Consider a leisure time surfer browsing the web; suddenly he comes across the Cruzin Cooler Video. The title catches his eye. He puts on his headset, clicks the button and relaxes in his chair to watch. As the video unfolds, scene after scene shows the tiny motorized scooter carrying ice cold drinks to the beach to a wooded camping site and to an outdoor sporting events. Imagine watching the video at a time when you’re in the mood to go camping and picnicking, and now your mouth is watering, for one of those cold sodas, to break your thirst on a hot day. The cart looks fun, the vacation scenes enhancing, and if you’ve got the means, you want one. As the video ends Dawn Waggoner, the Cruzin girl invites you to call in and find out more.

Why will viewers call in for more information or click on the website, after watching this video? People will call in because the video shows us the little Cruzin carts in action at the beach at picnics, at every possible scenario where they are fun. And more!

The carts, we find out, are not just for toting ice cold drinks to the picnic site. They’re for carrying your laundry to the cleaner, carrying your bags into a hotel, carrying your children, your dog. Fun, fun, fun, convenience, convenience, scene after scene, picnic after picnic, this is what the video presents. The video appeals to people who have the means to invest in fun and convenience. Buy me, the video says to the viewer, and I will add all this fun and convenience to your life.

There are many types of sales videos targeting many different types of people. Some sales videos, for example, are selling necessities of life, and trying to motivate people who need those necessities but only have a borderline amount of money. There are sales videos that are selling something to a person who doesn’t need the product. And there are sales videos selling fun to people of some means who crave leisure and fun. This Cruzin Cooler video is selling fun and is competing with a bunch of other videos also selling fun. It’s goal is to show viewers that their product will provide more fun than the competition’s product. The on screen fun is existentially pleasing, and hence for the moment irresistible.

One important point worth noting is that a video of this genre must go for a quick smooth close to the sale. Since the video is selling the product by appealing to a transient sense of pleasure, the close needs to be made while the viewer is in the mood.

This video reminds us that there is a large budget in the consumer population for fun and leisure. A sales video targeting this leisure set must successfully show that their product will enhance fun and leisure pursuits more than their competitor’s offering. The consumer, who is deciding how to budget his fun and leisure money will then decide if it is worth buying the item. If he does buy, it won’t be because of the specs or details included in the video. It will be because he wants to have the same moments of fun he is seeing on the screen, fun that is dependent on having that product.

On the other hand, if the purpose of a sales video is to get interested customers to put their contact information on a list, than some entrepreneurs have suggested it need only be as little as 30 seconds. A short presentation of the major features of the product should be enough to let viewers decide if they are interested and want to know more. On the other hand, if the purpose of the video is to make an immediate sale, in a price range under $50.00, then the video may have to be as long as five minutes, to provide the spectator enough information to make an informed decision. 

Consumers complain that they don’t want to look at a video that is padded with non-essential information. So when contemplating the addition of extra length to the presentation, the company, or their video production company, needs to ask themselves if the additional footage is essential to making the sale. If not, it shouldn’t be included.

The DUB sales video found at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5025604909381984493# illustrates some of the important we are considering. DUB is a border collie who has been trained to work herds of calves and yearlings. The video, made by amateurs  shows off DUBs ability to gather the herd, separate calves and perform other responsibilities of a border collie.

At 25 minutes, the video  well above the length of most sales video. Was this length necessary or could the film have been edited down to a shorter size without losing effectiveness.

The video fulfills what it seeks out to accomplish, and shows the collie working effectively in a variety of tasks. Anyone interested in purchasing a border collie, will want to be sure  that the animal can do its work before he buys it, and the video meets that need.  The  visual presentation of  the border collie working a half day project, in the field, allays the suspicions of any viewer that shots of the dog not fulfilling his job have been edited out of footage. On the contrary, we are left with the impression that this dog is capable of working consistently.

The question before us is whether the video could have been shortened, without losing its effectiveness. I believe a professional could have spliced down the work, without taking away its eselling value. Many scenes are repetitive and do not tell us anything more about the dog’s abilities, and could have been cut. There are  techniques, used frequently in Hollywood movies, whereby an action is presented through selected segments, which when spliced together give the viewer the impression that he is seeing the whole action. Of course, that type of professional expertise is expensive and not practical to be used in a dog sales video.

