Sport and the love of it - creates common bonds and conversation.

I particularly love this time of year as the NRL Finals heat up - every game seems to be a ripper and highly entertaining.

Unfortunately my Sharks are at the other end of the table this year - it's a "rebuild" we say.

I'm a typical mad Sharks fan - I think it's a bit of an escape from the daily pressures of modern life and in many ways brings people together.

There's something about not winning a premiership in 42 odd years of competition (who's counting) that builds a certain strength of character!  (LOL)

That "Sharks Forever" will and determination, of overcoming advertisty, of persistance, exists in every Shark.

That deep down sentiment shared with family, friends and fellow Sharks Supporters - a common bond - to win a Grand Final.

Last night we launched a CLIVEvideo as part of the new "Sharks Connect" Community Engagement program.  Below is the press release and check out the Sharks website for more information.

Personally, I'm very happy to have had a small part to play.

31/08/2009 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SHARKS ATTACK THE NET WITH VIDEO HOSTS

The Cronulla Sharks NRL club is luring a new breed of internet-savvy fan using an innovative web technology to deliver an engaging personalised welcome message from their website.

New CEO Richard Fisk and new Chairman Damian Irvine are leading the charge to turn the embattled Club around and the recent launch of the ‘Sharks Connect’ marketing initiative is a key part of their strategy to re-engage with their local community and supporter base.

"Sharks Connect is a very important initiative for the club,” Mr Fisk said. “We are extremely serious about re-engaging with the fans and in making them a big part of what we are doing here at the Sharks. By becoming involved with the Sharks Connect program fans will receive better communication and we can keep them abreast of everything going on at their club.”

The Sharks website (www.sharks.com.au) boasts a friendly new look, with internet visitors greeted by a videoed Mr Irvine walking across the home page to invite them to join up at Sharks Connect.

Long-term Sharks fan Scott Maxworthy has delivered the message through ‘CLIVE’ (short for Customer’s Live Internet Video Experience), a revolutionary transparent video layer that delivers an instant, interactive web video experience (www.clivevideo.com.au ).

“These days, you’ve got just 12 seconds to grab someone’s attention on the web,” says Mr Maxworthy, who heads local firm Max Media and Entertainment.

“CLIVE is easily installed on existing websites, using just one line of code, and loads instantly as it’s streamed from our high-end servers. The real effectiveness lies in the immediacy of the professionally scripted and shot video message.”

Internet Advertising researchers Dynamic Logic recently released results from surveys covering three years that show strong impact from Rich Media with Video content, with ads using video creating stronger brand influence than those using any other media format.

With most web pundits predicting video is the future of the web, the launch of their CLIVE video initiative puts the new-look Sharks well ahead of the game.

Further information:

Scott Maxworthy, CEO, Max Media and Entertainment

0414 792 072 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it www.maxys.com.au

CLIVE ALIVE MEETUP

Funny how sometimes ideas come together so quickly it's like it was just meant to happen, one element the piece that makes the puzzle come together.

We had Gerry Gannon, one of Australia's leading MC's in the studio the other day and the conversation over lunch moved to CLIVE marketing strategy - how we are going to develop demonstrations around vertical market applications and start holding events.

Less than ten minutes later we had a video focused on event registrations.

Event Management 101

Event management is considered one of the strategic marketing and communication tools by companies of all sizes.

From product launches to press conferences, companies create promotional events to help them communicate with clients and potential clients

BUT getting people to know about your event and register can be hard work.  Customer Attention is scarce.  You need to create something that they must attend - that's in their interest.  That your audience leaves with something special and then tells their friends.  In a lot of ways it's no different than a band, a film or any other product.

This article(s) are my personal notes in putting together our first CLIVE ALIVE event and the process we go through.

Intro/ Background

On the 29th July our CLIVE will be one year old - that's given us time to get familiar the latest edition to the family - from a strategy point of view it's now time to go offline and get face to face.

Purpose

Bring together a mix of film and video, technology, media people around our solutions and case studies - create social interaction and foundation for Australian Internet Video Production.

The idea here is that people who come to events are

1. Interested and
2. Likely to talk and share their experience

Putting an event together

Any event is essentially a combination of project management and creative concepts. Elements to consider.

• Purpose of event?
• Target Audience - number, reaching, engaging, registering, servicing.
• Format - date, time, style (theater, boardroom etc)
• Speakers
• Venue
• Logistics
• Marketing - target engagement, registrations.

Purpose

From a business strategy and time management point of view it makes sense to try and talk to effectively to 20 or more people at once then many 1:1's.

Prior we'd experimented with just developing videos online BUT that only goes so far. The fact is people buy from people and everything is about trust and building relationships.

Also, it's socially important to get out from behind our computer screens.

Target Audience

Film, television, media, advertising, marketing, corporates, technologists.

Content

I already know our subject matter "Internet Video" is a hot topic. Most important, what does the audience leave with? The call to action, the message.

