Trade Show Video Length

[Joseph W. bourke]

I didn’t watch all of them, but that’s sure a basic, video 101 no-no if there ever was one. But that said, I’ve seen some self-produced stuff (by big companies who should know better) which uses copyrighted music, has graphics which would make Ray Charles cringe, and presents absolutely nothing to detain the tourist.

Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com

[Barbara Adams]

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I am going to go back to my team and talk with them about it and what I learned from your posts!

Barbara

[Mike Cohen]

I attend several trade shows per year as both exhibitor and visitor.
The subject matter does not matter – the concept is the same:

A booth on an exhibit floor, chock full of other booths, wants people to enter the perimeter of the booth so as to be approached by a sales or marketing person.

At a lot of booths, plasmas are used as signage, often in the vertical configuration showing PPT loops or motion graphics with some subtle ambient music playing. These are simply that – signage.

Some booths have a specially made loop produced, either specific to the convention and city, or just something generic to use at all of their meetings.

In my world, surgery, the loops are either motion graphics about some new medical device, with or without clinical footage, or simply a highly edited montage of clinical footage demonstrating the application of the device. As in other specialty areas, some of the videos are Madison Ave quality, some are Flip Cam quality, and most are somewhere in the middle.

Putting a talking head in one of these loops is nearly useless due to the noise level in the exhibit hall which usually resembles the VAB at NASA. The audience may see someone they recognize but unless they are nose to nose with the screen they won’t hear it.

Consider your neighbors also. We have endured hours of listening to the same 3 minute loop from a neighboring booth. Eventually the brain tunes it out, almost.

So your goal is to get people into the booth. In the medical world the best way is to show something clinical, as that is most relevant to the viewer (ie, a rhinoplasty). Find the equivalent of a rhinoplasty in your own industry, keep it short, to the point, high quality, not too loud, not too talky-heady, some sales pitch but mostly visual and you will be moving in the right direction.

If you want long testimonials from the CEO and users, throw those on your website or hand out flash drives or make a freely available mobile app.

Mike Cohen

[Mica Gordon]

I believe your work must run perfectly.
Also thank you for sharing your works that give me some ideas on my work.

Best regards.
Mica Gordon
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[Ned Miller]

I also shoot and produce quite a few trade show videos every year since I am based in Chicago. When I am not actively shooting and have a break, I wander the aisles looking for prospective clients plus I love swag: keychains, pens, free snacks. So I always look at the booths’ videos to spot trends.

Also, I get several free marketing and sales mags and have seen studies that people flowing down an aisle will make a decision within 6 seconds whether to continue watching your video. Here’s what I have concluded and learned from my clients, many of whom are marketing agencies:

• The video can not be dependent on it’s audio, since the noise level of the hall my be too high. Also, booth attendants tend to go nuts listening to it over and over and often turn the audio off, even though it’s their own video.

• Due to the above point I have seen a trend over the last few years for trade show videos to be very text/graphic/factoid dependent, tailoring it’s message (cheaply) to the particular audience of that show. By doing this the video becomes even more audio independent.

• The video needs to have a Call to Action that preferably results in them talking to the booth personnel.

• The video can not be over 2:30 or so, no way.

So in sum, I have seen a trend away from mainly live action trade show loops which is a bad sign for me, a live action cameraman. Even talking heads are irrelevant in a noisy environment. I suggest a total re-edit with heavy reliance on interesting, moving text. It’s OK to have a music track to draw attention to the video but beware that it may be turned off. You’ll have to lose Bradshaw.

Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com
www,bizvideo.com