Five days stranded on a yacht was starting to take it’s toll. The Captain locked himself away in his cabin with the remaining rum supplies. The New Zealand girl took to parading naked on the deck teasing and taunting the soldiers on shore with provocative yoga moves. The Polish girl obsessively sharpened her pen knife and quietly sung Polish hymns. And I found my inner Nazi, shaving my moustache Hitler style.

Music (with permission) – The dirt surfers – Theme from Gilligan’s island http://www.youtube.com/user/dirtkahuna?feature=watch

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The ongoing saga of being beached off the Cuban Coast. The hapless crew sit helpless, aware local fishing boats will have their boats confiscated by the government, if they attempt to pull our yacht off the sand. On the nearby beach, soldiers watch our movements twenty four hours a day. Using infra red, Mark films during the night, showing how the constant barrage of waves makes sleep impossible. The endless days, held prisoner on the ocean, has lead to some strange behaviour amongst the crew. Mark has removed his beard and shaved his moustache in the style of Hitler! He is hoping this is something the Cuban officials can relate too!

What happens next? Do the crew decide to eat the vegetarian New Zealander? Does the Captain commandeer the remaining rum. Stay tuned for the next episode!

Music (with permission) – The dirt surfers – Theme from Gilligan’s island

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Unfortunately, my attempt at humour bombed! The video has received only a handful of views.

Having this video fail made me think about online video marketing strategies for business.

I think there is too much emphasis on a video ‘going viral’ and business should instead concentrate on establishing an ongoing dialogue with their customers with videos that provide customers with straight forward honest information about their products.

Most business don’t have the large marketing budgets of multinationals and would be surprised to know that a lot of marketing videos that do go viral, get a large helping hand by unscrupulous methods such as purchased views.

I think a better strategy for business is to not rely on the success of just one video, but instead, to make a series of videos informing customers about such things as new products and upcoming events.

One company that is doing things well with video is Caribee. They make luggage and camping accessories.

I use Caribee backpacks and did a product review of their wheeled backpack while I was travelling. The video has done well and it is great to see that Caribee have started doing their own ‘in house’ videos.

I spoke with Managing Director Matthew Seve about Caribee’s online video marketing strategy.

1) Have you had an increase in sales due to your video marketing?

We haven’t noticed much change yet, but we are certainly getting a lot of positive feedback from our customers/retailers saying that it is helpful with sales and the consumer education of Caribee products. This is especially so with the online retailers, who say that the products with videos definitely sell better. (this still relies heavily on the brand/product though – as a crap product will still be crap no matter what you do to sell it.)

2) What made you decide to produce your own videos?

The increased amount of product reviews showing up on line for all types of products made us feel we need to put forward an official version highlighting the facts, before a backyard review gets posted claiming the product is made from something that it is not, does something it can’t, etc. We also feel it gives a starting point for independent reviews, once consumers see the manufactures “base line” claims and features., they can them make their own judgment.

3) How did you go about making your own videos, did you do it in house or did you hire production staff?

All in house – you will notice that we have played around with the back grounds, lighting and sound etc. There are quite a number of different quality levels, but we now feel we are getting to a level that is acceptable to be shown as “official”. Sound quality was the biggest struggle for us.

4) Do you view the exercise as a marketing success? Will you continue making videos?

Whilst we have no data on whether this is a success, online is not going away, and we feel that we need to keep advancing with the way people research their products. These product reviews will receive more focus from us as the year progresses.

Caribee are not after a one off ‘viral’ video hit! Their aim is to provide clear and concise information about their products. They are aware that over time, their catalogue of online videos will help position them as an innovator in their industry.

They provide a great example to business of how to use video to help promote products.

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Recently I sailed from Mexico (Isla Mujeres) to Cuba. While on the south coast our yacht got beached near the entrance of Laguna de Cortez. The video tells the story of what happened next.

Music: The Dirt Surfers – Theme from Gilligan’s Island http://www.youtube.com/user/dirtkahuna?feature=watch

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I met Alex at a Havana Pizza place. He spoke English and was keen to practise with me. I interviewed him about the realities of life in Cuba. We talk about the food shortages, the low wages and the fact that many Cuban’s have family members they have not seen for decades, living in America.

The video features shots around Havana, capturing street life, the majestic historic buildings and the ancient American cars from the 40′s and 50′s

Music – Kevin MacLeod – Laid Back Guitars

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I’m back in Australia and take you for a tour of one of my favourite places to visit near Ararat, Victoria, the town I grew up in. Mt. Langi Ghiran features Aboriginal art work and gives hikers the chance to spot Australian wildlife like kangaroos, wallabies, wedge-tail eagles and deadly snakes.

Travel is like love, mostly because it’s a heightened state of awareness,
in which we are mindful, receptive, undimmed by familiarity and ready to be transformed.
That is why the best trips, like the best love affairs, never really end.
- Pico Iyer

Music: Josh Woodward ‘Together on our own’ Royalty Free, CC – Some rights reserved

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Proving once and for all that white man can dance! On a recent visit to Havana, I was taught by local Yamilet how to dance Cuban style.

Compared to the repressive ‘Victorian era’ no touch style of Australia I found cuban style liberating, giving me a new appreciation for dancing.

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After 639 days on the Road I am heading back to Australia. Unfortunately my father hasn’t done so well after a major operation, so I have decided to return home.
So after all this time on the road I discuss what I have learnt and give tips for anyone wishing to do the same. I also do two things in this video I would normally never do; I introduce a women I met in Havana and call out someone who made a comment on one of my videos. This is the last bit of filming I did in Havana.

Music: Will Magid – Cuban Swing

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We have been staying at Bahia Tortuga on Isla Mujeres off the Mexican Caribbean Coast. Bahia Tortuga has a great bar, which has music most nights of the week, a restaurant serving American and Mexican Food, Accommodation and Mooring for yachts. Hosts Danny and Rhonda, both from southern USA helped us plan our trip to Cuba and we have had many a fun night at their rocking bar.

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I had read a lot about the Camino being a spiritual experience, and I wanted to try and capture on film my own reactions as I walked the way.

I find watching the film a little difficult, I feel a little embarrassed at just how earnest and honest I was trying to be. But the reaction from viewers has been amazing. Still, all these years later, people contact me thanking me for documenting my journey.

I have a little facebook page for the film. Despite not really doing anything with this page, it just keeps getting bigger and bigger, reaching close to 1,000 people.

So I’ve decided to release the whole film, in it’s entirety on youtube. I will have ads running in the video and encourage you to explore these ads, any income for a independent filmmaker is handy, and will help me continue my current journey of trying to film the whole world.

Feel free to comment and like the video. I’m always happy to hear how my little film helped encourage people to do the Camino themselves. It is an amazing journey, a one of a kind experience. Enjoy!

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