Agtel News Blog

Agtel Hosts HSE Workshop on In-house Video Making

Tue, 29 May 2012 04:15:45 PDT

Producing your own videos? Want to save time, produce better results and become the next Spielberg?! Our latest offering here in Agtel is training in video shooting techniques for organisations that are bringing video production in-house.   Focusing on the soft skills needed to make sure shoots go smoothly and senior interviewees and stakeholders come across well on camera, in this workshop-style training course my colleagues and I share the tips and tricks we’ve learned the hard way over the years.  We recently had a great day with the HSE communications team, and here’s what Fidelma Browne, Head of Public Communications at the HSE had to say about the training session: "Agtel have worked on a range of film productions for the HSE, and recently delivered a one-day training course in video production for our Communications team. We have been building our capacity to capture simple video content in-house; highlighting services that the HSE provides, outlining new initiatives and developing good quality home-grown content for our website. Agtel worked with our team to improve our production skills, relaying a range of practical skills and tips on all aspects of planning, production, publishing and evaluating video content."   The HSE have had immediate results too with footage they’ve filmed themselves being picked up and broadcast by RTÉ News - and more measurable results are in the pipeline. Covering everything from Pre-Production to Production to Editing as well as Delivery and Evaluation, Agtel training seminar participants are given practical experience and re-usable templates that help speed up the whole video making process. While we can’t quite promise Hollywood, we can promise your team will come away with renewed confidence and lots of great ideas!  What’s been your experience of producing video in-house for your organisation? Get in touch to let me know, or contact me to find out more about this training and how it can help your business and organisation.  Diarmaid Mac Mathúna, Head of Client Services Twitter: @agtel_diarmaid Email: diarmaid.mac@agtel.ie Ph: +353 (0) 17088154

Facebook: A Platform to Build Successful Businesses

Tue, 22 May 2012 02:02:42 PDT

No one can underestimate how valuable social media and in particular Facebook is to new and existing businesses. What was once a choice is fast becoming a necessity for companies, especially considering 92% of top global brands are active on Facebook. This is why it is vital for businesses to keep up with this ever-changing social platform in a variety of ways, including attending seminars or webinars to learn from the experts. I recently went along to a seminar provided by the Dublin Business Innovation Centre titled ‘Facebook: Platform to Build Successful Businesses. In this context ‘platform’ is an apt word for Facebook- at its most basic it provides a raised stage of potential for businesses through enabling access to local or global markets and through its reach possibilities of half a billion daily users. Ciaran Quilty, Head of Gaming & CEEMA at Facebook, however was quick to point out the simplicity at the core of Facebook. He said Facebook is a ‘great storytelling engine’ primarily about people and their stories, experiences and conversations. But why are these stories so important for business? Well according to Ciaran, our Facebook friends shape our experiences and inform our decisions as we are invariably interested in what peers, family and friends do, and we are 92% more likely to trust stories and recommendations from family and friends as opposed to companies and four times more likely to purchase if we see an ad associated with a friend’s name. Declan Kennedy from Betapond who also spoke at the event reiterated this simplicity but added Facebook then enables businesses to link this social world with the real world, to link the consumer with the product through technology including smartphones, apps and digital signage. So you have your Facebook business page or app developed but what next? How do you engage with users? A key point raised at the seminar was content authenticity. Charles Dowd, Developer Support Manager at Facebook said your strategy should be organic, real and authentic. It has to be as good as real user content. He said- ‘don’t shout at users, instead open a conversation. Think carefully about what content you display and how you display it because if your ads and content aren’t authentic you won’t sustain growth’. Technology is moving fast, it is constantly innovating and surprising. However, what is important to people stays the same. We need to focus on the fundamentals and stay interesting and relevant while keeping up with technology, finding creative and innovative ways to integrate the real world into the social. At Agtel this is at the core of the services we provide. This notion of combining innovation and technology with what is fundamentally important to us as people permeates everything we do. We are using Facebook to great effect for our HSA ‘Survivor Stories’ farm safety campaign. It is providing a superb platform for the videos to be watched and shared, dialogue on farm safety to be opened and users to interact with each other and the campaign. Since the campaign was launched in March the dedicated Facebook page has received over 500 likes, and 34,000 YouTube video views have been generated, with many of these views being attributed to the share and reach potential Facebook offers. At Agtel, we take the approach that if your content is authentic Facebook offers visibility and in turn, possibility. What are your experiences of using Facebook for your business? Is it working for you? Get in touch and let us know. Cynthia Bifolchi, Project Coordinator cynthia.b@agtel.ie @agtel_cynthia Ph: 01-7088185

