Get Shorty and other industry killers..

As you will know, one of those feted ad creative people made a statement at the recent Ad Week that the 30 second commercial is dead. It's either long (3 min + ) or very short.. i.e. 5 or 6 seconds. 

When one of my after-first-glass-of-wine Twitter posts suggested that ad land had been seriously compromised by Twitter and YouTube, the response from one of my many followers was that this man was a genius of the branded communication, in touch with the nation's psyche and he is the Pied Piper to who's tune we all follow. 

Well fawning advertising dreamer, Twitter's new video service, called Vine, allows anyone to put a 6 second film on their feed to their users. Therefore, instead of ad-land's £100k+, it costs about 10p (that's time of the employee paid to film it).

YouTube and its 5 second "turn this ad off' badge is the other industry killer. Giving people the opportunity to switch off an ad after 5 seconds will hurt for a number of reasons; it shows the client the value users put to advertising; they can't set the scene any more; the process of making online ads is so much easier and therefore a margin killer; they might have to make 5 second films packed full of 'buy this' type messages and the creative process may well just shrivel up and die.

So, as a service to our friends in ad-land (not many admittedly), here's some help for your new 5 second films...  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saqO_ZqX6uY

jon@thepeloton.tv

www.thepeloton.tv

The Only Way is Baghdad

Followers of ThePeloton.tv blog know that part of our operation is to train organisations to do broadcast. Adrian heads this up and very well he does it too. As well as working for press and PR organisations in the UK, his work has taken him to Saudi Arabia and most recently Northern Iraq. 

Working for a Kurdish news network called Rudaw, Adrian has been training and consulting with their management, journalists and presenters to get them ready for launch later this year.

It seems that Adrian is so popular and regarded there that he starred on a channel advertising billboard. Yes starred… flanked by the show presenters. Match that Beeb!

If you're planning a launch, get in touch, contact us via our website. Alternatively, we're selling signed photos of Adrian - £2.50, cheques payable to A Smith. 

jon@thepeloton.tv

www.thepeloton.tv

YouTube: the new TV Commissioners.

You heard it here first..honest, guv. At the beginning of the year we predicted that YouTube would start becoming a more powerful player in British media. That prediction is rapidly becoming a reality.

YT (as we know it) recently announced that it now gains a billion unique viewers every month. This phenomenal surge has been powered to new heights by multiscreen viewing habits. It’s also changing its business model and moving from being an aggregator to becoming a content commissioner.

In Europe, YT has already launched 46 new channels with comedy, food and sport central to its plans. And this change to the broadcast landscape is great news for independent online video producers (such as us lucky folk). 

ThePeloton is filming the YT star KSI touring around the grounds of English Premier League teams talking (rather loudly) to supporters, getting their opinions (winding them up) and finding the game’s biggest rivals (Norwich vs Ipswich anybody?). KSI has already got over a million subscribers to his own YT channel, so he must be doing something right!

http://www.youtube.com/user/KSIOlajidebt

ThePeloton’s films will be posted regularly on the YT channel, Slash Football. Take a look.

http://www.youtube.com/user/football

And here’s a taste of what to expect from ThePeloton, KSI and Slash Football over the coming year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaZbQ7G4hJo

Next stop on our road trip..Old Trafford.

It’s footy, it’s fun, it’s ThePeloton...what’s not to like?

adrian@thepeloton.tv

www.thepeloton.tv

Green shoots of Recovery for Publishers

There seems to be a lot of conferences about at the moment. I wonder how many people actually do any work. We are no different in not doing any work due to attending an astounding number of conferences. But at least we know a lot.

This week saw Briefing Media's Digital Strategies conference. It was for media companies looking to do things better digitally. Blog followers will know that we have been interested in this for some time. We believe that media companies offer a stamp of independence and just as importantly an audience that no-one else can match. And, when brands realise that, much fun can be had with branded content.