In summary, a primary task of a sales video is to present the information viewer need to see to make a decision and take action. Less information is needed to get the viewer to hand over contact information, than to induce him to make a purchase. When going for the sale, the video should avoid adding extraneous information, and avoid the addition of repetitive material which adds no new knowledge about the product.

After you finish watching this video you will realize that a lot of the hype you hear about how to make a good sales video, is really information about how to make a video that works, even though it will be missing a lot of things that viewers will want to see. This video is distinct in that it leaves the impression with any viewer that nothing is missing, the audience has witnessed a complete professional presentation of all the facts needed to make an educated decision about purchasing this car.Anyone at all interested in buying this car, was certainly totally satisfied by the time he reached the end of the presentation.

The video, in a professional way details the history of the car. In 1998, the car was purchased as a black Pontiac. Subsequently Rick had it painted bright canary yellow. Pontiac insignias were removed in front and back to give the car a sleeker look.

Rick doesn’t hide anything about the history of the car and the video describes a cracked front brake fender and bumper that occurred not long after the repaint. Amazingly, Rick documented on video, the damage, the repair, and subsequent new paint job.

The video goes on to document all the major features the car has, including everything from power brakes and steering to power antennae, to remote control of the specially installed stereo system.

The video then presents performance details. Rick is a meticulous car enthusiast and he has added a lot of new features since purchase. He installed a custom exhaust system installed by Denny Tarcza, owner of Muflex System Exhaust. Additional 6 rear wheel horse power features were added, summing  up to a total  25 rear wheel horse power increase over the original factory model. A special cooler was added to protect the motor. A clutch assembly was added and the master slave cylinder was added. Feature after feature that was added to the car is delineated in the video. While most sales videos will document a summary of a car’s features to give viewers an impression about the car they are selling, this video documents every change that has ever been made to the vehicle.

After a thorough chronologing of car maintenance work, Rick presents a series of gifts he is prepared to give the new owner, so that he will take the same pride in ownership that Rick did. Gifts range from a lockable car cover to a complete inside and outside car detail kit, to a complete set of OEN chrome wheels, to a talking radar kit.

Finally Rick takes the time to address two questions that have already come to him from perspective buyers. Has the car ever been in a wreck? No. If it is such a great car why are you selling up? He plans to put the money towards restoration of his older 1970 car.

Proof of the pudding that the video is effective was the fact that the car was sold and most certainly at a great price. Why? Because the video presented everything there is to know about it. Every viewer felt he knew that car inside and out and therefore could make a wise decision. It is a true addage that people will pay more for a product they know alot about.
What do we normally find in a sales video. For every piece of vital information that is left out of your average sales video, a piece of hype, glitz, or action shot of the product, meant to override intellectual considerations, is added. After seeing this video, you come to realize to what an extent the ad hype added to most sales videos has been developed to cover over insufficient presentation.

Rick works in video, and he was able to put together a sales video whose cost to the average seller would significantly eat into sales profit. So while I realize most people can’t afford to put together a sales video as thorough as this one, it is worth looking at to at least consider what you would really like your sales video to say if money was no issue. Do keep in mind, when challenged with outlay considerations that the more people know about the product you are selling, the more they are likely to shell out more money to purchase it.

BLOGS:

in general, a sales video should have interesting visual material, to engage the viewer. It should provide a means by which the viewer can identify with the products being offered and or the video presentation. It should kindle enthusiasm about buying the product, and if possible anticipate likely buyer objections and answer them within the video. While all these tasks should be included in a sales video, some videos will emphasize one or more of them more than others.

The Hummer sales video seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHFEwSD4ogk presents interesting viewing material and extensively presents the major quality which has excited people to buy the Hummer.

The content of the 11 minute video consists of scenes of an H1 Hummer driving through off road conditions. We watch the sturdy vehicle as it treks through, mud, snow, water, up embankments, over concrete and wood impediments on dirt paths and over large bumps. The video presents convincing evidence that the Hummer can do what people liked about itmost , make its own road through the wild.

