Brass Tacks

VideoSchmoozing with Horn Group

Evan Goldberg — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:08:32 -0700

This past Tuesday, Horn Group sponsored and managed PR for the second Broadband Video Leadership Evening of the year. The event, organized by VideoNuze editor and television industry expert Will Richmond, took place at the Hudson Theatre in Times Square.

Our client, Kyte, sponsored the event with free drink tickets to everyone at the show (I think our new employee Nate Hermes registered a few times if you know what I mean).

Will organized a great panel discussion with key executives from the broadcast, cable, syndication and technology industries, including:

Dina Kaplan, Co-founder, blip.tv
George Kliavkoff, EVP & Deputy Group Head, Hearst Entertainment & Syndication
Perkins Miller, SVP, Digital Media, GM/Universal Sports, NBCU Sports and Olympics
Matt Strauss, Matt Strauss SVP New Media, Comcast

One of the main topics the panelists discussed was whether or not advertising alone can support long-from online video content. Steve Donahue wrote a really interesting recap of the event which can be found here.

In total, the event drew nearly 250 guests including reporters from The NY Times, MediaPost, Ad Week, Contentinople, Beet.tv.

Once the panel concluded, the “Videoschmooze” reception kicked off with lots of food, drinks and networking. As usual, MediaPost’s Kelly Samardak wrote a great recap of the party in her Just An Online Minute column.

Thanks to Will Richmond for organizing a great event and for the good work by HGNY Videoshmoozer’s Nicole Matthews, Susan Turner and Shelly Beason.

Hanging at The Hangar at Altimeter Group

Susan Etlinger — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:57:30 -0700

Shannon and I spent the evening at the Altimeter Group open house last night, where Deb, Jeremiah, Ray and Charlene debuted The Hangar, a physical space intended to bring together the ecosystem of emerging technologies, thought leaders, business and service providers to innovate and bring new ideas to life.

To me, The Hangar represents something very important amid the chaos of new and old business models, digital media, brand awareness, lead gen and everything we juggle on a daily basis. It's a place for big thinking, tinkering, ideation--a place to stop and imagine what business will look like two weeks, two years or two decades from now.

[The idea of the Hangar also reminds me of a musical notation called a cesura, which refers to a pause or break in a musical piece that allows the listener to rest and absorb what's come before--particularly fitting because all the Altimeter members are musicians.]

In life, it feels impossible sometimes to stop the music and really think. But 105 years ago, it seemed like madness to hope that man could fly. So who are we to judge? Here's Charlene explaining the derivation of the name Altimeter:

Photo courtesy of Kenneth Yeung - www.thelettertwo.com

Capturing "good enough" video

Ed Garcia — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:18:22 -0700

Yesterday I did a quick workshop on how to shoot "good-enough" videos using the Flip HD Ultra. I was surprised by how well the staff took it and learned from it. Yes, my one-man IT dept. will manage the equipment and other technical aspects of our video production, but video content will be the responsibility of all. We have a plan to provide Flip video cameras to all our teams, to complement their current arsenal of laptops, smartphones, and pen and paper. As a digital communications agency, I believe that being able to capture content whenever and wherever possible is an advantage. So I gave several basic tips on using the Flip, holding techniques, basic camera angles and positioning, framing good shots, and a little bit about the "rule of thirds". I want them to capture video that would be a pleasure to view and listen to and to strive for a quality that's in between amateur and semi-pro.

So here are my tips:

Avoid camera shakes. Hold the Flip video camera with two hands, one to support it from shaking and the other to control the movement. Don't worry about looking cool shooting; worry about how your video will look. Flip sells table-top tripods that work really well. Use it when you can. Otherwise, if you know you're going to shoot two-minute interview, try to find a chair or furniture to lean on while holding the camera. Then your knees won't start shaking. Leaning against a wall will also do the trick. Remember, video with lots of camera shakes is amateurish, we want to be above that.

