How one client uses their animated, explanatory video..

This is a video we did for a client. Check it out then read below about how the client is using the video and how it helps them communicate their message.

We interviewed Bob Walters of Burroughs Payment Systems and this is what he had to say:

Switch: How does this video help you meet your business objectives?

Bob: We like the video because it helps explain a business process that people are generally unfamiliar with. The process itself really isn’t complex, but it’s a dry topic that can be explained in just a couple of minutes, and upon seeing the video, most people say ‘oh I get it now’.

Switch: How are you using the video?

Bob: We are re-vamping our Burroughs.com website, so we hope to have the video posted on there by next week. In the meantime we have it on YouTube and I’ve been sending that link to those who are interested. I have discovered some corporate systems do not allow their employees to access YouTube, so having the video on our corporate site will help promote it.

The video is also a good opener for presentations. When I am speaking to a group for the first time to explain the concept, I start with the video; it loosens up the audience and gets people in a more open frame of mind and you can still see that hint of a smile on their face when I fire up the PowerPoint slides.

Switch: Who is your target audience:

Bob: This product is deployed in retail establishments, and a part of the prospect base is the retailer, so the whimsical approach fits well in this model because it’s partially a B2C model. The other part of the prospect base is banks, and that’s purely a B2B model with probably more conservative thinking and maybe less effect.

So that’s how Burroughs uses their video and just one example of how you can use yours too. Video helps to explain things in a more fun and engaging way that works in both B2C models and B2B models. If you’re interested in a video for your business just fill out the short form to the right and you’ll hear from one of our Web Video Specialists in no time.

Win a Free Animated Marketing Video!!!

Welcome to Switch Marketing’s First Ever Video Contest!

Video is the most engaging marketing method online and we think everyone should give it a chance and see the results it can bring. So we’ve decided to launch a contest on Twitter where the company with the most votes WINS A FREE VIDEO!

All the details are below along with contact information should you have any questions.

If you’re wondering whether this is a contest worth trying for, we’re obviously going to say yes! There are more than $11,000 in prizes to be won so we’ll leave that up to you.

When:
March 1 - 15, 2010

Grand Prize: A FREE 2-minute Plus, animated web video for your company. The video will be produced by Switch Marketing in the 8 weeks after the contest ends. This package is worth $8,000 !

Second prize: A 1-minute Plus screencast video for the business that comes in second. This package is worth $3,000!

Why:
Video is the most effective communication and marketing tool online. Having a professionally produced video that explains what you do, who you are or how to use your product(s)/service(s) is a great way to brand your business, increase traffic to your website and boost your conversion rates.

How:
To get started follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/switchmarketing

Then send out the following tweet to your followers:

Win a free animated marketing video! Follow @switchmarketing & RT this to your followers. http://twttr.me/dbqR

Once you nominate your company by following us and retweeting this message, we will DM you with a link to fill out a short form with a bit more information.

Once you fill out the form you can start asking for some Twitter love from your followers.

Ask your followers to vote for you by Tweeting the following message on Twitter:

I vote for @company to win a  free animated marketing video from @switchmarketing because….
That’s it!  So easy!

The Rules:

1. All votes must be received by midnight EST on Monday March 15, 2010 to count.
2. All nominations must come from a @switchmarketing follower.
3. Your followers can only vote for you once each.
4. The winner of the 2-min Plus Explanatory web video from Switch Marketing will be announced on Tuesday March 16, 2010 at 2 p.m. EST via Twitter.
5. Video projects that we are currently working on are not eligible to win this contest.
6. Switch Marketing reserves the right to use the winners’ videos on our website portfolio and video sharing sites.
7. The winner can then contact Shelby at 1-877-297-6090 ext. 725 to claim their prize.

All questions can be directed to Shelby at videomarketing@switchmarketing.com

Help Feed Haiti

Since the disastrous earthquake in Haiti, the World Food Programme (WFP) has delivered emergency response meals to more than 600,000 people and are working towards a goal of feeding two million.

We hope that this video will help them accomplish that mission and that by watching it, you will want to help feed Haiti too.

Dan Shaw, the animator of the video said, “It was a really great experience being able to contribute to such an important cause.” He worked closely with our Producer Jackie Brown and Script Writer Ryan McDonald to make this video for the WFP.

The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide.

You can make a donation to help feed Haiti at https://www.wfp.org/donate/haiti

You can also check out this video and others on their YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/WORLDFOODPROGRAM

Tax Credit Video on TV!

We are very excited to announce that this Switch Marketing video is going to be on TV!!

In partnership with Time Warner Cable Media, the Wilmington Regional Association of REALTORS® (WRAR) has helped to launch an OnDemand channel called Carolina Homes OnDemand - designed for people to watch segments on everything to do with homes and the real estate market. These segments will also be on regular TV under the Cape Fear Now channel!

