Believe it or not. Lemieux Company got it’s start in college radio. Back then, I’d used to create playlists for my special show and burn them on CD’s. Prehistoric right? Well now, playlists are created, not on the mix tapes or burnt CDs we used to make for friends, but probably on the audio streaming service of our choice. Online radio is just one example of what’s called new media – the digital revolution that has brought dramatic changes to media and advertising. So much so, that industry experts are proclaiming the death of traditional advertising. It might look intimidating at first, but grab a cup of something warm and let’s unwrap it together.
MARKETING GOES IN-HOUSE
To understand why so many companies are bringing their advertising departments in house, it’s important to identify a few key reasons for this paradigm shift.
Not that long ago a traditional ad campaign was the staple of any marketing venture. In order to create such a campaign, companies and organizations would enlist the services of an external ad agency. The agency in turn, would develop all creative advertising components, which usually included print, broadcast and out-of-home. Agencies would bill their clients based upon hours spent on project, plus a percentage of the media buy.
News flash: media is expensive. The average cost for a full-page national magazine ad is about $250,000, while a 30-second national TV commercial runs more than $340,000. That’s just for the time and space – not for the production. When the average media markup was 15%, no wonder ad agencies loved to sell clients on big traditional media buys.
MEDIA GOES SOCIAL
Fast-forward to the digital age of social media. An era where popular Youtube influencers command online audiences as large as prime-time TV shows and successful viral video campaigns reach consumers on a fraction of a traditional budget. Erik Qualman calls this new media landscape socialnomics – the economics of doing business on social platforms. If you haven’t seen his visual depiction of this cataclysmic shift, sit down, strap in, and get ready to be amazed:
Depending on how you view new media, you’re either excited or scared. You’re not alone.
So what does all this social content have to do with your marketing budget – and in turn, the services Lemieux Company offers?
Simply put, the nature of today’s media favors the smaller, faster players that can respond to market conditions and audience demands in a swift and seamless manner. Large and small companies alike are taking notice of this and adapting their marketing structure accordingly.
Take this video we created for this nonprofit and free clinic, Heal the City for example. Total time we spent on the gig? 15 hours. Dollars spent on paid advertising or minutes wasted on communication through a middle man? Zero. Number of Facebook shares? 193. Number of organic views? More than 10k. This story is the same for so many of our clients.
Wejust get it done.
A survey by the Association of National Advertisers reveals that almost 60% of companies have brought at least a part of their marketing in-house, while many are planning to in the future.
And why not? It makes sense on so many levels.
WORKING DIRECTLY WITH A CONTENT CREATOR SAVES TIME.
A traditional agency is slow. You want to discuss revisions to your new video? Get ready to take a number in the agency communication line of command. You’ll likely leave a message with an account executive, who will consult the brand manager, who will run the change by the research department . . . you get the idea. By the time your request gets to your project’s creative director, time and synergy has been lost in translation.
Direct access to your video creative team, however, results in a faster turnaround, and ensures clear communication happens – the first time.
WORKING DIRECTLY WITH A CONTENT CREATOR PRODUCES BETTER CONTENT
How can we make this claim? It’s predicated on the fact that the marketing ecosystem has changed. Like we mentioned before, socialnomics has ushered in an environment that benefits the agile. For companies to build relationships, not just a customer base, the ability to build and repurpose fresh, relevant content is critical.
Within minutes of posting, the image was retweeted 15,000 times and generated more than 20,000 likes on Facebook. Our consumers expect us to be real-time, or at least respond to and engage with what’s going on around them. What does this look like to a smaller business or nonprofit?
Let’s say you produced a year-in-review recap video for key stakeholders. You show the original video in December, then put it on the shelf. A month or so later your marketing team is brainstorming some Valentine’s messaging. If you’re working directly with a content creator, they’re likely to suggest creative ways to repurpose the original video, pulling out examples of brand love or editing snippets of “heart of the matter” moments.
That’s the difference that working one-on-one with a creative specialist makes. Something happens when face-to-face communication becomes a heart-to-heart commitment. And, at the risk of sounding sappy (after all it is the holiday season) that heartfelt commitment to the craft and the client is one of the things that sets Lemieux Company apart. We’re pretty fond of what happens when we partner with businesses and organizations to design creative ways to tell and retell their brand story.
It’s what makes us work a little harder and a little longer. It’s what helps us transform the mundane into the memorable through a full range of video marketing tools, including:
Commercial production
Promotional films
Educational & training videos
Sales & marketing tools
Curious about the creative advantage that working direct could make for your organization? Give us a call (806.502.8383) or shoot us an email (wilson@lemieux.company).
Let’s unwrap the possibilities and build something better – together.
