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According to socialmediatoday a Bright Roll survey found that 65% of marketers plan to reallocate campaign spending from TV to online video this year. More than 25% see online and mobile video as the two platforms that will have the overall largest spend increases in the next two years.

• An infographic from Vincent Abry shows that mobile video streaming increased by 93% worldwide and 35% in the U.S. from 2010 to 2011.

As online video use continues to surge, many corporations are launching brand videos to market their businesses. Creating a brand video for your organization is an innovative and constructive method to communicate a range of purposes to your audience. To that end, defining a well-structured goal is an essential first step to crafting an influential, far-reaching brand video.

Video objectives vary in a broad spectrum from “big picture for business leaders” to “product features and functionality” to a “humanistic version of executive and client testimonials”. Regardless of your organization’s intention, the video must make an impression that you are a thought-leading, digitally forward company with a cutting edge product.

Below is an outlined spectrum of different brand video functions with links that exemplify how a few large corporations have executed:

Inspirational/“Big Picture”/Vision

An inspirational brand video is an excellent way to emotionally relate with your audience. Connecting viewers to the interior of your vision, while painting a “big picture”, encourages an emotional engagement that will resonate with the end user.

IBM – Business Agility

Cisco – Big Things Are Happening

Jive Software – The New Way to Govern.

Data/Number-Focused

Facts and figures appeal to a logical and analytic left brain thinker. A brand video that reveals attention-grabbing, valuable data not only intrigues the viewer, but establishes that your company is a thought-leader with an up-to-date comprehension of the business landscape.

Oracle Exadata: Are You Ready?

Omobono: The World of Social Media in 2011

Executive Spotlight

The power of a CEO testimonial not only lends a considerable level of credibility, an executive spotlight illuminates big picture vision and creates a human connection with your brand’s purpose. The ability to hear and see a company’s decision-maker augments a brand’s integrity.

EMC and Brocade – Partner

Sprint – Dan Hesse

Product/Solutions Focus

Product description or solution-focused video content is a reliable method of expressing your company’s value. Showcasing your organization in terms of what you can offer the consumer generates a brand worth that is easily understood and resides with the audience.

HP – Environmental Opportunity

Juniper Networks – New Data Center Security Solution

Reach your target.
1. Who is your target audience? What audience needs are you addressing?
2. Who are your competitors? What are they offering?
3. How are you standing out to your target audience in a competitive market?

Interact with your audience.
1. What action do you want your user to take once they get to your web site?
2. How are you navigating the user to take this action?

Communicate the right way.
1. What are your top 3 business objectives with the web site?
2. What are the top messages that you must communicate (key features and benefits as well as potential objections from your audience)?
3. How are you communicating functional benefits? How are you making an emotional connection for the long-run?
4. How are you customizing communication points by segmenting out your audiences?

Match design with brand message.
1. What is the overall style and personality that your web site should convey?
2. How does your web site use design to simplify communications (i.e. a picture is worth 1,000 words)?
3. How does your web site use design to make an emotional connection?
4. How does your web site use design to simplify information communication and create a good user experience?

Stay digitally current.
1. How does your web site integrate digital assets such as video and social media?
2. Do you have a need for multiple web sites/customized landing pages for specific use cases (i.e. newsletter landing page)?
3. Have you incorporated supplemental materials such as product PDFs?
4. Is your site optimized for search?

Prepare to repair.
1. Is your web site easy to maintain and update to keep content fresh?
2. Are you constantly testing your site to make sure design features run smoothly?
3. Does your site leverage scalable platforms (i.e. Drupal, WordPress)?