To promote these segments and their REALTOR® members, they will be using the customized NAR (National Association of Realtors) commercials to get consumers in their local area to check out their public MLS site THEwilmingtonMLS.com.

Here’s the best part:

The NAR Commercials will air across several different local channels like HGTV, Food Network, Lifetime, LMN, News 14 Carolina (the Time Warner News), Oxygen and TLC!

This tax credit video is being incorporated into WRAR’s TV Awareness Campaign to make the public aware of the opportunities available to them and to let them know that now is a great time to buy a home.

Brian Pilon, Director of Marketing Communications at WRAR, says, “Our mission is to support the careers of our members, and this partnership and TV Awareness Campaign will help us achieve that. It will function as our own local public awareness campaign much like NAR does nationally for all REALTORS®. We also hope it drives more traffic to THEwilmingtonMLS.com which results in more exposure for our member’s listings and increases their business.”

The first segments, scheduled to air in two to three weeks, will focus on the Extended Tax Credit and Affordable Housing Opportunities. So expect to see this video soon on a TV near you!

Use Your Noodle - A Video

We first started chatting with Noodle on Twitter and it wasn’t long before we began to create this video about their crazy cool program!

Noodle is a work oriented social networking platform designed for efficient and fun communication within the workplace. That’s right!  A program that uses Facebook and Twitter like applications, discussion forums, team blogs and other great collaboration tools that enable employees to share documents, thoughts and ideas with each other. Cool, right? Like always though, the video does a far better job of explaining it than I do.

As the animator on the project, Eric Martucci said, “They left room for a lot of creativity and offered continuous feedback and communication, which helped move the project along quickly while still maintaining a high level of quality. They were open to ideas and suggestions and we worked well together.”

If you’d like to see how Noodle used this video you can check it out at http://www.vialect.com/

So what do you think of Noodle’s new video? We think it’s fantastic, but we tend to be a little bias so please share your thoughts in the comments below.

A Simple Video about Simple Video

Here it is… the moment you’ve all been waiting for.

Our completed video on the power of simple video!!

If you didn’t get a chance to read our last post on the psychology behind simple video, now is the time to do so. Or, if you don’t feel like reading - just watch the video!

We think our Creative Director Chris Dacol did a brilliant job on this video! What do you think?

Our Video Packages

Finally a video to explain our videos!

You may know that we offer four different packages, but do you know the difference between each one? We found this a bit hard to describe in words and thought hey, why not make a video? After all, videos do make things a lot more fun and easy to understand, right?

So here it is. If you’d like to learn more, see our pricing or inquire about a custom made video for your business just fill out the short form on the right, and we’ll get right back to you.

Student2Student - Textbook Exchange Made Easy

Has your wallet ever been victim to purchasing a textbook?

If you answered yes, then you are going to love our newest video! Oliver Berchtold, a young entrepreneur and student has created a service that aims to make college life cheaper for all.

Student2Student.com in an online platform that students can use for free to  exchange and sell old textbooks on and find the books they need. They can search by campus and if they can’t find it on their campus, they can use a compare feature to find the cheapest place it’s available. Cool!

Oliver was so much fun and so easy to work with, and luckily he thought the same of us! This is what he wrote to us once his video was completed:

“I am super happy with the video. Everyone was so super nice and very responsive. It was literally a perfect engagement. I really appreciated the easy-going approach. This is going to be great and I have absolutely no problem to put a reference on my page of Switchmarketing once it gets some traction. I am already thinking of some other portal we would like to develop so expect more business.
Thanks again for all the hard work.”

Unisys Video: SmartCash Vault

Have you seen the video on the Unisys SmartCash Vault yet? Well, you’re about to! Unisys came out with this new vault to tighten cash processes, increase security and enhance cash flow and like all of our clients, they wanted to explain their new system in a way that was fun and easy to understand.

We had a lot of fun working on this one and Unisys was a great company to work with. They used this video on different online platforms like YouTube to drive traffic back to a landing page where potential clients could learn more about the vault and its many features.

Bob Walters from Unisys said, “WOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love it. Thank you very much!”

Washington REALTORS - $8,000 Tax Credit Video

We produced a number of exciting, explanatory videos for Washington REALTORS, but there’s no doubt that the one that got the most attention was the one about the $8,000 Tax Credit for First-Time Homebuyers.

A big reason for this is because we let Realtors all over the country put it on their websites for free! And just last week it was the second most popular view on Yahoo!

We worked directly with Steve Klaniecki of Washington Realtors and this is what he had to say about his experience with us:

“I LOVE working with Switch Marketing! The team there is smart, intuitive and creative. They got into my head and turned those crazy ideas into a series of fun and educational videos. They use the latest online collaboration tools and are in touch with me everyday. I have no less than 4 or 5 professionals working on my project at the same time to meet my deadlines. Yeah, I recommend them.”

Wow, thanks Steve! You loved working with you too! Now let’s take a look at this great video we’ve been talking up so much..