I remember in early 2007 reading an article in Internet Retailer about Blendtec and the famous YouTube viral campaign promoting their blenders.  Throughout 2007, the majority of the video discussion has been focused on YouTube.  While YouTube can play a role with Universal Search on the horizon and the ability to get videos indexed into Google, direct marketers are not being given many options.  Now it's late 2007 and I pick up the Wall Street Journal (Nov. 26th to be exact) and read an inspiring tale of video success...you guessed it, Blendtec!

So I guess the moral of the story is strike gold and be the one in a million whose viral campaign takes off or video doesn't apply.  But that could not be farther from the truth.  In reality, we have been helping clients all year develop strategies to make video work with a direct response goal.  By producing original content designed to better, more quickly communicate their value proposition, they can compel visitors to convert and increase their overall return.  Othertimes, we simply found ways to take video content they already had and incorporate it in a meaningful way (this is not always possible).

The goal of our efforts was to maximize their online advertising spend by causing more people to convert, and it makes a ton of sense.  We already know people don't like to read.  We also know that people retain information much better if it is given to them in a combination of audio and visuals.  Couple that with the less restrictive nature of a medium that allows for more than just flat images, and you have a compelling argurment for video.  The results have confirmed this.  Engagement quality increased.  Back out rates down.  Conversions up.  ROI improved!

Now don't go off half-cocked and slap up a home video of your product in action.  The "pros" of video can quickly become "cons" if the presentation isn't professional and well thought out.  What you need to do is determine what it is about your value proposition or market differentiation strategy that would be more easliy communicated through a multimedia presentation.  In other words, what do you want to make sure they know before they either convert or leave.  The goal being to have the latter happen less and less!