CGI recently teamed up with TopSprout, a Silicon Valley marketing start-up, to support their product launch marketing efforts for CA. Both of our agencies work with CA — CGI creating the interactive media and TopSprout providing the integral strategic pieces. Help TopSprout celebrate their 1 year anniversary by visiting their blog: http://topsprout.blogspot.com/

Congratulations Miguel!

When I think about the most successful online videos, it is not usually the flashy ones that win out. Instead, it is the intelligent, simply designed videos that engage the audience and present a clear message. After watching, I walk away understanding what they were talking about.

Many complex products and services can be edited down to achieve simplicity. Some companies have even started using the good’ole “stick man” to tell their story. It is an image we all recognize, so why complicate things. Give me a word, image, or phrase that I can remember and I will tell everyone. At the same time, make sure the video makes sense. Sometimes I have to wonder what the big HOWDY Pepsi billboard near my apartment really has to do with the soft drink. Make the correlation as clear as the imagery you are utilizing.

CGI has designed a Flash video for Oracle in a simple and clean style. The outcome, a memorable solution overview that communicates Oracle’s CRM objectives.

What videos do you think work most effectively?

Adage recently wrote an article about how with more and more people opting to watch online videos instead of standard television, advertisers are faced with a predicament. Their consumers are changing and so must the ways in which they are being advertised to. “Interruption advertising” has long been the standard for television, consumers have to watch commercials in order to watch their favorite programs. However, with NBC, ABC, CBS, Hulu, and numerous other platforms offering on-demand television experiences, advertisers are revising their plans to be more “on-demand” as well.

Hulu offers viewers a choice to either watch a longer movie trailer or several shorter commercials through out the show. An interesting feature is an audience rating system on whether a commercial was liked. Car companies are creating experience driven ads in order to allow viewers to interact, choosing which feature they would like to see or different videos to watch. These are just a couple of examples of how advertising is changing. Check out the Adage article to read more examples.

So what does this mean for your marketing plan?

Go where you audience is: Consumers are relying more heavily on Internet hubs where information is gathered for them. So consider distributing your content to different online platforms in order to increase its visibility and reach. Think outside the box about where people might find you. What you find may be surprising.

Think Interactive: If you don’t want consumers to tune you out after a few seconds, you need to give them something to stick around for. Consumers are not as engaged by online static video. If you are producing a product demo, you can use a tool such as Adobe Flash to program in choices, allowing audiences the ability to view the product the way they want. It will personalize the experience for the potential customer and give them a better idea of how your product will help their needs.

Although online advertising models can be considered work-in-progress, new formats of online advertising are flexible enough to quickly adapt to changing consumer habits. By being prepared, you can ensure that your customers are creating conversations about your brand and the unique way you engaged them.

When I was twenty years old I decided to head to Cape Cod in order to waitress for the summer. There are hundreds of restaurants on Cape Cod. However, there are hundreds of college kids heading down there for the summer. I applied to tons of different places, but my resume got lost in stacks, so I started calling. What happened, they were shocked. Digging through the resumes they had gotten they would pull mine up and thank me for calling. As a result, I got multiple jobs while some of my other friends headed down hoping their resume would be found in the stack and they would get the call.

I have not been in sales too long. I only graduated two years ago. Much of what I have learned about business success can be related back to very basic principles. The follow up is one of them.

People today are bombarded with information. Between emails, phone calls, and the information they are gathering online, it is easy for your company to get lost in the shuffle. Prospects might mean to get back to you, but the email sent yesterday won’t be seen today.

Here are some tips for “The Follow up”:

Be Brief: Although they may have missed your previous email, you don’t want to be repetitive in what you are offering. By simply referring to the previous contact it will let them know that you are invested in connecting with them and the company, while not being long winded.

Be consistent: It is easy to remember to follow up with prospects if you keep a consistent schedule of circling back. I personally allot two days to following up from either a voice mail or email. This allows the prospect time to consider your offering, is not too intrusive or too long of a lead that they forget you ever contacted them initially. By setting a generic time line, following up becomes part of a daily routine.

Offer Something New: Whether or not they have opened the previous email, they now have it within their possession and can always refer back. Instead of reiterating your previous email, offer something a little new. With my follow ups I usually send CGI’s Good Earth Link. The site is well done, interesting, and does not hard sell a product. However, its design also gives insight into CGI’s capabilities and services.

It might seem pretty basic, but too often we get pulled in different directions and forget to follow up. Although we would like to think that we have them at “hello,” sometimes a simple reminder can go a long way to starting a solid business relationship.