When the E*TRADE baby made his first appearance (Superbowl 2008), no one imagined he would become one of the most popular figures in advertising to date. Currently, he has over 30,000 Facebook fans and nearly 12,000 Twitter followers (not to mention Youtube views). Etrade.com even devotes an entire page just to display all 25 of the little guy’s commercials.

Click here to view the embedded video.

These days embedding video in websites is commonplace – so why aren’t you doing it? Here are 5 reasons you should.

1. Video is entertaining.

We love video. Look at how much time the average person spends watching TV and movies. Consider that a lot of people who surf the internet instead are watching video there! We love he movement, the activity, seeing and hearing other people. Video is engaging and can be a lot of fun, adding a lot of energy to otherwise still and silent websites.

2. Embedding video is a cost-effective marketing tactic.

Besides being entertaining, web videos are an extremely cost-effective marketing tool. It’s a lesson that many companies are starting to pay attention to—embedding video to attract new business. The process of developing web video is simpler than you think, and its benefits more than outweigh its cost.

Embedding video on the web can reach audiences beyond, and in addition to, television viewers. A company like E*TRADE can make a 30 second television commercial and then post it to YouTube. As the video becomes popular, people can find it online via search, watch it anytime, discuss it with others, share it with friends, embed it to their own blogs, upload it to Facebook, tweet about it, and on and on. The cost to E*TRADE for all this extra exposure? Nothing but a little time.

3. Web video is so easy!

YouTube is one of the easiest ways to embed your video—and it’s free! Businesses get their own channel to display multiple videos, and YouTube servers are designed specifically to host and stream video. Your standard web server isn’t, so you might end up spending a lot more time accommodating that kind of functionality and bandwidth directly on your website.

“If you have several videos on YouTube, they can be embedded as a set on your website,” explains Allan Emerson, designer and web developer at RSA. “Then, if you add a new video to the set on YouTube, it is automatically fed into the player on your website. You can even change the play order to ‘feature’ a different video in the first position if you want.”

4. Video helps with search engine optimization.

Embedding video in a website, especially through YouTube, has another important advantage—it helps search engine optimization (SEO). A video can be “tagged” with certain keywords that can help increases its presence in search results, and therefore bring more traffic to your site.

Further, when peolpe share your video through social media, or link to it from blogs and other websites, you not only get that traffic, but those backlinks to your website as well.

5. Embedding video offers a personal touch.

As our Video Production Manager Jack Sitch says, “Video is such a great addition to any website. It instantly allows you to make more of a personal connection and it can really provide a positive first impression.”

Whether your video is simply a welcome message, a brief introduction, or a specific demonstration of your work or products, it allows viewers to learn about your business. “Even more,” says Jack, “it’s a way to build trust and sincerity. Seeing a face and hearing a voice is the closest thing to making an introduction, as important as that first handshake in person.

Now what?

So how do you make the video in the first place? There are many DIY tools out there, from cheap cameras to free software, and some businesses prefer to go that way. Others use a video production studio or find an advertising agency that produces video for the web. It’s all a matter of what kind of quality you’re willing to publish. After all, the quality of work in any industry can be drastically improved by great tools and long experience.

As it happens, RSA has both. As a full-service marketing and advertising agency, we can handle every aspect of embedding video in a website, from the early planning stages to producing the video and formatting it for the web. RSA can do it all, and for less than you’d think.

“Planning is the most important step in any process,” Jack adds. “After that, we can develop a storyboard and script, line up props and talent, complete ad graphics as necessary, and produce your video in a matter of just days or weeks. The key is to know what goals you want to accomplish and what market the video needs to attract, which is why you want to develop a plan with a marketing professional first. If not RSA, we can sure recommend one for you.”

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5 Ways Embedding Video Helps You is a post from: RSA Blog

In March we welcomed Rodrick Feggins as the newest member of our video production department. An accomplished motion graphics professional from San Antonio, Texas, Rodrick brings knowledge and skill in 3-D graphics, compositing and motion graphics that bolsters and expands RSA’s capabilities and quality of work.

