Celebrity Baker Infront of Mendip Media Cameras

The Great British Bake Off mixes those tried and tested ingredients, cookery and competition, and follows in the footsteps of TV staples such as MasterChef & Ready Steady Cook.

So it’s a pleasant surprise to learn that we’ll be filming Holly Bell, a contestant from the recent baking series, who’ll be giving her own steer on all things sweet and sticky for our long time client Lakeland. 

Drawing in the interested viewer and giving them free advice, peppered with aspiration and celebrity, is one of the ways marketing teams are adding value on their own channels. 

It’s another signal that brands seriously committed to video on their websites and social media channels, are branching out and trying more adventurous and subliminal messaging in their deployment of the medium. 

No longer  dependent on expensive TV ads or the whim of programme producers, brand managers are doing it for themselves.

Bridgwater Carnival Video

We’ve recently filmed one of the big West Country carnivals at Bridgwater and have been approached by another smaller event to film their carnival next year.

This, of course, is very flattering, but it brings into sharp focus the way we communicate what we do and the ins and outs of how video is made.

Waiting for the sharp intake of breath when we start to discuss price is something I take for granted.

Created in the Camera? Sarah Films Carnival

Even after describing the process of planning, scheduling, filming, digitising, editing & file preparation, there’s often a pause and then a quizzical look that says ‘but surely the film just pops fully formed out of the camera?”

It’s even worse when there’s a deadline involved. Putting together a complex shoot with locations, models, crews etc. needs nailed down preparation to get the best results. 

So I’m on a roll to educate folk about how to make video that works as a marketing tool.

Matt sets up shot at GO Outdoors filming

So we’ve just returned from what seems an epic adventure in the great outdoors; something that’d knock Livingstone’s discovery of the Zambesi into a cocked hat. 

Not.

It might have felt like a long expedition, but in reality it was two days filming in the Peak District for GO Outdoors.

All the same, filming product video outdoors to schedule in the winter with day breaking at 8am and dusk falling at 4pm is a pretty gruelling ask, especially for the camera operator.

GO Outdoors Models Clothing Range

Thankfully we’d planned the shoot carefully and were able to stick to time thanks to the dry weather.

But it has got me thinking about contingency. If you’re filming outside – really outside – with no provision for cover, then once it rains you are up the proverbial Zambesi without a paddle.

 Big, small or tiny, any exterior filming is subject to the same weather vagaries, and with the best will in the world, the very authenticity gained by the light & landscape will also be affected by rain.

Fortunately for us it was a good week’s filming, and seeing the product in situ is worth its weight in weather hazards.

According to a report hot off the press from the US, brand spending on online video will rise sharply in 2012.

Given that we are busier than ever producing online video for companies ranging from Unilever to Go Outdoors, we can testify that there is increased interest in professionally produced product video.

And with brand managers demanding absolute value from producers, our aim to be as efficient and transparent as possible, from concept to delivery, is beginning to pay dividends in increased orders.

Matt and Andy Film Bridgwater Carnival

They say it’s the biggest event of its kind in Europe; Bridgwater Carnival is a parade of giant floats that set off after dark in a blaze of light and noise. Created in the community through the year-long endeavours of carnival clubs based in the South West, it kicks off the Somerset Illuminated Carnivals event. 

This centuries old tradition sees the colourful floats meander their way through small towns in a fortnight long trail of light and music competing for honours. 

No pressure then taking over the filming duties from a long standing supplier. 

Carnival Commentators On Top Of Their Game

We were there in force … three cameras, two producers and several runners. It was, as usual, pretty amazing and for the thousands who turned out to cheer the parade, a free, upbeat spectacle in a dark winter’s night. 

But it’s the editing that’s been an eye opener. We’ve pulled out all the stops with two editors compiling a two hour DVD charting every float and competitor .. and it’s taken us to the deadline wire. 

If you want to see more from this year’s Bridgwater Carnival go to BGFC You Tube channel or the official website.

One Amongst Many

Invest to survive as my old grandpa used to say, and despite the cold winds of recession blowing us into an uncertain winter, taking his advice we’ve spent a lot on new kit this year. 

And we’re switching from tapes to cards at the moment, which means not only different cameras but new ways of working. 

Although, we’ll probably be tapeless within a year, we’ll have to keep our older technology, such as digitisers, so that we can still access our tape archive – that is unless we want to put it all on hard drive. 

