Will you be breaking the law?

There is an extremely good chance that before the end of 2017 your business could be breaking the law. This is because most UK businesses are in blissful ignorance of the introduction of a new EU data law, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Failure to address this issue could lead to fines of hundreds of millions of Euros, or five per cent of turnover. With the possibility of consumers being able to claim damages for misuse of data, heading your way!

To meet coming compliance standards most of the currently advocated practices for data collection will have to be abandoned or at least seriously changed. These new requirements make no provision for the size of the business collecting the data. They will apply to all businesses irrespective of size. Therefore it is essential for businesses to identify the right sources of advice to ensure their future compliance with these new regulations.

There is a solution.

As these regulations are European only, a good rule of thumb is if the advice is in English ensure that it is of British and not of American origin. If it is priced in dollars avoid it!

While it is inherent on all  EU businesses to seek the proper professional advice, appointing an individual or an agency to be responsible for ensuring the new regulations are compiled with. The new EU data laws will require audits of all current data and how it was collected as well as ensuring that all new data collected is fully compliant. The result will leave your data secure, better organised and ensure that you are marketing to people who want to hear your message and not annoying those who do not, thus ensuring a better chance of a positive result.

These regulations may seem onerous, yet they are not much more than the best practice, that already advocated in UK. They can be used to build a bond trust with prospective clients. Ensured confidentiality, can allow you to generate valuable new data, making direct sales calls easier to target.

Instead of looking at this EU data law as a unwelcome burden on your business, look at it as an opportunity to build your businesses reputation for compliance and professionalism. Simply ensure that you are taking your advice from the right source.

Gavin Bryan-Tansley ~ Owner Vid-FX+ Advertising

Why?

Could somebody please tell me what is the point of sending the email above?

Ok 'images generate more clicks'. But only when people can see them!

Somebody has obviously tried to do some email marketing here. They have listened to the why, but not the how.

If you are really into advertising and marketing your business the DIY approach does not really work. Issues such as the above can do your business irreparable harm.

As seen above the images were to big to load and there was noting in the subject line or the header to encourage a recipient to take any further action, except to delete the email.

First impressions count!

Trite but true. What does the message above say about the advertiser?

Simply that if the sender does not care enough about their business to ensure that they get own promotions right. Why would anyone trust them to care about getting it right for their businesses?

Ok, kind of cynical. But lets be honest, with hundreds of marketing emails hitting peoples inboxes everyday. Who are you going to choose, this or the very next email that does have something to say? 

If you are going advertise and market your business, concentrate on what you do best and let others do what they do best. Commercial advertising pays. So talk to the professionals, people who do this everyday. They will stop you wasting your time and everybody else's.

~ Gavin Bryan-Tansley Vid-FX+ Advertising

Oh, please note. 

That this is far from an isolated instance, I get dozens of these a day. 

Think of the marketing opportunities that are being lost! 

City or Country Businesses

City or country businesses, which are better?

The perceived value is that the city businesses are far superior than locally sourced solutions.

Are they?

Lets see.

I have been based in two major cities, both creative hubs for my industry. The company that employed me subcontracted to most of the big names in the industry. Allowing me to work on some really major national and international campaigns.

While working in the city our running costs were high. For the average price of our services you would get slightly less than 8 hours. Longer than that and we would start to lose money.

Yet after relocating to an area outside the major conurbations. We have not only achieved a better quality of life. That same average cost will now buy you 40 hours! Same skills, same talent, same experience as when we worked from the city offices. But this time no massive rents on our offices and homes. No long daily commute. No crowded fight to get fed or a seat on the tube, no wasted hours stuck in a traffic jam. Less stress, a better environment and more time to give to our clients.

That’s right we can now give 5x’s the service for the same price. Not bad. So who’s better now, the harassed city business, or the city business in the country? Your choice.

-Gavin Bryan-Tansley Owner Vid-FX+ Advertising

Simple tips for video editing.

Editing starts when the editor receives the raw footage, the script, shooting schedule and the continuity notes. The editor works with the director to produce the editing script.

8 simple tips tips for video editing

1. Read the script for the video.You would be amazed at the number of editors who neglect this crucial stage.

2. Reach for a pad of paper and a pencil, layout a timeline of the exact duration, and block in the main components from the video script.

3. Review the continuity notes and shooting schedule, to help you select the 'good takes' from the raw footage.

4. Review and select the B-roll and alternative footage to insert into and intercut with the timeline.

5. Mark the clip names/numbers on the main time line. Assess if they are going to fill or overrun the set duration, decide what could be cut or inserted to bring it to the exact duration.

