Defiant Digital Podcast Episode 1

Hi All,

This week I’m going to share with you a new feature, a Video Podcast I’ve started. This will be in conjunction with other writings and audio podcasts I do, and wanted to share this with all of you. :) Click below to enjoy..

I’d be happy to answer any of your questions you may have as part of the video podcast, so please don’t hesitate to email them to me at:

adam@defiantdigital.com

Bye for now folks, Enjoy!

Campaign Season Wrap Up

Well, Today I’d like to provide you with a Campaign Season wrap up. It was a long and difficult campaign season, and from a production standpoint, certainly kept us all on our toes.

We set up our media campaign to utilize the best, most cost effective solutions we could offer to demonstrate to the citizens that a fiscally responsible campaign was the right thing to do during tough economic times in a small town. We produced podcasts and all the radio spots in house, and delivered everything to the station electronically, showing that internet tech can not only be fast and convenient, but green to boot.

When designing the campaign, we decided on a progressive philosophy. We wanted to stay on top of the campaign as it evolved, so all we had to do was simply outline this approach to the radio stations’ ad person who in this case conveniently serviced both stations that we used locally. When addressing our concern to have a flexible rotation setup and the ability to change “on the fly” as it were our content and frequency with her, she assured us that the block of ad’s we purchased, in this case 1200 :60 Second spots, would come with the ability to change content and rotation as we saw fit with a mere 1 day notice to effect the changes.

She made it a painless process. We ended up with 11 different spots, everything from ad’s delivered by Don, the candidate, to testimonials from a variety of folks including one from me personally.

Here’s a sample:

Don Allaire Spot 11 Final

Now we’ll look at Podcasts. As I’ve spoken about in previous postings, they were a chance to speak at length about key points without the constraints of time that you usually see with moderated political forums that run on a clock and end up being reduced to biased gotcha shots back and forth from the audience. Not to mention that when you’re producing a podcast, you have the added benefits of crafting your source material to maximize the impact, being able to edit the project together as a whole to fit your needs and adding production elements to add that professional touch.

 

I’ve put together an example of 3 excerpts from the last campaign podcast to share with you what I’m driving toward:

 

Podcast 9 Excerpts

 

Like the rewinding tape cuts? Thought you might. My point is that with a little bit of creativity, we were able to bring big dollar tools to the table for small dollar investments. Champagne on a beer budget as it were. It was a lot of fun and a great learning process for Don. He was the best student I’ve had in a long time. He has a background in engineering, so his understanding of waveforms and what I’m doing while working very quickly with them made the whole process more enjoyable for both of us. It’s always nice to have a preset understanding of the shorthand that goes on while working in a studio environment.

 

The podcasts were incredibly well received by all who took them, and we cranked out about 200 of them or so during the course of the campaign, containing the three most recent podcasts available depending on where we were on the timeline. It was a tool that was not duplicated by any of the other candidates in any of the races. Makes me feel good that I have the ability to help someone stand out in a crowd. :)

 

Never forget that you can use what you have, whether it’s put together with chewing gum and electrical tape or the latest top of the line production gear and still put forth a great product and above all, with a little vision, help someone who wouldn’t have those tools available to them otherwise to make a difference and maintain an edge over their competition whether it’s a political race or a commercial ad campaign. Look locally, act globally! :)

 

 

 

Till next time,

Bye for now

 

Political Season

Hello all,

I hope that you’ve all been enjoying the dog days of summer. I wanted to give you an update and let you know some of the great things that can be done with Digital Production.

Today, I’m going to talk about Political Season for a couple reasons. First, it’s a great way to focus some of your talents and do some larger and more connected campaigns utilizing several of your talents, and Second, because I myself have been busy helping a friend of mine with his campaign for Sheriff.

Political Campaigns can give you a wealth of production tasks that can really give you those opportunities to put several of your talents together in one.

I’ll give you the example of what I’m talking about in relation to what I’ve been doing these past few months.

I found out that a friend of mine was going to be running for Sheriff. I contacted him and told him I’d be happy to do whatever I could to help him with his campaign, and that I could bring a pretty good toolbox to the task.

Think about it, if you’re a Producer, you can put those talents to task on a variety of fronts, but if you’ve got some other things that you are capable of doing, those things fit nicely into the campaign as a whole. For instance, as I mentioned I’ve been helping my friend with his campaign. That can produce quite a variety of tasks.