Another addition to our team includes the Canon 5D mkII HDSLR camera, recently used in two pieces for the South Dakota Lottery and the Downtown Association. Videos shot with the Canon have the cinematic look and feel of Hollywood, and the camera’s depth of field draws the viewer’s attention to the most important images in the production.

Click here to view the embedded video.

On the creative side, we produced outstanding television commercials such as the Black Hills Stock Show’s “2011 Generic“. As you’ll see, this graphics-intensive piece captures the depth and excitement of the Stock Show.

RSA’s production team recently traveled to Gillette to produce a commercial for Casey Peterson and Associates’ new Gillette office called “Trust.” In this commercial, you’ll meet the Gillette staff and hear some of the most common reasons CPA’s clients trust them to help with their businesses and personal finances. You’ll notice here, as well, that when shot with the Canon 5D, the images bring a simple beauty to the commercial not usually seen in local television.

As our video production department takes on new and exciting projects, we invite you to stop by and meet Rodrick or see some of their outstanding work. And maybe while you’re here, you can quiz us on how we can help grow your business with a new video and our other creative services. From television and radio commercials to training and long-form videos to simple web videos, we have the experience and the team to take your current messaging to the next level.

- Jack

Inside RSA Video Production is a post from: RSA Blog

[When asked to write a post for the RSA blog I thought, hey I'm not a writer - and what was I even going to write about? Think Justin....think! Then it happened, my WDT intern Pierre (his name has been changed to protect his innocence) walked in and said "what's goin’ on?" And just like that I had a topic. I tried to get Pierre to write this, but he's lazy and doesn't prioritize very well. You know, he puts school and his job before his internship. Silly intern. Anyway, here's my masterpiece…]

Don't forget my coffee

We love us some interns!

Each year many brave souls apply for various internship positions here at Robert Sharp & Associates, and each year we select a few candidates who show us they want to learn and are excited about what they can do. When they show up for work, we show them what an ad agency is all about: sex, drugs and Facebook!

An internship at RSA starts with you getting me coffee and a Taco John’s breakfast burrito (relax, I’ll pay every third time) and ends with REAL world experience. Rather than just filing and other menial tasks, you’ll attend important meetings and be encouraged to participate in discussions. You’ll be shadowing a professional and actually doing real agency work. Whether it’s brainstorming a creative idea to promote a product or helping to maximize the most out of a budget (or the coffee grounds), you’ll gain valuable experience during your time here.

Internship Opportunities

Is it cheap labor for us? Maybe. Is it a great opportunity for you? Absolutely. We have internships available in account management, graphic design, audio/video production and event management. There is plenty of room for growth, and we like to bond with our interns. Some have even been known to work here after they graduate.

Just like our team here, we like our interns to be a well-rounded bunch. There is no mold to fit into when it comes to our agency – just read our bios. Do you love motorcycles? Are you a bookworm? Obsessed with online gaming? It doesn’t matter. As long as you have a passion for what you do (and a 4.3 GPA), you are welcome here. That’s right, we only accept smart people (insert overly-used acronym here).

It’s a melting-pot

Many unique personalities have come through these doors. A variety in attitude and style is what we want. We like the free-thinking and detail-oriented creative, as well as the OCD project manager with the loud boots. It takes all types of pieces to put this puzzle together, and once you think you have it done, the picture changes and it’s a whole new puzzle.

So be welcome, all applicants, and don’t forget the coffee and tacos.

Shaping the minds of tomorrow is a post from: RSA Blog

As self-professed social media junkies, we have a pretty robust obsession with keeping tabs on what’s happening right now in all facets of the marketing world. We constantly have our eyes peeled for info about emerging technologies, new platforms, and most importantly, innovative campaigns that mix it up in new ways.