Online Video Security: Top Three Tips

Wed, 16 May 2012 01:19:44 PDT

Online video security is important to many of our clients - particularly in the financial services sector. So we thought we’d outline the top three measures we use to show how we can help prevent your video content being compromised. The caveat here though is that while some of these measures make it more difficult to stop people downloading your content, once it’s viewable on a PC there’s nothing to stop the video being screen captured or even filmed using another video camera! Someone could even develop a tool that will circumvent these security measures at a later date. But most of these measures work with both Flash and iOS delivery and are a good first line of defence. Downloading vs Streaming There’s a useful distinction to make between progressively downloading content and streaming. The former involves the file being downloaded into the user’s cache as the video is playing, while the latter means just playing parts of the video and leaving nothing on the end user’s machine - which is far more secure. The stream can then be encrypted adding an extra layer of security. Domain Control An additional feature is domain control which lets you specify the web addresses your video can be played from or embedded on. Also, the link to the video file itself (if someone has dug deep enough to find it) can be given a limited time before the link expires rendering it useless after that time. Watermarking Much less technical but often very effective is applying a watermark such as your logo to your video so at least you have some proof of ownership over the video content (as well as receiving some credit). These are the top three ways we use here at Agtel to help ensure our online videos for clients stay secure. Do you use other techniques? What’s been your experience of online video security? Get in touch and let us know. Alan Dargan, Digital Producer tw: @agtel_alan: alan.d@agtel.ie, p: +353 (0)1 7088151

Bernard Dunne’s Bród Club Sets the Standard in Social Media

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 08:00:32 PDT

Social media is rapidly changing how audiences engage with television and online video. Audiences are sharing what they are watching on social networking sites, blogs and websites on an array of digital devices, before, during and after transmission. Due to the volume and accessibility of platforms available, not only are people sharing, they are also commenting, reviewing, recommending and criticising. This means audiences using social media platforms are important influencers and valuable providers of feedback, and therefore cannot be underestimated as powerful drivers of tune-in and engagement. Our own Bernard Dunne’s Bród Club for RTÉ is an example of a programme that is harnessing these platforms to great effect. The show asks us to ‘use what we have’ and with this in mind aims to reach a target of 100,000 Irish language supporters. However, it is not simply a television show; it is a campaign which uses the mediums of television, the web and social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to build awareness, supporters and audiences. This is achieved by creating a community through integrating a vibrant social media campaign with the weekly show. The Bród Club understands the importance of a sense of community in driving social media engagement: it uses its Facebook and Twitter page to involve audiences and keep them up to date every step of the way, and also offers a ‘reward’ element to signed up members of the Bród Club, giving them special extra features like Irish resources, behind the scenes footage, updates on nationwide events and more. Bród’s approach is inclusive and positive and affirms a well thought out social media campaign is crucial in garnering support and popularity from audiences. At Agtel we have employed these social media approaches for a host of other projects too, most recently the HSA Survivor Stories campaign. Here we used Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, mailing lists and forums to open a far-reaching dialogue about farm safety in Ireland, gaining audiences and supporters, and raising awareness. More details on the HSA campaign can be viewed here. Cynthia Bifolchi Tw:twitter.com/#!/agtel_cynthia Email: cynthia.b@agtel.ie

