Arkansas Movement

Today is Time Lapse Tuesday. Before becoming a video producer, I was a raft guide on the Arkansas River, outside of Canon City Colorado, for 7 summers. I manage to make it down every season for a weekend or two to visit old friends, swim in the cool river, and shoot some high water video footage. 

After a great winter, the Ark was once again flowing high. It's terrifying being a river guide on a boat full of customers who aren't the best paddlers, while floating into a large class 4 rapid. The heart starts pounding with fear.

Three Rocks Rapid, on the Bighorn Sheep Canyon stretch, just above the Royal Gorge, is a spectator favorite. Dozens of travelers along Highway 50 stop along side the roadway to watch the rafts battle this mean section. Some succeed, others get spanked. 

Downtown Denver

Here's another short video created with Burst Marketing for the Downtown Denver Partnership. This video was produced for the first ever Urban Leadership Symposium which was held for city leaders of the West. The organization showed the video at the start of the conference to create buzz around the growing cities of this region.

Online Video Advertising - User Reactions

Online video ads are leading to sales, according to the Online Publishers Association (OPA) "Frames of Reference: Online Video Advertising, Content and Consumer Behavior" report, conducted in partnership with OTX.

Of the 80% of viewers who had watched an online video ad, just over half had taken some sort of action. Nearly a third had checked out a Web site, while 22% had searched for more information, 15% had gone into a store and 12% had actually made a purchase.

Pam Horan of the OPA said, "With online video firmly entrenched in the mainstream, marketers need to understand what works for driving key advertising metrics."

PointRoll studied how online video advertising is relevant to brand marketers, and found that interactivity helps increase the time viewers spent with brands. When the video ad included or was surrounded by some form of interactivity — such as buttons to click to find out more or forms to fill out to register — it tended to increase average brand interaction time.

Entrepreneur thoughts?

I found some informative videos on the Godaddy site that can appeal to a wide audience of business professionals. Bob Parsons, founder of GoDaddy.com, started his own video blog with himself as the personality of each episode. Each month he adds a short, informal and humorous set of video tips, often about business advice. You wouldn't think the guy was meant to be in front of the camera, as he holds an awkward presence, but his goofiness and simplicity make the videos easy for anyone to watch. Although these videos offer free advice and free content, it's a great way for Godaddy.com to appear as the business experts when it comes to start-ups and web hosting.