Speakers

The first gig I'd like to get Chris in to talk from a Video Directors creative perspective and Nathan in from a client results. I'd like to add one other senior presenter to take a helicopter view and offer their perspective

We have a wide network of potential guests in the pipeline. I love to get Naomi Simson, Trevor Sykes, Holly Kramer, Len Rust, Paul Budde, Iggy Pintado and others to hear their experience of digital media convergence.

Chris to get his film mates, Martin to talk about the Red camera, Hugh, etc the list of potential speakers is endless.

Other elements

One of the key pieces I'm going to use is the number "5" - "CLIVE, ALIVE, FIVE" through everything we do - 5PM, 5 minute presentations, 5th day etc. People remember patterns.

Timing - after work before dinner- 5PM (for 5.30PM) - 7PM

The Format - theatre and network layout. People are time poor, adopt the same process we're using with all our communications, short and sharp, from the broad down to specific (inverted pyramid). Tight time schedule. Intro, 5 min presentation, 5 min Q&A, next guest. 6.00/6.30 Netowrk, 7.00 End.

From a continuity point of view make it once a month, either the 5th Day or the 1st Tuesday.

Marketing the event

Usual approach is to target audience by using the news media, hoping to generate media coverage which will reach thousands or millions of people. Also invite their audience to their events and reach them at the actual event.

For our marketing - the check list

• Create the event details online
• Create this web blog (search engine optimised)
• Develop database of potential partners, influencers, clients
• Prepare a press release and distribute through online PR and other online distribution.
• Promote through Twitter through Facebook.
• Email marketing to existing subscriber database.

Til later.

The A-List (or Aussie J List)

An Aussie online marketers dream list - Australian journalists Twitter list.

Last night a much more updated and comprehensive list of Australian journalists on Twitter appeared on the web - certainly more interesting and valuable then the content of the Governments website censor list.

What is interesting is how the relationship between your PR department (for most small businesses themselves) has now moved even more into cyberspace.

The Good Old Days of the Long Lunch

In the good old days you or your PR company would write a press release and then send it out to journalists you knew or wanted to know.

Better still you go out to lunch (still my much more preferred approach) or have a beer at the pubs around Surry Hills or Park St (if in Sydney).

Your Press Release would have a great header to get attention, the opening paragraph written to quickly summarise the key statement. The content all written in a way that would be easy to quickly cut and paste if your journo had an urgent deadline and needed 100, 200, 800 words to fill.

As you may know Twitter is limited to just 140 characters - not a lot you can say.

In the same breath - we are getting better at quickly shortening and filtering information.

Creating Brands Online

For a long time conventional media has been a long way behind online's speed of communication - there are a number of reasons - production values and media economics.

In digital marketing to create brand you'd focus at identifying early innovators and influencers who spread the word through to early adopters and so on.

Twitter, Facebook and other online social networking applications have been great tools for being able to rapidly communicate to your followers, create discussion and interest.

The idea being your readers then blog and share your product, news, video or article.

Eventually this groundswell of "interest" hopefully touches an investigative journalist from the mainstream media who then produces an article, a radio or television interview and broadcasts your story to the masses.

Remember, TV is still the 800 pound video guerrilla, radio feels more personal and the lines between online and offline newspapers and magazines are rapidly blurring.

So what happens when the mainstream media moves onto Twitter en masse - The Oprah's , a list of Australia's Top 100 journalists (below).

There have been a few lists of Australian journalists on Twitter (see end of post), but this one is a little different, and much larger.M, Australia’s top 100 Journalists and news media people on Twitter, Apr 2009

I suppose the first thing you do is follow them with the aim of the journalist following you back and the beginning of a relationship.

Stepping in the journos shoes I can imagine their email Twitter alerts as this list becomes popular. It'd be like walking into online equivalent of a high speed desperate and dateless dating service or the only "sheila" at a poorly organised B&S Ball.

Fact is - we are all already bombarded with emails and information. What makes you and your Tweet something that will get cut through and be of interest?

As always, its the first 12 seconds of attention that counts.

Entertain to Inform, get Creative, Personalise the Experience.

The Net Generation - the Future is Video - Telstra Business Conference - Sydney, 30th October 2008

I've been asked to showcase CLIVE this afternoon at a Telstra Business Conference of the "Net Generation" - the future is video

A few of the people in the audience may have seen similar video overlay technology on some website in the US but will not of heard of the CLIVEvideo Project; what we are doing here in Oz nor the video functionality and production quality.

Format

Our part is pretty informal - the meet and greet during registration, the coffee breaks and after.

We'll run through the standard opening to get some Attention and Interest - through the features and then show a few customer examples.  If you've already seen the maxys home page or CLIVEvideo home page you are already past that point.

Key point is to demonstrate CLIVE and how quick and easy it is for customers to engage- from 30 minutes in the studio and onto their website in a few days AND increased CTR performance and conversion.

From the speakers the key elements I'm interested to explore today are

1. Disruptive technologies and the "tsunamis of change". 
2. Video and the Customer Engagement Process - from self publishing and user content creation to professional production
3. Quality rises to the top - what is the cost of quality?
4. Social sharing of video content eg Twitter/ Facebook and syndication models.

 I've embedded this Meebo chatroom for today - come and join us around 4.30PM AEST.