Cool New Marketing Technologies: Caught and Served

Archive for the ‘Video Production’ Category

What Does the YouTube Redesign Mean for my Branded YouTube Channel?

By Greg Jones


Google has been on a tear recently, revamping, redesigning, and re-launching a number of widely known, loved, and used user interfaces on the web, namely, Google Reader, Gmail and now, YouTube. The former two had little impact on brands, but the latter may come with challenges to companies who have, or are in the process of establishing a branded presence on YouTube. As with anything, it will take some time and experimentation to get used to. Here is a guide to help ease the redesign of your branded YouTube channel. It is important to note that this appears to be an open beta redesign, so early adopters, this one’s for you!

If you don’t like it, don’t change it… yet

All good interface redesigns know that not everyone will be comfortable with the changes instantly. Therefore, if you don’t like the new interface, don’t upgrade your channel to the new UI. If you already upgraded your channel, YouTube currently allows you to switch back to the old design. If you have time and money invested in your old design, by all means, leave it the way it is for now. The transition period may come with plenty of bugs and tweaks, so if you are feint of funds, it may be wise to let others lead the way until you feel comfortable upgrading and redesigning.

Three tabs, four new channel layouts

Google’s redesign has come with a unified look and feel; the boxy grey/black interface redesign has now hit YouTube. The upside of this is less clutter, and a prominent play on connectivity with social, subscriptions, and suggestions in the newly implemented homepage left-hand navigation bar. But where this redesign seems to focus is on your channel page. Each channel now has three main tabs, the “Featured” tab, which contains what’s being showcased by your channel, the “Feed” tab, which has all channel activity and comments, and the “Videos” tab which cuts to the chase and chronologically displays all video uploads by the channel. More tabs may be added over time to increase the feature set of a channel, allowing YouTube’s functionality to scale brilliantly. Channels will default to the “Featured” tab when your channel loads, but the default can be changed through settings, depending on which tab is most important to your audience. Here are the four types of “featured” tab:

1. Creators layout for multiple playlists


The Creator layout is the first option for the featured tab. This layout is designed for artists, animators, videographers, and anyone seeking to create a video portfolio with one large featured video and a number of featured playlists, presumably related to different projects you have worked on. If you find your channel has multiple audiences who only want to watch a sub-set of the many videos you create, a Creator channel may be for you.

2. Blogger layout for frequent, timely updates


The blogger layout is the second option for the featured tab. This layout is designed for anyone who has a video channel dedicated to consistently blogging/vlogging on one particular subject of interest. With a reverse chronological list of videos, your audience should be visiting several times per week to watch the latest episode you have uploaded. Read This Post

Posted in Branding & Design, Digital Marketing, Marketing Technology, Measurement & Analytics, Social Media Marketing, User Experience, Video Production | 1 Comment »

North by Norwood: an explosion of marketing and innovation technology

By Steve Gogolak

Howdy, folks. It’s been a while since I’ve posted, which is great for business because it means I’m rockin’ out with plenty of work to keep busy, but a bummer for readers like you… until now! The infamous @DerrickWood has concocted an awesome event for marketers and technology junkies from the Boston area.

Cramer, in association with the Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange (MITX) as part of their FutureM event, brings you North by Norwood, a one-day only event designed to give you an inside look at the marketing innovations and technologies Cramer uses to rock your brand. Take a peek at some of our offerings you’ll see on September 15th.

REGISTER HERE

The line-up from 2-6

  • Digital Marketing Solutions Breakdown: From product launches, lead generation and loyalty programming, Cramer does it all. What’s your challenge, and how can we help you solve it.
  • 3D Projection Mapping: Everyone loves 3D. No one loves the cheesy glasses. Throw them away, and watch how optical illusions can make your presentations literally jump off the screen.
  • 5 Proven Approaches for a Successful Virtual Event: Sometimes you need more than a live event, but do you know how to hold your audience captive by creating a high-impact virtual event? Learn the secrets in this breakout session.
  • The Future of Websites: Leverage responsive design to customize a web sites interface to any device, mobile, tablet or fridge.
  • Bump, Pinch, Tweet: Bring your tablet or smartphone and learn how the future of marketing technology sits in the palm of your hand.
  • Cramer Filmfest: With 70,000 square feet of creative space, we nurture the talent in our building. Experience the videos we’ve created for clients and beyond—including one film screened at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.
  • Video Compression 101: The marathon process of shooting a great video means nothing if the last leg of the race is done wrong. Compression is the single most important part of video production; learn the art behind the science.

From 6-9

Join us for an epic band jam and a light fare. If your company band is interested in playing on Cramer’s stage, provide your information and we’ll contact you.

REGISTER HERE

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Posted in Digital Marketing, Event Solutions, Marketing Technology, Product Launch, Social Media Marketing, User Experience, Video Production, Virtual Events, Webcasting | 2 Comments »

Christie Projection Mapping at #Infocomm11

By Greg Jones

In a fantastic, show stopping display, Christie Digital Systems created a two story projection mapping loop that appeared on the front side of their booth at #Infocomm11. The surface was an ornate, three dimensional construction complete with pillars, what appeared to be screen material or canvas that was then painted with goo (for more on goo, stay tuned). Three Christie projectors, including one roadie were hung above the booth and edge butted two parallel lines that formed the surface. They were positioned only twenty or thirty feet away, and managed to cast a LOT of light considering the convention room was bright to begin with. A few speakers and a two story view of the mapping completed the display, and it proved impossible for people to ignore it. In fact, in a blog post by @ChristieDigital they admit: “we went big.” I would agree. And it worked well.

The video loop itself was a contract piece which featured several vibrant clips to demonstrate the versatility to a three dimensional surface that is being projected upon. The first clip turned the side of the Christie booth into a giant slot machine called “gold strike”, with three wheels spinning and fun sound effects. The second clip transformed the side of the booth into a “high voltage spirit” rock show, complete with red and yellow silhouettes of guitarist and raving crowd. The third clip turned the booth into an ornate, ferris-wheel-esque organ complete with floating fish. The fourth clip featured bright shapes and words scrolling left and right, and the final clip featured a blue ice cavern with floating sparks of light that converge to create the Christie logo. The true shape of the surface is seen at the beginning and end of the video below, and as you will see, the projection mapping is fairly convincing even with the huge amount of point source and ambient light in the room.

Cramer has been researching and developing projection mapping for events, and we recently featured a projection mapping opening video and set at an event in Orlando, FL.

Posted in Branding & Design, Creative Approach, Event Solutions, Marketing Technology, Video Production | Comments Off