Tag Archives: ZoomTilt

10 Reasons No One Watches Your Brand’s Videos

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Business Man Game of Thrones Meme

Content-loving customers had better take note, because you just leap-frogged blogging and slide deck-styling all the way making a video for your brand. “Video? Isn’t that the future of marketing and like 60% of all internet traffic?” You’re damn right it is, and now your content marketing prowess is on full display to all your customers and social media followers, not to mention a billion monthly YouTube users. WIN. That’s right internet – we’re uploaded, we’re discoverable and we’re in the game with a titanic 88 views in week one. And people, 88 views is just the beginning, because by week two we’ll be making waves with triple digit viewership, am I right?

It saddens me to say that in ZoomTilt’s line of work, I seem to have this exact same conversation on a weekly basis:

Brand: We want a viral video. None of our videos are getting good viewership and we’re spending a lot of time and money on them.

Me: Well, what kind of videos are you making right now?

Brand: Pretty much all documentary-style testimonial interviews and really slick, artsy, color-corrected videos of beautiful, waif-ish people walking down dim hallways showcasing our product.

Me: Would you consider experimenting and cross-testing different types of video creative? Maybe something more relevant to your target demo that’s funny, or edgy, or surprising? Perhaps with memorable, strongly-defined characters? We can define success metrics and perform deep data-gathering and predictive A/B testing on each one.

Brand: Oh no, no, no. We could never do that. Characters? We’re not GEICO, we don’t have a Gecko… the brand IS the personality. Besides, we can’t be a funny brand or an edgy brand, we’re an elegant, sophisticated, reliable, precision-engineered brand whose experience must translate like a haiku told upon the shore of a placid lake. So what can we do like that that’s going to go pretty viral..?

Stop. Video marketers, 95% of you need to re-think your approach right now, because that one competitor who gets it is smoking your PR and inbound marketing efforts. So let’s cut the small talk and get you started with our field-guide of key video marketing pitfalls to avoid. If you’re making videos for your brand and no one is watching them, here are the ten (10) reasons why:

1. You don’t really know your audience. Knowing who your audience is (say age 35+ working mothers) isn’t the same as knowing their media consumption habits and what content resonates with them – you need to understand both.

Let’s start with a typical customer video from a mainstream, mom-oriented consumer brand:

Ok, darling and highly likable Mom? Check. Solid brand that knows how to do fun video creative? Check (*ahem* Old Spice Guy *ahem*). Video that will inspire anyone to share your message or watch more? Complete miss. Don’t get us wrong, there are great opportunities out there in user-generated content, but why would a mom watch dozens of nearly identical informational testimonials for the same product? And why does Pampers, a globally-recognized diaper brand, feel the need to flood its YouTube channel and crowd out its more premium content with so many different iterations of the same bland, product credibility-builder video that doesn’t create informational or emotional value for their customers? Why would a diaper-buyer watch multiple minutes of this type of video content rather than simply executing a 15 second Google search to quickly skim a credible blog review on the same product? Your customers’ time, convenience and content consumption autonomy are highly relevant to your digital content strategy – respect them.

Now let’s take a look at some of their professional creative:

Strong start here too – who doesn’t love cute, happy babies with bed-head? But ouch, only 6 likes and 3 dislike? What gives?

Well, to summarize the entire campaign message: “if your baby pees or poops itself and doesn’t get changed, it won’t be happy (or have great, disheveled hair) like these happy babies.” What’s new, insightful or interesting about that message, one that more or less restates the same biological principle mothers have known for decades, if not centuries? Sorry Pampers, we already know your diapers are probably a little bit better (and a little bit more expensive) than some of the other brands sitting next to you on the shelf, your single layer of additional protection isn’t boosting brand lift or getting anyone to retweet this.

Want to know who gets motherhood? Fiat gets motherhood:



2. Your content doesn’t create value.

A lot of marketers think successful branded video content needs to have professional, $10,000-per-minute-and-up production quality. It doesn’t. Nor does it even necessarily have to be funny or shocking, although that usually helps. But one thing your content MUST accomplish is value creation for the viewer, which can be either informational value, emotional value or both, like these:



3. Your content generates a low-valence emotional response.

72 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, so if you make something average it will get skipped and ignored. If you create something on the far end of the spectrum that generates high viewer emotional arousal, audiences will engage with and share your video.