We’re utilizing Podcasts as a cost effective way to run a grass roots campaign and address all the different issues that my friend is running on and the things that need to change about the current administration, all in a format that gives you as much time as you want, is set up to stream off his website and can be promoted by other means of new media distribution such as email lists, posting on public political forums, etc.

Also, when we got a bunch of them cut and under our belts, we started cutting them onto CD’s to hand out to folks that don’t have access to the net, or don’t really spend much time online. As a secondary approach, if you have a CD with you, then you aren’t asking someone to remember a web address, or go home and take the pamphlet that you gave them with the web address on it, and jump online to listen to anything.

You’re handing them something that they’ll pop in their car and listen to on the way home. It’s much easier to give someone something than to ask something of them.

So we’ve talked about podcasts, now lets talk about radio spots. Radio is still a huge way to get your message out if you’re in a campaign. In this instance, reaching the local folks is the goal. What better way than with ad’s on the local radio stations.

If you’ve put podcasts together, and you’re a producer, radio ads are natural right? Well, what about making your radio spots interesting with clips from the opponent and using those as a great way to show the voters your trying to reach that your candidate and his opponent have different views and ideas?

So we’ve spoken about podcasting and radio ads. How are all these things gong to be created? Well of course we know about the physical cutting, editing, mixing and mastering of the spots (See, makes a lot of sense to be a Producer or engineer as well as a voice talent these days doesn’t it), but how about developing the content?

If you can write copy, then you’re able to offer another service to the package that won’t need to be outsourced. I help my friend with all the copy, and help to translate what he wants to say into content that will fit nicely into radio ads and podcasts. You can take the theme of what they’re trying to get across, and help to craft that message into something that will maximize the impact with the time and format guidelines that you have to work with.

All these things are very helpful to continue to broaden your toolbox, and help keep things in house. If you have the ability to perform a variety of tasks, you can help to reduce the clients stress about the whole thing, keep things in house to help in these trying times to increase your bottom line, and the best part, deliver a more consistent message. How? If you’re keeping everything close to the source, and not sending out for copy, information gathering, etc. the less diluted the message becomes.

If everyone is on the same page and there’s not a bunch of chef’s to the meal, you get better consistency and a much better taste.

Till next time,

Bye For Now

Expanding your business

Welcome everyone!

Today I want to talk about Expanding your business. Many people I speak with, think that they don’t need to seek the help of a producer or developer of new media technologies. Many I speak with, think that print advertising in the conventional sense is all that they require for their business and that there’s no possible way that what they do crosses over into new media.

Can the same be said for your business? Part of the process of promotion and advertising even solely on the “Print” level, is identifying what the strongest qualities of your product and/or service are, and taking those qualities to marketing or advertising people to have them help you find a niche that will be memorable and moreover make them pick up the phone, drop you an email or stop by your office.

Expanding into new media technologies can make a whole new set of powerful tools come into focus. Knowing what works with the consumer, is an incredibly valuable piece of information. Bringing these things together can net some very profitable gains for your business.

What does this have to do with production? It’s the heart of any good new media or advertising campaign. You may think, “Well, I don’t need any voiceover for this campaign, it’s only print.” That may be true, but print ads are great for reaching a certain audience, and the point of expansion is to reach out to new markets, find new ways to distribute your message and explore ways to stay ahead of the curve, and thus, your competition.

I’ll give you an example. Say you have a “Print” campaign you want to run for your Widget company that we’ve discussed. You get your graphic arts person to get the layout done, and you’re ready to send it off to the newspaper, magazine or other print media for distribution. Hoping for some calls or emails? Let’s examine that.. if you are putting out a print ad for widgets, how will they contact you? By Phone? great, now you have to be on hand to handle questions about your widget or hire someone qualified to handle any and all questions by phone. By Email? Same scenario. This “Print” ad, has now turned the corner into needing more maintenance. In this “Print” ad, did you list the companies’ website address? Oh, well now you have a whole other medium that you’ll be dealing with. Do you have a tool on the website that gathers data from potential customers that they can fill out and you can make into a database? Now we’re looking at email blasts and marketing. You’re going to need content for those.

