Video Advertising & Being Creative in a Saturated Digital Space
It’s always great to have a chat with Mike Blackmore! You can read the interview here.
Today I got to sit down with a good friend of mine who just so happens to be a TV producer at Rogers Media and CEO of a local video production company called Fine Line Studios here in Edmonton. Dane has championed some big productions for his age and is becoming a household name in the video business. Dane is a certified YouTube guru and one of the most creative people I have ever met. Today he shares his story with us and answers some burning questions.
Q: It’s no secret that video is getting served at a higher rate than standard text or image ads, and as more platforms offer video as a primary ad campaign. The reach is great and the engagement is even greater. When you think of a video campaign, what are some of the first steps you take when putting together a video campaign?
Dane: First of all, I stop and consider the medium through which the messaging will be consumed. This is the most important part of, I’d argue, all advertising. Knowing how users interact with their devices, and consume content is critical to developing a well performing ad. I find that the best course of action is to actually go into Facebook Ad Manager, and start creating targeting groups. In doing so, you’ll learn what demographics have overlapping interests, and then I plan to create advertisements that meet that targeted groups needs. From there, I then look at the advertiser’s objectives and determine the best way to get those results for the given budget. In my experience, this is where any and all conflict occurs. Ha! In my may market, the clients ideas don’t always translate to success where they want it, and I more often than not find myself fighting for their positive ROI.
Q: Is it expensive to shoot and produce videos? Some people don’t have resources or budgets to do video campaigns, what are some tips you would offer these types of businesses to stay competitive with video?
Dane: Video is immensely expensive to create, but I would caution anyone who believes that more money equates to a better video. With a cellphone, an open window and a steady hand, anybody can create gorgeous 4k images. The image quality and style of filming helps, but the messaging of the video — the story — is what really drives people’s interest. Believe me, Dunkirk isn’t a great movie because it was shot in IMAX on 70mm film. It’s a great movie because it has a great story. So I’d say write a great story, that suits your intended audience and after it’s written, after it’s been fleshed out — then you use whatever resources you have to make it look as visually interesting as possible.
How does YouTube Video advertising compare to Facebook and other platforms?
Dane: That’s a pretty interesting question. I think it depends on your audience. The question you should be asking yourself is what are they consuming on the platform? Are they watching Vlogs? If so then your ad should emulate that style of content. The advertisement should be seamless to the viewer. The best ads on Youtube or Facebook are the ones the audience doesn’t believe is in ad, because it isn’t it’s content that they’re interested in consuming. If you’re targeting someone who loves watching hip-hop music videos, you should probably make a hip-hop music video. Now, your brand is THEIR brand. Advertising has shifted from telling people about the product you’re selling. Now we’re showing people that we understand them, and that they’re really rad.
When editing your videos, what are some of your favorite go to tools? (ie; software, hardware etc).
Dane: I bounce all over the place! It really depends. I try to avoid editing at all costs, but if I must delve into it, I select my software based upon the video. Adobe Premiere Pro is the industry standard for everything from news to feature films, so that’s a really safe bet. If I’m in the field, or working on something that won’t require much audio editing Apple’s Final Cut Pro X is definitely my go to.
If you’re looking for recommendations for aspiring filmmakers, Adobe, AVID, and Final Cut are all industry standard software — but if you’re starting from scratch as a filmmaker, I would urge you take a look at Black Magic Design’s Davinci Resolve. It’s free, it’s robust and constantly getting industry leading updates, and it’s really the only program anyone uses for Color work. The only thing I would caution about it is the learning curve is huge because it has so many features. I personally am inexperienced with all things Avid.
What’s the craziest video project you have been asked to produce?
Dane: The craziest project I’ve been asked to produce definitely isn’t the craziest project I’ve produced, nor is it the craziest I’ve asked to produce! In terms of what is actually the most challenging thing that I’ve created? That would have to be the music video I just released. Projects become exponentially more complicated as more and more people get involved, and that was something we learned very quickly. In terms of crazy things that happened in front of a camera, I usually find a way to get cars doing some pretty intense driving.
Have you tried the new remarketing feature in Youtube video campaigns?
Dane: No, I personally haven’t. I have built campaigns for it though! It seems to be really interesting. We’ve done a few where a story is continued across 3 videos, and in order to get to the next story you have to watch the first. they‘re really challenging. It’s difficult to do remarketing that way because you need to be insanely detailed in everything that you do in the process. The story has to be a slam dunk and the targeting has to be 100% perfect. In the end it always weirds me out though to see how closely my online actions represent me as a human being.
What’s the single most important piece of advice you would share with someone who is thinking of starting a ‘Video Agency’?