Right (creative) way to make a marketing video for your pizza business:

Wrong (traditional, uncreative) way to make a marketing video for your pizza business:


4. Your video content doesn’t have hooks early and often.

Again, when you create content, your content is competing for attention against an ocean of entertaining video, great music and informative blog articles. You don’t need to perform an epic jump from space like RedBull, but be sure to hook viewers’ attention early and often to avoid drop-off and defection to other content. Nice job Pepsi:


5. Your content has no story arc.

Both of these videos feature heavy men’s business apparel product placements. Which do you think had the better digital campaign return on investment (ROI) and repeat viewer engagement because viewers wanted to know what happens next?

Story:

No story:


6. No one found your great video.

Unfortunately, successful video content marketing isn’t just creating great content, then putting it up on your YouTube page, blog and facebook feed and moving on to the next thing. Videos live and die by discovery, and you need to get a broad audience (and, for that matter, the right audience) looking at your work. I wrote a pretty comprehensive introductory explainer to getting more views on your video here on Quora. Check it out and feel free to leave comments or feedback if it was helpful or you disagree with any of my core points. Whatever you do, don’t make the same mistakes as Cybergeddon.

7. You didn’t test your video(s).

Traditional video content marketing – particularly branded entertainment – can be high-reward, but also moderate risk. Even with significant investment in seeding and paid media, big branded content efforts can crash and burn because the creators missed their audience or couldn’t quite pull it together on execution. At ZoomTilt, our branded entertainment media buying process is closely-integrated with video A/B-testing, so that not only do advertisers get to compare multiple creative variations based on the same brief or campaign objective, but they can also make data-driven predictions about targeted audience engagement and content virality prior to committing their full production spend. Test your videos, don’t just pull the trigger on a $300,000 media buy because your 24 year old intern down the hall who wears skinny jeans thinks they’re epic.

8. You’re not amplifying or complementing the conversation.

During prime time, up to 60% of the conversation happening on Twitter can be related to TV. Yes, successful TV shows can create global hashtags in real time. While digital isn’t at that scale and more fragmented, it’s also not as ephemeral here-and-gone as a TV ad, and that’s a big opportunity for marketers to capitalize on. Create companion content, connect your videos to product promotions or product launches, integrate hashtags and then measure it all. Entertaining storytelling is a huge catalyst for social media activity and engagement, so don’t silo your videos from your overall social media marketing efforts.

9. You’re missing the long tail.

Just like search engine optimization (SEO), strategically targeting the long tail (and long tail keywords in your video title, text description and metadata) can pay off big, particularly when your video has little relevant competition but really strikes a chord with a spirited niche. Get it right, and next thing you know your content gets picked up on Mashable and your sales go through the roof. Just ask the OraBrush guys:


10. You’re the 1,000th brand to hop on a content-competitive trend.

Don’t go head-to-head on replica content with Fortune 500 marketing giants (unless you yourself are a Fortune 500 marketing giant) if you can’t bring something really new, fresh and novel to the table:

This wins (#JeffGordonisonFire):

This doesn’t (#sorryHubspot):


The difference a little creativity and the scale of your audience reach [a solid celebrity cameo that doesn't bust your budget usually doesn't hurt either] collectively make on the success of your content cannot be understated.

Now let’s go out there and make successful branded videos people love.

New Web Series Episode: Why You Never Set Your Friend Up on a Blind Date in Boston

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A new episode from Boston comedy dating web series “617: The Series”

6 Important Innovations in Video Spotted at 2013 CES

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CES 2013

Every year the CES conference showcases new technologies and campaigns from the biggest names in technology. Video, TV and transmedia integration were high on everyone’s minds this year, spanning two-screen advertising to smart TVS to cloud-driven video recording.  With thousands of attendees, three expo halls (plus tents and a few food trucks), the CES was, at times, overwhelming, so we’ve broken down a selection of important media innovation developments from this major tech gathering as part of ZoomTilt’s 2013 CES recap:

1. Cisco: Videoscape Unity
Videoscape Unity is a new and expanded video services delivery platform which will allow companies to provide a synchronized multiscreen video experiences. It will also provide unified search, discovery, and viewing functions to allow consumers to watch premium live and on-demand content on any (service provider managed or unmanaged) connected device regardless of location.