As you can see, it can quickly become more than a “Print” campaign. All the more reason for you to have proper expansion architecture in place, and a system of new media technologies to handle the workflow.

Many times, the more conventional clients I meet with, haven’t been exposed to this way of thinking, because this is what they’ve been successful with in their business, and they don’t want to change the formula. That’s great! You never want to change what has been working, but you can help them to supplement what they have been doing, and “Expand” into ways to make new technologies and services available to new clients that may expect a company of their stature and position to be positioned in new media and Internet tech as well.

In this new Internet world, most potential clients will wonder why you don’t have a website, or why you don’t have available digital copies of your instructions, support documents and advertising materials. To know how to help expand someone’s business with new media while maintaining their current flow of conventional business can be tricky. You don’t want to offend the person who’s built their business with hammer and nail, and make them feel like what they’ve done thus far is inadequate or out of date. You simply want to help them see that with the development and shift to include an Internet business approach, they could attract new clients, and by providing them with the latest forms of electronic advertising, support and correspondence, they may be able to streamline their own procedures and stay one step ahead of their competition in these tough economic times.

I hope this has provided some talking points, and as always, Join in the discussion and share your thoughts. :)

 

Till next time, bye for now

Adam

How can I use a Podcast?

What is a Podcast?

A podcast, without getting into the technical mumbo jumbo is a small Radio or TV program that is focused on your topics and pertinent information to help you get your message out. How can that help you? Well let’s just scratch the surface. Say you have a business that you’d like to be more interactive with, say you have a customer base that you’d like to share regular information with and get to know better. Say that you have the need or desire to do a newsletter, but you don’t want to waste money and time on postage only to get thrown away as junk mail. Podcasting is right up your alley, and can be applied to any business, yes ANY business and it’s the new way to get your point across.

Now let’s take a minute..

And think about how that might relate to what you do. Let’s take my friend Steve Walters, owner of PCS WorldNet and Hookupz.com I’ve known Steve for over 25 years now, and something that Steve and I share is a wish to learn and utilize the latest technologies and to make them accessible to the greater public. We jumped on the Internet bandwagon in 94 when it was just a fledgling way to put up informational exchange pages. We went through the wonders of email marketing. We traversed the waters of hosting and technical support for companies large or small. We’ve climbed under more desks to fix Ethernet ports than I can count, and let me tell you.. we both have done so for one reason.. to be on the cutting edge of the newest technology out there, to understand it and to help others do the same. That really gives people an appreciation of what it can do for them and how it can help them focus their needs.

So what about this podcasting thing?

Well.. Podcasting is the next evolution. Do you realize that if you had a business that made widgets.. Great example huh? Well I use it to show you that ANYTHING can be covered in a podcast. So we have our company that makes widgets. Why would we need to tell anyone about widgets.. well how about support? Instead of hiring someone to answer phones and technical questions, you could put together a support podcast that would cover setup, maintenance, troubleshooting and so much more. You could take the 3 biggest questions that buyers have and perspective buyers mind you, and address those in a professionally produced podcast. Say you had an upgrade, we’ll call it “Widget 2.0” that you wanted to tell your current customer base about, attachments for your widgets, new color schemes, scented models, whatever.. you could tell all those people in ONE place all about your great product or service. See.. just using the example of the widget our fictional product or service.. you can start to see how that might apply to what you do.. I’ll bet your gears are spinning now aren’t they?

To sum up..

Podcasting is the way it’s done. If you have a product or service, I guarantee we can talk and I can find a great way for a podcast to help you. They’re available in the ITunes music store, accessible and searchable by anyone with ITunes. All your clients have to do is subscribe once, and every time you put a new episode out, it will download to their machine and you’ll be guaranteed delivery of your content, no more junk mail used for kindling. Don’t have ITunes? Well.. not unheard of, but if you don’t, the content can be streamed off your own web server as an mp3 for those that don’t have access to iTunes, the possibilities are endless..

At Defiant Digital Productions, We know how important it is to do it right! We’ll work with you from concept to completion. We can help you with script writing & storyboarding. We produce rich and professional podcasts and business presentations that will set you apart from the rest. How many times have you seen or heard a presentation that is no more than dry voice over and power point slides? How fast did you want that to be over? Our podcasts and presentations are fully produced programs in and of themselves. We provide custom music, ambient sounds, professional voiceover, and treat your project like a complete show and give it it’s proper attention. We have fully stocked Digital Facilities with experienced producers that can give you that edge. No dry voiceover here. We have a full compliment of Digital Tools at our disposal and the know how to give you the best looking, best sounding podcasts you’ll find anywhere.

