I am a firm believer that people don't want to be sold to. People don't like ads. They don't like feeling like every interaction they have with a company is a "transactional", "buy our product" interaction. People want to connect and be connected with. People want to be treated like people, not merely "potential customers". And this where is where my proverbial lightbulb went off... The objective was to use my compulsive creativity to produce compelling original video content that would subsequently be licensed by third parties (news outlets, social media accounts, etc.), thus providing additional exposure that money alone cannot buy. The video would not be a "buy my product" video. It would simply be creative, compelling and engaging content that would drive brand awareness through interaction, not transaction.
As an active YouTuber with over 23,500 subscribers, and someone who has produced multiple videos with over 2 million views on YouTube alone (and nearly 20 videos with over 100,000 views), I knew I had a knack for producing compelling original video content. And having created literally hundreds of videos that have been licensed to third parties all over the world, I realized that my compulsive creativity and knowledge of the video licensing industry had real value to people and organizations looking to get their message to the world.
One afternoon, I purchased a Spin Master foam glider from Canadian Tire, with the intention of attaching my GoPro to it to capture a video of the flight. The final product was a video that was licensed out multiple times to numerous news and social media outlets. Encouraged by the success of the video, I shared the video with the Spin Master (via Facebook, Twitter, and by emailing them the YouTube link). They loved the video so much they sent me a few more toys to play with and produce original content, which I did - a genuinely symbiotic relationship. Although it may seem counter-intuitive, my goal was never to "sell" anyone anything. It was not to convince people why they needed any given product. My goal was just simply to do something creative that would capture people's attention. I produced a compelling, jovial and feel-good video in which I created an alternative use for the Spin Master foot-pump rocket by using it as a "fetch" play-toy for my French Bulldog. This video was subsequently licensed out by multiple outlets, including ABC, thus generating exceptionally greater reach for a YouTube video.
The first video I produced (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-G5jVY3bvs&t=22s) was licensed out by multiple outlets (links below) resulting in exposure that can not be purchased through conventional marketing, and audience engagement that generally does not result from conventional "transactional" marketing.
http://www.rightthisminute.com/video/rtmtv-foam-gl...
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/autos/enthusiasts/canadi...
http://www.sfgate.com/news/media/Canadian-Dad-Buil...
http://www.ntnews.com.au/video/id-BqZTd2YTE6vpqdPM...
The second video I produced in which I turned a foot-pump rocket into my French Bulldog's fretch toy was also licensed out multiple times, and was even featured on ABC New York (linked below).
http://abc7ny.com/pets/man-makes-rocket-toy-for-hi...
The results that I was able to achieve through creative and compelling video content consist of reaching a different market through non-traditional means. It consists of engaging that audience, by drawing in people that are watching not because they are being compelled to watch, but because the content is compelling to watch . We no longer live in an era where companies hold a captive audience for their marketing. Rather, we live in an era where the audience needs to be captivated through genuine, entertaining and compelling content. I was able to reach an audience by creating original content that third parties actually wanted to license out (as opposed to having to pay for). The result is increased engagement - an audience that is no longer being forced to watch, but watching by choice, because the content is so engaging.