Once you conduct your own web site evaluation, contact Sparxoo Agency for a free consultation on how to elevate your web site presence and better your brand. Sparxoo Agency is a branding, digital marketing, and consumer innovation agency that focuses on web design and development to expand online presence. Take a few moments to learn more about our agency:
www.sparxoo.com

1. “It does not matter how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you get up.”
- Vince Lombardi

2. “Always remember: Goliath was a 40 point favorite over David.”
- Shug Jordan

3. “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.”
- Archie Griffin

4. “You’re never guaranteed about next year. People ask what you think of next season, you have to seize the opportunities when they’re in front of you.”
- Brett Favre

5. “The road to Easy Street goes through the sewer.”
- John Madden

6. “Pro football is like nuclear warfare. There are no winners, only survivors.”
- Frank Gifford

7. “Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.”
- Lou Holtz

8. “It’s not the will to win that matters – everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.”
- Paul “Bear” Bryant

9. “Build up your weaknesses until they become your strong points.”
- Knute Rockne

10. “Football is an honest game. It’s true to life. It’s a game about sharing. Football is a team game. So is life.”
- Joe Namath

Sparxoo Agency has a sports fanatic mentality – we cheer, clap, and fist pump for sports, media, and entertainment. That’s why we have created a Fantasy Football Team Name App that generates the coolest, edgiest, most intimidating team names around. Join the fierce squad of football fans and access our database containing thousands of original fantasy football team names.

A startup company often parallels a living entity. The business owners refer to the company as their “baby”, an endeavor that must be nurtured, cared for, and developed. In its infancy stage, Infinity is in the midst of creating a cohesive brand and defining its position in the market. Positioning your brand in the market is a key step to building a successful brand. Beyond positioning, the entrepreneurs had to tackle the challenge to virtually create a new market.

By bringing a New York City cast to Annapolis, Infinity has built a marketplace for the district. Innovation within the new market has set the stage for their growing business model.  The novelty of a NYC cast is Infinity’s value proposition and communicating this value stems from building relationships. Partnerships and sponsorships within the community have helped to make connections that promote the business in Annapolis and gain a loyal customer following. In spite of this, the company’s main challenge is overcoming a digital consumer mindset.

Digital access to media across every sector poses a test for the business owners to get residents out of the house and into the theater. The entrepreneurial duo has taken on the challenge of keeping the performing arts spirit alive. In doing so, Infinity uses fresh thinking and creative angles to differentiate their product and position their brand with productions that speak to their audience. Plays such as “My Way”, a musical tribute to Frank Sinatra, and “Little Shop of Horrors”, a household name with a distinctive edge, make Infinity’s product more attractive and get theater goers through their doors.

In the spirit of entrepreneurship, in the spirit of show business, Infinity Theatre Company is reinventing the Annapolis theater industry. Leveraging their talents to build a successful brand, the entrepreneurs have quickly learned that creating a market position, a loyal customer following, and a differentiated product in the digital world will breed a winning brand.

Making the customer feel comfortable and special are the two main drivers of in-store brand experience, reports a recent survey from the Luxury Institute. How luxury brands are meeting these customer needs is being driven by what we traditionally expect from luxury brands and also some innovative thinking.

Luxury brands are hitting their mark most of the time, according to LI’s study. Mystery shoppers report that on 94% of Burberry visits the staff made them feel comfortable; Vuitton did the same 76% of the time and Burberry and Vuitton top the rankings for making customers feel special, doing it on 52% and 42% of visits, respectively. But what tactics have luxury brands employed in 2010 to enhance the in-store experience?

Personalized Tech

One innovative way luxury brands are adding a touch of special is through mobile technology. In-store sales people can deliver better service with the aid of mobile devices, such as the iPad. “Mobile devices combine personalization efficiency and effectiveness with an unprecedented touch of caring and nurturing that are the Holy Grail of a true luxury experience,” writes Luxist in its 2011 trend report.

Multi-media devices, such as the iPad, can be used to check inventory, arrange for real-time delivery, cash-out customers, extend sales pitches, and videos to further enhance the personal brand experience. Mercedes Benz is one of the first brands to test this mobile sales service in the USA and Acura will be leveraging its iPad app to help dealership staff speed up the selling process. Audi and Puma are also using the iPad to customize the customer service experience.

Investing in Kind Human Capital

The stuffy, know-it-all, sometimes condescending sales associate is certainly a big turn-off for customers at luxury stores. LI takes example of superior customer service from the online retailer, Zappos. Taking a cue from the extremely polite, considerate and genuine customer service reps at Zappos, “putting polite, informed and well-groomed sales personnel on the floor is just the start, but done well it can be a true differentiator,” writes Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute.

