The Blog of Simon Burgess
Elemental was profiled in the Spring 2010 issue of Winnipeg Men as part of the magazine’s feature on Manitoba’s new media industry. We were privileged to be included in such company as Prime Focus and Systematic Designs. In the article, I discussed the future of the industry and the power of interactivity and targeted advertising.
New Media Manitoba chose Elemental as one of the Province’s “superstar” new media companies. To sweeten the deal, they had this fantastic profile video produced, where Adam, Lori and myself talk about Elemental, Skycandy, and all the great things that come with doing business in Manitoba. Thanks to BlinkWorks for making us look so good.
Elemental Motion Media – New Media Manitoba Business Showcase from BlinkWorks -James Swirsky on Vimeo.
It’s been awhile since I made a post, but this time I have a good excuse. On November 29th, my amazing wife Liisa gave birth to our little William. Hard to believe that was over two months ago, so much has happened since then.
Having William in our lives has been an amazing experience, and I’m sure he’ll inspire me and my work. Perhaps some commercials for Huggies or Babies ‘R Us are in my future?
This week we cut a new reel showing off the best of Elemental’s work over the past four years. Hope you like.
Elemental finally received our Canon 7D this week. It’s a DSLR, but comes packed with some incredible video features not found on most high end broadcast video cameras.
My wife Liisa and I went for a walk around The Forks today so I could try out the 7D. I’ve got a lot to learn, but I was really impressed with the quality.
7D First Shots from Simon Burgess on Vimeo.
We were really pumped to hear the website we designed for the University of Winnipeg was voted one of Canada’s top 50 websites.
“web50.ca judges the best 50 designed websites for a Canadian company, made by a Canadian company. Some criteria they look for is whether the site is organized and easy to navigate, has a good balance of colours, delivers content in a quick and effective manner and features a good selection of photos and unique written content.”
The new uwinnipeg.ca site launched in April 2009. The team responsible for the redevelopment included Marnie Loewen (University webmaster), Simian Systems (programmers), Elemental Motion Media (designers) and Daemon Defense (hosting solutions).
If you’re interested in the power of image, publicity and hype, Timothy L. O’Brien’s “TrumpNation, The Art of Being The Donald” is a great read.
I read Trump’s 1987 autobiography “The Art of the Deal” way back in Grade 9 (nerdy, I know) and was fascinated by his determination, confidence and business savvy. And I wasn’t the only person that bought into the Trump image.
In fact, according to O’Brien, it was this image, and pretty much only this image, that got Trump where he is today, as banks, politicians, the business world and the general public all bought into the Trump image even as he was drowning in debt and making incredibly bad business decisions.
Despite having very few profitable ventures, and a growing list of failures, Trump used his image and name to get more loans, get more hotels, get more casinos, and just get more. And that seems to be what people love about him. As he says himself, “I am the American Dream, supersized version.”
O’Brien portrays Trump as a wizard of hype, a man far more talented as a promoter than as a real estate developer. Even this month, as his casino business files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the third time, the press quotes him as saying his casinos represent “substantially less than 1%” of his net worth and he has nothing to do with them, despite having his name on them.
And Trump keeps on spinning.
One of the things I love about producing videos is the opportunity to meet new people and get a glimpse into their worlds. We’ve done videos for hospitals, banks and even the military, but our recent work for the Manitoba Pork Council was definitely an experience.
Our first day of shooting involved going into three different pig barns to interview the barn managers and get footage of them doing their daily routine. I hadn’t realized how clean these places were, and there’s a reason for that. Disease can spread fast among pigs and can quickly wipe out an entire barn. The crew had to shower in, shower out, and change all clothing upon entering and leaving the facility. Good thing we all looked great in sweat pants. And after six showers that day, I don’t think I’ve ever been cleaner.
The people we interviewed were clearly proud of the work they do and of the quality of food they produce. From barn workers and truck drivers to nutritionists and vets, it was amazing to hear their stories and see the care they put into their work.
Special thanks once again to Keith and Nathan Eidse, as well as Kamp Photography.
I was going through my old blog and stumbled across this post I wrote a few years ago. Like Adam’s post on the “power of motion design” last week, it touches upon video’s extraordinary ability to stir emotion, and what that means with the advent of the digital age. I’ve updated the sample links at the bottom, some really cool examples of online motion branding!
With the introduction of television advertising over 60 years ago, advertisers quickly realized the benefits of the moving picture. Not only could television be used to convey information; it could be used to incite an emotional response, a reaction, a feeling.
Branding could be taken to the next level, as commercials could associate a product or service with feelings such as trust, reliability and prestige, creating incredible potential for advertisers.
Today, with the advent of the Internet, we are at another equally exciting threshold in advertising. As broadband increases, video and motion media such as Flash animation are increasingly being used for on-line promotion and branding. Only now, we have the additional feature of interactivity. If the advertising message is compelling enough, the audience, no longer passive observers, can react instantly and purchase the product online.
Car companies have always made great use of motion media, especially television. In fact, the automobile industry depends on television advertising to stir up those feelings that drive (no pun intended) customers to purchase new vehicles, feelings such as desire, envy, and pride. By combining a great soundtrack, fast-paced editing techniques, some “professional driver on closed course” footage, and often a little sexual suggestion, car companies have found a winning advertising formula.
Now check out the online branding of these car companies. Automotive giants like Dodge, Lexus and Audi are using new media like Flash and video on their websites to trigger the same emotional responses from their audience that their commercials generate. But now they’re adding interactivity into the mix. Here are some great examples of online branded content:
Social media is playing an increasingly important role in branding these days. Company blogs, product ratings on e-commerce stores, technical support forums and viral video campaigns are all examples of opportunities for companies to reach out to their customer and change the way customers perceive them.
For companies though, being so open can be a scary thing. There’s certainly a lack of control in how a company’s image is perceived on a public forum such as a blog. But there are also some great opportunities.
Dell is one company that opted for transparency through social media, and made it a success. A couple of years ago, Dell got some extremely bad press when a video of a Dell laptop spontaneously combusting appeared on tech website Engadget. Suddenly, videos of flaming Dells were popping up online from all over the world. A PR nightmare.
So what did Dell do? Dell’s Digital Media Manager Lionel Menchaca posted the video on the company blog. He and his team addressed customer concerns directly, admitting mistakes had been made, and took the heat (so to speak).
The reaction? After a couple of weeks, the Blogosphere became more and more positive towards Dell. And since then, Dell has gone even further to open up dialogue, adding more blogs and investing more of its marketing budget into social media.
Menchacha has some very wise words in this interview with social media blog Global Neighbourhoods:
“I would argue though that the benefits of being part of the conversation outweigh all the risks… Companies need to admit that control is shifting toward customers. More and more customers are talking about companies they either like or dislike. Those conversations happen with or without companies being actively involved. And it’s becoming increasingly clear that those conversations have more influence over perception than much of the marketing material and PR messages that companies produce.”