Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/87274
Advertising & THE Web Tips: distributing 'Net content 1. Think about distribution while coming up with creative. Your audience has to want to watch it, it has to be entertaining, it has to have a payoff. Branding doesn't have to be exclud- ed as long as the payoff is present for the viewer. It is important to research places on the Web where your content will thrive. Con- sider wardrobe, location, music, even background events. All of these things are easy to change and could potentially have a large impact on views, shares and percent of conversation. 2. Understand your audience and its culture. There are cultural nuances within groups. Slang, vocabulary, ava- tars and especially authenticity have to be understood before you can enter their area of the Web and approach them with your message. If you are inauthentic and incorrectly use their vocabu- lary or culture, they will not only reject your video, but it can cre- ate negativity within that group toward your brand. 3. Identify influencers within that audience. Who is your target audience listening to, whose opinion matters? Who gets the most re-tweets, shares and likes about relevant topics to your brand? Finding the right influencer is less about the number of unique visits their site pulls and more about engagement. 4. Customize the message. Relevancy is the most important factor you can have when approaching an influencer. Reference a recent post they wrote, or a topic they frequently cover. 5. Keep communication open. Once you've engaged an influencer, build upon that relationship Don't let the conversation die, even if you don't have anything rel- evant at the moment. These are your potential Web brand advo- cates. Don't waste their time, these are real people. However, if you continue to provide them with interesting content — even if it's not related to a campaign — over time you will become your influencers' influencer. By JEREMY KATZ Managing Partner Kindling Media www.kindlingmedia.com Los Angeles mobile, they are sharing on mobile, and those trends continue to increase exponen- tially each year. Right now, almost everything we do requires creating parallel experiences for both — desktop and mobile — that's something we've noticed even more this year. If we are building a desktop destination, most of our clients are asking to make a mobile-ready version as well." GOOGLE Venice, CA-based digital agency Whirled (www.getwhirled.com) was founded in 2010 by CD/director/producer Scott Chan, and in that short time has created Web content for some big clients, including Google. Chan has seen the Web business mature in that time, along with clients' attitudes and appreciation for what the Internet can offer. "I remember when we first started out, our budgets were whatever we could get — a couple of thousand dollars here and there. Now, we are commanding broadcast-quality budgets. I think people are now understand- ing the power of Internet distribution." So how does he accommodate those cli- ents who come to him looking for Whirled to produce a video that will go viral? "The way that I always frame it is there is no guar- antee. It's something that we can do," he says from a creative and production standpoint, "but whether or not it resonates with the people is up to the people. That's the one great thing about Web content: it's very, not democratic, but the people tell you whether something is good or not. Most of our stuff does go 'viral,' so I think we have a certain taste for what resonates online." Whirled offers creative services, produc- tion and post production, drawing the line at color correction and audio mixing. The studio has used Canon's 5D on projects in the past, and has even worked with Arri's Alexa on online projects. Editing is handled in-house using Final Cut Pro, while After Effects is used for graphics and design. At press time, the studio was working with Google, for the third consecutive year, Production company Roadside Entertainment turned to NYC-based MindSmack (www.mindsmack.tv) to post a video campaign for Lexus that centers around a collection of documentary shorts featuring different celebrity business owners. MindSmack editor Paul DiNatale helped shape vignettes of Russell Simmons, Grant Achatz, Padma Lakshmi, Steve Stoute, Rachel Roy, Jessica Alba, Alexandra Wilkis Wilson and Adam Rapoport. In each, the entrepreneurs discuss their drive and motivation. The videos close with a brief sponsor note from Lexus, who invites viewers to find out how the automaker is also pursuing perfection. 32 Post • October 2012 www.postmagazine.com Whirled's Scott Chan says Web projects are now commanding broadcast-quality budgets. on the company's year-end video. In the past, these videos have illustrated what some of the most popular online searches were for the past 12 months. The first year Whirled created this year- end Google video, the studio had just a month to complete the job. They've learned from that experience and have built in extra time each year thereafter, allowing them to perform extensive research. This year, they are planning a three-month window to deliver the final product, which should be released some time in December. "They are willing to spend, but they are smart about it," Chan says of Google's bud- gets. "They have realistic expectations." Google is a bit of a unique client in that the brand has a built-in audience, he admits. "We've been successful because a lot of stuff does get lots of views." But it's not a slam- dunk, he says of this year's task. They still have to produce a video that resonates with the Google audience. HUGO BOSS New York City's Light of Day (www.light- ofday.tv) collaborated with Stink Digital and video artist Marco Brambilla on an interac- tive Web video for Hugo Boss that promotes the company's Just Different cologne for