Marketing Smarter With Video: Surprising Uses for Stock Media Posted on: August 22, 2014 /
Categories: Ideas & Inspiration
Marketing Smarter With Video: Surprising Uses for Stock Media VideoBlocks user Patrick Frank on using royalty-free downloads to add value and build viewership.
If you're following our blog, you've read how The Wall Street Journal uses VideoBlocks and how our slow-motion footage has appeared in epic summer blockbusters like 21 Jump Street.
You've also read our tips for using stock video to get funded on Kickstarter.
But what if you don't have the established audiences of such venues and lack the budget to cast Jonah Hill, Dave Franco, and Channing Tatum?
You can cast the dice on YouTube and hope for more than fifty views-or, like one VideoBlocks user, you can up your marketing game and start working with the likes of MSNBC, CNN, and golf legend Jack Nicklaus . . .
Marketing Leads to Viewership, Viewership to Value A patchbay, for those unfamiliar, is a piece of studio equipment that acts as a jack to connect varying types of inputs and outputs (microphones with amplifiers, instruments with equalizers, etc.). It's also a piece that, for VideoBlocks user and Patchbay Media founder Patrick Frank, holds a great deal of symbolism for connecting brands with audiences.
However, he didn't always see the piece-or the industry-so symbolically; after graduating from the music technology program at the University of Michigan, Frank's first few jobs were producing audio and video for employers who placed a lot of emphasis on content-but very little on actually connecting it with audiences:
At the small businesses and nonprofits I worked at as an employee, I'd slave over videos. Then they'd go live and most of the time get under fifty hits on YouTube; I was a frustrated man!
That was before he struck out on his own and learned that the best way to promote the value of online video was to start learning how to successfully market it; it's a waste of money, Frank now tells his clients, to spend money on video (or anything for that matter) with no attention to the return-on-investment.
In pursuit of such returns, he dove into everything he could find by marketing leaders like Gary Vaynerchuk, Noah Kagan, Derek Halpern, and Seth Godin.
His takeaway after studying video sales funnels, conversion metrics, and pay-per-click strategies:
You can get a lift to nearly ANY marketing strategy using video. A video isn't an end-goal, it's a vehicle to collect an email address, to turn a lurker into a buyer or donor, and to turn [casual users] on social media into users familiar with a company, organization, brand, or product.
A great example of this is the social media campaign Frank put together for National Golf Day 2014, featuring on-location video they shot, edited, and uploaded on the fly:
That day we did ten Instagram videos and six YouTube videos. We were running around the Capitol like crazy people and frantically editing, but the client was super happy with the videos and the engagement they got on their various social platforms-a huge improvement over their 2013 efforts.
Tip: If you're too short on time to read through everything Frank dug up, give a listen to Seth Godin's fantastic TED Talks on digital marketing. We recommend starting with his talk on sliced bread and the spread of ideas, which translates rather seamlessly to the pursuits of viral video and customer loyalty.
Marketing With a Marker (and Stock Audio) Still, even the most viral videos rely upon strong execution and sound efficiency-two reasons Frank joined VideoBlocks to indulge in unlimited downloads.
One thing it's been great for, he says, is video around holidays . . . using VideoBlocks is way better than staging your own Thanksgiving dinner!
The Thanksgiving messaging he produced below shows the result of this-while also showcasing Frank's earlier point on using video to craft personal, and familiar, social media engagements.
The same goes, of course, for using stock video to get around having to stage video of Christmas morning or high-definition fireworks for Independence Day.
Similarly, stock audio has also played a key role in Frank's work-accompanying the freehand skills of his award-winning illustrator in whiteboard explainer videos.
It's really incredible, he says. We've done some amazing stuff mixing his illustrations with After Effects [and stock audio].
Patrick Frank is the founder of Patchbay Media, a multimedia marketing company specializing in online marketing, short films, and explainer videos.
Matt Siegel writes about stock video, technology, and media for VideoBlocks.
Tags: Marketing, patchbay, Video Blocks
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
When Canada qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026, OneSoccer knew this wasn'...
04/07/2026
Celebrates company's 80th anniversary
Rhodes have recently revealed that they will be producing a limited run of electric pianos in celebration of their...
04/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Empower Youth Broadcasting Program
Brie Clayton July 3, 2026
0 Comments
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and Blackmagi...
