Space Junk, A Brand Dilemma

“To infinity and beyond!” It’s the familiar clarion call issued by Buzz Lightyear and plagiarised by an army of five year olds around the globe. However, that aspiration may be a little thwarted, given the millions of tons of space junk currently orbiting our still greenish planet. If Buzz can cut through the space debris consisting of rocket boosters, fragments from satellites, surface paint and the odd Tesco trolley he might stand a chance.

Our fascination with filling space isn’t confined to the temporal and physical, we’ve taken to populating cyberspace with as much as we can possibly dish out and it’s looking crowded. Marketing Execs will soon be treated for thumb borne RSI after dispatching tweet after tweet, Brand Managers are grappling with the social mediasphere and wondering how to convert fans into actual customers and CEOs are questioning the PPC budget and trying to work out why they have to pay to get people to look at their online stuff.

At a recent Tracc prospect meeting discussing corporate video production, a moment of frustration was vented when the C-word was uttered, silence dusted the cappuccinos and mouths were left agog. “There’s so much clutter out there and we’re just adding to it. How do we get ourselves in front of the right people and get them to listen?”

We no longer live our lives on or offline, we’re simply connected most of the time. Adding to this level of connectivity is the inexhaustible rise of watching video and filmed content, whether that’s on a hand held device, a tablet, laptop, in a shopping centre, in the back of a taxi, on the underground or waiting for a bus. We’re watching and we enjoy it, because videos and films tell stories and it touches more senses than any other form of media.

We’re so in love with video that Google owned YouTube gets over 2 BILLION views a day, and in the UK we’re experiencing a 35% surge in online video viewing. So, naturally marketers are led to the glistening seduction of lights, camera, action, but just how valuable is digital film content to a brand? Well let’s take a look at the trends:

• Websites with videos can increase click-through rates increase by over 96%
• You’re 50 times more likely to get a front page Google result with an optimised video
• Websites with video can increase conversion rates by 30%
• Visitors who view product videos online are 85% more likely to buy
• Visitors who view video on a website stay 2 minutes longer on average
• Prospects are 3 to 4 times more likely to respond to a video rather than written words

Online film content can seriously influence a brand’s audience networks. We communicate through telling each other stories, but it’s the best stories which capture our attention and keep us going back for more. In other words, film content which is compelling or remarkable gets our vote. Before you think about creating your video sit in the critics chair and think about your audience. Just because you think you’ve got something interesting to say doesn’t mean that your audience is interested.

The question still remained “how do we get ourselves in front of the right people and get them to listen?” In simple terms, it’s the watering hole principle, find out what your audience is interested in and where they gather (online). Then give them what they’re looking for and make sure it can be found where they’re looking, using keyword research and prolific search marketing expertise.

Finally, avoid the queue of those eager to fill space with junk, be remarkable, be creative and be found.

Ivor Peters
Creative & Development Director

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