Create Your Product Training, Create Your Product Marketing, Create Your Reel!
Besides being an avid fan of new technology, I’ve also admired how certain companies combine that technology with new and innovative ways to market their products. Nobody seems to do it better than Apple. Each release of a new product comes with an extremely effective and engaging to watch video commercial posted on their site. This video magically tells the story behind the product, explaining the rationale behind the design, the parts and materials, and finally how to use it in a way that will change your life.
As I watched the latest video commercials supporting the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c launch, it made me wonder why more companies don’t take this same approach for launching their products. My first inclination was price or cost to produce such a video. My guess is that large companies like Apple have access to their own production facilities. They can make powerful, world class product marketing and launch material to support their new innovative products right on their campus. But what do small and mid-size companies do who aren’t equipped with such capabilities? They seem to be left behind with old school approaches to marketing, and much of the burden falling on the product manager and product marketing manager. There must be a better way right?
That question, led me on a search to find any company out there trying to capitalize on this niche market in new and innovative ways. One company that I came across that seemed very innovative was a company called Create Your Reel.
Create Your Reel is really not a high powered marketing firm or product launch specialist at all. They are actually a company who markets themselves towards actors and actresses looking to break through in the entertainment industry. Their philosophy is based on the fact that casting directors make a decision about an actor within a view seconds of watching a demo reel. If that’s the case, then the actor should be equipped with the highest quality and highest amount of face time possible.
As I read their description about what they do and what services they provide, it made me wonder if it could be applied to product launch campaigns and product training videos. I felt that an analogy could be made between the typical consumer, who seems to fit the profile of the casting director looking to make a quick decision. I also felt that another analogy could be made between most products and how they seem to be like actors looking to differentiate themselves and get noticed.
The more I probed their site, the more I was convinced that a company like this could really make a impact on small to mid-sized product companies who aren’t equipped with big marketing and production capabilities or budgets. They offer professional grade services, script writing, and have access to some of the best up and coming talent in the entertainment industry.
Wondering why Create Your Reel didn’t market themselves like this, I called them up and asked if they had ever done corporate product events and/or training. They said yes they had done that type of work before. And it was something that they were interested in continuing to do, but their market segment was really the entertainment industry and actors looking to be discovered. They were very polite and said if I ever needed their assistance to please call them to scope out the work.
All you smaller and mid-size companies out there should take a look at this company called Create Your Reel. For the price and quality of service, I’m not sure you could get a better deal. In fact, I would bet that the time and cost you are spending on internal training documentation, recorded training sessions, product support training, product marketing campaigns, and product launches, you are probably spending five times as much as what a company like Create Your Reel charges. If only I had discovered them about five years ago when I was doing product management.
All I can say is, sometimes it pays to look outside your current industry and discover how other industries are solving some of the same types of problems. Technological advancements are such a common theme across our society today that we should be more inclined and encouraged to step outside the box and look for other, untraditional methods and alternatives. Nice job Create Your Reel! You’ve inspired me to potentially change how I approach my next big product launch. The competition will never know what hit them!
