Sales Graphics Blog

When analysts talk about the explosion of online video viewership, they’re not just referring to YouTube, Netflix and Hulu. Video consumption is growing across industries, and if you’re an online retailer or B2B manufacturer without video you’re already in the minority.

A recent Cisco report estimates video will jump from 30 percent of Internet traffic at present to 90 percent by 2013. The rush for video has just begun, leaving this space ripe with emerging opportunity.

Still struggling with how to incorporate video into your marketing mix or online strategy? Here are a few statistics showcasing the results of tried and true tactics across industries.

• Email Marketing: According to Implix, the use of video in emails can increase click through rates up to 96 percent.
• Targeting the Corner Office: 75 percent of C-Suite Executives said in a Forbes survey that they watch work-related online video at least weekly. 65 percent of those executives reported visiting a vendor website after viewing a video.
• E-Commerce: At this year’s  Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition 2011, vice president of sales and marketing at Treepodia Melody King, reported a 25 percent increase in conversion rates when video was employed on product pages.

As video’s reach expands and viewership grows, the question is, how will your company take advantage? At Sales Graphics we specialize in the business of creating compelling corporate messaging through videos and animations. Take a look at our gallery and let us know in the comments section how you plan to employ corporate video in the future.

According to Interbrand and BusinessWeek Magazine, during a recession brands need to spend harder to “not get distracted from their long-term brand-building efforts” or”to get a leg up on weakened rivals.” However, the most important piece of advice from BusinessWeek’s annual “Best Global Brands” article came from Martin Puris, the creator of BMW’s “The Ultimate Driving Machine” campaign. “In good times, people are less apt to try new things. In bad times, they have to start to do things better.”

We’re always happy to hear back from our clients about their success using CustomShow. We recently heard from Good Housekeeping, who has been using CustomShow for the past year, and it’s been a huge success. Speaking with the Associate Publisher, she told that for her “CustomShow is the first improvement to presentation software since the development of PowerPoint, and compared to PowerPoint CustomShow is vastly superior and well worth the investment.”

Here at Sales Graphics we’ve known for a long time that creating a library of presentation materials using CustomShow helps to empower salespeople to give more targeted and more consistently branded presentations than with PowerPoint, but it’s nice to see other people agreeing with us every now and again.

Advertising Age has more insight into marketing strategies during a recession and has some great tips on what to do when the economy turns sour:

Recesssions are scary to think about and can have disastrous effects on consumers and businesses that aren’t prepared. But for marketers, recessions and eceonomic slowdowns can often be periods of great opportunity. Advertising Age has been a frequent proponent of the opportunities that recessions can provide to marketers looking to gain market share, enter new markets or reach new customers, and they’re saying it again. (“Innovate in a Recession? Yes“) Gains made during recessions are cheaper that those during boom years, and when the market swings back (and it always does), those small gains can turn in to big advantages. The key point of the article is “companies that spent more on innovation during the downturn saw return on capital employed rise 23.8% during the recovery, compared with 0.6% for those that slashed spending.“

Every time the economy turns towards recession, the same questions come up. As marketers, do we cut back and save money until the economy turns around? Or do we look at this as an opportunity to invest and get ahead? Advertising Age certainly thinks the latter. (“Your Job for ’08? Forget the Recession and Innovate“) We whole-heartedly agree with this. When the economy softens, that’s often the best time to invest in marketing tools and outlets that will let you gain market share and mind share at a lower cost that during a boom. And when the economy picks up again, even a small increase in market share can transform into a significant advantage. Sales Graphics’ DesignStudio and CustomShow software are exactly the kinds of investments that can make a difference for an ad sales team looking to get a competitive advantage and gain share at the expense of the competition.