Insight from the BVE 2012 event

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 03:10:46 PDT

Now that the dust has settled after the annual Broadcast Video Expo in London it’s worth reflecting on the event. Not only is it useful to see where things are heading it’s also worthwhile getting a sense of where we are. While BVE functions as a trade show it also hosts seminars ranging from nuts and bolts stuff like tapeless workflow and storage to video deployment and propagation - basically how to get your video out there and seen. Two seminars that I thought would be of interest to our clients are summarised here: Social TV Scott Hill of Norwegian based company never.no opened his presentation on Social TV with a quick (whiteboard) lesson in Social Media : He went on to cite the Hill Holiday experiment in which several families unhooked their cable TV for a week and only used so called Internet TV devices such as Boxee, Apple TV or games consoles like the XBox or PlayStation. Surely the wealth of content available from the likes of Netflix, iTunes, Amazon etc. negates the necessity for conventional TV? The results are surprising and can be seen in this video here: http://vimeo.com/19300498 What’s interesting is that despite the claims that these devices are a ‘cable replacement’ the overall experience is that they lack the seamlessness of the TV experience. As the Hill Holiday blog notes - ‘One finding that is probably obvious in retrospect is that TV is invisible until it’s shut off…The devices demand a lean-forward involvement with what has been traditionally considered a lean-back medium, and this requirement proved disconcerting to many when it lasted longer than the usual bursts of involvement with their DVRs or video-on-demand channels.’ This experience is obvious for anyone who has used Boxee or iTunes on their TV - slow or non-response downloads, application crashes, content restrictions can all add up to a frustrating experience when set beside the consistent and sheer dependability of the TV experience as it is now. Nevertheless the TV experience is changing and it will be interesting to see how TV companies can adapt and leverage new mediums to enhance the viewing experience. One novel example of how this was attempted was the Grey’s Anatomy iPad app that synced with audio from the episode to offer additional content at particular points. If anything it’s an incredible proof of concept of what can be achieved, however according to Scott it’s an example of how not to do it. The function of Social TV should be to complement the viewing experience rather than distract you from it. The Million Pound Drop website was cited as a successful application of this. Our TV colleagues in our sister company Independent Pictures are currently working on the cross platform ‘Bernard Dunne’s Bród Club’ for RTÉ that has a significant social dimension to promote the Irish language. We’re also running a farm safety campaign for the HSA. Video Delivery Things have changed in terms of video delivery on the web, where once Flash was the preferred delivery method, Apple’s standing in the market has meant that something pretty unthinkable has happened - a vendor has refused to co-opt a widely used web technology and the web has adapted. As such while ‘Flash first’ is still the preferred mode of deploying web video a HTML5 fallback is imperative. Neil Hollingum of Perpetual Solutions gave a talk on what it means when Flash is removed from the equation and we get into the business of what browser supports what codec - hint: it’s far from consistent. While most video platforms (the YouTubes, Vimeos and Brightcoves) will do the heavy lifting for you if you it’s preferable not to have to wait until they catch up with your requirements. If you want to deliver something customised it’s often best to know your stuff (or even better get someone to do it for you) . That’s where we like to think we come in! Interested in talking more about these trends? Get in touch - my contact details are Alan Dargan, Digital Producer tw: @agtel_alan: alan.d@agtel.ie, p: +353 (0)1 7088151

Just launched: Online video campaign for farm safety

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 07:03:29 PST

We’ve just launched our hard-hitting online video campaign for the Health & Safety Authority aimed at reducing farm accidents. Survivor Stories features interviews with farmers who have experienced life changing accidents and the loss of a family member on their farms.The social media led video campaign includes a dedicated Facebook page, targeted microsite and campaign YouTube channel as well as targeted online ads on popular sites for Irish farmers like donedeal.ie. Senior HSA inspector Pat Griffin says the campaign is an important step towards reducing farm accidents: “In recent years in Ireland a farmer has died every two weeks due to a work related accident. Through this awareness raising and action provoking campaign, we hope to help turn the tide and encourage farmers to take some simple steps towards making their farms safer. Agtel’s experience in working with the farming community has been invaluable to this project and their expertise in online video and social media will enable us to reach out to this audience in an exciting new way.” A results-focused campaign, a call to action urges farmers to take practical steps after watching the videos – including filling out an online risk assessment and registering for a safety-training course. The documentary style short films are also being distributed nationwide on DVD to be used at face to face educational courses and local agricultural events such as IFA meetings. We’re positive they’ll have a big impact on the ground. Watch the films here: www.hsa.ie/farmaccidents

Measurement.ie Social Media Conference

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 09:46:36 PST

So I’m back on home soil and the measurement.ie conference couldn’t be a better introduction to what’s going on in Ireland in the lightning-fast moving world of social media. The idea behind the conference was to focus on social media ‘measurement’ – the why, as well as the how to. Topics covered ranged from how to convince senior leadership that social media is a worthwhile investment to getting useful information from all the analytics data that’s generated. Here’s my personal round of up some of the most interesting bits from the day… Were you at the event too? Did you take home different points? If you did then post a comment about it! Convincing your boss or measuring the value of social media Gina Bowes (@ginabo) is Social Strategist with Glanbia (and previously at Eircom/Meteor) and she has tonnes of experience helping big organisations move into the social media world. Her presentation showed how she’s approached lots of the tricky bits from convincing the CEO to implenting good practice and justifying investment. Some of her key points included: · Define a mission statement for your social media strategy and get everyone on board (all the key players) · Social media should be built into your overall company strategy · Invest in social media listening and evaluation tools, things like Lithium Gina’s presentation is available on slideshare here. Video as rich social media content Stephen Jio (@ stephenjatdell) from Dell gave a presentation that made a lof of marketers in the room green with envy – particularly his photo of Dell’s global social media listening headquarters…wall to wall screens and state of the art software! Dell have been using social media since the dawn of Facebook et al and are considered to be market leaders in this space. He had some interesting things to say about video (a subject close my heart, of course): · Rich media like video gets shared through social media and can have a big impact. Dell has found video particularly effective for product launches. · Measuring click throughs from things like viral videos enables evaluation of your marketing channels like never before Optimising your social media channels Got the Facebook account, Twitter feed and YouTube channel set up? Great… Job done? Nope. Not according to Dena Walker (@curlydena) anyway. She’s Head of Digital at Irish International and her presentation focused on moving beyond a “tick list” approach to social media towards a deeper understanding of the value of a social media “fan” to your business: · You don’t have to have a massive social media budget she says – look at what Dublin restaurant Crackbird have done to market their business using Twitter · Don’t just measure “likes” or “followers” – look at the influence of your fans, are they likely to advocate on behalf of your brand? Is there affection/aversion to your brand? Later on, Mat Morrison (@mediaczar) who’s Head of Social Media at Starcom Mediavest Group built on Dena Walker’s talk with a more detailed look at business Facebook pages: · A business or organisation Facebook page isn’t your microsite or your forum – it’s more like an e-mail list, he says. It’s a hierarchical communication structure, not a “community”. Treat it like one and optimise your news feed. · Photos make a brilliant content piece and get lots of engagement on Facebook. · Build the Facebook platform into your website So they’re the main points I took away from the day. As you’ve seen, the focus was very much Facebook and Twitter. In future conferences, I would love to see more about social media’s link with video. Particularly things like viral video analytics, YouTube as a social platform and the rich “fan” engagement video that enables via Facebook and Twitter. And while I’m on the subject… how about looking at how social media enhances viewer experiences in general and the related TV and Film brand opportunities? For more on the event (not to mention lots more great articles on social media) see The Sociable Sarah Sheeran - Producer/Director tw: @agtel_sarah e: sarah.s@agtel.ie p: +353 0(1) 7088154

