Tag Archives: economic development

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Real Success Timeline

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Timelines are not new. But how you use them can always be improved.

In the world of multi-channel marketing, no single mode of communication is 100% effective. That stands as true today as it did when I first started saying it over 10 years ago. Some want a video. Others, well, a case study. Got to have a brochure. Is that page optimized for SEO? Somebody get out a press release. You get the drift. I started to think about all of these supportive, yet disparate, pieces of content, and how they could be more aligned.

Then there is the matter of time. How evergreen is one piece of content or collateral?

In the world of economic development, a project may not be deemed successful for a year, maybe 3, or even more. Companies can create meaningful impacts in jobs and investment over decades. And many times it is not just because of one factor but because they were supported by multiple entities. Maybe they used an existing industry team for an expansion. Maybe they used an international trade team to grow their exports. Maybe they used an innovation lab to incubate a new product or solution. Maybe the company used workforce training to generate the type of talent they need. Maybe it was all of these?

Enter the Real Success Timeline.

Features:

  • After a few seconds the timeline is designed to move. This is a great feature in terms of generating interest, moving users across time, but also for tradeshows where it wil move and feature different content items.
  • Of course it is built to be responsive to desktop, mobile and tablets, with each having slightly different layouts and functionality.
  • There are multiple ways to navigate the timeline either by filters, interactive dots, arrows, as well as secondary arrows below.
  • The larger pulsating dots indicate that this particular moment in time is more significant in terms of, for example, growth over time, or just more of a comprehensive story. But you can do simpler stories as well.
  • After build-out of the timeline began, I started to run in to situations where a significant item happened, but then another significant item that was directly related happened later. How do you leverage something in the past to point to the future? The Timeline also includes a field to indicate the update.
  • Each story has its own unique url so that it can be promoteed individually via social media, paid media or earned media.
  • There is complete control over the timeline through a Drupal 8 content management system so non-technical staff can add, remove and edit stories.
  • Could have gone back to any time in the past but chose a round number of 2010. The reason for this was to be able to populate the timeline with enough stories for a successful launch. All of these stories are written in-house, so I needed a timeframe that was manageable. That’s not to say we won’t look back further as we grow it.
  • And that is the last point I’d like to make. The timeline is completely scalable, and a great asset that can continue to evolve.

So there you go. My most recent web project. You can find it at Success.Georgia.org.

Professional

Japanese Investment Video – Tatami-style

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My latest video production is complete. It was quite a journey, but one that I thoroughly enjoyed. It is always fascinating to peer behind the curtain and see how global brands operate. But the best part is figuring out how best to tell their stories, and do it in a manner where the personality and the “real factor” shines through. This video is designed to be a handshake reaching across the globe to Japanese executives who are thinking about doing business in the United States. Even now, Georgia is home to more than 500 Japanese facilities employing over 30,000 Georgians.

Footage was captured at the JapanFest in Atlanta, the Cherry Blossom Festival in Macon, and company locations in Norcross, Peachtree City and Monroe. But the crux scene is at the restaurant. I was able to get each of the companies to Nakato, the oldest Japanese restaurant in Georgia, for a tatami-style dinner. Even the owners of Nakato, along with their daughter, joined us for a very special evening.

The culture and tradition of Japanese people is one of humility and respect, and it was an honor to work with all of the individuals it took to make this project a reality.

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Technology Industry Video

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If you saw my Connect post in March then you know I recently launched a new information technology (IT) video that focuses on cybersecurity, fintech, health IT, and telecommunications. In addition, I recently interviewed Facebook’s Global Data Center Site Selection Director on why they chose their most recent location for a new data center.

Whatever you think of Mark Zuckerberg’s recent testimony to the Congress and Senate (insert Orrin Hatch meme here), it is pretty cool to see a company investing so heavily in renewable energy. Not only that, Facebook is evolving local utilities’ practices of energy creation with their economic weight.

If you are also aware of my monthly ad placement in Delta Sky, then you won’t be surprised to see the below ad in your seat pocket for the month of May.

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Connect

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My goal is always to practice what I call “real marketing.” In other words, leveraging the perspectives of your end customers or stakeholders to tell future prospects why their lives will be better using you, your products and/or solutions. Therefore, I have invested considerable dollars and time in to pursuing thought leadership in videos, case studies, articles, whitepapers, profiles, etc.

Most of the videos I produce are from the perspective of real executives speaking to the facts. But in the case of this most recent video, which highlights the strengths of Georgia’s cybersecurity, fintech, health IT and general information technology sectors, I needed to take a more commercial approach. Why? Well, part of the reason is due to how fast technology companies change. The other is because cyber and fintech companies are reluctant to share too much information. I wanted this video to be as evergreen as possible.

So instead I leveraged my 15+ years of experience in software development and interactive marketing to convey these strengths with real statistics, a tight script, and some visually stunning graphics. Much of the imagery runs contrary to one another in the natural world, and yet, they metaphorically relate in this context. The bonus is that it works really well on a really big flat screen at tradeshows even with no sound.

I call this one Connect. Check it out:

Professional

Korean Investment Video

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This is the 3rd in a series of foreign investment videos I have produced for the state of Georgia. I would have preferred to conduct actual interviews in Korean with the executives, but I was not able to get any of them to do so. Obviously a cultural nuance. They only want to be perceived as working, and speaking on behalf of the company is very uncomfortable. Therefore, I went the script route with a professional narrator.

As always, I thoroughly enjoy getting inside these companies and see how they function. My other favorites were shooting at a very popular Korean BBQ restaurant in Atlanta called, Breakers. In addition, we had a Saturday shoot at the Korean International School where over 400 students practice their Korean almost every week. The same day we visited the Korean Fest where we captured wrestling, dancing, drumming, and my favorite – I was able to get a calligrapher on camera drawing out, “Welcome to Georgia” in Korean.