2. Audible Magic: Content Recognition
Audible Magic will bring an advanced television advertising solutions including interactive and addressable advertising across smart televisions, set-top boxes and second screen devices. This will provide an interactive advertising solution which will use the company’s SmartID ACR technology to identify ads in real-time watched by users and will then display supplemental, promotional and additional informational options.

3. Google TV: 3rd Generation Streamers
In its race to reverse second-screen the TV into the “new monitor,” Google TV debuted its latest generation streaming device, the ASUS Qube with Google TV media streamer, alongside OEM partner Marvell.  The team watched a few ZoomTilt web series episodes at the Marvell both, and, needless to say, Google TV’s new boxes are hands-down the most convenient and enjoyable way to watch ZoomTilt shows in big-screen HD.

4. Accedo: TV Everywhere
Accedo’s T.V.E Solution will provide an integrated solution, which connects content distribution and management platforms with attractive Pay TV applications on any connected device. Additionally, social networking integration through TVE app will allow for an enhanced user experience.

5. YuMe: Click-to-Ngage
The Click-to-Ngage icon located on an advertisement will allow users to see more information and options from that brand.  Although it remains to be seen if this type of feature will catch on (clearly the quality of the content alongside it will be of critical importance), YuMe’s approach is clearly looking to combines the big screen, couch-based TV viewing experience with the interactivity and measurability of online video.

6. AT&T Enters Online Video Streaming Fray
A telecom heavyweight is wading into the streaming TV space? It would certainly seem so.  The phone company’s upcoming U-Verse television service will start offering an online video streaming service called “U-Verse Screen Pack” for an $5 a month, available to U-Verse television subscribers.  The bundled offering appears likely to offer a content library similar to Netflix at a slightly lower price point, although it remains to be seen if AT&T intends to win customers based on a differentiated experience (and/or content), or simply hopes to entice its existing telecom subscriber base to pick up streamed TV at a slight discount.

See anything else new and noteworthy at the 2013 CES? If so drop us a note in the comments section.

7 Video Marketing Benefits Brands Need to Know

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Video marketing is a content marketing cornerstone, and an integral aspect of brand reach, influence, experience and inbound engagement. Regardless of what your brand identity is, if you aren’t prioritizing video marketing within your content marketing roadmap, then you’re missing one of the best opportunities to draw audiences and customers to an immersive message that is (1) highly sharable in digital and (2) when done correctly, creates high-valence emotional connections. Video marketing can put tiny companies like Dollar Shave Club firmly on the blog roll in a matter of weeks, catapult fledging startups like Ministry of Supply to Kickstarter campaign immortality and event help an established brand like Samsung reinvent itself as the hip, iconic upstart usurping Apple’s smart phone dominance.

AudiencesWantaStory

Source: Edelman and Adobe.

Overall, there are many benefits to video marketing, including these seven benefits every digital marketer needs to know:

7. Less Investment Needed for Video Marketing Than You Might Think

Did your agency just quote you $200,000 for that social video campaign activation for two quarters from now? Then you’re talking to the wrong solution provider. The reality is technology, information access and competition among creatives has dramatically dropped the cost of procuring high quality, professional video. Moreover, branded video doesn’t need sparkling big-budget studio color-correction to succeed with online audiences.  Rather, it needs to resonate with viewers by being hilarious, edgy, inspiring or shocking, and above all, authentic, with characters, visuals and experiences people relate to.  As a result,  companies like Ford, Ikea, Proctor & Gamble, KMart, Target, AT&T and Fidelity are finding that with just a fraction of their TV ad budget, some savvy storyboarding, social media integration and a thoughtful distribution strategy, digital video marketing significantly outperforms the ROI from traditional TV ad investment.

Which would you rather watch?

Traditional media (sorry eHarmony):

New media:

We thought so too.

6. Precision Targeting

With digital video marketing your brand can reach a targeted consumer audience with relative ease.  And by properly taking advantage of social media, distribution channel and keyword targeting, your priority demographic audience can be engaged with near-surgical precision.  By combining good content with sufficient seeding to drive an initial, critical mass of viewers to their content microsite, YouTube channel and/or social media hub, brands can hit an earned media home run from social sharing and viral referral.  Advocates who like your video are more than empowered to tag, retweet, repost, pin or re-blog it if you make content that is highly sharable.

