24. March 2010 14:50
Posted by SamSari
From the earliest days of the cinema, when filmmakers first began attaching soundtracks to film sequences to create the first ‘talkies’, audiences have been utterly captivated by the power of the motion picture. When it’s done right film has the unique ability to immerse the viewer in a world of sight and sound, and as advertisers soon discovered, deliver a compelling message to a large and widely dispersed audience.
Fast forward a hundred years to the information overloaded present, where the business world finds its internal and external communication channels often drowned out by the sheer volume of messages coming from the world wide web and multimedia broadcasting. Previously restricted by relatively slow broadband speeds, film and video have been on the rise as faster connections have opened up a world of new possibilities. Websites like YouTube have created ‘viral video’ sensations, connecting millions to a single idea in seconds. And this rising tide of information and video is merely the tip of the proverbial iceberg: according to a recent study by Cisco, consumer IP traffic is expected to reach two-thirds of a zettabyte – that’s a trillion gigabytes - by 2013. Of that traffic, 90% is expected to be video.
At SamSari, we’ve watched this trend take shape as more and more companies begin to use video as the dominant vehicle for communicating both to the outside world and internally with their own employees. In our view, when it comes to branding and positioning, employee engagement, leadership campaigns and other strategic initiatives, the power of video to create immediate emotional connections is a truly effective way to get your frontline workforce engaged and involved in the effort straight away. We see film as a multi-purpose tool that can be used to create a sense of urgency, rally your workforce around a new strategy, or share inspiration and best practice examples from throughout the organization. Whether it is a fast paced interview with key personnel, or a dramatic production illustrating organizational values, you can count on the power of film to leave a lasting impression.
As we make our way to the Year of the Zettabyte, we will be watching this trend and helping our clients to make better use of this tool in their large scale transformation efforts. These days, it’s always best to try and stay a step ahead of the technology, especially when it affects the way your organization communicates. As we say at SamSari, change may be inevitable, but it doesn’t have to be unmanageable!
Want to read more about film as a tool for effective communication? Click on the links below for some inspiration!
A summary of Cisco's report on IP traffic in the future.
Alfa Bravo - a blog about online video and digital media business development.
Story of Stuff - a cool combination of animation and film.
Do you know of other inspirational websites? Leave a comment in the comment field and share your tip with other readers!
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