Usually, I come away from these a little depressed in that media companies don't know the opportunity in front of them. I am not saying that this was full of optimism and that delegates were their old, dare-I-say, arrogant selves. But, like an addict, they are coming back from rock bottom taking it a day at a time.

Publishers of old used to work on enormous margins. That these have gone down so dramatically is what has hurt the most. It seems that the organisations that have been the most willing to accept that and move on, rather than maintain their 'old World' products, are looking like the victors here.

So companies like Future, Immediate Media, the FT and The Economist have some really great ideas and people that they are willing to invest in. Guess what, it seems that investment works.

They are winning over their advertisers too. Large and niche publishers had great examples of creating strong content sponsored by clients and not lead by them. This wins them big fees, which in turn can get invested in products which in turn brings in more readers.

Undoubtedly things will continue to change and move quickly and who can guess what's going to happen in 5 years. Certainly not me and pretty sure none of the delegates.

jon@thepeloton.tv
www.thepeloton.tv


 

Shoppable Video: Where Commerce meets Content.

They beat us to it. By ‘they’ I mean the digital agency group Syzygy. By ‘it’ I mean defining 2013 as the year of the shoppable video. 

With brands such as Gucci, ASOS and Juicy Couture dipping their toes into the click-to-buy market in 2012, Syzygy claims this is the year when shoppable video takes off and interactive technology goes mainstream, especially when the content is strong. A great example is ASOS’s Best Night Ever campaign which features stars such as Azealia Banks and Ellie Goulding. You can shop their ‘look’ whilst watching their music videos.

http://www.asos.com/Best-Night-Ever/Azealia/Cat/pgehtml.aspx?cid=16480&WT.ac=BNE|taaz|PNv|azealia

Another successful example that showcases the ability to shop whilst you watch is The Guardian’s recent make-up video.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/fashion/interactive/2012/dec/07/sali-hughes-beauty-tips-party-nails?INTCMP=SRCH

Us wise and nattily attired folk over at ThePeloton have seen a few trends come and go and we’re not about to predict the demise of plain old vanilla video (as long as it’s got a flake in it). But we do think that interactive video offers up a tantalising glimpse of the future. And that it may just be the sweet spot where commerce meets and merges with content. That’s why we’ve spent time, effort and investment creating our own interactive solution that goes way beyond click-to-buy. 

If you’d like to see it in action, then you can pop over to our site...

http://www.thepeloton.tv/interactive.html

...or swing by and see us at this year’s TFM&A show over at Earls Court 2 on 26/27th February, stand H4. We’ll be showing off our clickable, swipeable, touchable, shareable..and, oh yes, shoppable video service. 

adrian@thepeloton.tv

www.thepeloton.tv

TP@PME or TFM&A? - IMHO LOL

As has become tradition at ThePeloton, we are partnering with the Publishing and Media Expo (hence PME) this year to gather all the greatest content and thoughts from media titans such as Adobe, Dennis, Haymarket and.. ThePeloton. Yes, that's right Jonathan Westbrook media thinker, strategist and loveable rogue will be discussing innovation in media.

Taking place at Earls Court on 26th and 27th February, PME is held jointly with Technology for Marketing and Advertising (hence TFM&A). This show brings unsuspecting marketing managers face to face with slanty-haired agency and technology reps with smart ideas that will solve all marketing ills. 

ThePeloton fans will be delighted to know that this year we are exhibiting at stand H4 within TFM&A. On display will be some pens, lots of men in lycra and the very best in interactive video. We'll be sashaying around iPad's in hand, jumping people as they walk past (we're next to the toilets so… great footfall).

We also hope to have a great unveiling at PME and TFM&A. More news as we approach.

www.thepeloton.tv

adrian@thepeloton.tv

5 Predictions for Video in 2013

Psst… just between you and ThePeloton, here is what will happen in video in 2013. We will look back in December and see what came true - all of it obviously!