5. When People Care They Share and Participate

Watching video generates approximately 60% of internet traffic. Other data show that YouTube’s 1 million daily unique visitors watch nearly 3 billion videos per day, with 46% of those viewers taking some sort of action for every TrueView ad they see – typically by clicking the “skip” button.  Today’s consumers are highly-connected, easily-distracted internet-informed socialites who recognize when a company is creating value for them rather than just trying to shove a product or message down their throats.  This doesn’t mean Millenials can’t be advertised to; but it does mean the way advertising communicates and engages them has fundamentally changed.  When 18 to 24 year olds were asked “How do you want to a brand to interact with you?” in a study performed by Global Web Index, over 65% of respondents replied “Entertain me,” a response which occurred higher than “Keep me informed,” “Connect me with people” or “Provide me with interesting experiences.”  Moreover, because video is such “leveraged communication” (if a picture is worth a thousand words, a video must be 100,000+?), the stakes for both success and failure are bigger as well as faster.  A truly viral video is elusive – as well as marketing nirvana – but it’s a lot easier to create audience engagement magic and widespread social chatter with a recurring, character-driven video story viewers tune into episode after episode.

Generally, a broad range of recent success stories in branded video entertainment points toward five key themes in winning the battle for video engagement: (1) be authentic, (2) tell a compelling, recurring story, (3) manage content duration and pacing for maximum entertainment payload, (4) give audiences a way to get involved and participate if they want and (5) experiment; try new things.  Particularly relevant (and good news) for marketers is the fact that audience’s social sharing of content happens irrespective of the presence or absence of branding and branded messages within the content.  Additionally, highly engaged audiences do convert better, in many cases showing 300% higher ad click-through rates on high-quality web TV series compared to average industry pre-roll rates.

4. Humanizing the Brand Experience and Increasing Accessibility

Being more than just a brand is essential to the dialogue you maintain with our customers and social followers. Audiences today want to see the heart, people and characters behind the logo, and video marketing is the one of the best ways to achieve that.  When Hubspot rallies its inbound team to perform a cover-rendition of Psy’s viral YouTube opus “Gangnam Style” or Pixability puts its team front and center in entertaining, informational skits on its YouTube channel, it demystifies the brand in an accessible way that enables audiences to enjoy an insider’s perspective.

3. Video Marketing Simultaneously Solidifies Your Inbound and Outbound Marketing Presence

Having a strong, joint outbound and inbound marketing presence is not just smart; in today’s digital marketing landscape it might as well be a necessary. Strong, video marketing allows for this to be achieved with a great deal of ease by generating and proliferating content that simultaneously broadcasts the brand experience and also draws in audiences around conversion destinations.

2. Trial & Error

In the old days of video marketing, brands could simply advertise their product on someone else’s content (for example, TV), because the content brought people’s captive attention to their message.  But with traditional TV viewer growth stagnant, time-shifted TV becoming the status quo and 33-50% of TV viewers also consuming additional content on a second-screen device, brands need to embrace new content marketing approaches to bridge the engagement gap.  According to the Ruder Finn Intent Index, not surprisingly 82% of people want to be entertained, 96% of people want to be educated, and 92% of people want to be participating in something meaningful.  Put that together and it’s not surprising in hindsight that “This is Not Yellow” was a smash success.

But who could have predicted that? The great thing about digital video is that its cost structure and its medium makes experimentation and controlled tests with different content types, experiences and ecosystems a lot easier than, say, experimenting with Super Bowl Commercials.  At ZoomTilt, our business centers around testing, piloting, analyzing and distributing a broad range of branded entertainment concepts before we advise our clients to make their media buy and serialize content.  That way, video marketers have a lot more certainty around the brand experience they’re creating, the app integration(s) they want to run, as well as the ROI, engagement, reach and earned media outlook for the campaign.

