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The Web and the Ballroom Need Different Style Videos

What works in an informal setting DOESN'T Work in a Major Meeting.

September 7, 2017

This should be no mystery so I'll keep it brief: the web and the ballroom are two different things.

By different things, I mean different environments, requiring different communications approaches.

The Internet

The web, via Youtube, Facebook Live, and other hosts and site, offers diverse types of video. There is everything from "look at me" Youtubers to serious marketing and training applications. But, by saying "the web" what we're really saying is "small environment", often a one on one viewing experience. This experience is demanding, time sensitive, and is directed to a non-captive, fickle audience used to clicking "next" on a whim or whiff of boredom. They report to no one. Their uncontrolled environment can be home, coffee shops, subway stations, treadmills, and wandering main street, where they will bump into you... I guarantee it. Communication within this "environment" must be to-the-point, quick and snappy, even when it is offering straight entertainment.

The Ballroom

Here, we mean any place where people gather for meetings, specifically of the business or motivational variety. Ballrooms, auditoriums, big Vegas stadiums, even large conference rooms fit the bill. They keys here are a captured audience (they're paid to be there), a controlled environment, and the possibility of additional environmental and theatrical elements, such as incredible sound systems, special lighting, and a thermostat set to 65 degrees to keep the audience awake and alert. And of course, they're probably sitting. Here, the video elements can be longer, more thoughtful, more motivational, appealing not just to logic and laughter but to emotion and motivation. This is a group experience, a shared experience, and for the host (a company, charity, or organization) it is damn important.

The Upshot

The person who knows what's groovy on YouTube may not be the person who can motivate 10,000 people in The Bellagio Stadium or the local hotel's ballroom. What moves thumbs up clicks may have no impact on a theatrical experience where sales initiatives or mission statements need to be enthusiastically embraced and adopted. Consider your supplier wisely. Consider Us!