43 ROUND TABLE Ecommerce
THIS MONTH’S FEED ROUND TABLE GUESTS ARE:
ith everyone having access to world-reaching video and communications technology, businesses can create video
way location but if you can show your knowledge and skill, people will travel. MARK CURRIE, CHOCOLATE FILMS: Yes. Since your location will have less immediate footfall, it’s a great idea to choose to use video as your shop window. And there is no better way of communicating the experience of skating than video. JONATHAN WELLS, EBRD: Visual storytelling is the most powerful marketing tool a company has at its disposal, if executed in an imaginative and creative way. Done badly, your business will look amateur and could even become a laughing stock. Done well and you’ll reap the rewards as viewers admire your brand and its professionalism. So the short answer is, yes! There are so many ways to use video. The key is to have a plan, a message and keep it simple. ICELAND: Should we develop our own in-house team for video and online media? Or work with an outside company? SPIROS ANDREOU: There are benefits to both. An in-house team will have a closer knowledge of what’s going on at the venue each day, and you maintain creative control. However, it could be expensive to permanently keep people who have the necessary knowledge and skills, not to mention the investment needed in kit. Outsourcing would mean you have the skills and equipment available immediately plus a team on hand with knowledge who will be able to offer advice and guidance as you get off the ground. And there are several companies in the marketplace that are able to provide audiovisual services on a monthly or annual fee basis, without the cost and risk of ownership of any of the equipment, support or maintenance. MARK CURRIE: I believe that a mix of the two would produce an impactful and
offerings specifically targeted to their customers. In this month’s round table, we feature a hypothetical winter sports centre who wants to use video to skate circles around the competition. ICELAND: We are the marketing team of IceLand, an ice skating facility that offers a variety of activities, including skating lessons, parties and ice hockey. We also have a café and an equipment shop on-site where we sell our own brand of professional-quality ice skates. Our rival rink, SkateWorld, has a much better location near a shopping mall, and though the facilities and offerings aren’t as good as ours (we think), they do much better. At present we have a YouTube channel, plus Twitter and Instagram. Our president is wondering if an expanded video offering could help boost our business. We want increased ticket sales at our venue and more traffic at our store and want to boost our brand so that it becomes synonymous with fun on ice. Do you think we’re on the right track? Could an expanded video offering make for a step change in our business? Or is it that we just need to raise our marketing budget? SPIROS ANDREOU, CDEC: The success of an expanded video offering will depend on the content. There’s undoubtedly additional marketing opportunities available but if used properly, video can be much more than this. With video you can build a loyal audience. Since you offer ice hockey facilities, you could show games, profile players or run special events. Or you could offer behind-the-scenes video or even content from pros to show how it’s done. All of this will build interest and hopefully inspire people to return on a regular basis. Also, share the expertise of your team. Your venue may be in an out-of-the-
JONATHANWELLSEDRB Jonathan Wells is multimedia director at European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). After 13 years in journalism and broadcasting, he now directs the video communications activities of the EBRD, which includes short, feature, social and VR content.
MARKCURRIECHOCOLATEFILMS Mark Currie co-founded London- based Chocolate Films in 2001. The company is a specialist in producing short-form promotional, social and documentary content for institutions and companies, particularly those in the heritage and culture sector. Mark is a Fellow of the RSA and a creative director of the 1000 Londoners video project.
THERE ARE SO MANY WAYS TO USE VIDEO. THE KEY IS TO HAVE A PLAN, A MESSAGE AND KEEP IT SIMPLE
SPIROSANDREOUCDEC Spiros Andreou is service delivery manager at AV integrator CDEC where he focuses on managed AV/IT services. Prior to this he led transformational change projects for the Service Desk, Second Line/ Endpoint support and AV/Digital support at Goldsmiths University.
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