Take, for example, some of the inspiring (or at least creative) work we’ve been passing around the office this week:

• Omo detergent: This Brazil-based campaign is taking the marketing + GPS recipe to a whole new level. The company planted GPS tracking devices in 50 boxes of detergent, which activate when the consumer takes them off the shelf. A promotions agency will follow the lucky buyer home, surprising the family with a video camera and a day of “outdoor fun.” A bit on the stalker side, perhaps, but definitely a new way to reach the consumer.
• Levi’s Walk Across America: This two-minute stop motion commercial nixed the aggressive sales pitch and went viral. It’s a visually stunning piece, and we’re partial to the footage of good old Mt. Rushmore. YouTube views hit nearly 2 million in just two weeks.

  Click here to view the embedded video.

• Domino’s: The pizza chain’s rebranding strategy continues with the admission that food commercials may actually (gasp) doctor the product before filming it. The Show Us Your Pizza challenge encourages hungry people to upload their own pictures of Domino’s pizzas for a shot at cold hard cash. Simple concept, but we give it an A+ for engaging the audience.

These campaigns all incorporate a social element: from the Levi’s video that’s been shared and commented on thousands of times to a dedicated website that will feature footage of Omo’s winners and their stories, social media has become an integral part of the marketing mix for both big brands and small businesses alike. Traditional advertising continues to be a major player for most businesses, but combined with social, the results can be especially powerful.

Of course, social media is constantly changing, which is both exciting (for us) and intimidating (for some of our clients). We see a lot of small businesses that are interested in venturing into social, but they’re nervous about getting started. Should they be on Twitter? What about FourSquare, or LinkedIn, or Facebook? Should they start a blog? What crazy stunts do they have to come up with to be competitive? With new tools emerging as “the next big thing” all the time, businesses are overwhelmed and unsure how to spend their time and money.

Our advice? Don’t worry about tackling every social media platform or replicating million dollar detergent stalking campaigns. Start small – focus on your business goals and pick a tool that will best support your initial efforts.  It takes commitment to build a successful social media strategy, but it doesn’t have to be over the top. Provide helpful information, talk with (not at) your audience, and post often. It’s really that simple!

Still confused about the whether social is right for you? Take a look at the answers to some  social media FAQs Kyle posted awhile back.

Social Media Inspiration: Detergent Stalking and Other Stories is a post from: RSA Blog

In a brilliant and entertaining blend of traditional advertising and social media, Old Spice simply nails it here.  With a traditional TV spot posted on Youtube, they simply monitored comments on the video, as well as on Facebook and Twitter, and then shot and posted video responses to some of them.

Simply amazing. This has got to be the first time in a long time any advertising, by itself, has made me want to purchase a product!

And they’re still doing it. Prepare to waste your afternoon…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Old Spice Does Something New is a post from: RSA Blog

Last week, as Rapid City was pounded with rain, snow, and blistering winds (in early May, no less), our fearless leader ventured south to attend the Alliance of Marketing Communications Agencies conference in West Palm Beach.

Lady Gaga recycles...and uses genius product placement.

While Robert didn’t bring back sunshine or “I swam with dolphins” t-shirts for the worker bees, he did gift us with some conference nuggets that we’d love to share.

Takeaway #1: kids are smart.

Today’s tweens have grown up in the world of 24/7 advertising, where everything from their underpants to their morning cereal is a blatant advertisement for a movie superhero, cartoon character, or up-and-coming pop star. Tweens are exposed to so many messages in any given day that they’ve learned to tune out the noise, skipping commercials and ignoring movie previews altogether. So what’s a marketer to do?

Get smarter. Learn to craft messages that don’t look like the tried-and-true commercials everyone expects to see during the four-minute gaps in our favorite television programming. Creative product placement boosts credibility and top-of-mind awareness for your product, when mixed in a believable way.

Bank of America struck marketing gold when it announced a partnership to present History’s “America: The Story of Us” last month. The channel’s 12-hour miniseries is sprinkled with two-minute mini-documentaries detailing Bank of America’s role in American history. The mini-documentaries are shot and narrated in the same style as the series, blurring the line between programming and advertisement.

Other recently successful placements include the partnership between NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” and Subway; contestants visit a Subway restaurant in nearly every episode.  Lady Gaga made headlines for working in a bevy of products for her big-budget “Telephone” video, including Diet Coke cans (used as curlers) Virgin Mobile, Miracle Whip, and her own branded Heartbeats headphones, among others.