The sales approach of the video is more than random happenstance. While live salesman can assess their customers interests, real time, a company producing a video has to ask itself ahead of time, what qualities of the product are most likely to excite viewers and make them want to acquire the item. With the Hummer, certainly its ability to drive in all types of terrain is its most famous appealing quality. This video does not merely include presentation of the quality, it makes it the central feature of the entire presentation.

What about viewer ability to identify with this presentation? The video does not go out of its way to create identification. We hardly see a single shot of the driver. None one is particularly likely to think that the man driving the car is a person just like himiself. There is a certain amount of general identification with the content in that Hummers were American military vehicles and any military man, or American who admires the military might automatically identify with the video.

The material is definately visually interesting. Viewers might squirm a bit as the Hummer trucks through water up to the radiator, and that’s not necessarily good. However, for the most part the smooth almost effortless way the Hummer makes a path through various off road conditions is good watching, which is attested to by the 100,000 plus views and the large number of You Tube Hummer videos, one or more of which has racked up 2,000,000 or more views.

In retrospect, since the Hummer line has recently been taken off the market, it is worthwhile looking for symptoms of that failure in the sales video and see if we note any weaknesses that anticipated the vehicles fall. Specifically, you will note, that the video fails to anticipate and respond to any possible objections people might have to buying the vehicle, of which there are several.

Wikipedia lists four major criticisms of the Hummer vehicle line. The large size presents parking problems and is considered a danger for smaller vehicles. The vehicle has been considered ecologically irresponsible. The car is also cited for poor fuel economy. And the former military car is criticised for its poor safety record. This sales video made no effort to present material which would answer any of those four potential major objections.

In fact, just the opposite, the long exciting scenes of trekking through wilderness, wild grass and fields would, in retrospect convince us that the Hummer does tear up the wilderness. Also, several scenes in the video might warn viewers of the ease with which an irresponsible hummer driver can end up driving his car into water over the cars capacity, or over a tall ledge or cliff.

The cold reality about sales videos is that they must sell the product. And all the exciting material in the world about a product won’t lead to sales if important outstanding objections are not answered. Objections can often be answered very unobtrusively in a way that doesn’t detract from the positive message of the video.

So in retrospect, the take home lesson of this Hummer video is not to get carried away with one function of a sales video to the detriment of the other important tasks of this genre.

The objection, addressed by this video, is the apparently prevalent belief, amoung potential safe buyers, that it is cheaper to buy a safe from a mass merchant store such as Wallmart, because they have large safes, which are just as good as safes sold by private companies, and they go for a lot less.

Rogue’s response to this belief is to point out that the large chains sell inferior products, safes which can be easily broken into by professional and even amateur thieves. The video makes this point through a 1 1/2 minute showing two amateur thieves breaking into a Wallmart safe.

Let us first consider what is appealing about this video. The video begins with a shot of a metal safe handle. There is something powerfully appealing, about a stout metal safe handle. First off, it connotes money, jewels, financial certificates and other valuables that are contained within safes. Secondly, it connotes the ability to protect those valuables within and thus facilitates the accumulation of wealth.

The video heightens the attraction of the products being displayed on screen through background music, similar to the type that might be heard in a movie, while a crime is being committed on screen. The sounds play upon the fears of the viewers about what could happen if they bought an inferior safe and someone broke in and stole all their money. 

The third appealing element of the video is the clip of the two thieves in the process of breaking into a safe. This is an action which occurs all too often in life, but is usually relegated to hidden secretive moments. Most people are unlikely to see anything like it in their lives. Therefore, a video segment depicting such an act has a fascination and appeal to the audience.

The video has some flaws which are worth learning from. The video addresses only one objection to the sale, and unlike aggressive sales videos makes almost no effort to motivate the viewer to buy. Watching the video, one gets the feeling that the safe company is so overwhelmed by the flight of customers to large chain stores where they can purchase cheap safes that it is hesitant to try and push its own products. All they do is take one big swat at the trend. While the one swat they take is an effective maneuver, and makes a point, the company’s lack of confidence in itself also comes through.