1. YouTube

YouTube's owned channels will multiply in 2013. As advertisers continue to pour money into online video advertising, views must be created to supply their demand. YouTube the broadcaster will be there to satisfy that demand as they commission producers to make proper programmes that people will actually watch. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/oct/08/youtube-tv-60-new-channels

2. DSLR shoots 

So there we were all happily shooting away on solid broadcast kit and then along comes Canon with its pretty and natty 5D DSLRs and we have all had to train up and start shooting artfully. IT people speaking about the cloud is now an art form, with shallow depth of field, rich colour and filmic quality… yes really. It's all in the lenses and filters. We must say it does look very nice and so much more artful. http://mynikonlife.com.au/pro/pro-news/nikon-d4-first-dslr-camera-fit-for-broadcast

3. Click to Buy

Have we mentioned this before? The Guardian and Channel 5 are rolling this out in 2013. Peloton's film with Cissy Wears in February promises to be an award winner. It allows people to buy products from their video screen, or answer questions, or find out more info. Whats not to like? YouTube has its own plug-ins now so interactivity is available to all. http://www.guardian.co.uk/fashion/interactive/2012/dec/07/sali-hughes-beauty-tips-party-nails?INTCMP=SRCH

4. Interactive stories

Interactive video allows video story makers to produce jeopardy stories a bit like Dungeons and Dragons, just a bit less weird. So, creative storytellers can make lovely films and animations that make them relevant to you. You can use Facebook logins and have your friends as cast members. Simple technology but can be hours of fun for all the family… In 2013 Adrian is already refusing to play Operation (a series of losses) at Peloton Towers over Christmas, I think we'll have a ready replacement - hours of fun…. http://mndr.omusicawards.com/

5. Media Co's as broadcasters

This has been in our predictions list since 1976. However, as media companies see that last dribble of internet and print revenue dry up and all of that once densely populated office space becomes an archive of wasted data and last year's editorial columns, the last bright spark will pick up a camera and press play.  2012 has seen more video created by media companies than ever. in 2013 some of it will actually be quite good. They have the audiences and the writers and video is where the advertising £ hence this year is the year that media co's properly produce video…. And that could actually be quite exciting…. http://www.brandrepublic.com/news/1162255/

Good luck in 2013 one and all,

The Peloton

www.thepeloton.tv

jon@thepeloton.tv

The Interactive Video Top 5 List

Now in its second year, The Peloton's Interactive Top 5 Video list is fast becoming a Christmas tradition. It's a list of some of our favourite videos in 2012 that employed whizzbang interactivity to engage viewers. So here it is...as Slade would say....

Number 5.
Foster's Good Call Centre is an interactive platform that offers advice to drinkers with dilemmas.
http://fosters.co.uk/goodcallcentre

Number 4.
The Journey to the End of Coal. A web documentary that fuses interactivity with a conscientious message.
http://www.honkytonk.fr/index.php/webdoc/

Number 3.
It's a video poll on video. But what's different about it is it can be used on the iPad. And it was made by The Peloton - we had to get a plug in somewhere.
http://www.b2bmarketing.net/blog/posts/2012/10/02/interactive-video-poll

Number 2.
Click-to-Buy video goes overground with this beauty video from The Guardian.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/interactive/2012/nov/16/sali-hughes-purple-beauty-tips

Number 1.
British Airways knocked our dandyish silk socks off with this video. Just enter your postcode, sit back and watch a plane taxiing past your home.
http://taxi.ba.com/

adrian@thepeloton.tv
www.thepeloton.tv



 

Top 10 Video Trends

Here's a great blog from our good friends at B2B Marketing about why video is now so vital.
I'm sure you know that already but it does feature comment from ThePeloton's very own Matt Warnes.
http://www.b2bmarketing.net/knowledgebank/social-media-marketing/features/top-10-video-trends

See what you think.

adrian@thepeloton.tv
www.thepeloton.tv

 

Video Campaign Done Well - Part 1

Well played Air New Zealand. This is a case of a brand liking a video idea and then really going to town on it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cBlRbrB_Gnc#!