04/07/2026
iZotope Joins Boris FX
Boris Yamnitsky July 3, 2026
0 Comments
iZotope, the team behind RX and Ozone, is joining Boris FX. A letter from founder Boris...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
New bundle & three Single Packs
Continuing to expand their already sizeable orchestral collection, VSL's latest release introduces three new Single Pack...
03/07/2026
Venue installs new ATC-equipped control room
LSO St Luke's, a unique music venue that also serves as the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, have rec...
03/07/2026
Caden Pearson appointed new Commissioning Editor for NITV
3 July, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has strengthened its commitment...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Death Star
Andy Marken July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Look, I can't get involved. I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire; I hate i...
03/07/2026
Berklee's New Visual Identity: Honoring Our History, Building for What's...
03/07/2026
Scripps Research scientists awarded $2M to advance global disease surveillance Two Gates Foundation grants will expand wastewater surveillance and AI-driven dis...
03/07/2026
Joan Pulupa joins Scripps Research faculty to study the organization of DNA in brain cells and its links to neurodegeneration Using smell-sensing neurons and ad...
02/07/2026
Entering her senior year, this hometown girl is paving a career in live sports production gaining experience in replay and audio and as a TD
In the live-sports...
02/07/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
02/07/2026
BLAST, a competitive entertainment company focused on esports, has announced more than $133 million in revenue for 2025, representing more than 40% year-over-ye...
02/07/2026
Riedel Communications has announced official SKAARHOJ panel support for SimplyLive production workflows, enabled through the SimplyLive 2.1 release. The integra...
02/07/2026
The Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic has deployed LiveU video-over-bond...
02/07/2026
Gravity Media USA has announced the appointment of Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development, effective July 1, 2026. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Bosto...
02/07/2026
TwelveLabs, a video intelligence company, has announced $100 million in Series B funding co-led by NEA and NAVER Ventures, with participation from Amazon, Radic...
02/07/2026
The Pro Padel League (PPL) has announced a broadcast partnership with USA Sports that will air five PPL championship matches on CNBC during the 2026 season, the...
02/07/2026
LiveLike, a digital fan engagement platform, has announced eight confirmed FIFA ...
02/07/2026
Cobalt Digital has received Future's Best of Show Award, presented by AV Technology at InfoComm 2026, for its blueCORE family of standalone signal processor...
02/07/2026
Synamedia has announced the appointment of Dr. Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transition...
02/07/2026
The Esports Foundation (EF) and Sony Group Corporation have announced an expanded collaboration for the Esports World Cup 2026 (EWC), taking place in Paris, Fra...
02/07/2026
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. ( Z') has announced exclusive broadcast and digital rights for the Bundesliga in India for five years, beginning with the...
02/07/2026
An effort uniting News, Sports, Local, and Telemundo, the 50+-camera live produc...
02/07/2026
Zoey Deutch, John Slattery, Ken Marino, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, and Ben Wang appe...
02/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
02/07/2026
A new era in unmixing and spectral editing
The latest version of Steinberg's spectral audio-editing software has just arrived, building on the strength...
02/07/2026
Aims to simplify additive synthesis
Sine Machine is the debut launch from Melatonin, a Vienna-based developer who have spent the past six years creating wha...
02/07/2026
Products to remain fully active & supported
Following the news of Native Instruments joining the inMusic brand line-up, Academy and Emmy Award-winning visua...
02/07/2026
What you missed!
Last weekend, Saturday 27 June 2026, saw the debut of Sound On Sounds new GearExpo UK event, the largest dedicated pro-audio event to take ...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Following the successful launch of its inaugural APAC Mentoring Programme last month, the Rise AV APAC Regional Council will bring the conversation around mento...
02/07/2026
Blackmagic PYXIS 6K Used to Shoot Director Takahisa Zeze's Cry Out
Brie Clayton July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Highly mobile camera supports tense and de...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions acquires BFE, expanding its lead in European broadcast, medi...
02/07/2026
Berklee Alum and Faculty Perform at Boston Public Library's 250th Anniversar...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions GmbH, a leading systems integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast media industry, is acquiring BFE Studio und Medien...
02/07/2026
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has extended the ingest facility at leading Brazilian sports company LiveMode, work...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Standalone processors acknowledged for the innovation and value they bring to Pro AV
Cobalt Digital, a leading designer and manufacturer of signal processing ...
02/07/2026
Synamedia announced today the appointment of Dr Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transitio...
Marketing Smarter With Video: Surprising Uses for Stock Media Posted on: August 22, 2014 / 