It goes, almost without saying, that a video must do more than demonstrate what is wrong with the other guy’s product. A successful video must show what is right about the company product, so as to excite enthusiasm in the potential buyer.What this video should have done, in my opinion, is put more emphasis on their own sleek strong safes. A video segment showing thieves unable to crack the Rogue Safe would have been one way of doing that.  While making potential buyers fearful of making a cheap purchase is half the job, inspiring people to shell out more to purchase a superior product is another important task of a sales video, which was, for the most part neglected in this case.

In summary, the video presenting appealing visual material, appropriate background music, an answer to a major objection to the sale, but did not provide enough positive reasons why viewers should pay extra money to purchase the company product.

Visually Interesting Material: The video starts with shots of attractive and intricate metal pieces created by Plasma Cam. While we don’t yet know what these pieces represent, they  are pleasant to look at and hold the viewers attention. Visual appeal translates into a captive audience, an important ingredient of successful sales videos.

Characters the Viewer Can Identify With: There are several characters in this video and all, with the possible exception of the  narrator, are real people, i.e., not actors. Importantly, the characters are also typical of the types of people that might buy Plasma Cam. Stan, the narrator describes himself as a “nuts and bolts person who doesn’t know much about computers. As a character, Stan is a guy who wants the ability to create art work and mechanical pieces out of sheet metal. While working with a computer is uncharacteristic for him, he is willing to use it because it allows him to operate  Plasma Cam and achieve his goal of the seemingly effortless production of custom designed metal parts. Sam represents a large segment of the audience the video is targeting. Other real life characters who present testimonials include, the owner of Industrial Zen Design, who uses the machine to turn out metal parts for design and art. the production manager of PFT, (a metal working shop), who can save vast amounts of time creating parts that took much longer on older machines and the president of Turbo Engineering LTD, who uses the machine to turn out car parts.

Answers Objections: One of the challenges of a sales video is to provide answers to objections potential viewers might have. In the normal sales process, salesman listen to customers objections and answer them, as they arise. In a sales video, however, the producers must anticipate the likely objections, ahead of time, and answer them within the video script. This video effectively addresses one main objection. The video targets people who will want to produce metal parts for their business, but who may not be regular computer users. The video addresses this possible obstacle to the sale via the speech of the characters. Stan, the narrator is a “nuts and bolts person who doesn’t know much about computers. ” However, as the video progresses, he is effortlessly downloading files, working with files visually on screen, and adjusting the Plasma Cam through manipulation of the software package. And Vinny Marchese the Production Manager of PFT appreciates how “Plasma Cam makes it easy for computer illiterates like me.” “I don’t want to be a computer genius,” Vinny adds, “I just want to be able to cut out my designs.” These two characters tell viewers that even computer illiterates can learn how to use the Plasma Cam program.

Addresses and Speaks to the Needs and Desires of Viewers: Super salesman Chuck Morgan says that the difference between a “seller” and a “teller” is that the teller merely describes the quality of a product, whereas a seller streamlines his presentation to the points which are likely to be emotionally exciting to the customer. A sales video has to achieve the same goal without the ability to talk to the viewers and pick up clues as to what their needs are. As is evident from the content selection of this video, the company determined that the ability of their product to rapidly and effortlessly turn out beautiful and intricate cut metal pieces is most likely to excite the audience. The video presents a lot of images of their machine accomplishing this and it is very effective.

In conclusion, four ingredients worth including in a sales video , include visually interesting material, characters or content that the audience can identify with, answers to likely objections, and presentation of the product qualities most likely to excite the audience.

Few corporations could be faced with a more drastic market change than when Kodak, a household name in regular photography, was faced with the digital photography revolution. Kodak made a video responding to this revolution in photography, and it was as extreme in format, as the market change was great. After seeing it, no can say that Kodak sat back and did nothing to address fears among their shareholders that Kodak would be severely affected by this great technological change in their field.

The Kodak “Winds of Change Video,” in a powerfully unique way tells the shareholders and public that Kodak is making a strong response to digital photography and is already creating imaginative and ingenious technology, which represents significant contributions by Kodak to digital photography. The video underscores this point by presenting the old and new Kodak in the video.

The video begins with a scene one might expect from an established company with a history of excellence. A dignified spokesman addresses the audience in an ornate classical theater setting. He describes the illustrious 100 year history of Kodak. Classic examples of Kodak pictures of children and family gatherings flash in the background, while pleasant elevator music, conducive to the scene, plays in the video sound track.

