Video Marketing: Producing Successful and Valuable School Videos Miles Latham M.A (Oxon) Managing Partner - Affixxius Films
An Introduction - Miles Latham and Affixxius Films Very varied educational background from Around 50% of our annual turnover and project Maintained Primary School to Oxford University. load is in the Academic Sector. Over 10 years of Film Production experience in Royal Television Society nominated and winning both the Commercial and Academic Sectors. organisation (Best Promotional Programme). Over 200 clients in the Academic Sector from In-house production team based in the Dover to St. Andrews and from Montenegro to Loughborough, East Midlands. Bogota. Involved in projects from initial concept and Royal Television Society award-winner. strategy, through production to full distribution consultancy if required. Equally happy to talk endlessly about whisky, sport, religious history or philosophy…
Part 1: Understanding the role film has to play…
An immediate point… “It doesn’t.” is not an answer. By 2017, video will account for 69% of all consumer internet traffic, with video-on-demand traffic alone almost doubling… Axxon Research found seven in ten people view brands in a more positive light after watching interesting content from them… Chris Trimble, Axonn Research
Simple entry point Strategy of Film Use Think about the journey your audience member is going on Core Message and give them the right film at Marketing the right time… (emotion) Communicating Further Information (information) In other words … Consider an audience journey Personalised Information (especially in terms of how film is used) in terms of: 1. Love Online / offline journey to action 2. Choose Informed and 3. Buy motivated
Categories of Film Use Marketing Communications Beyond this point we have seen Film used as Advertising the value of film diminish over time as schools struggle to differentiate when they simply Film used as a “Surrogate Visit” ‘describe’ the elements of their offering.
Part 2: Real-life applications of film use…
“#thisiswhere” Stamford Endowed Schools Scene-driven narrative covering academic, sporting and artistic scenes for 3-18, Co-Ed offering. Subtle use of special effects to add sense of intrigue to the film. Filmed entirely with students from the schools. Shot over three days on location. Huge online impression rate, including significant social engagement. Link: https://youtu.be/YWUpu6PtqQI
“School’s Out for Summer … ” Hornsby House Engaging practical effect used to engage both internal and external community. Huge potential onward use of creative theme . Shot over a weekend to minimise disruption to the school(s). Use of special effects to deal with ‘new’ project the school wanted to highlight. Link: https://youtu.be/CUkXATKdLZ0
“Scotland’s First University” The University of St. Andrews Shot over two main ‘ seasons ’ to give a year-round perspective of the University and town. Natural, unscripted use of interview to drive narrative. Emphasis on soft, high-coloured aesthetic to give feeling of quality. Designed for use throughout the world with careful use of motion graphics to introduce facts and figures. Link: https://youtu.be/5mzd69ducvY
“We See Potential … ” Ellesmere College Sky AdSmart broadcast film to advertise upcoming Open Days. Designed for multiple use over different Open Days with amended Call to Action. Mix of cast talent and ‘real’ students to add internal validity. Narrative based on key demographic touch-points identified in research phase. Link: https://youtu.be/CH80Z-zYOtM
“Come and Be Inspired … ” Queen Margaret’s, York Suspension of reality for magical narrative film. Deliberately shown entirely from a child’s perspective based on key motivators. Primary cast external talent to given film added lifespan and credibility. Shot over a Half-Term to allow students to be involved and watch filmmaking process. Link: https://youtu.be/0oiTo6s2ERA
Part 3: Specific issues for Independent Schools …
Flexibility Good film(s) for an Independent School should be chameleonic: Engage your internal audience. Raise profile with a local audience. Act as a ‘ satellite ’ for the national/global market to find you. Provide key online and social content . Function as a ‘ tool ’ for agents acting on your behalf. Help to emotionally impact alumnae over time as part of Development . Aid with staff recruitment - an often-forgotten area . Equally, film also provides a consistency of message across this gamut of potential uses…
Distribution Having a great film (or films) is only the start. The value you derive will come, ultimately, from the distribution methods you are able to put in place. Digital Social Live Website housing Driving internal PR Launch event YouTube channel(s) Twitter campaign(s) Cinema advertising Vimeo presence Content optimisation Television advertising Online PR Pattern analysis Event advertising Creative campaign Multiple account population In-situ playback Digital Broadcasting Student-based distribution Bespoke audience versions Mobile optimisation
Broadcast television advertising is rapidly becoming a viable tool for the Independent Schools market. Specific postcode/household targeting based on around 400 different attributes. Direct postcode and demographic targeting. Campaigns based on available spend , not on ‘rate cards’. Ideal for shorter or longer campaigns. Detail based on relationship with Experian right down to mobile phone bill… Impression only ‘counts’ if household watches 75% of the advert. “There is a direct correlation between the level of success our campaigns generate for customers and the quality of the creative and technical standards of the production.” Lisa Webb, Sky AdSmart
Campaign Value Successful film campaign start generating as much value as possible from the second a school says “Yes.” Get people excited quickly - the production company should be willing to help. “ Leaking out” storyboards, campaign titles etc can be very effective. There are huge internal and external PR opportunities with film production. Leverage digital opportunities through social media and online platforms. Film is too expensive to be your ‘infantry’ - think of it as the ‘big gun’ . However large or small a film project, make sure you aren’t simply “putting it online” and hoping for the best. It won’t work.
Part 4: A common question. Does quality matter?
The quick answer … Simple entry point The higher up this pyramid your film is intended to sit, the more quality matters. Core Schools are often very quick to tell their Message Marketing (emotion) audience about details without giving them a simple ‘shop window’ . This is Communicating Further Information (information) perhaps film at its most powerful. Personalised Information The shop window is a statement of intent. If you’re going to do it, do it Online / offline journey to action properly. Informed and motivated
More on quality … User-Generated Content (UGC) is absolutely fine for later into the audience journey when they have already engaged with you emotionally, but you won’t find amateur material on the front of Audi’s homepage… “We have a very good group of Year 9s who are good with cameras…” “One of the IT technicians used to work for Granada…” “A parent of a Year 4 boy has one of those GoPros, so we’re fine…” “We have a Governor who’s son is doing what you do at University…”
The bit worth writing down … 1. Know where and why films fits in what you are doing. 2. Don’t repeat the obvious - you have a story to tell. 3. Know when to get the cheque book out . 4. Distribute , distribute, distribute…
Thank you. Any questions…? Miles Latham M.A (Oxon) Managing Partner - Affixxius Films 01509 815558 [studio] | 07799 410 750 [mobile] | miles@affixxius.com
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