6. Open a basic editing program, rough cut and assembly edit the raw footage to make a preliminary edit.

7. Review preliminary edit with the director and colleagues, look out for missing or additional items, where improvements can be made etc.

8. You don’t have to have the very latest Pro editing suite. A basic editing program can produce good results if you know what you are doing. Once the edit has been made no one should be able to tell in which suite the video was edited.

The 3 basic mistakes in video editing

1. You are working with audio and visual elements. The audio needs as much attention as the visual.

2. You will watch a clip dozen of times in the editing process. Having seen it three or four times it is tempting just to skip to the end, DON'T. Always play a clip through to the end, it is easy to lose an entry or outpoint to a clip when editing.

3. Don't put something into the edit, just because you can. People will watch your video for its content, not because of your editing. The very best editing passes unnoticed, so keep it simple.

Gavin Bryan-Tansley Owner Vid-FX+

Attract more customers

Customers searching for your product or service online have a plethora of choice. 

So how will you make your business standout?

Whatever it is that you are selling, there is always someone else who is offering pretty much the same. Often at a lower price, as they attempt to break into the market. The typical reaction is to lower your prices. This leads to a race to the bottom, until one or the other goes out of business. Either way it is likely to be a pyrrhic victory, as it is  difficult to raise prices once they have been reduced.

The simple answer is to give the customer what they want at a price that they will pay. 
But what is it that they want and just how much will they pay for it? Most businesses assumes that that they know what their customers want. True, yet it is not their customers they need to look to for new business. It is someone else's customers they need to attract.

So before you commissioning  a new advertising and marketing campaign. Ask how will you find out what your potential customers want? 
You should have established this before you started your business. But times change and customer expectations change with them.  It is wise to commission market research on a regular basis. Especially before you start planning your next advertising or marketing campaign. That is real research, not a quick poll around family and friends, or a gut felling that the market is right for...

Market research tells you what you need to know. 
To help you make, your choice of product or service. Good research can also tell you how much demand there could be. What it is often difficult to find out is how your competitors are attracting new business.

Unfortunately far to many businesses leave it to late. 
They only come to commercial agencies once their marketing has failed. Even then they have a tendency to disagree with the results. As these often challenge cherished working practices. Major change maybe needed to get their business back on track.

Don't leave it to late to seek professional advice. 
Do so before you embark on any advertising or marketing campaign. It is not that expensive. It can save you a lot of money in the long run. It could even save your business.

Another factor to keep in mind. Banks and other sources of funding are more likely to favor an application for funds. If the businesses applying, has a viable advertising campaign planned.

- Gavin Bryan-Tansley Owner Vid-FX+

Nobody is buying!

You have an innovative product, fantastic service and an award winning business.

The crowds should be all over you, clamouring to buy. Yet you are not attracting enough business to even cover your costs. 

Why?

A lot of businesses think a good product alone is all that is needed. How many times have you heard, 'Build it and they will come'? Well, this is a line from popular entertainment, not the sage business advice that it is thought to be.

What you have to do is 'sell your business'. If your potential customers do not know who you are, what you do or where they can find you, how do you expect them to buy from you.

In short if you are not doing anything to advertise your business, how do you expect to be in business? Passing trade, word of mouth etc., are all largely redundant in this day and age. For passing trade, you have to place yourself where someone is likely to pass. You have to have an enticing display to attract the potential customer who is outside to come inside. These days this is your Webverts and SEO. The videos and images on your website have become your shop front and store.

Word of mouth and recommendations do not take place over the garden fence any more. They happen in social media. If you do not have an online presence and do something to justify this, how can your satisfied customers refer their social circle to you?

The art of advertising has not changed, only the media we use and the pace at which we work has. It is still all about attracting customers to buy from you and not from someone else. To do that we have to give them the reasons they need to make that choice.

We have to change, 

an interest into a like
, 
a like into a desire
, 
the desire into a want
 
and the want into a need.

An example

At one time hand made axes were the low end of the market. The logging industry needed high volumes of a consistent quality that the small hand forges could not produce, so they moved to axes made industrially.

Today that situation has changed there is no real need for axes anymore. The logging industry has been mechanised and loggers work from the comfort of an air-conditioned cab.

Yet today, axes are selling at premium prices! Not just any axe but hand made axes from the small forges that a few decades ago were forced to find other product lines because they could not compete.
 Industrially produced axes are now retailing for around $20 -$60 hand made axes $200 to $600 each!

So what changed?

Making logging and axe skills into a sport generated the interest, rebranding small axes and hatchets as camping and outdoor survival tools took care of the rest.

This is called associative or aspirational advertising. In this case the foundries associated their axes with a life style to which people could aspire. Even if you could not give it all up and go live in the high woods. That axe becomes a promise to yourself, that one day, even if only for a few weeks, you could live your dream of a simpler life.