But suddenly, just when viewers are beginning to believe that Kodak is showing signs of corporate senility when it comes to showing awareness of the changes in the field, the mood of the piece changes. “Yep,” says the narrator, “they shoveled on the smaltz pretty thick.” “But,” he adds. “that kind of crap doesn’t work any more.” Then in a very worldly wise fashion the spokesman begins to talk about the digital photography revolution. He informs us that “Kodak is back and is “taking this digital thing to a level unheard of.”

As the video continues, the dialogue of the narrator thoroughly addresses all questions and concerns shareholders are liable to have about the large concerns response to the changes in the nature of photography. The spokesman admits that there was an initial hesitation on Kodak’s part. However, once it became clear that digital was the wave of the future Kodak jumped in feet first. The narrator then lists some of the new digital features that Kodak is developing in their laboratories; photography that meets “meta-knowledge.”

The narrator paints a picture of the home photography show of the future. With technology being developed right now in Kodak labs, it will be possible to arrange photos and present them in a show along with digitally arranged background music, and even video clips which enhance the show. Then he describes how the old well loved look of Kodak, the shots of babies families and grandmas will come back in a new form within the digital media.

When the video is over, we are convinced, albeit in an unconventional way, that Kodak is not just a bunch of stuffed shirt faddy daddies, but that they have managed to mobilize their corporate resources to become part of the world of computerized photography.

The take home lesson from this corporate video is to name and identify the challenge for the corporate video and task of the and meet it fully .

How does a famous company like Maison present their corporation to the public? The makers of the Maison Cartier corporate video found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixXeucyDG5s choose to present the beauty and precision of their jeweled watches. During the 3 1/2 minute video Maison Cartier presents a captivating inside look at how they make and assemble their refined products. Added to this, Maison Cartier presents shots of their workers engaged in the exacting art of precision jewelry assembly.

Anyone who has ever toured a watch factory or diamond cutting plant will recall how much fun and even envy inspiring a tour of the premises can be. Watching workers who spend 40 + years of their life engaged in precision assembly is an awe inspiring experience. Viewing the insides of some of these famous watches even on a video is an entertaining revelation.

This video is especially distinctive in the fine detail of its visual content. Just think, for a minute, of branding images that are as big as life, such as Tony the Tiger, the Pillsbury dough boy, the MGM lion and  Ronald McDonald. Maison Cartier, on the other hand,  goes in the opposite direction, and presents tiny precision imagery as their branding product. Our eyes are riveted to the screen as small watch parts are meticulously assembled. Tiny diamonds are delicately placed into rows of small fittings. A three dimensional collage is created and outlined by delicate gold foil borders. Altogether we are immersed into this visual demonstration of the power of fine assembly.

The petite images which fill the screen are  captivating, because they represent the true beauty and appeal found in the inventory of success of the Maison Cartier company.Watching the video, we appreciate the opportunity to look behind the external shell of a watch, for example, and observe as a team of men and machines assemble Maison’s mineature parts.

Should we place a documentary corporate video at one end of an imaginary axis and a branding business image video at the other end, this video would be found at the branding imagery end of the axis. The video goes to show, once more, that companies with intriguing captivating imagery to present to the public can most successfully use a branding format to present their products and services, because they have natural attention grabbing visual content. With this company, we might even call the video presentation hypnotizing, as the images of watch after watch in various stages of assembly dance before our eyes.

Okay now! Wake up!

The videos I listened to revealed that musical selections for background music can be divided into music which sounds like, or symbolizes the sounds of the service activity being offered, music which resembles or imitates the sounds of the problem that needs fixing and music which promotes a general positive mood related to successful resolution of the problem, and the successful ongoing flow of life, both before the problem occurred and after its resolution.

I believe  optimists in life outnumber pessimists. Most people put life’s daily struggles in perspective, and see them as problems to be dealt with and overcome, so that they can get on to the “rollicking good times.” In this light, consider what happens when something goes wrong, e.g., a plumbing leak, and a service company is called? At first, something is not working right, the order of daily life is a bit disturbed and the service company, such as a plumbing company, steps and restores order. Then, the good times march on.

