Helping companies to design marketing that works in today’s world

 

The world of marketing is changing rapidly. Everyone knows that. Studies show direct mail is increasingly ineffective and print is rapidly giving way to viral marketing and other online methods. Not everyone knows how to adapt to those changes though. And for all companies, large and small, finding ways to move their advertising dollars to new and more effective methods is critical. “They know they need to do it but they don’t know how,” says Eric Guerin, co-founder of SmartMarket Media. “And that is where we can help them. A lot of what we do is providing education.”

Since October 2005, Guerin and Heather Riley and their team of writers, filmmakers and musicians have been producing SmartMarket "Movies" for clients big and small. Each SmartMarket Movie is a one-to-four-minute film that entertains, informs — and sells. Each video includes fresh images and graphics, compelling narration, original music and a call-to-action page. Some use animation and almost all use humor. To see just how effective a SmartMarket Movie is, go to smartmarketmovie.com and visit their Video Samples Area for samples. In their own self-promotional video, Guerin and Riley placed Paul Revere, a man with a message, in a modern day office to illustrate how much easier Paul Revere’s job might have been using online video to deliver his message.

“We always try to interject a certain level of entertainment into every project,” Riley says. “People have a lot of fun working with us.” Entertainment is the key that makes a SmartMarket Movie successful.

“Anyone can make a sales video but if no one watches it how effective is it?” Guerin says. “That is really what we come to the table with. We write the script and it is interesting and engaging. It is not just one person sitting in front of a camera. We really love helping companies do this and it is such an emerging advertising technique that the market is unlimited, as far as how we can help people — whether it is a small mom and pop or a big corporation.”

Guerin and Riley both have extensive backgrounds in marketing and film. After designing marketing materials for the EMC worldwide workforce, Guerin founded his own design firm in 1999 with the mission of providing an integrated solution to customer’s print and web design needs. Last year, he was named one of Worcester’s Business Journal’s rising young business stars. Riley graduated from Boston University’s film school, started out as an intern on the public television series Visionaries, and rose to senior producer there. She later formed her own film company. When they met at a business get-together, they discovered they shared an obsession about the Tour de France — they figure they may be the only two devotees in Central Massachusetts — and that their talents and joyous personalities melded perfectly. They also saw a niche to be filled, one that could provide companies with effective, modern marketing tools.

Distribution of SmartMarket Movies is exponential. They are meant to be passed along to reach far beyond a client’s initial target audience.

“Every one ends with a call to action page — ‘share with a friend,’ ‘visit our website,’ ‘email for more info,’ or, if it’s a non-profit, ‘donate now,’ ” Riley says, noting that SmartMarket movies are also a great marketing tool for anyone who interested in being green. “Our biggest client,” she notes, “is very environmentally conscious.”

Many people, particularly young people, no longer read print — just look at the circulation crisis in the newspaper industry — and Guerin points out that most direct mail is thrown away unopened.

“If you do 2 percent on a direct mail campaign you’re doing pretty well” he said. “It is really just about changing where you direct your advertising dollar. Instead of throwing out 98 percent of your marketing dollar, you can do a SmartMarket Movie for roughly the same cost. And the nice thing is it can be used over and over.”

The proof is truly in the viewing. At smartmarketmovie.com you can watch movies Guerin and Riley have made for Waste Management and FIBA Technologies and other clients, and read lots more about how they can help bring your marketing into the 21st century. Their website is a lot of fun and they clearly love what they do.

“It is always great when clients tell us about the response they are getting,” Riley says. “There’s nothing better than when you get that feedback.”