Dane: Undercutting the market will not work. If you’re able to produce video content you need to find a job in a company who wants to be producing video content. Video agencies are servicing medium to large businesses. To do that you need a proven track record, and you need to be able to work with big budgets and make them look much bigger. Small businesses that aren’t doing their own video, won’t be interested in the services that you can provide. In my experience, you’re spending more time selling the internet than you are selling video content.
The Video Agency game is a very challenging one. Pretty much everyone involved in it, wants to be in Hollywood someday, so it’s a shark tank. Rather than stabbing each other in the back for $3 million dollars it’s happening over $700.00. It’s kind of sad, and it has really made me and my team shift directions in how we go about doing things.
When did you know you were going to make a living producing videos? How is that working out for you today?
Dane: I didn’t! I love storytelling, and I saw film as the best medium to be doing it right now. If I could I’d probably be in video games as well — I just love building fantastical worlds and immersing people in them. I was fortunate enough to get an opportunity to work with some great people, who encouraged me to take risks and liberties within the medium and it really worked out for me.
Now, I’ve kind of found that I’m distancing myself from the actual filmmaking process! I’m much more drawn to the creation and inception of an idea — As I stumble and fall and climb up from the Hollywood Studio process you’ll have to ask me that again sometime in the future, because right now — I’m jumping into a big dark hole with my fingers crossed!
Have you got your feet wet with any VR productions and if so where do you see that fitting into a marketing strategy over the next 5–10 years?
Dane: No, I haven’t. It’s so expensive and new right now! I truly believe that immersion, and storytelling will be the key to success in the VR world. I totally see it being huge — you’re the star, so why wouldn’t everyone want to be part of that? VR will be rife with product placement. It was made for it! Genius platform, very, very hard to get right though. It’s experiential marketing at it’s finest, so it will prove to be very effective for advertisers because they will be able to offer people incredible, unimaginable experiences.
Videos evoke emotion and inspire people to take action, how do you see this impacting advertising moving forward as more people produce videos and advertising platforms become more video centric?
Dane: We’re already seeing it in the form of branded content. Huge companies — fortune 500’s — are putting a lot of effort and money into having their products featured in films and shows. That’s the future of the advertising industry. If you sell paper, you don’t run a retargeting campaign — you commission The Office 2.0. If you want to sell cars, you don’t run a 0% APR facebook ad… You get your car in Baby Driver or The Fast and The Furios. It’s a really exciting time for filmmakers right now, but it also means that there is a tonne of luck, experience, and self marketing necessary to be able to take advantage of these new-found opportunities.
Lastly, considering how fast video has become a powerhouse do you think it will hit a wall in terms of saturation and force businesses to become even more creative with their video message to have an impact?
Dane: Honestly, I think we’ve hit the wall a few years ago. Considering how easy it is to produce video content, it is becoming more and more critical for business’s to get creative with their video. This is a double edged sword though. Original ideas ALWAYS lose to familiar ones, so a video content producer — especially in the advertising sphere — needs to be able to put themselves in a box and be creative inside of that box.
I actually just had a meeting with a client who wanted an “on trend” creative ad (at a very low budget). After developing a concept, closely modeling the major players in their industry, we developed a really stylish take on a simple story that defines their brand. We didn’t get the gig — because it wasn’t “creative” enough, and that’s fine. That happens, but there are a few lessons to be learned from this, as you put it, wall we’ve hit:
- If your client doesn’t know what they want, but knows what they DON’T want, you need to sit down with them and write until you have something that they can confidently say “yes! I love it.” If you don’t have that, don’t start shooting. You will never work with them again, and they will never be happy with the hard work you put in. The more work you put in at the beginning, the more likely you’ll get to have more freedom at the end — and that’s where it matters.
- Creativity in advertising is driven by the objective — not the product. If the advertiser doesn’t know or understand a business’s goal, it’s impossible to drive customer engagements in a really unique and exciting way. Obviously, every business’s goal is to sell more, and if they don’t have a plan on how they’re going to do that, it’s impossible for an advertiser to creatively bring customers to the business. You can lead a horse to water, but can’t force it to drink.
- Original/Creative ideas aren’t always Good ideas. There is a reason a Nike ad looks the way it does — millions of dollars of analysis have been spent knowing their ads are going to make people buy. Advertising isn’t guesswork, it’s a formula.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us today, you are definitely a person to watch moving forward in the video advertising world. Is there anything else you would like to share with us in closing?
Dane: It’s been a real pleasure! I’d just say in closing that your video work is being judged 80% on story/theme. If you’re afraid to ask your clients the hard questions that need to be asked — about their business, their clients, their brand — your ads won’t end up being successful. If you change one thing about yourself as an advertiser, I’d say that’s the thing to change. Clients will stop replying to your emails, they’ll find other videographers or just do it themselves, but in the end the responsibility of the campaign is all on your shoulders. In the end, you’re doing yourself a favour.
You can follow Dane on Twitter at @DBarthalamu or @finelineYEG