Applying this analysis,  we can divide the service intervention into three distinct phases: the breakdown, the intervention to fix the breakdown and the restoration of order. As we will see, these three phases of a service intervention correspond to three different types of background music that are used in service videos. Consider examples taken from videos which I examined when writing this report.

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/4770485/12735726 This video presents music imitating the sound of a dripping pipe, along with a video of the drip and a narrator encouraging the viewer to get help. This is background music which reminds the listener of the actual process of the breakdown.

http://espanol.video.yahoo.com/watch/4466979/11977280 This video presents driving music with a rapid almost industrial beat which imitates the on screen display of a plumber making repairs to a sink. This is background music imitating the sound of the repair process.

http://www.graspr.com/videos/Richmond-BC-Plumbing-Company-1 , http://www.in.com/videos/watchvideo-plumbing-company-in-valencia-7960332.html These videos present feel good background music. This type of music  suggest the ongoing flow of the good times of life, which existed before the plumbing problem, and which will be restored as soon as the  disorder is repaired.
The question which a company owner and his videography company must address is which of these three types of background music will make his video most effective in winning customers. All three types have advantages and disadvantages; a search on the web,  will show that most people choose positive mood music for their background.

Background music that imitates the sound of the problem, might have some appeal because the problem is uppermost in the minds of people searching for a service company on the web. This type of sound seeks to win trust by giving the viewer the feeling that the company understands his predicament. One problem with this approach is it can only portray one type of problem. A video portraying the sound of a leaky faucet may not appeal to a surfer looking for a company to fix his blocked sewer.

Sounds of the service repair process are bound to instill hope in a surfer seeking a company to do just that. The positive musical message of hope will instill trust in the company that produced the video. On the other hand, how many people like to stand over the shoulder of a plumber as he solders pipes together or drains filthy water from a toilet. Most people prefer to wait in another room until the plumber finished everything, including the cleanup. Consequently, most people may not be that interested in a video that musically portrays the repair process.

Music which conveys an upbeat mood reminiscent of the good times brings a message of hope and assurance that the company will succeed in fixing the problem and restoring order and the ongoing good times. This type of music wins viewer trust, because that, in essence is what surfers seek when they go online, a means for restoration of their former order.

Which of these types is likely to work best? While all three types have some appeal, it is clearly the third type that most addresses the human condition. Because while humans stoop, in their daily labor to various mechanical tasks to solve various ongoing challenges and problems, it is the restoration of humanity and the good life, at the end of the day, which keeps most people going, and which is most important. Therefore use of background music that appeals to this fundamental human goal is most likely to net results.

First and foremost, the company has no need to resort to subterfuge, whatsoever, as they have a product that they can be proud of. At the same time, they present it honestly. For example, Mr. Ostreicher is an Orthodox Jew. Many Orthodox Jews in the business world do not wear ’skull caps,” for fear that some of their customers will not do business with them because they are Jewish. Mr. Streicher takes the opposite approach. Even as he is proud of the printing company, he is also obviously proud of his Jewish heritage, and wears his black “kipput” visibly throughout the segments where he is the online narrator.

While some people may not do business with a company that has a  Jewish connection, other people will draw a different conclusion. They will correctly reason that the CEO is a genuinely trustworthy man. Just as he is fully  forthright about his religious identity, he is most likely forthright about how he presents the company. We must be getting the plain truth about his business. Furthermore, people can reason that Mr. Streicher must be confident in the product he is selling to the world. If something were to go wrong, the public could blame “that Jew.” Any service less than satisfactory would ultimately reflect on his personal religious identity, and that is something this obviously religious man certainly wouldn’t want.

So in the long run, this act of genuine honestly will breed immense trust among  viewers. People seeing the CEO early on inthe video wearing a skull cap,  can first off reasonably assume he is a religious family man, and then secondly that they can trust his presentation, relax and absorb the details about the company; two large presses, one even larger press, a leader in rapid printing on plastic. The honest facts speak for themselves, and combined with the video’s genuine approach wins the respect, trust and admiration of viewers.

The take home message of this video is avoid hype when compiling your corporate video. Identity the winning facts and good qualities of your corporation present them honestly and let them speak for themselves.