As It Gets Easier For Everyone To Do, It Gets Harder To Do It Right

Web video is the current rage.

All it takes is a hundred dollar camera and some freeware editing software and you’re in the video business, right?

Wayne Campbell, longtime Senior VP at Nashville’s venerable Filmhouse, which has been crafting video messages for radio stations and personalities about as long as anyone gives some excellent advice:

"Rather than show spots that might be Academy Award winners, in that they are pretty TV spots or that they have all kinds of neat graphic effects that may be fun to look at, we prefer to show people our 'best work' that win the "Work House" awards. The best TV spots are the ones that have been designed for one purpose -- NOT to win awards, but to 'get the job done.'

"My advice to anyone who is considering the use of video is to take the time even before you even decide to use the medium, over the air or online, say to yourself: 'why do I want to be on TV?' 'What message do I want to communicate to this mass audience?'

"The advantage of television and online video is that you can get a message out to a mass audience in a very quick amount of time in a very pervasive way. Because of that intrinsic power, it is actually possible to do more damage than good if you communicate the WRONG message about your product.

"In general, however, I can't think of a more exciting, advantageous time to be using a mass medium like television with all the attention that is being drawn to country music right now. It is an excellent time to simply tell the story of all the strategic benefits of "today's country," for example.

"In trying to decide what your message should communicate, you may have a number of tools available to you: strategic research to show you where the opportunities may lie, particularly if you have a country competitor; input from your consultant; perhaps you have the luxury of doing some focus groups, to test some creative approaches to see how the people in your market react to a spokesman, or music videos, or seeing station personalities, testimonials from a particular country artist, or from actual listeners, or actors. Use as many of these tools as you have available to you before you begin the creative process.

"Give yourself plenty of time to identify exactly WHY you want to be on video and what it is you want to say. Then, judge your creative ONLY in terms of how effectively and clearly it communicates EXACTLY what it is that you wanted to say."

Once a message or an implication about you is out there, it's out there forever.