Tom Ricciardone: Please Step Away From the Camera

Editor’s note: Tom Ricciardone is a 20-year veteran strategic communications consultant for corporate, nonprofit and trade association clients. In 2012, he co-founded Bespoke Video Productions and Multi-Screen Media Strategy to help companies and organizations of all sizes produce and use video, digital content and original programming to meet a range of business goals. He can be reached by email at [email protected].

 

Lights. Camera. Action.

Or not.

When considering video you have options.

Options that should be weighed.

Options include traditional “live action” video, motion graphics video and a wide range of animation techniques and styles. All can even sometimes be used in the same video and range from the very simple to the extremely complex and highly specialized.

Conversations with clients usually start out with a very general, “We want to do a video.”

What they usually have in mind is production of a video that requires the capturing and editing of live moving images.

We all know the type. Any number and types of video cameras can be used as well as simple to involved lighting, sound and equipment kits along with a necessary number of skilled production crew.

Increasingly, camera equipped drones can also be part of the equation. I’m seeing this first-hand more and more. Videos recently produced by Bespoke Video Production that utilized a drone include a commercial for a local hospital system and a sales video for a manufacturer of high-end farm tractors.

The drone was certainly not a necessity in both cases but, given the rapid advances in and corresponding lower costs for drone technology, it was a nice “extra touch” that added a unique visual element and the always appealing aerial perspective.

Not that they let me go near the controls, but they are a lot of fun and always get the neighborhood’s attention. That counts for something.

You can see why what may seem a relatively modest video at the idea stage can in actuality become quite involved and require a lot of moving pieces including crew, time pressures, logistical challenges and expense.

With each added layer of complexity, the level of difficulty increases and the chances of your video meeting your goal becomes more difficult to achieve.

If you don’t meet your goal, really, what’s the point?

Given the stakes, exploring all options on the front end should always be on the table.

The goal is always to choose the format that enables your company or organization to best deliver a precisely tailored message with the desired impact.

Sounds easy enough but who hasn’t silently groaned when forced to sit through a video that is sluggish, or of poor quality, or ill conceived, off target, without direction or all of the above?

As a strategic communications consultant, one of my clients is The Trucking Alliance for Safety and Security (The Alliance), a D.C.-based national coalition of businesses committed to enacting meaningful federal legislation that directly contributes to safer highways and addresses other related industry concerns. It is funded by a range of freight and logistics companies including some of the nation’s largest. Arkansas members include J.B. Hunt Transport, Maverick USA and Fikes Truck Line.

The Alliance was the first industry trade group to support mandating a specific safety technology -— electronic logging devices (ELDs) -— in all interstate commercial trucks to make sure truck drivers don’t exceed their maximum allowed hours behind the wheel.

The Alliance secured the sponsors in the U.S. House and Senate to introduce this legislation.

Congress was persuaded to adopt this and another measure in an overwhelmingly bipartisan fashion and included it in the federal transportation reauthorization bill. They were two of only two percent of the bills introduced in that session that Congress actually passed.

It was a great, hard won success and a great day for safety on our nation’s highways.

However that is only the beginning. Once passed, it’s game on. Getting the legislation as written to stick, to keep it from being gutted or watered down and implemented in a timely manner is another thing entirely. It’s full-contact democracy in action. It needs to be played with eyes wide open and it’s not for the faint of heart.

The post legislative, pro-ELD communication strategy included a very aggressive, multi-pronged campaign aimed at a variety of key audiences including members of congress and key staff members, other key stakeholder and influencers, as well as the general public and national general and industry trade media.

The following video was one component of that campaign which ended the final week of June.

This motion graphics video, one of a series produced by Bespoke for the campaign was originally conceived as a live-action video.

However, it became clear as the process unfolded that a motion graphics style would best offer the messaging control and provide the needed impact to deliver a very precise, compelling message to the target audiences.

Other video produced for the campaign did include live video but as I went through the process of writing the script, a lengthy process that included meeting with industry suppliers, trucking company executives, truck driver representatives, government staffers and others, it became clear that live video was not the best option.

This was a tricky message to arrive it. What seems simple enough in the finished product is a result of digging through the complexity surrounding the issue.

Success is often more connected to what is left out than what is left in. Irrelevant messaging is to be avoided at all costs.

In an earlier article, I talked about my love for simplicity. It suits me. I run into trouble when I take my eye off that ball.

I also wrote that getting to simple is the hard part. This video is evidence of that.

Relevance and simplicity are my two guiding principles in crafting communications and messaging for clients. It’s what your audience expects. It’s what every video must deliver.

It’s what should drive the choice of video you choose to produce.

Done well, when completed, the message should look easy and simple to arrive at and the type of video chosen to deliver it, a seamless, natural fit. The two go hand-in-hand.

I think the above video accomplishes that.

Much was at stake for the industry, for truck drivers and for all who drive our nation’s highways. This video had thousands of views to general and very targeted audiences. It played a small but important part in the overall communications strategy.

The ELD mandate was successfully navigated through the critical post legislative period just completed two weeks ago. We will all be the safer for it.