Augmented Reality Videos

Yet another birthday I learned (sorry, remembered!) through bluemountain.com. I love the site - it has come a long way since its inception when users sent images around. Now, almost every creation is animated. But it's time to take it to the next level with augmented reality. I came across this post in Oddcast's latest e-newsletter. The company, known for its talking heads and avatars, is demoing augmented reality. They are meshing live video with animated characters. You can try it for yourself: Go here to see an example. If you have a Webcam ready, you can interact with the animated guitar player at oddcast.com/augmented. All you have to do is to turn on your camera, print a badge from here, hold it up to your Webcam and magically, a cartoonish guitar player pops up on your face. The badge becomes his stage. You can move your hands towards him to see if he'll fall off the stage. He'll jump and keep on rocking.

Now, wouldn't it be fun to record a personal video message for a friend and plug in a three-dimensional, animated character to jazz it up. Your friend could then interact with the animated character while he/she listened to your message.

Imagine what this could do for brands and fans. You could finally dance on the same stage with Michael Jackson, have cans of Coke and wear your favorite designer's clothes from the comfort of your desk. Brands could provide the tools on a micro-site to fans and let them create their own clips, mixing video with animation.

Do You Know Video?

Eyeview is a start-up based in Boston/Tel-Aviv. It provides end-to-end video solutions. The company's site is full of good information on what qualities in a video will convert viewers to buyers. I got a quiz from their VC this morning. You can check it out here and see how smart you are about understanding what works, what doesn't work for online videos.

I have a feeling that many of us would not score 8 out of 8 ;-)

I had fun and I learned a few things from the Eyeview quiz. My take aways were:

1- If you are creating visual content for a client, think from the user perspective. How are they able to see and understand?

2- Your message is important, but don't forget a call to action. Tell people what you want them to do. And better make that short and sweet.

3- Whatever is easy, whatever works. Don't make people click, scroll, take a left turn and click again. Give them a shortcut and break that shortcut into simple steps.

4- Put the viewer in the driver seat. Use smart design to get people to scroll and click, helping them discover content on their own.

For case studies from Eyeview, click here. eBay and Poker Professor are among clients!

WWYDFAKB?

I have not packed a mover’s box in years, but the pain of lifting, carrying and pushing large objects through narrow doorways and blocked hallways is permanently etched on my mind. But when my colleague Rick showed me Klondike®’s latest viral video a few weeks ago, I simply cracked up. The video features two guys carrying a couch into a house while a task master Klondike bar coaches them with condescending remarks. A talking ice-cream bar, whipping two dudes with comments from the sideline...What’s there not to laugh about?

The video is produced by the SNL digital shorts team and was premiered on YouTube by the popular video producer Timothy Delaghetto. Currently, it’s been viewed more than 200,000 times on YouTube, Metacafe and Funny or Die. The Moving Day video follows on the footsteps of the previously released Phone Call video.

These videos, that are meant to drive interest around a Klondike video contest , are shaping to be viral success stories. They take a well-known phenomenon and put a quirky spin on it by having a non-human character speak and other actors say things that many people stuck in frustrating situations would want to say. They strike a chord in a humorous way. They give people the opportunity to be the funny person of the hour by passing it along to friends.

Yet it’s not just quality content that’s pushing the videos along Web networks. The team behind the promotion took a pretty strategic approach to distribution as well. The Phone Call video was first released exclusively on Metacafe. On the release day, the Klondike brand took over the Metacafe homepage, greeting every Metacafe user that came into the site through that central area. As I mentioned before, The Moving Day video was premiered by Delaghetto, who already had a sizable following and had been a fan of Klondike’s. The campaign for the video contest is also supported by the twittering Klondike bear (Twitter ID: Klondikebear), a Klondike Facebook page and intensive media relations and blogger engagement. Best of all, the contest submissions are flying in. So, what would you do for a Klondike Bar? ;-)


* Disclaimer: Klondike is a GolinHarris client. I decided to write this post because I enjoyed the campaign as a Web user and as a marketer.

Hillary vs Obama on Video

I read this fantastic post in SF Gate a few days ago on how the Clinton campaign lost the online video war.  San Francisco Chronicle's Joe Garofoli chronicles the Clinton campaigns missteps in communicating with online audiences through video releases. He notes how lack of an authentic voice, wrong script choices, mash-ups lead to the undesirable kind of viral activity. 

I don't think it's just the video medium though... The Clinton campaign didn't find its voice until we saw how hard Hillary was fighting and were reminded how hard she had worked to get there, representing all the women. 

Obama, meanwhile, had a very simple and clear message. Change. How refreshing amidst all the economic, social and political chaos! His videos and speeches are so emotional, you feel you are part of his movement just by passing it along. I am not even an American citizen. I cannot vote. I have to admit I felt drawn to his story as someone who lives here and has family affected by US politics in North America and abroad. 

Obama said what was on everyone's mind. The Web made it loud enough for everyone to hear. An authentic message, powered by passion and emotion, distributed by 1's and 0's. 

How Sporting Portugal Went Viral

It's hard to predict what type of message or content will go viral. There is no secret formula, but there are some smart choices you can make. First, understand the audience's attitudes. Second, make sure to strike an emotional chord. 

I was eyeing Marketing Sherpa's Viral Marketing Hall of Fame 2008 list. My personal favorite is Sporting Portugal's campaign that uses the soccer team's Web site to draw the audience into the team's experience as the new season starts. Fans who visited the Sporting Portugal site would watch the video of a nervous Paulo Bento, the team's coach, calling a fan and telling him to get down to the stadium as the game started. Then they could submit their phone number on the site and get a 'personal' phone call from Paulo Bento asking them to come and support the team at the stadium. 

The campaign drew more than 610,000 people to the site in two weeks and the team hit all-time season ticket sales record on the first day of the season (1,500+).  That's pretty successful, especially considering the country is about 11 million people. 

Having grown up in Turkey, where soccer is by far the most popular sport, I can attest to Mediterraneans' passion for their soccer teams. People develop para-social relationships with the players and the coaches through the media at a level that goes remarkably deep. When everything else is so-so in your life, your team's success means the world to you. When they win, you gloat. When they lose, your week is ruined. (Think Superbowl excitement that lasts as long as the season.) Soccer is the leading topic of conversation among buddies. Children need to play soccer to make friends in the neighborhood. 

You always discuss how the team "could do this to you!" And you have a few bits of advice to give to that player or coach. The Sporting Portugal campaign broke through the mold and heightened the excitement about the beginning of the season, because it held the phone to the fans' ears and had a real voice at the other end of the line. All of a sudden, the para-social connections became real. 

And if Mr. Bento has made a personal effort to call you, how could you let him and the team down? After that point, it's a matter of honor (and fun.)