Drop me an email to ask how we can transform your ideas into rich new media content available to anyone in the world, anytime..

 

 

 

Till next time, Bye for now..

Adam

Digital New Media in Tough Economic Times

Howdy.. :)

Today, lets talk about New Media. New Media means any of the following: Streaming Audio/Video, Podcasts, Internet marketing campaigns, web sites, web ad strategies, etc.

New Media is an exiting realm to deal in. I think that New Media projects are my favorite to work with. I love hearing someone’s idea, and being able to rework the pieces of their idea, apply new media and internet tech and turning around to let them know just exactly how these exiting technologies can help them fulfill their ideas.

Being able to utilize these powerful tools is every producer’s dream. The only problem can be, for business owners and those that would like to get the message out about who they are and what they do, it can be costly. Well it used to be costly. There are numerous software suites, free programs, shareware, semi professional and fully professional applications that contain very powerful tools. The only problem enters when people who have no experience in using the software try to take on huge projects in an effort to save some resource.

If you’re handy, Great! I love to encourage people to learn and immerse in the Digital Media.. It’s my love and I would never discourage someone from reaching out and expanding their horizons while helping to grow their business and help bring stability to what they do.

However, there’s an old advertising unwritten edict: Business owners who have no experience in front of a camera, can really make a low budget commercial look LOW budget. They’re the stuff of lampoon on SNL, Mad TV, etc. Bad commercials can be very detrimental and actually hurt a businesses’ image, thus hurting sales. That’s not why they wanted to do the commercial, but trying to do the add themselves can be explained away as a wish to identify with the customer, making the spot feel more personable, and that CAN work, but that doesn’t mean that it does.

Now, lets apply that example to New Media:

As I’ve said, lots of software ranging from cheap to expensive, so you go and pick something up, bring it home.. and have NO Idea how to use it. :)

If you’ve got time, then learning curves are great, but we’re talking about you buying this software to save you money and time by doing it yourself. Are you finding it easier and cheaper taking less time so far?

Trying to build a website, doing a podcast, whatever the case is, you can make a stab at it, and the companies put together great software packages and templates.. but those can appear rubber stamped or maybe isn’t exactly what you’re looking for. Designing custom packages can look great and really set yourself apart from your competition. Now let’s take the sonic component, unless you have a recording studio, microphone and interfaces can be purchased that are affordable, I give all kinds of advice to folks wanting direction on good price to performance ratio, but again, tools do not a good project make. You can record audio, but without understanding engineering, audio can sound flat, and like you recorded it on a boom box from the 70’s.. (Did I just date myself?)

Now about the distribution, streaming media, mp3’s, podcasts, etc., all those technologies have their quirks.

So what’s my point? My point is that there is a wide array of production tools available to anyone. They’re not restricted only to people who can prove their status as a professional engineer by showing their membership card. There’s no waiting period for them. :) You can just go buy them. But that doesn’t mean that you want to get frustrated, face a learning curve, or take the time to develop a critical ear.

If you have an idea, taking it to someone who has experience in the medium can provide you with fast, efficient and professional results. I know times are tough, they’ve hit us all, but if you find the right person that truly has a love for what they do, they’ll be happy to go the extra mile. I always make a point of going the extra mile with clients, and let them know that I’m so happy to help them. I love what I do, and am so thankful to be doing it. I’m happy to help others make their projects come to life, and I work with them to help them make the most out of smaller budgets.

 

Let me know if there’s anything I can do for you, and please contact me with any questions you may have, or leave a comment below.

Till Next time, Bye for now.. :)

Adam

Welcome to the Defiant Digital Productions Blog

Hello there!

Welcome and I want to thank you for looking at this new blog. It is my hope that this blog will benefit the clients and friends of Defiant Digital Productions.

Here we can discuss all things digital and production related from Voiceover to Audio, Video and New Media topics. I hope that you will take this opportunity to interact with us, and share your ideas, creating lively discussion.

Again, thank you for stopping by and please feel free to join in!

Sincerely,

Adam Fox