And how it's worked. 9.2 million views to date, 58,000 YouTube likes, 10,000 YouTube subscribers. In the UK, it's had press coverage from pretty much every mainstream media brand you can think of. This was launched on 31st October so you can pretty much double these stats in a couple of months.

 Take a look at their other work, they take video very seriously… in a not too serious way.  Bet it's going down a storm in Middle Earth!

jon@thepeloton.tv
www.thepeloton.tv

 

The Age of the Catalogue Film is Upon Us

Our office has, of late, resembled a Blue Peter appeal office, with postcards and letters from fashion retailers all over the UK still strewn across our deep pile carpeted floor.

However, after much heartache, strong differences of opinion and not a little excitement we can announce that we are partnering with the excellent Children's clothing and toy retailer Cissy Wears…. http://www.cissywears.com/

The shooting for a click-to-buy catalogue film will commence at the end of January with the new Spring/Summer collection and, suffice to say, this will not be filmed outside in a playground for fear of starting a flu epidemic in our corner of South East London.

Plans are being put in place, locations searched for and models are being picked for the Spring/Summer catalogue film and we can't wait to see the results in February.

Updates will be posted here. So keep watching.
jon@thepeloton.tv
www.thepeloton.tv
 

B2B Video: What a Difference a Year Makes.

A year is a long time in video. We appeared at the 2011 B2B Marketing conference to a mixture of disinterest and laughter at our jodphurs and monocles. Video? Why do I need video? "I like videos of a child biting another's finger but really, why should I, Mister Marketing Manager, produce a video that doesn't get me ROI and data?"... Of course MM's just love data.

 

2012 is all so different. So what sort of video should I be commissioning? How do I tell my company's story? How much does it cost? Can your really good looking Commercial Director appear in our film? Well sort of...

 

Video (a tad behind social media, they should of course have been intertwined) was all over the conference. In total, over 20 films were shown by speakers. 2 TV crews were there to pick up interviews and all (without exception) saw video as a key component to their marketing plans for 2013.

 

Don't get us wrong, data is still so important (they still want to know all about us) it's just that video and storytelling is being seen as a necessary way to impart information. If that means not knowing the mother's maiden name of the person watching then so be it. Distribution and targetting will be the key points now as companies plot their video strategies. The fun is just beginning.

 

jon@thepeloton.tv

www.thepeloton.tv

 

Fashion Call Out.

Today marks the launch of Fashion Call Out.

We are seeking exciting online fashion retailers for a super new project. Followers of ThePeloton.tv will know that we have developed interactive video. This innovative tool allows users to click within the screen and buy from it. This has now been developed for the HTML5 platform and therefore we are looking to launch our (and possibly the world's) first tap-to-buy film.

 

The aim of this project is to seek the right retailer and to work together creatively and with the spirit and enthusiasm that this project will demand.

 

The end result will be that we produce a number of video catalogue type films that enable users to tap and buy!

 

The first shouts have gone out on social media to recruit the right retailer and we will use this blog to update you dear reader on the progress, tears and rollercoaster of excitement we expect.

Looking forward to the next update!

 

jon@thepeloton.tv

www.thepeloton.tv

 

The Futurists' Futurist

Friend of ThePeloton, wannabe futurist and public speaker, Zohe Mustafa, gave a talk at the E-commerce Expo. Now this wasn't a video speech per se but looked at marketing in 2025 and how we get there. Video of course is integral but it's how it will be viewed and used that's so white knuckle-ridingly exciting.

The talk was entitled 'Are We Really Innovating?'. Firstly, probably not. He suggests we are at somewhere like Web 1.5. Marketers have something like 88 different tactics at their disposal. However the point is technology isn't really here to enable this marketing vision. Typing still rules, touchscreens are limited etc.

Take a look at his presentation he has given us permission to share, it allows an insight into where all of this is going. If we were to summarise...