To make sponsorships and product placement work, especially for tweens, it’s important to make sure the product and the project fit together naturally. Find an angle that seems organic, not forced, and you just might get through to the smarty pants generation.

Stay tuned for more takeaways from Robert and the AMCA conference. And who knows, maybe he’s just waiting until later in the week to give us our t-shirts?

Palm Trees and Product Placement is a post from: RSA Blog

Video + Blog = Vlog, to test this theory we enlisted the help of Sean Coyne, our superstar videographer and office comedian.

Sit back….grab your lunch, a snack or maybe that fifth cup of coffee needed to get through your day and enjoy.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Sean says: “Visit our Youtube channel”

Video Confessions: Sean is a post from: RSA Blog

[In this guest post, Tracy Mailloux points out a trend in advertising he noticed while on his Great Education Adventure, and is kind enough to share some insight with us. Thanks, Tracy! ]

Interactive TV ad

Traditional TV isn’t dead… yet. It is, however, on a respirator, and the priest has been called in for last rites.

Digital TV, on the other hand, is very much alive. Although in it’s infancy, it is growing at a rapid pace–its steroid of choice: advertising.

Now I know what you are thinking, “there’s nothing new about advertising on TV.” True, advertising has been around ever since cavemen could sketch on rock walls. But with the digital revolution in TV, advertising is becoming more and more interactive and engaging, which is a new thing for ads.

Invention or Ad-vention?

“It’s about making the TV a more lean-forward medium than a strictly lean-back medium,” said Bob Ivins, vice president of research and data products with Comcast Corp.

Digital Cable and Satellite (DC&S) are employing advertising techniques conceived on the internet through your DVR. It first started about three or four years ago when DC&S started advertising on the menu screen or guide page on your digital service. For example, while searching for your favorite TV show, there is an advertising banner, usually at the bottom of the screen, prompting you to “click here,” for more information about a show, a product, a service, etc. DC&S collects a fee every time a viewer clicks on this feature.

When DC&S started this, many people were not happy with it at all. Many felt that it slowed down their DVR’s response time–just to linger an extra second so you might be captivated by the banner and decide to click on it. For me, that little banner isn’t a problem. I’ve never used it to request any information, but have used it to watch movie trailers. I actually think it’s a great advertising method that is capitalizing on a captive audience.

Ads within ads…

But I was taken back the other day when I noticed advertising within advertising. That’s right, advertising within advertising. Basically DC&S are now able to have “pop-up banners,” during commercial breaks. For example, let’s say you’re watching a commercial about Viagra. As the commercial plays, a pop-up (no pun intended) banner appears prompting you to “click here,” (using your remote) to receive a free trial pack. With that one click, your information–from DC&S–is transmitted instantaneously to a processing center that will fulfill your request.

“It allows us to combine the power of the Internet–with its engagement, targeting and accountability–with the power of the big screen,” said David Kline, Cablevision’s president of ad sales.

Being in the advertising business, all I can say is… wow, that is insane. On one hand, I think that it’s a great idea to be able to request information, coupons, free samples, enter sweepstakes, or have an agent contact me about a product that I am interested in as I sit in my pajamas while watching TV–very cool! This is the ultimate for advertisers: seeing exactly who their audience is, and build databases from that contact.

On the other hand, I do worry about what the next phase will be. Will advertising become too obtrusive while watching TV, as it can tend to be while surfing the internet? In addition, with my information being sent to companies and stored in their databases, who is to say that they won’t sell my information to third parties? Next thing you know, I am receiving more junk mail and spam calls.

So where’s it headed?

To be fair, the survival of DC&S depends on their ability to get creative with the way they execute ads for their advertisers. The reason and culprit for this is the fast-forward button. How many people skip commercials with their DVR’s fast-forward button? I know I do.  Because of this, DC&S must implement interactive advertising channels. Now you can go to this interactive channel, say you see an ad for Walt Disney World, with one click of your remote, you can request for a travel agent contact you. Next thing you know, your telephone is ringing–it can be that fast.

