When it comes to web video and specifically viral video it is often to keep things as simple as possible and appeal to the sort of things that are universally enjoyed. What happens to certain foods and objects in the microwave is one of these curiosities.

The reason the ‘Will It Blend’ web video series is so popular is due to the fact that people would never drop their iPhone in a blender, would they like to see what it would look like? Of course. Would you like to see what a watermelon does in the microwave, or a cd, or even a bar of soap? Go on then…

It’s a simple message coming from a quick, memorable and cost-effective video production. The video has so far garnered just fewer than 1 million views on YouTube, which is pretty impressive but remember that a video marketing strategy cannot rely on a viral clip alone, it must be part of a well rounded campaign.

If you want to start a video marketing campaign then why not get in touch

"After graduating from university in the summer of last year, for the last three months I have been lucky enough to work as an intern at Waterloo Film Studios. With the current competition for graduate work placements being so high, I was determined to make the most of my time here.

Since starting my placement in October I have been given the opportunity to work as a studio runner on a wide range of shoots from music videos, shoots for ITV and channel4 to corporate films. I have worked alongside the studio team assisting in studio duties and coordinating studio client bookings. I have even ended up being in front of the camera modelling a product for a Spectrecom Films  production! Having had no previous experience of working in a film studio the training I have received as an intern at Waterloo Film Studios has been of great value to me, both personally and professionally. I have been trained in handling and utilising studio equipment like an autocue and my work as a runner has been a great way to learn about all aspects of working on a film shoot, from the technical side such as studio lighting and camera operations and assisting the production and post-production team. Also I helped with manual labour work in the studio, after a day painting the largest Studio 1 on my own, I can safely say it’s not as easy as it seems.

I feel I have acquired valuable knowledge during my first 3 months here, the kind of experience I will take with me wherever I go. It is very hard to sum up my experience in a few words as it is so varied and constantly changing. I’m delighted to say that I am now staying at Waterloo Film Studios as a full time member of staff and working as a Studio Production Assistant. From my first week here as an intern I have been welcomed and made to feel as part of the team, for that I am very thankful and am very much looking forward to the year ahead working at Waterloo Film Studios."

When it comes to advertising video productions, the Superbowl advertising slots are the holy grail, reserved usually for some hefty budgets and amazing creative’s the ads are often more memorable than the game, at least for the rest of the world that don’t understand why it involves playing rugby incorrectly whilst wearing helmets.

There has been a lot of talk about the 2012 series of ads and with web videos popping up showing off the Volkswagen ‘Bark Side’ and even Ferris Bueller making an appearance. This latest clip from 1^st Bank is certainly a little different, taking a post-modern approach to advertising in the name of customer service.

Could this be the best advertisement the Superbowl has ever had? It is certainly very honest and creative. Everyone hates bankers at the moment but the stern sports fan in the chair doesn’t make an effort to portray himself as something he’s not, as the downright moronic video productions of certain British banks do. You’re here to watch the game and assorted high budget adverts, worry about your money later.

If you have a brand or business you would like to advertise with a creative video production why not get in touch. 

Video marketing is hardly a new vehicle for movie studios, eager to promote their latest offerings to the average punter. However 20^th Century Fox has adopted a new angle in service of its new movie Chronicle, with the signing up of three YouTube stars – DeStorm, Mr Deshawn Raw, and Mystery Guitar Man – to spearhead its online promotional charge.

Chronicle is yet another of those found-footage movies which have clogged up multiplexes in recent years, like a particularly large slab of Dundee Cake clogging up a canal barge latrine. Scripted by Max Landis, son of American Werewolf in London director John, and directed by Josh Trank, the film is all about three teenagers who develop superhuman psychic abilities.   

Fox has high hopes for the movie (Trank is already tipped to helm the studio’s reboot of Fantastic Four), and in order to give Chronicle the best chance of success with its target teen audience when it opens this week, the film company has taken the publicity campaign to YouTube, with endorsements from DeStorm, Mr Deshawn Raw, and Mystery Guitar Man, web video personalities who can boast a combined subscriber base of 3.5 million.

Will this video marketing strategy help bring Chronicle the box office success Fox is hoping for it? Well, take a look at the opening salvo, courtesy of DeStorm (and Mystery Guitar Man), and see what you reckon.

If you and your company are ready to take the video production plunge, then get in touch with Spectrecom and see what we can do for you.

Rare that any video marketing campaign these days doesn’t feature Star Wars, what with the recent success of those Volkswagen commercials and the response from Greenpeace. Oh, and there’s those new ‘Yoda-phone’ ads too. Still, the popularity of the Lucas-verse with the advertising trade hasn’t stopped UK charity the Variety Club from turning to Star Wars for its newest publicity drive.

Sorry, did that above line read Variety Club? Well, forget the ‘Club’ part from now on, because after 60 years the charity for disadvantaged kids is rebranding simply as 'Variety', in the hope of attracting a younger generation of donors (and maybe also setting itself on a legal collision course with the Hollywood trade paper of the same name).

As well as this rechristening, the charity has launched a new video marketing campaign starring copper-coated fusspot C-3PO and smug bin-on-wheels R2-D2, and a special gold heart badge featuring the tin-plated twosome has also gone on sale. Check out the video ad below.

Keep our blog bookmarked in order to stay in touch with the latest video marketing news.