Special Deals

German designer, Hugo Boss, is injecting some innovative thinking into its in-store brand experience. To get boots through the door, the brand offers special perks for those who check-in. One of the perks are discounts up to 40 percent and even special one-night events. Boss is marrying mobile technology with discounts and other perks to make its loyal customers feel special.

Putting an iPad in the hand of top-tier sales people is not the silver bullet to creating a best-in-class brand experience. It’s about managing expectations of customers. Through the years, affluent buyers expect the clean-shaven, polite sales people, but that isn’t the end-all-be-all answer either. Pleasantly surprise them with a sales associate that can show them product demos and even check them out without gracing the sales counter. Blending tradition and innovation are two ways to manage expectations and deliver a best-in-class customer experience.

We have dug through the annals of web and advertising history to find advertising blunders and successes that you can learn from.

1. Let’s talk quantum mechanics

Unless you already have die-hard brand advocates, it’s not just about you. Chances are, if you’re a local law firm, not many people are gripping to their edge of their seats waiting to see your ad. Think about going to a holiday party and spending twenty minutes talking about quantum mechanics. Crickets anyone? To appeal to your customer, understand what they enjoy and build off of it.

2. Do you like me? Circle yes or no.

Ask for permission. Seth Godin is a huge proponent of permission marketing — where brands ask instead of push. Ask your clients whether they want your monthly newsletter, don’t just send it because you can. Furthermore, allow them to opt-out. If you don’t ask for permission, you risk the chance of appearing as a spammer, not a meaningful brand.

3. “I love Whole Foods” – Anonymous CEO…

Econsultancy’s “21 ways to commit brand suicide in the 21st Century,” cites Whole Foods CEO John Mackey to illustrate deceptive marketing practices. “Over a seven year period – [Mackey] posted anonymous comments on Yahoo’s stock market forums to criticise a competitor (while calling himself ‘cute’ in the process). Funny and embarrassing in equal measure. And also deceptive: the comments prompted an SEC investigation. He was cleared, he apologised (kind of), but the damage was done.” Overinflating your brand image like Mackey can only lead to a bitter end — tarnishing your brand image and reputation along the way. Remember, next time a critic slams your brand, consider a thoughtful, genuine response, not respond as an “anonymous loyal customer.”

4. The ol’ switcheroo

Costumers don’t like the ol’ switcheroo. While brand advertising should highlight the selling points of your brand, it should not overinflate claims. How disappointing is it to go to the “most inexpensive furniture store in town” to find out prices are the exact same down the street? Or, consider Apple fans’ outrage when the developer cut $200 off the iPhone shortly after its release.

5. I’m smart your dumb. I’m big your little… Take that!

Starting “turf wars” can show customers the true maturity of the company leadership. For instance, Verizon’s battle with AT&T over maps. While turf wars try to position the competition in a negative light, it engenders ill-will — a turn off to many consumers. No one liked the bully in high school so what makes you think they will like bullying with their favorite brands? Moreover, turf wars advertise the competition. Instead of using precious, expensive advertising space for your competition, utilize that space for your brand.

6. Putting customers in epileptic shock

Standing out doesn’t mean adding a thick layer of flash, sparkle, boom, pow to your brand advertising. To stand out, create a unique environment for your customer. You can interest your target audience if you appeal to their lifestyle. For instance, EA sports created a banner advertisement that rolled into a racing game. All those users playing the game in the banner ad compete for prizes. EA’s campaign appealed to the lifestyle of their target audience while engaging them in a meaningful way.

7. What does Bob Dylan and a lingerie have in common?

While you might want a mascot or famous celebrity to advertise your brand, consider if they are right for the job. In an epic misstep, Victoria Secret signed on the weathered, old Bob Dylan as lingerie’s mouthpiece. While it might have made for a funny joke, do women buying sexy underwear want to imagine the aging Dylan? If anything, the lingerie brand created an unsettling feeling in the stomachs of its audience.