“Using interactive techniques, we can get a targeted consumer to engage with a brand on TV for a much longer period of time than just a 30-second commercial,” said Jacqueline Corbelli, chief executive of media agency BrightLine iTV.

Kevin George, an ad executive at Unilever who oversaw one such campaign, said “the response was great” because it reached its targeted audience “without interrupting them,” in part because Unilever reached the audience “in a place where they’re comfortable, giving them the option to participate without interrupting them.”

In addition, due to the fast-forwarding of TV commercials, there are talks about having TV shows being sponsored again–much like they were back in the 1950′s. Be on the look out for these and more changes in the years to come.

When Digital TV started, they promised better picture and sound. But with the great potential now for much more data to be sent through your television, TV will become more and more interactive. Pretty soon, TV and your computer will be one and the same.

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Digital TV Advertising: is it Invention or Advention? is a post from: RSA Blog

Whenever I sit down to go through ideas for blog posts, I inevitably think of a few that sound great, only to realize hey, we already wrote that one. A lot of the things we wrote about last year are still relevant even now – maybe more so.

Looking back through our logs, it’s no surprise to find some content was more popular than others. After all, we’re still experimenting to find the sort of thing you, our readers, find most useful.

To make sure you didn’t miss any of the good ones from last year, here’s a short list of our most viewed posts from 2009.

Why Good Customer Service Is So Important

5 Reasons Not to Cut Your Marketing Budget in a Recession

Elements of Internet Marketing

Going Nuts? Don’t Cut your Marketing

Should You Put Video On Your Website?

Understanding Web Design

14 Practical Uses For Social Media

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Photo courtesy of kevinzim

Stuff You Liked From 2009 is a post from: RSA Blog

Have you ever thought to yourself, ‘whoa, that has got to be one of the worst jobs’.  Maybe you were walking down the street and had a little pity on the poor ‘jo’ that had to spend his day analyzing smells emanating from the local locker room.  This summer (it’s over – boo, hiss) we started working on a series of commercials for Western Dakota Tech based on the creative notion – what kind of jobs would you just hate to be stuck in? Steve B. from WDT and the RSA team had a great time coming up with outlandish jobs. We landed on a few that really seemed desperate and began production. Our goal was to encourage anyone who might want to improve their life to consider taking online courses through WDT for business management and marketing. Ever had one of these jobs?

1)  Human Pinata – How fun is it to go to parties, hang from a tree, and meet the power of 5-year-olds with BATS?

2) Professional Kiss-up – Yes sir, you’re a genius! Ever notice someone following an executive around and wonder…’what do they do all day?’ Well, maybe they have to kiss-up all day long… oh joy!

3) The Shredder Guy – Initially inspired by “The Office” – we wanted to show an over-worked, under-paid person working in a small office doing his overwhelmingly mundane work. Naturally, an ‘office accident’ is likely to occur.

4) Assistant on a Leash – Don’t ya hate it when the boss never gets your name right but always expects you to know everything and be at their beckoning call?  Not the greatest gig, admit it.

Production went on and we had a blast yanking, smacking, shredding and blowing hot air all over the place.  Turns out that all of our fun paid off and the commercials received Platinum & Gold MarCom Awards.

• A Platinum Award for the television campaign promoting the online degree program. The ads tell stories about people in terrible jobs – just as a human piñata – who choose WDT to improve their lives.
• A Gold Award for the radio campaign promoting the online degree program. The radio ads tell stories similar to the TV ads.

The MarCom Awards competition received over 5,000 entries from all over the world. The winners ranged from Advertising agency to Fortune 500 companies.

WDT is showing a 20% improvement in their enrollment this year, and they’re bursting at the seams. We continued into the fall producing more emotional based commercials that show specific values WDT has to offer a range of students – hands-on training, affordability, and one-on-one attention from professors.

It’s been great working with WDT over that past several years and it gets better as we go.  Congratulations guys!

The Worst Job Gets National Awards is a post from: RSA Blog