1. Striking Gold: Content that Goes Viral

The holy grail of video marketing is seeing content catch on like wildfire and end up instantly spread all over the web within days. When this happens, a little-known content creator or brand can find themselves transformed into a cultural icon overnight.  While it’s impossible to target “virality as a strategy,” gradually building a vested audience with steady, high-quality video content marketing certainly increases the chances that a specific video will catch and ignite.  But rather than chasing a single, viral “home run,” steadily hitting singles and doubles – videos that collect tens of thousands of views, consistently broaden awareness of your brand’s message and increase your social reach –  can not only supercharge the effectiveness of your content marketing efforts, it can set the stage for when that perfect storm of a video happens to come along:

TV Reset Project Semi-Finalist Feature: Not So Super

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Christophor Rick is a well-accomplished individual. He holds a B.S. degree in molecular science, he served in the U.S. Navy, he’s taught in Europe and he’s interned with NASA (whoa), but what he is most known for is his career as a freelance writer. With his third book launching this December, Christophor Rick has made a career out of analyzing and reporting on online video content. It’s no surprise to us that he is the brains behind one of our finalist pilots for the TV Reset Project with his original concept and story: “Not So Super.”

In development since 2007, “Not So Super” is the story of Vince, a superhero currently undergoing a mid-life crisis who must set aside his insecurities and fight off the new super villain, Scandal, who threatens his home, Prime City.

“I have been a fan of comics for a long time and the thing that often struck me was that they were all overblown, artificial, larger-than-life personas and personalities, hard to relate to at times,’ says Rick. ‘Many common human issues were not addressed a lot of the time, so I wanted to make a more human hero who has real world problems that makes him easy to relate to and somewhat of an underdog at this point in his career.”

Since he is no stranger to the online video community we also asked Rick what he’s paying attention to out there in the webisode world and his picks are “Leap Year” from Geek & Sundry and Hulu’s “Battleground”, which takes place in Rick’s home state of Wisconsin.

Although this will be Rick’s first major video production he’s assembled a team of skilled, veteran entertainment professionals that will help guide the production while Rick concentrates on directing and seeing his story vision through.

“Having been around online video for the last five years, I know what I like and what I want, [less exactly] how to get there,” Rick admits.

We over here at ZoomTilt think that Christophor Rick has quite a future ahead of him as a creator and director. He is already well on his way and has an arsenal of other projects outside of “Not So Super” on the horizons.

Find Chistophor Rick on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/christophor.rick and follow him on Twitter, @ChristophorRick to keep up with “Not So Super.”

And while you’re at it give a big LIKE to “Not So Super” on Facebook — we are thinking that you don’t want to miss this pilot.

http://www.facebook.com/NotSoSuperTV

TV Reset Project Semi-Finalist Feature: The Others

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Thriller web series The Others is the brainchild of Douglas Stark.  That his writing made it to ZoomTilt’s finals is no surprise given his background — Doug has written for Law & Order, Falcone (CBS), NBC/Universal and Bruckheimer, as well as written screenplays for hire.  He’s been writing for about 25 years now, sometimes for Hollywood and sometimes for independent projects.

But writing is not his only work in the film world — he also worked as a producer for shows like E! and True Hollywood, as well as a director for his own shorts.  He wrote and directed the short “Do Not Disturb” (a psychological thriller), which was named 2005′s best short by Fade In magazine.

“I feel like I’m working full-time as a writer and part-time as everything else,” Doug says.  “I have the ability to create my own schedule, so my day is a revolving schedule of textbook business, writing work, and family (I have two kids).  If you want to know ‘when do you find time to write’,  the real answer is I don’t sleep (certainly not enough).”

Doug recommends that other writers “write what you must”, but also focus on finding ways to get those scripts produced.  “Even if it’s DIY. At the end of the day, you’ll learn a lot more about what works and what doesn’t and you’ll have something to show.”

Editor’s note: The Others is a thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat.  Each episode is a page turner.  I’ve read the whole first season and am dying to know what happens after that!  We can’t wait to see the pilot.

TV Reset Project Semi-Finalist Feature: SPYCOLOGY

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With a seamless script-to-screen production cycle, Travis Tyler and James Poirier joke, “People want to see our content and we can’t produce it fast enough!” Still, even in a post-production haze after their recently-premiered short film, The End of December, the mantra of the independent filmmaker persists: “We enjoy it.  Otherwise we wouldn’t do it.”

Comedy is a new venture for this team, though, and it comes in the form of a web series about students in spy training school. Spycology, they say, is perfect for the next big thing: web entertainment.

Spycology is James Bond meets Harry Potter meets Scrubs, states James with a grin. They describe script writing as a scattered, creative asset. “The trick is pulling it all together.” Tenth Gate Production’s smooth-functioning production manager Nancy Pratheepmanowong explains that the appeal of a web series is that they are ongoing and allow for a true story arc. “From a writing standpoint,” says James, “it’s watching a character evolve naturally. You can’t achieve that the same way with short films. “  While James is more writing and detail-oriented, Travis is the big picture guy, drawn to the re-watchability factor, which is exclusive to web series.

