Fear Not the Metaphor

Most goods and services are not photogenic. They are not sexy.

Software. Insurance. Ball bearings. The cardboard box.

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Not every shoe is designed by Jimmy Choo.

Which doesn’t detract a bit from what they do over at New Balance. So, as varied as brands are even within specific industries, the methods to market those brands ought to be just as varied.

For example, you may sell something that is difficult to grasp through a visual medium, like medical software such as billing software for medical practices. The best way to express the indispensable nature of your product in a video would not be to have a programmer explain the software for two minutes.

That might put everyone to sleep who doesn’t have an engineering degree.

A more conventional approach would be to have the clients, medical practices, talk about how much more efficient they are with said software in use. Certainly a solid option!

However, a third approach would be to select a unique doctor or practice, perhaps a cornerstone of the community, maybe a doctor who takes time off to serve people in underdeveloped countries, and profile that individual or practice. Maybe a doctor or nurse in the practice was a field medic in the armed services. What stories might they offer?

Attach the brand to a great story. The story is the emotional connection between the potential client or customer and the brand.

This approach can be applied to virtually any product or service or brand. Red Bull is an energy drink. Yet the public associates the brand with extreme sports.

They focused on the sports and attached their brand, essentially using a different sporting culture as a middleman between their brand and their clients and customers.

Great stories make create emotional connections that can be attached to anything that needs clients and customers.

Take a video we did for Adknowledge. It was about a party they threw after ad:tech San Francisco 2013.

The video says very little directly about the client and talks a lot about Alcatraz — that’s where the party took place. The video is really simply an experience that was provided by the client.

So, I ask you this: would you like to work for, work with and around a company willing to throw this party?

Let us know your thoughts… thanks!

As Director of Photography and co-founder of Mad Bear Productions, all things visual pass before Julian’s creative and experienced eyes. He has been capturing the story as it happens from behind the lens for more than fifteen years.

Julian’s ability to find the extraordinary in the seemingly mundane is his gift. As both a cameraman and editor, Julian understands the importance of shooting the right material the first time. With a developed love for telling stories and a deep appreciation for being allowed inside the worlds of thousands of people, Julian loves shooting every kind of story.

From Shuttle launches at Cape Canaveral, natural disasters, historic elections, Super Bowls, The Olympics, a World Cup to the recent royal wedding; Julian brings his global experience and understanding for the latest technologies and trends to Mad Bear’s clientele.