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Additional Resources:
Successfully promote and market your creative ideas with an online degree in advertising.

How is your product or service perceived in the market? If the brand and product is similar to competitors, a brand positioning and differentiation strategy can increase your customer appeal. Combine insights from customer research with a thorough competitive analysis and creative stretching to determine the optimal brand position:

Quick jump: Segmentation / Focus groups / Online survey research / Customer insights / Competitive analysis / Brand re-positioning

Competitive Analysis

Consumer research identifies audience needs states, key decision drivers and the determines if market peers are meeting the needs of your target segments and how to better meet those needs. To differentiate yourself amongst peers, examine the market through the lens of a company and brand. A company makes products and services and a brand conveys the emotional attributes of both the company and products.

Questions to answer when examining companies and products:

• Who are the top market players and what space do they occupy in your category?
• Who is their target market, and what are their products and services?
• What have been their successes to date?
• What are their competitive strengths, and how will you position your company uniquely

Questions to answer when examining brands:

• What three adjectives best describes each competitor?
• What traits are aligned with customer expectations?
• What key messages do brands convey in marketing materials? (Including website, social media, print, collateral)

Consumer Research

defines who you’re targeting, what you’re going to offer them, where you’re going to reach them, and how you’re going to sell them on your product and brand. Use demographics, such as age, household income level, and psychographics, such as hobbies and favorite brands to define target segments. To examine potential segment need states and decision drivers, our team developed a generational analysis and psychographic report.

After defining the target audience, find what drives their buying decisions. To do so, find a pool of representative customers and either perform focus group research or online survey research. can provide insight to improve products, prioritize development, and elevate communications. With the benefit of real customer feedback, your strategy and development will be much stronger. , on the other hand, is more affordable, accessible, and timely than focus groups. In fact, most online research surveys can go from setup to response to data in a week or less.

to drive your differentiation and positioning strategy. Customers will inform overall market trends and specific need states. Insights tie the two together. For instance, with the advent of iTunes and pirated music, customers no longer pay for whole CDs anymore, therefore record labels should focus more on digital music, concert sales and rights management instead of traditional profits from CDs.

Brand Differentiation and Position

A chart should illustrate what makes your brand distinct among competitors. Outline key customer needs on the x and y axises and plot competitor brands. Identify the opportunity based on customer need states and decision drivers to find the optimal brand position. Then, write a positioning statement: Our product [list benefits] for [target audience] because [name unmet need]. Finally, creatively build a brand around that position, including a distinct voice and personality to make a meaningful connection with target audiences.

Brand positioning chart:

Image by talk2frank from Stock.Xchng

Whether it’s an energy drink that makes you feel stronger or a juice container that takes shape of the fruit inside it, innovative design is about embodying the brand in a creative, yet user-friendly way.

Let them Drink Juice!

The Japanese industrial designer Naoto Fukasawa created a realistic package around the juice it contains. The juice containers so much resemble the fruit inside them that it might even trick the brain and enhance the flavor of the juice.

Energy Drink to Get Energized About

The Dumbbell Sports Drink takes the shape of a symbol of strength: the dumbbell. Although designer Jin Le might not have intended it to be used as an actual weight, the energy drink embodies the symbol of muscle.

Deck the Halls with Coca-Cola

The Coca-Cola brand represents, fun, whimsy and a child-like innocence. It’s no surprise then the soda maker shaped its packaging in the form of a fun, traditional part of Christmas: ornaments.

Idea That Grips

Part of Reebok’s selling proposition is its sneaker grip. Without it, basketball and any number of other sports would be more interesting, but a bit more dangerous. To demonstrate it’s superior grip, Reebok stuck its shoes to the top of the shoe box.

Can a Can Be Resealed?

Once you open a can of soda, you’re in it to the end. You don’t have the option to put a cap back on it. You’re essentially stuck drinking the entire 12 oz. Davis Advertising created a solution for the can-to-go by creating a seal. See the below demonstration.