Tenth Gate Productions was set in motion when Travis and James decided on a name for their future production company in 4th grade. “Growing up in rural Maine, there aren’t too many draws on your time.  We’d film something nearly every day,” James explains. James and Travis butt heads, and they say it’s better and more constructive that way, especially with new addition Nancy, who balances out the team. Travis explains, “a long standing friendship is hard to emulate, but we have this keen understanding.”

They define themselves as storytellers, rather than filmmakers, sharing the mentality, “I need to tell your story and I need to tell it right.” James points to the rarity of seeing “Written, produced, and edited by:” in credits.  “This really maintains artistic integrity efficiently from script to screen.”

But even though they’ve been in the business for 15 years, they still learn something every day. “You can’t be in this industry if you thought you knew it all,” explains James, who sees editing as the new art form. “If you stop learning, you become complacent,” Travis expands, noting the challenge of finding the best solutions for each new creative endeavor. While they feel Hollywood has reached a wall in terms of originality, the independent film community evolves in ways unmatched by major film studios, and they’re taking the web by storm.

Be sure to follow Tenth Gate on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TenthGate for the latest updates on Spycology and their other projects.

TV Reset Project Semi-Finalist Feature: COOL JUSTICE

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Actors and filmmakers Todd Rulapaugh and Brian Groh are in the runnings with their webseries pitch, Cool Justice, inspired by stylized cop shows of the 70′s. Todd, who created the premise, points to characters like Detective Mick Belker in Hill Street Blues – “This guy would actually growl at the bad guys!” The soil is fertile for this action-packed comedy webseries. Picture Starsky and Hutch meets Comedy Central’s Reno 911, where anything can and does happen.

In Cool Justice, two cryogenically frozen undercover cops from the 70’s are thawed out in present day Los Angeles to help a hottie heiress claim her missing millions.  Together the unlikely threesome bust up bad guys old-school-style while following cryptic-clues left by her eccentric billionaire-scientist-grandfather, in a perfect world, played by Will Ferrell.

The team had a field day dreaming up what these comedic cops could get caught up in after being dormant for 40 years. Todd and Brian draw from their own adventures in “the mean streets of L.A.”  With the space shuttle Endeavor landing at LAX a couple of weeks ago to be driven through the streets to the California Science Center, they imagined a scene with the confused cops. They pictured them waiting out on the streets like everyone else, only they brought their binoculars and a telescope pointed up into the sky, eventually having a revelation: “Oh my God, they drive it to the moon now!”


When Brian isn’t improvising with Upright Citizens Brigade and when Todd takes a break from L.A. standup at The Comedy Store and Flappers Comedy Club, the two hash out ideas for their new ventures. The script for their action feature, “Hell Divers Rodeo,” is currently optioned by “Cinema Revival,” and they are looking ahead to the world of webseries.

The team is excited by opportunities to take their talent to the web, and Brian explains that “a lot of these projects, once you start them, they don’t die.” Especially not when your clip receives the highest rating of “immortal” on Funny or Die. Check out Brian’s clip, First Date Blow Job, for a taste of what kind of humor to expect from Cool Justice!

With Jeff Hodsden on board as director, Todd and Brian say they are stoked to take Cool Justice to the small screen, anticipating the freedom and control that comes into play when working on a webseries. Todd and Brian are firm believers in the power of comedy to trump short attention spans. “The idea for Cool Justice is that anyone can drop in on any episode and still be entertained,” they explain, noting the charisma of the over-the-top cops.


Todd Rulapaugh– Writing and Acting
An actor living in Los Angles where he has worked on pilots as a series regular for Brillstein-Grey, ABC, independent television, lead guest spots for CBS and feature films including the Grand Jury indie hit “In Memory of My Father”. Most recently he has been performing stand up at various comedy clubs in L.A.

Brian Groh – Writing and Acting
A writer/performer from the famed Upright Citizens Brigade. His sketches have achieved the highest rating on Funny-or-Die and have appeared on TV. He is also a frequent contributor to well-known Hollywood sketch and scene nights including UCB’s Not Too Shabby, Slap and Tickle, Saturn and Vine, Serial Killers and Tongue and Groove.

