"What IS Personal Branding and how do I even get started?” Personal branding is essentially marketing yourself from a personal or professional perspective, and sometimes both. You have value, you have knowledge to share, your input is welcome in conversations. Whether you're brand new to an industry or a seasoned veteran, you bring value to others. Both in the written word and through videos.
What IS Branded Storytelling?
A recurring question I receive is "What IS Branded Storytelling?" Is it just a commercial but more cinematic? Does it mean I don't talk about my brand directly?
Branded storytelling is all about making a connection to your potential customer. It's usually a long game, you don't make one video, tell one story and magically you've connected to an entirely new audience. One story might get that initial interest, but a body of stories can form an emotional connection to your brand and your product. Multiple storylines can attract multiple demographics.
Branded Storytelling: Setting Up Your Creative Infrastructure
One of the most confusing and vexing areas for any company starting up an internal creative team is knowing what equipment to purchase. There are thousands of pieces of equipment and hundreds of recommendations on ‘what you need to buy.’ While every situation is different, here’s a basic primer on the types of equipment and how much you might spend to set up a basic two-person internal team.
Branding Videos - Start with Audio.
Almost every time someone asks me for advice on getting started with video they always lead with 'what camera should I use?' or 'how do I make my smartphone camera look better.' Not one person has ever asked me how to make their audio sound better and that's honestly the most important aspect of creating good videos.
The "Right Tool" Might Be Your Brain, Not A Specific Camera
Filming “We Are: Brewton, Alabama” for Georgia-Pacific with dual Canon DSLRs and a super cheap Best Buy LED light. The high quality lenses are more important than the cameras themselves in making pretty picture.
Too often I hear from videographers and DPs that “the camera is just a tool, and if you want to shoot something correctly, you have to have the right tool for the job.” In some cases they are correct. When it comes to big budget episodic shows and films, bigger is often better.
But when it comes to digital storytelling and branding, it’s the creative use of the tools at hand that matter more than the ‘right tool.’
Quick Storytelling Turnaround underway!
Days like today, I love my career. Scratch that, I LOVE my career. 1:30 this afternoon I was requested to pull together a national, public facing project that will debut in about 6 weeks. Requires filming both in Atlanta and in Tennessee.
New Branding for Georgia-Pacific Corrugated
Really excited to see my new branding campaign launched today. “Life of a Box” introduces new branding for the Georgia-Pacific corrugated division. Taking viewers through a three part story on how Georgia-Pacific produces a better box to help protect the most precious cargo.
Georgia-Pacific is Tourney ready. Are you?
DP Brad Hinton showing off some moves in GP Studios.
One thing about taking on a new role at Georgia-Pacific… you hit the ground running. March Madness is such a fun part of American sports and we have tons of certified sports nuts working at GP. Our Social Media team was looking for some way to have a little fun with the basketball tournament. So I quickly sketched out a storyboard and hatched a plan with lead on our intranet to recruit ‘actors’ for the spot. This turned out to be so much fun.