Google is always optimizing its algorithm to eliminate spam and relying on signals of trust more and more to determine organic rankings. So what are strong indicators of trust on the web? Enter: brands. Consumers build a — sometimes lifelong — relationship with brands and brands can be relied upon as credible web resources. In general, brands are less likely to:

• House spam
• Malware / spyware
• Develop manipulative sites

However, not everyone has the national brand recognition of Macy’s or Walmart. SEOMoz hosted a great webinar (see here for PRO members) that outlined why brands are signals of trust and how smaller companies can build their brand for search engines. Here are several key brand signals to build credibility with Google:

• e-Commerce — Amazon, Macy’s and other major retailers have signed up for Google’s shopping platform, called Google Base. If you have an e-commerce site, Google Base is a great way to demonstrate brand legitimacy.
• Industry conferences — traditional brands might attend or sponsor industry conferences, the sites of which could point to your company site.
• Traditional advertising mediums — offline advertising can build brand awareness, which encourages more users to search for your brand name
• Industry partners — affiliating your brand with industry partners demonstrates your legitimacy within that industry
• Registered businesses (one important note here, is Google references business government registries, so appearing on the list could help legitimize your site) — all businesses must be registered with the government.
• Unique site design — a lot of spam sites have template that is replicated numerous times
• Location — not all businesses have a unique location, but is worth registering your business on Google
• Profiles — adding your brand to Manta, LinkedIn, Crunchbase and other social and business sites passes trust onto your brand

This is not to say you should neglect keywords in lieu of branding. In fact, both can work hand-in-hand. Google and other search engines associate keywords in close proximity of a brand name, with that brand. Therefore, if “Sparxoo, a digital marketing and branding agency” showed up for nearly every mention of Sparxoo, Google would associate “digital marketing” and “branding agency” with Sparxoo. In this way, branding and keyword optimization can work hand-in-hand.

A big thanks to SEOMoz for their excellent presentation on branding in the digital age. We’d encourage you to check out their site and become a PRO member to get SEO insights.

So how did we do it?

As each search category has a vastly differing search volume that has drastic ups and downs, it’s not the best measurement to determine trends. Therefore, measuring the difference between the beginning and end of a linear trend line will show you how steep the line is, or the size of the uptick of that given date range. When we applied this thinking to all of the 27 different categories in Google Search Insights, here are the results we found:

All Time

Social media is the top story for all Google searches

It’s no surprise Social Networking had the largest uptick, followed by the Internet and Food & Drink. The degree to which Social Networking surpassed its competing categories is shocking. The linear trendline slope of Social Networking is over 13x that of the number two slot, Internet. Social Networking only started to register on Google’s radar in December of 2004, and search volume blipped randomly until mid-2006, when it took off like a rocket.

Relative to the total number of searches on Google, the Social Networking category went from 17 percent in late 2005 to 42 percent at the same time the next year. Late 2007, it broke 75 percent; 200 percent in late 2008, 450 percent in late 2009; and 700 percent in 2010. The rise of social media is not surprising, or that Facebook is leading the charge, it’s the rate at which social media is surpassing other categories is astonishing.

Annually

Brands are the big drivers

When we looked at the trendline slope of all categories for each year, shopping was a big contender. Shopping had the steepest slope for 2008, 2009, 2010. This isn’t so shocking when we consider the rise in online shopping during the holiday season. What is interesting is which sub categories get the most attention. Mass Merchants & Departments stores category has the steepest slope followed by shopping portals / search engines and coupons / rebates.

(Dates: 1/2010-4/2011)

These findings build a case for the importance of branding for major retailers and their impact on search. Walmart took the number one spot, followed by Target, Sears, Costco, Bed, Bath & Beyond, and Macy’s. Also, according to an SEOMoz webinar, brands are a way for search engines to sift through the hundreds of thousands of spam sites. They lend credibility to your site, therefore, being seen more authoritatively from search engines.

What does this mean?

We can draw a correlation between social media and branding. If the two categories are top-of-mind for US internet users, combining them is ever-more attractive for companies to do business on and offline.