Determining the video program genre that best suits the needs of your marketing efforts is essential for creating a dynamic and effective program. To get the video ball rolling, we usually urge our clients to ask themselves 3 questions before embarking down the path towards producing a video program.1. What Are The Objectives Of The Program?
2. Who Makes Up The Target Audience?
3. What Is The Best Genre For Accomplishing My Objectives?
Note that these 3 questions are by no means the final set of questions that you will need to address throughout the production process. Upon request, Plexus can provide you with a more complete set of questions addressing the next several stages of video program development.
The important question to keep in mind while exploring your original objective is what do you want to have happen when the program is watched. Some individuals may say that their objective is to make the most eye-popping surgical procedural program on carotid endarterectomy. This, however, is almost like having no objective at all, since all you are saying here is that you want to make a great tape. Statements like these completely forget the audience and what you want the audience to do when they view the program. Focus on the effect you want to create. It is better to project your objectives as high as you can, and fall a little short, than to just want to make a program without any real objectives in mind.So ask questions like these: What do I want to accomplish? What is the general intention behind this project? What are the specific intentions behind this project? Do I want to sell products? Do I want to teach and instruct? Do I want to do both? Do I want to promote the image of my company? Do I want to promote the image of my product? Do I want to promote a whole product line or several product lines? Do I want to show a whole product in use? Do I want to go fishing? Where do I want this program to take the company? What results do I want to see?
Think of the “Objectives” question as a kind of centering device. Find the “one thing” you want to accomplish. The advantage of this is that the program, having a determined “center” or purpose, will automatically work on multiple levels and reach a much wider audience. Also, avoid getting too anxious about wanting to accomplish too much through a single program. For example, instructional videos as a rule don’t mix with promotional videos, especially in surgery. The reason for this is that audiences view instructionals with a different mindset than promotionals. If you haven’t noticed, the tears stop when the commercials come on in the middle of a good TV movie. You will accomplish much more by sticking to a specific genre.
Step out of your own shoes and step into another's. Your audience is the single most important consideration as to how you want to create your video project. Although we all speak English here in the States, there are thousands of other languages spoken here too, due to the different types of professions and the varied ways in which people perceive their world. No video project should ever reach production without a thorough exploration of who the audience is. Are your viewers educated? Are they young or old? What are their interests? Are they auditory, visual, conceptual, or intuitive. What do they best learn from? What do they want? What motivates them? The questions go on and on when it comes to the audience. The key is to arrive at a set of notions that you think will motivate these viewers to take action towards the objective that you want to achieve, and then incorporate these notions into your program.The questions to ask here are: Who is my audience? Who will view this program? How will they best like it? What are their skills and attitudes? What are their attitudes about my company? What about their attitudes about our products? Are they visual types or are they auditory or both? What don't they like? What would glue them to the screen? What would offend them? What language-code does their profession or group live by? Do I have to promote to them subliminally or can I be straightforward? Do they satisfy my objectives and do they urge others to meet my objectives? Is this a mixed audience? Are there major differences in the mixed audience? If I were to see my audience as a single person with a face, what would he or she look like? What would he or she be doing?
Now that your audience is defined you might find that certain adjustments to how you might like to create the program are beginning to take place. Any adjustments to your objectives inevitably have to do with how your audience perceives the world. Your audience has to be kept in mind at all times! Poetry readings rarely help the visual oriented audience, but spells enticement to the auditory types, and technological drawings will keep conceptual types glued, whereas confuse the task-oriented individual. The point here is, what program genre best suits the audience? Do the program for them, not for you!
There is a very easy way to find out what your target audience responds to. Ask them! They will tell you with excitement. Listen to their criticisms also. Listen to the message under the message. Ask them what would be the best way to get your point across? What is the best form of media to use? Ask yourself if there will be a mixed crowd viewing the program.As for surgeons, most will immediately respond to visual media, especially video. Surgeons are also sensitive to the degree of promotion style of a program that claims to be an academic presentation. Any promotional material in an academic piece must be handled skillfully or the program is likely to offend a large part of the market. Yet, at the same time, surgeons respond favorably to highly promotional genres generated from the company voice, as long as the program does not switch gears in the middle of the program. Honesty of voice is important to all audiences. Better to create another program when it is of another genre, or chapterize the program into sections when a change of voice is indicated.
Academic Surgical Procedural Programs Academic surgical procedural programs are by far the most popular programs for surgeons of all subspecialties. Aside from academic papers and educational seminars, these video programs are the cornerstone of education in the surgical community. The authorship and voice of the program is basically that of the presenting surgeon. Any talk about the benefits or advantages of a product or company should be done on the presenting surgeon’s terms in these programs. Actually, when the presenting surgeon keeps his/her integrity in discussing products, it has much more effectiveness than trying to get him/her to be more promotional.
