Hi, I'm Antonio Barimen, aka skribe Forti. My background is in the film and television industry but about 15 years ago I began building both virtual and online communities. Now I use that experience to provide professional consultation to business, from SMEs right up to Fortune 500 companies.
My philosophy is simple: improve the lines of communication by establishing strong, engaging communities. And then build from there. It works for both B2C and B2B
If you’re wondering how to utilise online video as part of your marketing strategy, then you only need to look as far as the Old Spice The Man Your Man Could Smell Like commercials, featuring Isaiah Mustafa, for a textbook example of how to do it.
In case you didn’t know, YouTube has a small selection of feature-length movies that appear not to be geographically limited like some of those that are available only in the US. They include movies starring Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin and Abbott and Costello. Sure, they’re mostly B films but there are a few gems like George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Not all of them are embeddable (hence the choice above) though.
You can choose to look at this as a view into a scary dystopian future or just another technologically-inspired convenience. Either way it’s still likely to be inevitable. It’s just a matter of when and how.
The traditional view of how to advertise on television (and subsequently through online video ) is the mini-story. Usually these are short pieces dealing with one subject in a superficial but psychologically attractive way. Sure, the story may have a dominating, but catchy, jingle and the narrative may be non-existent – but essentially that is what a commercial is to most people. However, online video offers some interesting alternatives that not only move away from this traditional mini-story concept but also allow you to build a dynamic and engaging community.