Social media & video campaign expert joins Agtel team

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 05:32:43 PST

I’m delighted to welcome Sarah Sheeran to the Agtel team. Sarah joins us from a UK viral video agency, and brings expertise in creating results-focused social media and video campaigns - as well as broad experience producing and directing video for top UK clients. We’re working on more and more video-powered social media campaigns for businesses and organisations these days. So Sarah’s track record of producing viral videos that have been watched by millions of people will help us create even more high impact online videos for our clients. And as an added bonus you can look forward to Sarah sharing her insights into developments in this fast-paced area on this blog. You can even follow her now on Twitter at @agtel_sarah if you’d like! - Diarmaid Diarmaid Mac Mathúna, Head of Client Services tw: @agtel_diarmaid, e: diarmaid.m@agtel.ie, p: +353 (0)1 7088154

Horizon 2020 and what it means for your business

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 05:01:00 PST

I’m just back from the launch event for the European science and innovation funding programme Horizon 2020. I was live tweeting from the event with hashtag #h2020, and here are some of the key take home messages relevant to SMEs like Agtel in Ireland and across Europe: Barbara Nolan, Head of Euorpean Commission Representation in Ireland says the programme is "not just for researchers" SMEs have been "mainstreamed" in this latest programme (which will follow on from FP7) Horizon 2020 "simplifies the whole landscape" says Alan Cross, DG RTD and it will help SMEs "make that leap" from lab to market It will have a new initiative to enable SMEs to apply for funding by themselves Horizon 2020 will offer new "inducement prizes" like X-prize as well Date for the diary: first Horizon 2020 calls out on 1/1/2014! But last FP7 call next year will pilot Horizon 2020 proposal style Irish presidency in 2013 could play decisive role in final adoption of Horizon 2020 says Barbara Nolan Some of the biggest changes are practical and Prof Yuri Volkov, TCD says he’s glad "timesheets are gone!" Cellix’s Vivienne Williams giving the SME perspective says her company is "R&D top heavy" Last FP7 call will probably "coincide with ESOF in Dublin" in July 2012 says Alan Cross They’re the main points for SMEs, and the Forfás event next week will be next relevant Irish event. Science communication is key to the success of many of the Horizon 2020 initiatives, and we’re looking forward to seeing the programme roll out. - Diarmaid (diarmaid.mac@agtel.ie)

Irish Times splash for organic gardening DVD

Thu, 26 May 2011 04:53:24 PDT

It’s great to see a whole page in today’s Irish Times devoted to Bord Bia’s organic gardening initiative and the DVD we produced for them. Aimed at primary schools, the Organic Gardening DVD equips primary school teachers and pupils with the knowledge and ability to build, develop and maintain an organic garden within existing school grounds. Using an engaging style inspired by our TV work, this educational DVD can be watched straight through or in a modular approach, allowing teachers maximum flexibility. There are even DVD extras with videos and information on basic growing techniques and top tips for teachers. We’re delighted that this inspirational DVD has captured both the energy and reality associated with organic gardening - and that the gardens are still going strong! If you’re interested in creating an educational DVD or educational video yourself then get in touch with us here at Agtel and give us a call on 01 7088100. The Organic Gardeing DVD itself is available directly from Bord Bia - click here for more details.