In a simple interview, it's best to place the subject between one or two arms length to the camera for best audio clarity. In this situation, sound is more important than the video. With the zoom in its "default wide-angle position", this should produce a pleasing close-up shot that should cover the bottom of the shoulders and the head. A little cropping on the top of the head is fine. If there's only you and the subject, then have the subject talk and look into the camera. If you have a partner doing the interview, have your partner stay an arm's length to your right or left and have the subject look into your partner's eyes when talking.

Position your subject in front of the light source if possible. If the interview is in an office without windows, anywhere in the room except directly below the harsh ceiling light. If the office is somewhat dark, any light will do or ask to hold the interview someplace else. Doing the interview outside is the last resort because it's hard to capture a good clean sound outdoors. But if the outside noise is not bad, then it might work as well.

In a simple two-minute interview, a medium close-up shot is desirable. That shot should cover the subject's head and shoulders. Try not to shoot flat straight up the wall or your clip will look like a mug shot. Instead, position yourself at an angle (keeping the same distance to the subject) to create more depth, and a more interesting background. But don't overdo the background. Remember your subject is the main focus.

The last one is about the "rule of thirds". This is a widely-adopted framing concept which virtually divides your viewfinder into three evenly-spaced horizontal and vertical sections. By putting your subject in any of the intersecting lines, it creates a very pleasing and aesthetically looking shot. For close-ups, you should put your subjects' eyes anywhere along the top horizontal line (the upper third) and the nose close to either the left or right vertical line, depending on what direction the subject is facing. If subject is facing somewhat to their right, then place the nose on the right vertical line. If subject is facing left, place the nose on the left vertical line. This is called "leading the action". You want to put more empty space to the direction of where the action is.

Ok, this is all for now. Let me know if you find this helpful and I'll write up some more.

Toughing it Out: Tips for Any Manager and CEO

sabrinahorn — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:10:55 -0700

Following is copy from an article that http://www.prweekus.com/ published earlier today.

No doubt the first six months of 2009 were some of the toughest times that many of us have ever faced. Layoffs, salary cuts, lost revenue, delinquent clients, cash flow issues, cancelled projects...the list goes on. And if managing your business in a recession or recovery isn’t challenging enough, the very fundamentals of our industry are changing.

So how can you keep it together from a management standpoint? There is no time like this very moment for every leader, from departmental manager to CEO, to show strength. Here are a few tips on how the leaders in your company can muddle through.

1. It doesn’t have to be “lonely at the top”. It’s vital to have someone you can talk to and seek advice from. It’s important to find a mentor outside your company that can be a sounding board, who’s been there before. In addition to potentially useful or creative advice, it’s a relief to be able to talk about your concerns with someone who “gets it.” Reach out to a small and trusted group of advisors for support.

2. Don’t share your fears with staff. It won’t do them, or you, any good. Good leaders present their fears as challenges within their own executive staff and brainstorm potential solutions or approaches; then invite larger groups to pitch in their ideas and thoughts. Soon you’ll have a plan of action and a strategy.

3. But over-communicate and be transparent. Effective leaders are very repetitive. Talk about your plan through multiple channels several times (in person in team meetings, email, on video, in blog posts). When people don’t hear from you they will come to their own conclusions. Give frequent updates on progress, even if there isn’t an update, and explain why.

4. Planning is critical. When facing an uncertain business environment even a monthly or a weekly plan provides you and your team with a sense of order and stability amidst chaos.

5. Be realistic. If you don’t have the answer to a question, say you don’t know. Take everyone’s ideas and get back to them. Provide everyone with a sense of reality and what you require from your team. Let them know what it’s going to take, and that you are in it with them.

6. Make sure to maintain some semblance of a balanced life. Pursue hobbies, go out with friends, entertain, exercise, get a massage — your personal outlets are so important to keeping professional perspective.

7. Trust your instincts. If there’s something you think might become a problem, listen to your gut and pay attention. No one will call you a fool for surfacing something that may or may not be the next hurdle you have to face.