Surgical Procedural/Promotional Programs The surgical procedural/promotional program is by far Plexus’ most frequently produced genre of program. These videos use both the surgeon‘s and the company voice. The surgeon’s portions keep within the guidelines of an academic program, and the company voice enters the program at times for transition statements and “facts only” description of instrumentation and implants. The procedural/promotional allows the surgeon to stay within the presentation code while also meeting the needs of the sponsoring company. These programs are best distributed by the company sales force, however a cut-down version can be easily used for academic submission.
Product Promotional Programs & Convention Floor Promotional Programs The promotional program is essentially generated from the voice of the company. These programs may include testimonials from surgeons at times, but the basic understanding is that the content is promoted by the company. Promotionals have a remarkable effectiveness with the audience, and surgeons are rarely offended by promotionals that don’t step over that “line of appropriateness.” Some promotionals can be placed at the end of academic programs for distribution, a sort of tag along “infomercial.” However, the best place to use the promotional is on the convention floor at meetings. Don’t forget, you have a dominantly visual audience to market to. Promotionals are perfect for the convention floor.
Live Event Capture, Internet Broadcasting, & Satellite Uplink Live events notoriously require more production muscle and gear than shooting video for later editing. Yet for many medical communities, the live event has a mystique that brings them running. The reason for this is that the audience wants to see the mistakes and any technical complications that might arise along with a skillfully performed procedure. They feel like they are witnessing the truth rather than something that is edited for cleanliness. Satellite uplinks to a distant audience has a considerable appeal, but now with bitstreamed video broadcasted on the internet, the audience can stay at home or in the office to watch a live event online. Although the picture size and frame rate is not as good as videocassette, it is still a fantastic marketing tool that captures an audience like you haven’t seen before.
Instructional & Assembly Programs When you have to map out the steps for assembling or using a complicated apparatus, video is the best means for getting your point across effectively, and simplifying the process. Video utilizes both the visual reinforcement and the voice of the instructor. Instructionals are often laid out in steps, and at the end of the programs a simplified reiteration can help drive the understanding of the product home. Don’t be afraid to use repetition with instructionals. And visualize the steps from as many angles as you can muster. Video instructionals must be at least 100 times more effective at instructing than printed material.
Cadaveric Dissection Programs Cadaveric dissections are sometimes presented as live events edited to tape and sometimes as edited programs showing a comprehensive set of dissections. The cadaveric dissection has an academic position among the family of surgical video genres. Cadavers used for promotionals actually makes some viewers angry. Some companies have tried to substitute cadaver examples of the use of their products when their video crew failed to get the footage in the actual procedure, but using a cadaver in place of an actual procedure connotes that the product is a prototype and cannot be used on an actual procedure yet. If certain anatomical features are impossible to visualize, having a breakout section of a cadaveric demonstration is indispensable. Cadavers have to be used discriminately.
Surgeon Interview & Forum Discussion Programs;
Seminar & Workshop CaptureLively discussions are a potent means for the surgeon audience to keep pace with what is happening in certain specialty circles. This genre is infrequently used by the company, but as an academic tool, the forum and panel discussion is very effective. Plexus has found that recently, most of the forum and panel discussions quickly find their way to CD and DVD as a presentation media. Breakout sections of anatomical features and slide presentations are also great additions to a program.
Patient Education Programs & Documentary A combination of testimonials and documentary is often a good means of building a program for patient education. Most often, the patient education program takes the form of the instructional program, but written for a non-professional audience. Product application and demonstration with models can simplify the use of a product for patients.
Sales Force Motivational Programs The sales force listens to a different tune than the surgeon audience. They are typically motivated by a completely different set of desires, and we have seen wonders worked through motivational programs generated just for them. They want to get pumped up and going, and when they hear that “thank you” from the company through a high production value program, it excites them even more. Typically, it is the sales reps that show the most enthusiasm for procedural programs that reach their surgeons, but programs that help the rep are also greatly appreciated. Another form of motivational program for sales reps is the instructional that helps increase their knowledge of what the surgeon is doing on particular procedures. These types of instructional programs go through the basics of the procedure from A to Z, and help the rep increase his/her communication and rapport with the surgeon.
“Eye Candy” Product Promotionals Set To Music On the convention floor many companies have made a space where the surgeons can relax and just watch a music video of the products the company has to offer. These programs are called “eye candy promotionals.” They are very effective in a subliminal way, and can be grouped with actual procedural programs to keep their interest. Music is an essential part of this genre of program, and the visuals are best cut to the beat of the music.
Video News Releases & Television Commercials Have you ever noticed the small segments on the evening news that feature a medical apparatus or a new procedure? These segments are call VNR’s, or “video news releases” and they are usually purchased by the company marketing the apparatus for promotional reasons. This type of marketing means very little to the professional audience, however, the VNR is possibly one of the best means for reaching the investor audience. Also, when a certain surgical procedure is consumer driven, like many plastic procedures, the VNR generates tremendous response.