It could get even more difficult to navigate the world of connected business. There are fine examples here of how retailers and brands can develop to embrace Future Tech. Done well they will leave all competition in their wake. Those that embrace technology will totally transform how we do business. Like Disney and their interactive sofa!

www.slideshare.net/z0he/are-we-reallyinnovatingver1

jon@thepeloton.tv
www.thepeloton.tv

 

Take Part in our Video Poll

ThePeloton has teamed up with our good friends at B2B Marketing to create an innovative video poll and we would love you to respond. It's aimed at media agencies and brands and, in fact, anyone who regularly commissions video as part of their marketing mix. We want to pick your grey stuff about how much video you commission and what kind of content works for you.

It won't take you long, just a couple of minutes, click on the link below.

http://www.b2bmarketing.net/blog/posts/2012/10/02/interactive-video-poll

To make it even easier, we've created the poll in HTML5. That means you can watch and respond on the go via your iPad. Pretty neat hey? And, there's more, if you submit your email at the end, you'll be one of the first to get the results of our poll.

A video on video..how very post-modern.

adrian@thepeloton.tv
www.thepeloton.tv

The Land where Content is still King.

There’s a cracking new video doing the rounds on YouTube. No not the South Korean rapper doing the funny dance. The particular film we’ve been admiring and sharing was made by the B2B marketing agency, Earnest. It offers a host of new statistics that are tinkly music to our dainty little ears. For example, 75% of executives watch videos on business sites every week. And 65% of them then go on to visit a vendor’s site after watching the video. There’s lots more stats where those two gems came from. See for yourself. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=V6Q34ID2n1Q

Meanwhile, creating content is set to be one of the hot topics at this year’s B2B Marketing Conference. Ahead of the November 1st event, we’ve been interviewing some of the speakers and panelists. Some of the interviews are now up on B2B Marketing’s website. Here’s Stan Woods, the MD of the B2B consultants Velocity, talking about the challenges of creating great content.

http://www.b2bmarketing.net/video/b2b-marketing-conference-2012-stan-woods

Team Peloton will be descending en masse to the November conference; filming the presentations and doing a spot of light interviewing. We’ll also showing off our interactive video service which offers polling, data gathering and real-time analytics. And it now comes in HTML5. So be prepared to be wowed. The excitement may even make you want to do a funny dance. But just remember that you may get caught on camera...

adrian@thepeloton.tv

http://www.thepeloton.tv/interactive.html

Tech, Tech and more Tech.

We're going to let you in on a secret, not a brilliantly kept one mind you.... 

Our production team has just finished filming the super Becca Laidler and the East Anglian hunk Matt Downton fronting the latest episode of Tech News. It's a weekly look at the more eclectic, mind bending and some times nonsensical world of erm.... Tech.

Written by a team of hacks and the well informed (yes a team, just like some of those US comedy shows, one or two of which are funny), Tech News has now reached episode 30. And, get this, the latest viewing figures from the viewing figures machine suggest that each episode is watched on average 100, 000 times; most of which are UK tech nuts only. 

Web sites like Reevoo and Tom's Hardware take Tech News and benefit from a nice piece of content and, as they say in the world of marketing, a more engaged viewer. Here's a taster..
http://content.bitsontherun.com/previews/Q9c6P6wQ-FcwV6SdG

So there you go, a secret that once was, and now isn't. Now, our Creative Director Matt Warnes has got a secret and it sounds a bit painful. It involves steep inclines and aching thighs. Watch this space for more.

jon@thepeloton.tv

www.thepeloton.tv

Peloton 3 - Bradley 1.

The champagne is flowing at ThePeloton.tv this week. We are celebrating our 3rd birthday and crikey, what a 3 years it's been.