Jeff Hodsden – Directing
An Emmy nominated writer who has written over thirty episodes for hit shows on the Disney Channel, including The Suit Life of Zack and Cody and currently The A.N.T. Farm. Prior to that, he wrote for the hit WB comedy, The Jamie Kennedy Experiment. He continues to write and direct for all types of media, commercial and independents.

An Open Letter to Shark Tank Boston

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Dear Katie Rae, Mike Troiano, Pete Backlow, Fred Destin and Dharmesh Shah and One Anonymous VIP Shark/Investor,

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Amy. I am just shy of turning twenty-eight; I was raised in North Jersey and educated in New York City, where I began my career.   Currently I am a full-time MFA graduate student at Emerson College, a freelance filmmaker, and “Maker of Happened Things” at ZoomTilt (because, well, I make lots of things happen), one of the 70 odd-something companies listed for the Shark Tank at FutureM.

I write to you today not to tell you to pick ZoomTilt; but rather, to tell you why I choose ZoomTilt and trust by the end of this letter that you will understand why we deserve to be on the stage with Shark Tank.

You saw the generic run-down of my credentials above, but that is just skimming the surface of my resume. I’ve been involved in public relations since PR was considered the “new advertising.” I’ve worked for large agencies representing Fortune 500 clients, I’ve been in-house with an internationally recognized diamond retailer and I launched smaller brand campaigns as an employee of a boutique PR agency. When I transitioned my career into film production I backtracked a bit, working first as an assistant, climbing the ranks to senior assistant and then finally, producer. I moved to Boston two years ago to pursue independent filmmaking and since then I’ve created an array of digital content and received thousands of views under my own LLC, Greenview Entertainment. I’ve studied with theater institutions around the globe, and my work has been nominated and recognized at film festivals throughout the country. I am also a YPC Member for the Cancer Research Institute and I am a published writer.

So, you are probably asking yourself with all this success and accomplishment and amount of work on my plate, why did I seek out ZoomTilt at the end of August 2012 and demand that I join the team, working, as most start-ups and entrepreneurs do, for absolutely no pay?

At a basic level, my interests are strongly aligned with the work that ZoomTilt is doing, so it’s a no brainer that I wanted to work for Anna Callahan and Chris Bolman. But for me it goes beyond my passion for filmmaking and why, even though I am a full-time graduate student with my own production banner I have officially taken on the role of the “Maker of Happened Things” over here at ZoomTilt.

ZoomTilt is a digital entertainment studio that provides filmmakers with the opportunity to get their work seen and paid for. Anna Callahan, the company’s founder, is an experienced filmmaker, who knows as well as I do, that the current model and economics of “Hollywood” and “Big Studio” do not work anymore. Today, it’s brands and advertisers that bring both funds and recognition to filmmakers and video creatives on content platforms like YouTube.  Content-hungry brands are the new funding engines that creative professionals use to present great, original, episodic content to audiences.  To feed this hunger and reinvent the economics and experience of both filmmaking and video advertising, ZoomTilt is spearheading a digital empire to fund independent, digital TV and video that also provides brands a more compelling, more engaging and lower cost way to tell their story to consumers.

The reason why I love ZoomTilt is because it aligns everything I’ve worked for over the years. A good publicist, like a good filmmaker, is a storyteller.

Individuals such as myself, Anna Callahan and Chris Bolman are the media makers of the future.  And in the highly fragmented and noisy digital space, standout media content, my honorable judges, is king.  What ZoomTilt is building allows me, my colleagues and an entire industry of creative professionals to succeed – because media is how messages and experiences are spread.  Media is what sustains and enlivens culture, even more so now in this fast-paced, information driven, digital age than ever before.

At ZoomTilt, we have a unique way of connecting brands and filmmakers to create and distribute that media; marketing media that entertains, promotes ideas and drives revenue and ROI for brands with deep, deep pockets and big, big budgets.

Marketing media is the reason why FutureM exists. So, I’ll leave you with one last question to consider:

Don’t you want one of the six companies standing on the stage at FutureM’s Shark Tank to be the company that is fundamentally redefining media marketing?

Exactly.

Happeningly yours,

Amy DePaola

Maker of Happened Things
ZoomTilt
amy@zoomtilt.com
@theeamydee
@zoomtilt