While there are some important and obvious differences between companies and nonprofit organizations, in the world of online video marketing, both need to operate like brands. And I’m happy to say that there is consistently great video coming out supporting the various nonprofits and other important causes all the time.
During his career in the NFL and Major League Baseball, Bo Jackson did a lot of impressive things. In just a few short weeks, he’ll be doing two impressive things at once: riding his bicycle across the state of Alabama (his home), and raising a ton of money for tornado victims while doing it. He’s calling it Bo Bikes Bama, and while his viewcount might not impress the execs at a Fortune 500 company, it’s more than enough to help spread the word on his goals–and those viewers are likely more engaged with both the video and the overall message:
Sometimes a nonprofit does such good work that the people whose lives they touch make videos about them. Like the paraplegic girl who had a life dream fulfiled by 9Lives Adventures when they organized a wheelchair bungee jump for her. She was so thrilled, she uploaded video of the event as a thank you. Half a million views later, there are a lot more people who know about 9Lives than there were last week, which can only increase their awareness and support:
When members of the 31 Canadian Brigade Group met up with the U.S. National Guard, some good-natured competition broke out between the two groups, in the form of an intriguing style of tug-of-war:
Sometimes a cause is so specific that it’s really just one man, not an organization. That’s no reason to abandon video as a means of getting the word out. Just ask the man behind the KumukahiHawk YouTube Channel, who is monitoring active lava flows in Hawaii and documenting it for the world to see:
They may not have all the resources, but by taking advantage of the social nature of online video, nonprofits and causes can find the same kind of engaged and active viewer the brands receive.
A few months back, Louis CK earned himself massive amounts of audience respect with his self-produced, self-released stand-up comedy special. But the fans weren’t the only ones paying attention. It’s not an overstatement to say that Louis CK’s experiment–and more importantly it’s success–opened up a lot of eyes in the entertainment industry. The unique distribution model (largely just trusting his fans not to pirate the material) made him a ton of money, and it was only a matter of time before others tried something similar.
Aziz Ansari, from NBC’s “Parks & Recreation,” is among the first imitators to launch, and has a very foul-mouthed trailer for his own self-distributed stand-up comedy special. WARNING: I repeat… it’s got a ton of swearing in it, so keep that in mind.
Ansari knows that his biggest fans will appreciate the direct-to-consumer approach, making them more engaged and ultimately happier viewers.
Another brand doing some online video experimenting this week was HBO’s Game Of Thrones, which has its second season premiere coming this Sunday. The show has already scored too many social video successes to count with traditional trailers. So for something different… for the hardcore fans, they put out a 22-minute behind-the-scenes video that has been a huge success. It’s already over 200,000 views, and has multiple mentions on major blogs and publications and an impressive amount of social sharing activity. Loyal fans are already more engaged than casual viewers, but this kind of content only serves to further the connection they have with the brand:
In probably the most innovative and clever bit of social video from the week, The Fine Brothers (themselves an established entertainment brand these days) leveraged another popular brand–AMC’s Mad Men–for an interactive 8-bit video game experience that is a lot more fun that it should be:
The brands that innovate and push the envelope with regard to style and format are the ones most likely to reap the highest viewer engagement rewards.
We all know how Old Spice conquered the world of online video marketing, causing marketers from all industries to drool with envy. Their original “Man Your Man Could Smell Like” ad started it all:
All brands that dabble in online video marketing want to make great videos. And some of them are doing it consistently.
But the pipe dream should be more than just great videos created by the brand, it should be that… plus a legion of socially-connected fans making videos about your brand for you. Video has the power to do more than just engage customers and form relationships with them; it has the power to make them such big fanatics for a brand or product that it becomes infused in their everyday lives… including the videos they make. Read More »
Viewers aren’t terribly complicated people… we just want to be entertained. And while there are a number of ways to achieve that, a great many brands shoot for humor–specifically humor of the strange variety.
Thanks to the successful and popular ads over the last few years from companies like Old Spice & Skittles, “weird humor” is all the rage. Read More »
