Beyond The Brochure
By Frank Gallant

Many small and medium sized businesses struggle to find the best way to promote their products and services. Whether they use business cards, brochures, radio ads, word of mouth or all of the above, most feel that producing promotional videos and other multimedia products are out of their price range. However, with advancements in technology these areas of advertising are more affordable and can have a more dramatic effect than ever before.

Small video production companies now have the ability to not only provide you with a quality product you will be proud of, but also to assist you in the planning, scripting, taping/photography and editing — turning the business person into the producer.

The four elements listed above are key in making cost effective promotional material. A production company can and should be involved in all of these elements. The more time spent on the first two elements, the less time needed for the others.

1. Planning – This is the most important part of production. Several questions must be answered before we can even begin to produce a quality promotion program. Who is targeted by this promotion? Children, adults, locals, out-of-towner’s, or all of the above? What do you want to say? Are you targeting a product, a service, the advantage of your location, etc? What is the best way to tell your story? Videotape, a PowerPoint presentation, a website, CD’s, DVD’s or a combination of all of the above?

2. Scripting – A key element in any production, the script is the road map. Once you have decided what format or formats you want to use, you must prepare a script. Whether it is a video, PowerPoint presentation, etc. it is necessary to put on paper what you want to see and hear on the screen.

3. Taping/Photography - Video taping or gathering the necessary photos should be scheduled to show your business at its best — busiest times, service work, friendliness of your employees, cleanliness and products. Scheduling and arranging can make this element the quickest part of all.

4. Editing – This is the final step and should also go quickly if all of the other elements have been done properly.

Although the elements that go into producing a multimedia presentation may seem to be very complicated, they are actually something most small businesses could do very easily and rather inexpensively. You know your market and your customers; you know how to make them happy. So, the extra step of putting down your thoughts and having them presented in any multimedia format should not be that much of a stretch.

With all the media formats available and the need to showcase your business to the world, first rate well-received multimedia promotional material can be produced more economically than ever before.

Frank Gallant was born in Douglastown. He worked as a Video Technician for the Training Centre at Repap New Brunswick for over 20 years. Frank has produced several local documentary and information videos including Christmas Mountain Blow Down video, Miramichi Tourism video and French Fort Cove promotional video. He now runs his own Multimedia Production Company called Frank's Video Service and can be contacted at (506) 624-8645 or email gallantf@nbnet.nb.ca