1) It's a distraction:

In the time it takes to chase someone who maybe-kinda-sorta-possibly interested in doing a video production, we can maintain focus on our committed clients and be amazingly productive for them.

It's like when you walk into a store looking for someone to help you, but instead of attending to your needs, they keep answering the phone. You committed time and energy by physically walking into their store. Random phone calls and casual questions should take a backseat to the your immediate and concrete needs. 

Focusing on our paying clients takes priority above all else. Even potential new business. And that's never really a problem when we're repaid with positive word-of-mouth.

2) Apples to oranges:

No one else really does what we do. Or, at the very least they don't specialize in it. If a company wants a bid from us - and other studios, they usually just have a vague idea of what they want to accomplish, like "an online video". Just having a vague idea of how to accomplish your video goals isn't a problem, we can help with that. But we should at least have a clear idea of what your goals are, otherwise it's impossible to know if we're on the right track.

3) Published Prices:

SunPop publicly publishes it's prices and process to keep things fair for everyone. It's lame when someone makes you contact them for a price quote, just so they can size you up and charge the largest amount possible. Our price is the price, if it's not a fit for you, no worries. 

For those reasons, this most recent proposal request (below) didn't get a direct bid from us. However, they asked several questions that are relevant to a lot of people, so we're dropping our Answers here in the blog. The company's name has been removed for their privacy. 

As part of our Internet marketing initiative, {our company} is seeking a designer to create a video spokesperson for our Web site. After reviewing Web sites of potential designers, we have included SunPop Studios on our short list of companies for consideration. Please provide the information requested below to help us make an informed vendor selection: Most of the video spokesperson examples we have reviewed on the Internet run about 30 seconds. Some of our vendor selection committee members want to have a minute, to three minutes of video. What do you recommend, and why?

Some of our vendor selection committee members feel we can write their own speech, while others feel we should have it written for us. Can you write our speech for us?

We're able to write fantastic scripts and speeches, but that isn't a service we're offering at this time. 

May we provide our own speech?

Which way would you advise us to go, and why?

Not sure if we want to have someone on our staff be our spokesperson or hire an actor. Can you provide an actor / actress?

If so, how can we see / hear them to pick one?

If we have one of our staff members as the spokesperson, what would that process be? 

The A to Z process can be found on the Process Webpage of our website. It'll be a better information resource that anything I can put into a few lines of an email.
www.sunpopstudios.com/the-process

How long will it take to create the video (from the start, to a finished video on our Web site)?

We can usually deliver finished online video files in about a week. More if a client has any delays on their side of the communications.

Can you put the video into our Web site, or do we need to have someone else do the Web page editing?

Someone else will need to do that. We don't touch the inner workings of a client's website. Their are plenty of hosting companies that can provide you with a simple html embed code that is copied and pasted into a webpage to display the video. 

If we decided to hire you what would our involvement be?

Someone from your organization is designated as the "Point-Person". This is often the person featured in the video. That "Point-Person" handles all communications with us, rather than multiple people sending us uncoordinated, sometimes conflicting information. 

What would we need to provide in terms of information, materials and people?

We just need the person who will shoot in our studio to go through our Online Pre-Production Questionnaire. Beyond just being available for questions via email, there are video guides to assist that person through the questionnaire. 

How do we provide these items?

We usually have 1 or 2 initial phone calls with a client. After a project is booked, email is going to be ideal, as it provides a clear track record of all information that is communicated. 

Why should we choose SunPop Studios?

If you want to show your potential customers a tightly controlled performance, a scripted shoot elsewhere is your best bet. If you want to pull back the curtain and build some trust and confidence with people considering doing business with you, we're as good as it gets. 

How much will this cost?

Additional information / comments you would like us to take into consideration:

We have really good coffee here. No kidding, it's good coffee. Forget the video, you should consider just coming in for a cup.

The first, "Online Video Continues Ridiculous Trajectory", provides a nice synopsis on some ComScore numbers. A few choice quotes pretty much makes my point for me.

...the average video watched is now 3.8 minutes in length...

In terms of web visitors, 3.8 minutes is an eternity, and most webmasters would kill for an attention span like that. If everything else we’ve said before today hasn’t already convinced you to jump into online video, then zero in and focus on just this metric.  What would it be worth to you to hold your visitors’ attention for four minutes?

It's no wonder, then, that the article "Video Marketing Tops Search Marketing as a #1 Priority for Brands and Agencies in 2010?" reveals that among companies across a wide range of sizes, the very top priority for their online marketing strategy leading into 2010 is to emphasize web video.

All of the above are simple facts.

Our take: The stampede to online video is a no-brainer when you think about how cheap online video is versus traditonal alternatives, not to mention the higher impact it can have as your potential customers' active mouse clicks mean it reaches the right person at the right time. The question isn't whether it's time you add video to your website, the only question is who do you trust to produce a quality video that makes you shine and connects with viewers...

Our job is fun. We get to meet passionate people from across North America and learn about who they are and their life's work. Pennie Hunt is a great example of somebody interesting who taught us things even as we worked together. Nobody at SunPop previously knew there was an industry such as Pennie's in Wyoming Health Resources Network; but now it makes perfect sense. It's even better when you like a client and hear from them that the video is really making waves!