The outlay on equipment, just to keep up with the changing technologies, on top of expansion, is tricky enough to fund organically, but what makes it harder is a lack of understanding from the marketplace about the costs involved in producing video in a sustainable business model. 

Although it’s probably a gripe common to most businesses reliant on good, up to date machinery, somehow the understanding of what’s involved in our sector seems to be hazier than most.

As a result, I aim to get more information about the filmmaking process out there in the next few months. Watch this space!

One of Many Ecommerce Videos for Lakeland

If video is an online marketing tool, the measure of its success is reliable analytics especially in conversion to sale.

We’ve been lucky enough to have clients who keep on top of measurement by actively setting up their own customer surveys.

One of our clients, Lakeland, who we’ve worked with for the past three years, and whose large and ever changing product inventory is sold through both retail outlets and ecommerce, has generously shared its latest stats on the video we produce for them. 

When we started with the company in 2008, it had a handful of videos on its website whereas now it has over 600. And in a survey of 8000 of its customers, detailed feedback about how the video has improved sales has helped to bolster the case for increased production. 

The findings were as follows 

Just under a quarter of those surveyed (24%) said they had viewed at least one online video. 

Of those that had viewed, almost all (96%) rated them informative and useful. 

40% said they had bought something directly as a result of the video presentation. 

So that means nearly all the viewers thought the videos were useful, and nearly 10 per cent of the whole sample converted to sale as a result of watching the product demos. 

Needless to say, as producer of Lakeland’s ecommerce videos, we’re pretty pleased with the results!

Product Video Demonstration for Unilever

We’ve always known that ecommerce video is different from TV advertising; I believe whilst it is a new type of video, it’s more a hybrid, born of old practice and new demand, than a completely separate genre. 

Unlike a TV ad, an ecommerce video is there 24/7 on demand, and yet it’s transient, almost throw away.

Product video sits in a network of thousands of other similar videos. Its job is not to stand out, but to demonstrate and to focus almost entirely on its functional role. 

Ecommerce video needs to be well conceived, well filmed and well placed. It’s a deal clincher set in a sea of aligned content; a demonstration of why a product is a ‘must have’ because of what it does.

Royal Canin Kitten Stars in Mendip Media Video

It’s good to have a hunch backed up with some real evidence of it being true in practice

Yesterday’s visit to the Ecommerce Expo at Olympia has given some hard edged reality to Mendip Media’s development of one of its core services, producing and scaling product video for ecommerce websites and social media networks. 

And this morning the IPA confirmed that online advertising spend is unaffected by the recession.

Today we’re filming for one of Mars Pet Foods subsidiaries Royal Canin. The video will appear on one of its micro portals, and in the next couple of weeks we’ll follow this up with at least 15 further video clips about pet health. 

The purpose of the video is to refresh content on the portal, reaffirm brand values and show that Royal Canin is an expert in pet nutrition.

For a relatively small outlay, Royal Canin can demonstrate its credentials as a leading pet health exponent and develop its online following around best practice in animal nutrition.

Generous Bids for Ape Action Africa

For someone who rarely graces the charity gala scene let alone wears black tie, when it came time to auction items generously donated by businesses in Bristol on behalf of Ape Action Africa, my eyes were well and truly opened!

Either the wine was doing the talking or people who had paid to come to support the charity’s work on primate conservation were digging deep – and I’m pretty sure it was the latter – but the amount raised to help keep the conservation centre in Cameroon going was staggering.

The bidding was brilliantly hosted by Jamie Breese, who really got into his stride as the last item came up for auction. The prize was no less than a small unpainted Wow! Gorilla, held back by the artist for Ape Action Africa. For those who don’t know what the Wow! Gorilla is click here … a fantastic marketing campaign to highlight the plight of the great ape and raise money for conservation.

This now iconic fibre glass shape, whose larger compatriots had been auctioned for tens of thousands earlier in the month, caused an excitment that reached fever pitch as the bids flowed thick and fast. The last emblematic gorilla finally sold for £2700. Just one of many great items that went under the hammer and raised desperately needed funds for this fantastic organisation.

Congratulations to the organisers and to Caroline McLaney, CEO, who made it to the auction despite suffering from the after-effects of maleria! I was also pleased to see that Mendip Media’s pro-bono video was shown during the evening. We’ll continue to support Ape Action Africa by archiving and editing and filming for it whenever the need arises.