The researchers created two different versions of advertising. One group was presented with material saying the following: “CATV will provide a broader entertainment and informational service to its subscribers. Used properly, a person can plan in advance to enjoy events offered. Instead of spending money on the babysitter and gas, and putting up with the hassles of going out, more time can be spent at home with family, alone, or with friends.

The second group was presented with this version: “Take a moment and imagine how CATV will provide you with a broader entertainment and informational service. When you use it properly, you will be able to plan in advance which of the events offered you wish to enjoy. Take a moment and think of how, instead of spending money on the babysitter and gas, and then having to put up with the hassles of going out, you will be able to spend your time at home, with your family, alone, or with your friends.”

The copy in the first advertisement was general and vague. The copy in the second was specific and personal. Guess which appeal led to more people subscribing to cable TV service?

The homeowners who received the first appeal subscribed at a rate of 20%, which was about average for the people in the neighborhood who hadn’t received any appeal at all. The homeowners who received the second appeal, however, subscribed at a rate of 47%.

The ability to connect to people’s emotional desires and the ability to visualize something concretely is the power of video. Video can deliver a message that appeals directly to an emotional need that someone has. It can also deliver that message in a way that people can easily visualize. They can imagine themselves enjoying the benefits of what the product or service provides, or enjoying the satisfaction that comes from contributing to a cause.

You can see how we’ve used these principles in videos we’ve created, such as “Lori Parks“, “Hotel Equities“, “Hope Relay“, and “City Story“. Whether it’s designed to motivate people to buy or to get involved in making the world a better place, video can be an extremely effective tool.

Before joining SlicedTomato, Laura operated a website design firm for five years in Greenville. She understands the needs of creative agencies and her experience will help SlicedTomato to be even more effective.

We’re looking forward to getting involved in the Chamber’s initiatives and attending events. We hope to see you there!

No matter what type of material I’m editing, I find that I always perform the same basic functions when editing (scrubbing the footage, marking in and out points, toggling the snapping and linking features on the timeline, etc.) so here is a brief overview of what I think are the most basic functions and their corresponding keyboard shortcuts.  Commit these to memory and you will quickly cut your editing time in half.

• J, K, L – Rewind, Stop and Forward. These are indispensable. Instead of scrubbing through footage with the cumbersome mouse, use these keys to quickly and more accurately get to where you need. The really nifty part is, the more you press them, the fast your playhead moves (up to 4x).
• Spacebar – In case you didn’t know, you don’t have to waste time moving the mouse up to click on that play button.  The spacebar stops and starts playback with the tap of your thumb.
• I, O – Marks in and out points.  When you are scrubbing through that footage in viewer and find the perfect beginning and ending, you want to mark those spots with an “I” for in and “O” for out. Then, when you drag it to your timeline (or better yet use your F9 key), you have only what you need. “Ah Ha!” you say.  You’ve just experience the beauty of 3-point editing.
• Arrow Keys – Your left and right arrow keys move you frame by frame. When you want to start your in point right after the person says, “Umm….” and right before their eyes blink, use these to find that perfect sweet spot.  The up and down arrow keys will take you to the next edit point, which is a great way to quickly navigate your timeline without the danger of accidentally moving something around with that pesky mouse.
• Shift Z, Command – + - Speaking of navigating the timeline, Command + will zoom in and Command – will zoom out.  Want to see your entire timeline in the window without scrolling? Try Shift Z.
• Home, End – Sometimes you need to jump back to the beginning or go all the way to the end.  These two keys were made to do just that.
• Shift L – This is a handy one to know.  When you get into some real editing, you are going to want to split your audio and video. Editors know that typically audio leads the video cut and if you don’t unlink the two; you are going to be frustrated trying to pull that off.  This is a toggle feature so, just hit the key combo again if you want to make changes and keep your audio and video together.
• N - Turns snapping on and off.  If snapping is on, everything is going to snap to your playhead or the nearest edit point.  Turn it off and you have freedom to move things wherever you want. It’s also helpful to know that you can hit this key after you’ve started dragging something and just enable snapping for your current edit–it will go back to where it was once you let go of the mouse.
• A – Your selection tool (for grabbing things).
• B – Your blade tool (for cutting things).
• R – Your roll tool (for extending / shortening things).

There are about a million more shortcut keys for doing things like making ripple edits, stretching time, doing split edits, etc. but I’ve found that with these in mind, 90% of my edits can stay mouse-free, which means more time to….edit?

You have heard of green marketing initiatives but have you ever considered if the type of marketing
you are doing is actually “green?” Are you using green marketing techniques? Most marketers don’t
really think about it that way. We think about messaging, audiences, and market share but are we
thinking about “doing our share” with the tools at our disposal?

As summer blazes into full effect, it is the perfect time to consider new ways you can market to your
audience using “greener” marketing techniques. Larger corporations are already opting for webinars
over in-person sales meetings; online landing pages over printed fliers; and email over direct mail
postcards. They have eliminated a printed company newsletter and opted to communicate with
customers in real-time through social networks. We are even seeing a rise in “green” coupons from
the likes of Groupon and Living Social.

One area you may not have considered as a green marketing technique is video. By using video to
share your brand message, you eliminate printing cost and waste while also saving on postage. In
addition, video has the potential to grow without you spending additional dollars or resources to
spread your message. With the expanded capabilities of smart phones, email and social networks like
YouTube, videos can easily go viral and exponentially grow your share of voice.

Video is perhaps one of the most powerful forms of marketing with its ability to inspire, educate,
entertain and inform your audience. It taps into both the rational and emotional sides of a
consumer’s brain while delivering your brand message in a full visual and auditory experience that
can be boiled down to two minutes. Where written words are easily overlooked, video captivates.
Video allows your audience to immerse themselves in your brand. With the advancements in video
quality over the past ten years, you can create a signature brand video of the highest quality that can
be used in multiple scenarios from trade shows to sales offices to your website and YouTube to even
your sales guy’s computer.

Remember, using “green marketing techniques” does not have to put your company in the red.
Most new media technologies, including video, can be done at a reasonable cost, and are a win-
win for your company and the environment. You may even score a few brownie points with senior
management for your green marketing practices.

Depending on your marketing budget, videos come in many types. Some you produce yourself and others you hire a professional. Check out this blog on how to “do it yourself”.