Retaining Brand Control in a World of Online Video

With the increasing popularity of online corporate videos, it's important that brands retain control and make the most of the invaluable benefits of video.

MARK OVERINGTON, PRESIDENT OF AFRAME, NORTH AMERICA

Mobile video traffic is set to double every year between 2011 and 2016. By this time, traffic generated by tablets alone will be nearly 2x more than total global mobile data was in 2011. What's more, by 2016, nearly three-quarters (71%) of the world's mobile data traffic will be video[1]. Of course, this growth in demand for video isn't exclusive to mobile, it's everywhere.

The classic talking head video of the CEO has been replaced by more sophisticated production values and creativity in today's corporate video. On the other hand, the informal 'whiteboard chalk talk video for product training or updates have been massively successful and are very easy to create and deliver. If you're still not sure where video fits in a corporate world, here are some increasingly popular examples, organized according to production costs and how complex they typically are to produce:

Product launches.

FAQs and support screen casts.

Testimonials from happy customers and employees.

Staff presentations.

Training and instructional films.

Video blogs and mobile videos.

User Generated Content campaigns.

Recruitment videos.

Internal communications.

HR policies.

Lectures and seminars.

Talk shows.

Crisis communication.

Knowledge bank & internal training.

Local businesses, international corporations, global enterprises, governments, charities; they're all finally starting to exploit the power of online video to meet their daily communication needs.

Long gone are the days of running around looking for a conference room with a VCR to watch the latest marketing or training tape. Digital cameras and non-linear editing systems that are simple and easy to use have dramatically improved the ability for just about anyone to create a video and distribute it to the world via the Internet. The popularity of sites like YouTube and Vimeo has helped to make this process even easier and far cheaper.

Ironically, all this supposed freedom has actually resulted in marketing professionals becoming boxed in' by the limitations of corporate firewalls and a lack of buy-in by senior management who don't see video as a realistic communications tool.

This new world of digital video communications is fast moving and that usually means it's difficult to hold on to.

Brand management is one of the biggest challenges faced by any company in an open world like the Internet. Big brands require sophisticated and careful brand control and anti-dilution techniques; after all, a brand is nothing more than how your customers perceive you. And with video production being as cheap and easy as it is, it's all too tempting for internal teams to bypass the corporate bureaucracy in favor of a fast turn around.

You can see the point though. It's becoming an increasingly unsustainable in-house operation to govern. Stretched over several departments sometimes in different offices or even different countries, the process of creating video content is more than simply film, then deliver. Storage and backup, delivery requirements, working with third parties all have to be considered, even if they're on the outer limits of what you might define as brand control. What's more, any investment in on premise Media Asset Management (MAM) systems must be amortized and all assets must be monetized (if not for direct financial gains, they must demonstrate sufficient ROI).

Fortunately a transition is now underway and companies are starting to think smart' about how they produce video efficiently and successfully, whilst still retaining full control of the creative and the process. If you haven't already, it's time to move to the cloud.

The benefits of global collaboration, centralized access-anywhere storage and operational, rather than capital, outlay are no longer constrained by the requirement for an exhaustive IT department with an equally exhausting budget. B2B tools such as those from Google, Dropbox, Salesforce and others have become established online platforms for almost every Fortune 500 company. And whilst YouTube and Vimeo have created a brilliant network to distribute finished content to a public audience, using these for production is simply unrealistic.

Progress had been made in opening up the professional video production process by using tools designed primarily for other uses and yet none offered a solution for businesses and corporations to stay in control, no matter who you were in the company (why should you only be able to view footage from your video shoot if you're a pro editor?).

Excusing the shameless plug, companies such as Aframe are now providing feasible solutions, capable of handling all of the demands required by global enterprises. This sort of camera-to-broadcast' solution allows complete control over the entire organization's media assets from the initial filming, through production and on to distribution and storage.

As the uptake of video destined for online distribution continues to increase, it will be the responsibility of senior decision makers to take responsibility of the entire production, whether outsourced or completed internally, to ensure the key message is effectively communicated.

[1] Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 20112016

About Aframe Aframes cloud video technology helps people connect and collaborate, making them more productive and improving execution in their video projects.

Visit aframe.com to learn more.

LINK:	http://aframe.com/blog/2013/01/25/retaining-brand-control-in-a-world-o...
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