We launched ThePeloton.tv as we saw that there was a space for a team that could make broadcast standard video at the kind of cost that traditional production companies would have turned their backs on. We saw that online media companies were the commissioners of the future and that video content would come from traditional content creators

Cycling fetishist Matt had started ThePeloton with a camera and a mac. Bus man Jon quickly partnered with Matt to bring in some much needed clients and our first ever job was created for publisher IDG and IBM. It was the sign of things to come.

Taxi fan Adrian turned his back on the TV industry having seen that ThePeloton.tv were making waves in the world of online video. He looked to add a little intellectual panache and editorial rigour to what was now hours and days' worth of video content leaving ThePeloton Studio every month. His first project with HSBC is still lauded today.

Since then, IT interviews, awards, makeovers, fashion gurus, Prof. Brian Cox, nervous breakdowns, a studio full of 4 year olds, interactive video, cycling, bussing and taxi-ing has seen us through this exciting three years.

Despite rumours of takeovers and million pound investments, ThePeloton.tv resolutely remains focused on creating top quality content. Quality rather than budget is now the key and we have continued to invest in kit, people and techniques. And that means that we stay on top of our game... for you... forever.

Now if you don't mind 'Oops Upside Your Head' has just come on and Adrian is at the head of the train...

jon@thepeloton.tv

www.thepeloton.tv

The Peloton: We Get Around

September is upon us, summer holiday memories are receding, it’s time to get back to some serious graft. And it’s looking like being a busy, varied and adventurous start to autumn for The Peloton’s team.

Glam Media has commissioned us to shoot and edit a series of makeover videos for Rimmel. Meanwhile, our editorial chief, Adrian is working in the Middle East helping with the launch of a new news channel.

He’s spending some time in the city of Erbil, the capital of the autonomous region of Kurdistan which is based in Northern Iraq. It’s safer than Manchester. Well that was according to the taxi driver who picked Adrian up at the airport. The driver should know, he once lived in Wigan.

The Kurds are an incredibly welcoming bunch and are rightfully proud of their culture. They could also teach some UK video producers a thing or two when it comes to filming, editing and telling a great story. Adrian reports that one documentary currently being edited is as good as anything he’s seen on BBC World or Al Jazeera. However, there’s a lot of bad TV in the Middle East and Adrian has been brought in to help ensure editorial and creative excellence for his new Kurdish friends.

But, as you can imagine, The Peloton is not just about glamorous shoots with models or film-making in exotic places. We’ve got videos lined up for AstraZeneca, Kodak and Dell plus more editions of our much admired ‘Tech News’ series.

As for Adrian, he says the only downside of working abroad so far has been  dining alone in a virtually empty hotel restaurant whilst being serenaded by a cabaret singer. It’s like being in a Kurdish version of Phoenix Nights.. supposedly.

www.thepeloton.tv

Fashion Video Victims

While you were lying on the beach supping cocktails and rubbing in the Piz Buin, ThePeloton boys have been mixing with the fashion crowd. We have been in far flung glamorous hotspots shooting the good looking for our fashion retail chums.

Yes, fashion companies are alive to video and all that it offers to the image conscious online user. The IMRG Capgemini E-retail Sales Index revealed that fashion accessories and health and beauty were two of the main reasons why internet sales rose over 17% year-on-year in July.

The fashion industry was one of the laggards into getting their brands online, this is all changing now and video is behind this rise. Video allows the clothes to be viewed as they are supposed to be - worn by someone moving, rather than as stills on a page.

The emergence of click-to-buy 'interactive video' will be another poke for internet fashion sales and we fully expect to be spending the next 18 months hanging out on the beach with Kate Moss and mates filming that season's latest looks all to be bought via video.

Gucci were one of the first to bring this style of video to computer screens, take a look and see what you think....

http://www.gucci.com/us/worldofgucci/shoppable_video/shop-this-video-cruise-spring-summer-2012

With internet sales growing 4 fold on mobile, its lucky for you that ThePeloton has developed this technology in HTML5 too. Shopping from a film on an iPad round the pool...it's surely what the internet was made for.

jon@thepeloton.tv
www.thepeloton.tv