VBR for Video

Inside Radio shares these Nielsen stats in regard to increased interaction with online video:
Nielsen released May video viewing data that shows 134 million Americans watched online video content last month. That's up 13% from a year ago. The number of minutes a typical online video user watched jumped 49% to 189 minutes.

If you have a client that you know is using using tv spots now or in the past, a video pre-roll opportunity on the radio site can take advantage of video that has already been produced, but perhaps not fully utilized due to the higher cost of television airtime.

If the client has a product or service that would benefit from visual expores to our audience in addition to the audio spots already being aired, a landing page featuring product demonstration, client testimonials, or an amusing video that drives home an important point of their service can greatly increase the likelyhood of response by your audience.

Some great examples of video used to promote products:
1. http://www.insurance-mitchell.com/
Take a look about halfway down the page to see this creative use of a simple YouTube video embedding to brand his services and point out some perfect reasons why you need great insurance coverage.

2. http://www.savingsanity.com/
Simple 'talking head' video that promotes the advertiser's product while providing real informational content to the audience via the free tips presented in the video.

3. https://www.getsnuggie.com/
And the classic -- Snuggie. Sales not only increased exponentially once this landing page was created to enhance their already successful television spot, but a cult following developed by simple virtue of the new internet audience being reached. It wasn't long before people took the brand and product and started using it for their own creative ends:
Snuggie Remix (over 300,000 views)
Snuggie Pubcrawls (video from Chicago - WGN Radio, NYC, and San Diego - complete with media coverage)
Snuggie Parody (warning: strong - but hilarious - language) (4 MILLION views and climbing!)

Encourage your clients and prospects to use video.
Who knows where it might lead?

Jump-Start Your Car Business

The latest issue of Fast Company's Now Daily email newsletter (you can sign-up for free by clicking here) shares 25 ideas for getting the automotive business back into drive. Why not take a look and see how many of the concepts you might borrow for use as VBRs to contact the car dealers on your client list?

Some of my favorites...
#5 Why geckos can't solve the problem
As powerful as advertising and marketing are, they're not going to save the American car industry. What the industry needs is a vision. Tell us why we should want your cars. If you can't figure out what makes your product special, then it's probably not special. When you do have something to say, market the hell out of it.

#8 Urban Outfitters
Car-free living is the car dealer's worst nightmare, but it also may be their greatest opportunity to reinvent themselves. The auto industry could reframe itself as a transportation industry in the same way some of the oil companies have started talking about themselves as energy companies. What events or features could car companies sponsor? "Imagine a young professional driving her GM car from her suburban home to a well-maintained train station, taking her GM collapsible bike from the trunk, boarding the GM train to the city, unfolding the bike in 15 seconds, and riding to work," says the director of the National Center for Bicycling and Walking. "Now is the time."