Sabrina

Horn Group Clients Kick off Advertising Week

Kimberly Dixon — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:55:27 -0700

Advertising Week starts today and we'd like to give a shout out to a few of our clients who are participating in panels at various industry events this week. Our clients are truly thought leaders and it's because of their vision that the online advertising industry continues to move forward.

Good luck and have a great week!

To kick things off: a panel of experts from Havas, Six Apart, Starcom MediaVest, and Tribune will join Adify at the IAB MIXX Conference today to discuss 2010 media planning and understanding how and where to engage users in a fragmenting media landscape.

IAB MIXX Conference and Expo 2009 - Roadmap to Advertising Engagement: Content, Video, Social and the Mid-Tail
Monday, September 21, 12:15 - 1:00 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Room 510, 5th floor
Panelists: Bernie Albers, Six Apart; Rob Griffin, Media Contacts (Havas); Jonathan Halvorson, Starcom MediaVest Group; Tom Hespos, Underscore Marketing; Joelle Gropper Kaufman, Adify; Steve Tippie, Tribune Media Services.

Buddy Media CEO Michael Lazerow (@lazerow) takes the stage at OMMA Global today in a discussion surrounding the fate of social media paid advertising.

OMMA Global – Marketers Ask - Is Paid Advertising in Social Media Dead?
Monday, September 21st at 4:00 PM at the New York Marriott Marquis, Alvin/Carnegie room (5th floor)

Moderator: Emily Riley, Senior Analyst, Forrester Research
Panelists: Michael Lazerow, CEO, Buddy Media; Jeff Flemings, SVP, Global Head, Social, VivaKi; Augustine Fou, Group Chief Digital Officer, Omnicom Healthcare Consultancy Group; Darren Herman, Head of Digital Media, The Media Kitchen; Rick Murray, EVP, Edelman

Also at OMMA Global today, Zephrin Lasker, CEO of Pontiflex and Media6Degrees will participate in the panel, “Transforming Social Media Connections into Qualified Leads.” Zephrin (@pontiflex) will add his lead gen expertise to this discussion on how to incorporate social media into direct marketing tactics.

OMMA Global - Transforming Social Media Connections into Qualified Leads
Monday, September 21 at 4:30 PM at the New York Marriott Marquis, Broadhurst Room
Moderator: David Honig, Advisor and Co-founder, Media6degrees, Inc.
Panelists: Brian Halligan, CEO and Co-Founder, HubSpot; Zephrin Lasker, Founder & CEO, Pontiflex, Inc.; Mark Moran, Founder & CEO, findingDulcinea

Tomorrow at OMMA Global, Andrew Pancer (@apancer), Founder and COO of Media6Degrees, will partake in a panel discussion around how to take advantage of retargeting for search campaigns.

OMMA Global - Leveraging the Power of Search Retargeting for Marketing Plans
Tuesday, September 22 at 12:00pm at the New York Marriott Marquis, Alvin/Carnegie room (5th floor)
Moderator: Dan Kashman, SVP, Business Development, Reprise Media
Panelists: Andrew Pancer, Founder and COO, Media6 Degrees; Dax Hamman, VP, Display Media, iCrossing; Ben Seslija, Senior Director, Acquisition and Analytics, Clickable; Mitch Spolan, VP, North American Field Sales, Yahoo! Inc.; Zena Weist, Senior Manager, Interactive Brand, EMBARQ

Finally, Joe Doran (@doran_joe), Founder and CEO of Media6Degrees will represent Advertising Week from in the bay area on Tuesday as he lends his expertise of social data at the Social Media Strategies Conference in San Francisco.

Social Media Strategies - How To: Use Social Media Data
Tuesday, September 22 from 12:05 – 12:50 PM PST
Moderator: Bill Stephenson, VP, Advertiser Solutions, Nielsen BuzzMetrics
Panelists: Joe Doran, Founder & CEO, Media6Degrees; Chris Cunningham, Founder & CEO, appsavvy; Adam Lavelle, Chief Strategy Officer, iCrossing