York for you…we expect nothing short of championships.
Anyway, these 3 clips are for anyone who has wondered what it’s like to be a Yankee Stadium with 50,000 New York fans when they win in dramatic fashion. We were 32 rows back from 3rd base. Have fun and feel free to post your comments below.
Let me set the stage. Take approximately a dozen teenagers with the parents of one of the teenagers away on vacation for 10 days. Then, over 7 days, those teenagers engineered what can only be considered the best slip n slide I’ve ever seen. It sounds like a scene from Risky Business, doesn’t it? Well, the end-result was risky, since any one of the teenagers involved could have been seriously injured. But, like hundreds of thousands of other viewers on the web, I was glued to the 5 minute viral video that you can view on SpikedHumor.com, YouTube, or several other social media sites. Read on.
What is Ron’s Slip n Slide Extravaganza? You actually have to see it to believe it, but imagine a 60 foot slip and slide built on the side of a house (yes, you begin your slip and slide journey on top of a house!) Then, you slide down a 60 foot slide and hit the jump, which propels you 16-20 feet across the yard into a small inflatable pool. Sound crazy? It is...but you have to give the guys who were involved credit. It is simply amazing to watch them fly through the air after speeding down the 60 foot slip and slide. Some land perfectly in the pool, and as you can probably guess, others don’t! Shot and edited by one of the teenagers, you will be impressed with their video production. And I bet you’ll watch the entire video…I didn’t intend to and then it was over before I knew it. :) View the best slip n slide ever created here.
The Viral Video Results: As of today, there have been 256,648 views on YouTube and 57,464 views on SpikedHumor.com and my guess is that those numbers will keep going up… So I ask you, would you like 314,112 people glued to a video that you produced? Maybe something tied to one of your products or company? Yes, I’m sure you would as long as it's not negative, right?? :)
User Generated Content (UGC) Now, many of the best viral videos are not created by companies or agencies. They are produced by the average person out there who just wants to capture something funny, disturbing, amazing, etc. This is one of those cases. Actually, this video was both hilarious and disturbing at the same time. There are so many companies clamoring to create the same effect, but it’s hard to do when you stage it… You can do it, but it’s not easy.
So, have you created a viral web video that generated results like Ron’s Slip and Slide Extravaganza? And hopefully without hurting anyone? If so, post the link below. We’d love to see it.
I'm a huge fan of horror movies and Halloween ranks as one of my all time favorites. I’m referring to the original Halloween…and not the next 5 or 6 that came out after… OK, Halloween 2 was decent, but like most films, there’s nothing like the original.
So I was shocked to see the commercial for a remake of the original, this one directed by Rob Zombie. At first, I was disappointed that someone would mess with the classic film by John Carpenter, but I must admit that the trailer had me glued to the television. I immediately went to my computer and Googled Halloween 2007 and found several links to the trailer, other movies sites, etc. but not the official website. Interesting. After some digging, I found the official Halloween 2007 site and just like the commercial did, the site had me glued to my dual displays!
Flash and Web Video Marketing Definitely check out the official website to see the trailer and TV spots. There’s some nice flash work on the site… Now, the search marketer in me cringes when I see all flash and no text content (Check out the Google cache for the site here), but we all know this site will get a million links in no time. :) You can navigate around the site via a large kitchen knife, like the one good old Michael Myers uses to kill his victims! Pretty cool…and of course you hear the classic Halloween music, which makes most people shake with fear.
The Rob Zombie Halloween MySpace Page Then there’s a link at the bottom of the website to the official Rob Zombie Halloween MySpace page, which holds a lot of interesting content about the movie. You can watch the trailer, learn more about the cast, view screenshots from the film, view the official soundtrack (which will be coming out on August 21st), etc. The Rob Zombie Halloween MySpace page already has over 82,000 friends. Not bad. :)
So Can it Compete? Well, do remakes ever compete with the original?? It definitely has a fresh feel, which I really like. I need to see and hear more, and the proof is in the pudding, but they are off to a great start marketing the film. Halloween fans will probably want to at least check it out and my guess is that many will pay to see it. That said, Word of Mouth Marketing (WOM) can make or break the movie. If it doesn’t live up to the original, it could bomb…and if it brings a new view of a classic horror legend, it could make boat loads of money. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Medellin Trailer Leaked on Youtube - HBO Using Buzz Marketing for a Fake Movie
For those of you who are Entourage fans, you know all about Medellin. I think it’s brilliant how HBO is using Buzz Marketing for a fake movie that’s part of a fictional TV show. A little confusing, right? This is definitely blurring the line between fact and fiction… The latest episode of Entourage ended with the 90 second movie trailer for Medellin, the movie that Vince Chase and E produced (on the show of course).
In the episode, someone leaked the trailer on youtube (and then someone really posted it to youtube at the same time). So, Entourage fans shot to the web to find the trailer and the official movie site. Keep in mind, there really isn’t a movie…and it’s all part of a fictional TV show about a movie star in Hollywood.
I wrote a blog post about how they might just generate enough buzz about Medellin to warrant a real movie! Check out the blog post about HBO Using Buzz Marketing for MedellinTheFilm.com. This is an interesting twist from the minds at HBO!
PS Don't make a mistake (like many are doing) and visit MedellinTheMovie.com...it has nothing to do with the movie.
Glenn Gabe focuses heavily on internet marketing and has been developing web applications using Flash for over 10 years. Glenn helps companies build online marketing campaigns that leverage the power of Rich Media, Word of Mouth, and Search Marketing.
About The Web Video Marketeer
And yes, it's marketeer, not marketer spelled incorrectly! I started this blog to cover the use of flash video and its impact on internet marketing campaigns.
Major League Baseball (MLB) decided to jump into the amplified word of mouth ring this year with 
Unless you've been living under a rock, you have heard of 
I’m a huge 
Let me set the stage. Take approximately a dozen teenagers with the parents of one of the teenagers away on vacation for 10 days. Then, over 7 days, those teenagers engineered what can only be considered the best slip n slide I’ve ever seen. It sounds like a scene from Risky Business, doesn’t it? Well, the end-result was risky, since any one of the teenagers involved could have been seriously injured. But, like hundreds of thousands of other viewers on the web, I was glued to the 5 minute viral video that you can view on SpikedHumor.com, YouTube, or several other social media sites. Read on.
I'm a huge fan of horror movies and 
