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Where does one begin in planning a video for a website?
Planning a video is like I would picture writing a novel; You walk around, sit around, and no matter what else you do around, your thoughts are all about coming up with a creative concept. Then your mind drifts to more substantive things like "should it be funny, just informative, or so clever that it will go viral"? But invariably, the first thought is "Where the heck do I begin"? Oh, and one other major consideration that will surely take up residence in the back of your mind: "How much will this thing cost me"?
It always seems that you could have easily come up with that brilliantly memorable, but unusually simple idea you saw the night before on a TV commercial; how difficult can that possibly be? In fact, since what you saw would go absolutely great with your product or service, all you have to do is come up with a new twist on the same, simple theme and you're in business. So you sit around, walk around, drive around and just keep thinking and thinking and thinking for days on end until your head is ready to explode, but the result is always the same; you're not quite there yet! Welcome to my world. You're starting to face the reality that getting any kind of idea is not as easy as it may seem. In fact, some of the larger Madison Avenue types would meet en masse many times for a brain-storming session to accomplish the same task. I know this because I was part of that culture for a lot of years.
But now I'm more like you; On my own.
On the other hand, I'm one of those who now loves the challenge of coming up with creative solutions to a variey of tough problems. I started out suffering the results of the same tedious process I described in the last paragraph, but after enduring it multiple times, "I paid my dues" as they say, and have come to learn to approach the whole process from many, many but always realistic perspectives.
My thinking is now more relaxed, and without undue pressure I search for that one creative trigger that will lead me in the right direction. My brain is wired to always approach things like this in the same manner. The bottom line to my advice for you is this: tally up all the reasons that a person might want or not want to use your product or service, then confront them realistically. Don't copy anyone else's methods or thinking, that will result in you having to always share a piece of the results. Be different and stand away from the pack. Geico does it, Colonial Penn does it, McDonald's does it, and I do it; so can you.
But creativity aside, you must eventually start facing the real consequences of what you're planning. Should accepting an award for creativity be a primary goal, or do you want to disseminate information sufficient to actually "sell" your product? If I defer to my average client's bottom-line expectations, it's usually the latter, because selling a product will make a customer happy. And for me, that happy customer is going to be a return customer providing more earthly benefits for us both than any award. And once you settle down to earth, the rest of the task is now many more steps removed from daunting.
Let's get down to my basics
So here's my thought process right from the get go. Start thinking far out of the box. For instance, why not phrase its virtues like a question? Does the Frazamataz do all they're saying it does or is it just hype? Imagine how many people would sit up and take notice to hear that question fully answered. Or maybe I'd position it like this: The brilliant Frazamataz is just one step away from being the perfect product for the entire family; See why. Now there's another mystery that has to be solved by the curious shopper. So go ahead; I'm all ears. At least those two thoughts (I think) will give you ample freedom to lay all the positive features on really thick.
Another approach would be to override any negatives associated with the product right from the start. I try to avoid disclaimers as much as possible and would rather use the disclaimer as among my opening features to turn that negative into a more positive vibe. For instance: Drive a Full 20,000 Miles a year on Your Lease Before Incurring Any Mileage Charges! Now today's driver might be questioning how driving 20,000 miles a year before being charged overages could be considered a bargain, but that would be a good comic moment if it were 30,000 and they could embarressingly apologized for the error on camera. It's a positive mistake that would result in turning around a negative focus into a positive feature.
Because I'm just throwing all this out I'm not attesting to their greatness, I'm just saying that out of the box thinking starts with out of this world thinking and settles down a bit to realities from there. Clients might not want to risk advertising dollars on "too clever" ideas for fear that they'll not lead to sales. Caution abounds with small to medium size businesses, especially where money is concerned. Big companies sometimes create visual and script combinations that are so clever, serious, or funny that the product name associated with that production is oftentimes impossible to remember. But in the case of Geico, for instance, the fun is the purpose of the ad because there's no product price they can cite because of all the similar competition and the variables involved.
Another reason why cheap just might be best.
The average cost for a video on your site, depending on the production value and degree of difficulty can range from $800-8,000. That includes script, a possible storyboard, production crew and talent. But if it were me, I'd keep it powerful, yet creatively simple and opt for the low end rather than the high end. At any rate, worth checking out. Cheap is usually the best way to go. Watch what I do with my own videos, and if you like the way I blend music and visuals, you'll certainly like the way I price what I do. Barry.