In a recent email, Pennie sent us the following:

I wanted to share something with you….. recently I was talking to the Ex. Director of 3RNET, a national organization that I sit on the board of. I had him go to our website. He saw the video and sent it out across the country to our 48 state membership. I thought my computer was going to smoke from all of the responses – some about me, some about the website, but all spurred by the video. I thought you would like to see what they said.

• "Absolutely awesome! Great idea, Pennie! Very unique and original way to get your (our) message across. Impressive…"


• "WOW.
  Pennie, this is amazing. I’m ready to move to Wyoming right now!
  But seriously, what an awesome way to use current media to attract and retain folks in Wyoming.
  I’m already pestering my powers that be to do something similar. (Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?)"


• "Consulting...can we hire her to be the face for rural...You not only sounded great but you looked marvelous :)
  Great job, well done and very professional"


• "Great site and nicely done. I like the personal touch."


• "Amazing!! A great website and I agree—post the video on youtube!
  I think the video is brilliant. That is attention grabbing."


• "Fantastic job, Penny! A great-looking website and an outstanding video to boot!! (No pun intended, Wyoming!)"


• "You make it great. People can copy the format but they can’t clone you."

I especially like the last quote, "People can copy the format but they can't clone you." It's true, nothing's as powerful as someone like Pennie simply being who she is on camera and showing the world what she has to offer when she has something worthwhile to share. It's impossible to duplicate or synthesize, and it's SunPop's primary mission as we continue to develop better techniques for pulling back the curtain and helping viewers see the radiant value behind our clients, their companies, and services.

Click on over to the WHRN site and spend just a couple minutes learning about how medical professionals find the right home. It's illuminating and you'll have something insightful to talk about next time you meet somebody preparing to enter the field of health :)
Did I mention our job is fun?

Here's a couple of highlights that perfectly back up a lot of what SunPop has been saying for years:

As a small business, you can use video to engage your customers and make more personal connections... Using video allows you to speak directly to your customers, looking right at them and using your real voice to tell them why you’re the best at what you do and how you can help them. It’s the difference between picking a name out of a phone book or calling up a friend.

Hmm, sounds a bit like a certain 'Let them meet you' slogan I know...

Because now they know you. They know your name, they know what you look like, they’ve heard you explain to them in a friendly tone all the benefits of using your company. That’s how you differentiate your small business from all the other “me toos” out there.

It's really not that hard. People are more likely to do business with you if they feel like they know you, like you, and can trust you. That's the basic principle that's helped make SunPop what it is today. It's encouraging to see other people start to catch on to how this principle ties into potential for online video, and it's especially nice to know that we've got a head start on everybody else consisting of hundreds of productions across years and years.

Fun times!

If you haven't checked it out yet, take a quick moment to read the article for yourself.

We couldn't even make this stuff up. We made a new video (and a new friendship) with a recent client named Jean Carpenter Backus, and ever since she's sent us multiple emails each week as more and more people are "meeting" her through the video and reaching out to her to make things happen. We don't usually share the specific positive responses we often receive, but the latest blog entry talking about Jean and her video is so perfect, and the story so compelling, that we just have to share the link.

The post: Ricci Neer writes "How I Met Jean Carpenter Backus"

Big things tend to happen when you have as much to offer as Jean does and you simply help people see it for themselves... Do You?

Free Press had already rallied its troops to petition Congress over the matter, and campaign director Timothy Karr was enthusiastic about TWC's decision. "We're glad to see Time Warner Cable's price-gouging scheme collapse in the face of consumer opposition," he said. "Let this be a lesson to other Internet service providers looking to head down a similar path. Consumers are not going to stand idly by as companies try to squeeze them off the Internet. This is a major victory, but the fight for a fast, open and affordable Internet is far from over."

Long story short, Time Warner announced plans to cap bandwidth usage for customers in a test market while still charging more money than many people pay for uncapped plans. The public's reaction was unmistakable outrage, to the point where they caught the ear of heavy hitters in the United States House and Senate. Time Warner eventually backed down, defeated but unremorseful, explaining that they still think their plan is a good one but the public obviously needs to be further educated.

Why write about this in SunPop's Blog? Simple. it's yet one more illustration that there has been a sea change in America, and people both expect and demand affordable / speedy connections that let them do what they want to online.  As sites like Hulu.com continue to make watching video content on your computer more popular among the mainstream (and more profitable for content providers), ubitiquous online video is here to stay. There's no turning back.  Even media giants like Time Warner Cable are learning to accept high-bandwidth and highly engaged internet usage (like online video). 

People can either try to push back the tide or start making money selling swimming trunks.

Effectively dealing with the infinite choice of consumers on the web involves a mind-shift from old marketing where commercial messages are thrust on people. The messages that work best on the web are chosen by them. There’s a huge benefit to making this mindshift - it’s easy to create the content that your customers are looking for.

What they call "Useful Information" is probably better expressed with the word "Relevance". An idea championed, refined and systematized by my friends, Jeff & Bryan Eisenberg, and their latest bestselling book. Being mindful of what information people are looking for, and actually delivering it in an intuitive way is a simple idea on paper, but tricky to implement in practice. Hence their book, Waiting for Your Cat to Bark?, which I highly recommend. In regards to SunPop Studios' unscripted video work, the "Relevance" is aimed squarely at relational customers who need trust, confidence and familiarity when deciding to do business with a person / organization. That entire production process is designed to communicate the real and unposed value of worthwhile people, ultimately making the decision to do business with them an easy one.