Tricky? No, just an understanding of human nature and how purchasing decisions are made. That is what advertising is, letting people know what you have for sale. Then giving them the reasons why they should buy from you rather than from another.

Gavin Bryan-Tansley Owner Vid-FX+ Advertising

Getting it right

Getting it wrong could cost you more than just money.

Creating commercial advertising requires creative skills that will set the advert apart from surrounding content. 

Thinking outside the box to create advertisements that are true to the brand, as well as selling a product. Yet different enough to stand out is one thing. To remain within the law and the codes of practice are another. What seems such a good idea in the pub or the closed environment of the office, often falls flat when it reaches a dispassionate audience.

A recent advert, a very clever spoof of a popular TV program, Animal Hospital. Received no less than 250 complaints about the association of a commercial product with animal cruelty. While the advert was legal in all aspects, it still caused offence. These errors in judgement could become obvious if it is test marketed before release. The footage could then possibly be reused with a slight change of emphasis or re-editied to change the offending scenes. 

Regrettably this is a stage often overlooked or dismissed as an unnecessary expense by far to many advertisers. The cost of testing is often far less than the costs associated with having your adverts withdrawn. 

The advantages of using a professional agency is that they deal with these kind of issues all the time. They also kept up to date with various trends and topical issues through their professional associations and trade press. They can help in avoiding these situations by bringing years or decades of commercial experience to your advertising.

Gavin Bryan-Tansley Owner Vid-FX+

Is your marketing working for you?

Do you find yourself having to invest more time each week looking for sales? 

When you take a well earned break, do your sales fall off? 

Then your marketing is probably not working for you.

The desire not to be left out, to keep up with the latest trends and technology, has meant many businesses are leaping into high-end advertising and marketing, without the preparation or grounding in the basics that support these techniques. Having invested a significant amount of effort in developing an online and social media presence, many businesses have forgotten about the basic building blocks that should be supporting and building their brand.

Business who have the courage to admit that their current marketing is not working for them, need to focus on the basics, their 5W’s. These basics have always worked, they still driving the content of all major advertising and marketing campaigns, no matter the platform they run on. 

Many marketing Guru’s hold up the large multi-nationals as the example to follow, highlighting some of the strategies and tactic's that they have used. Yes, these tactics have been proven to work, in big companies. Companies that have a major investment in the trained and experienced staff to make it work. Much of this advice is not exactly relevant to SME’s as they have neither the budgets, the experience nor the staff to run similar campaigns. 

Smaller businesses need a different way of thinking about advertising and marketing. They must make sure they are relevant and connect with their audience in an authentic way. They need to take a longer term strategy, building a self sustaining campaign that does not need to micromanaged to keep it relevant.  Think ahead, what other events are going on to which you can link your advertising? Let them do the promotional work and place your ad's within their material. To many SME's miss out on these fantastic opportunities to promote their business because they have to think and plan months, or even years ahead. Get this right and you can send more time on your business doing the things you set out to do, not working for your business as an unqualified, unpaid advertising sales and marketing manger.

Gavin Bryan-Tansley Owner Vid-FX+

Stop measuring and start mattering

Not everything can be quantified, yet some humans have a compulsion to measure, categorise, order and file. Sometimes this becomes so extreme that it becomes the only criteria that matters. 

Advertising metrics started as a measure that the ad agencies could quantify (ROI, 'Return On Investment' requires access to financial records not always available to an agency).  Metrics were by and large a simple measurement of how many people have been exposed to your adverts. Today we can say, you have so many hits, click throughs, views, likes, followers , etc. 

Yet now these 'metrics' have become the be all and end all of advertising to some. Their sole target is to acquire move views, likes and followers, than their perceived rivals. This has exploded to such an extent that there is now a lucrative market in the buying and selling of these figures, totally distorting and destroying the validity of any figures that might be produced.

What is all to often overlooked in the one single measure that counts, money. Is your turn over up, down, or does it remain the same? While there are various forms of advertising to build brand awareness, associate your name with a product or service, new product introduction, special offers and so forth. The one single aim of all these is to persuade customers to buy from you. 

Recently we made an advert that was shown only once to a restricted audience. That advert won a major contract for our client. Another series of ad's convinced a customer to purchase from a local business, turning them from a struggling small business into an international exporter. Yet in terms of the metrics both of these ad's would have been judged abject failures.

So the message here is, "what can't be measured often matters more than what can". Stop focusing on the numbers and focus on the people who make the buying decisions. Your advertising should serve a purpose and not be just another business a task to measured on a graph.

Gavin Bryan-Tansley Owner Vid-FX+