The level of detail provided in these documents can significantly affect the accuracy of the bids that you receive. Often, bids delivered in response to an RFP can vary by as much as 20%, 30%, 50% or more.

How is this possible? Every vendor gets the same RFP yet the bids are as different as night and day…

Well, it’s kind of like a game of telephone. Everyone reads the same words, but the bids they come up with can be very, very different. The same words can conjure up vastly different perceptions in the minds of different people and different organizations. The same RFP can suggest different levels of production, different creative interpretations, different equipment and/or location needs and different levels of effort required to create the program you have described.

Great you say, but how do you go about evaluating the bids that you receive in response to your RFP - especially if the proposals are so different? The answer may lie in refining the RFP process you use.

The more detail provided in the RFP the better. Typically, more detailed RFP’s and more fully realized creative briefs result in more consistently priced bids.

But there is another strategy that can work just as well if not better… Include a price range in your RFP. Let the agencies know the scope of the investment you are hoping to make in the media project you are proposing.  Nothing levels the playing field more than knowing the level of investment you are prepared to make. The bids you receive will still be competitive and should all fall at or below price range you specified. Then, you can evaluate what each company is willing to deliver for roughly the same media production dollar:

• How many days of shooting on location does each company provide?
• Does the bid include the services of a Creative Director?
• How many hours of editing?
• What equipment are they specifying?
• How many people on the crew?
• How many hours of programming are included?
• How many rounds of comps/storyboards will you receive?
• How many script drafts?

Including a price range in your RFP allows the bids you receive to be compared in an “apples to apples” environment. You can effectively gauge which vendor is providing the most production “bang for the buck”. This can make the challenging task of choosing the right vendor a little bit easier.

You might also find that this strategy also results in some unexpected benefits. Including the price range will enable some vendors provide you with alternative creative or technical approaches for your project that you might not have otherwise considered. These may result in a more cost effective program that actually saves you money in the long run.

At the end of the day, cost is an important factor in choosing the right creative agency or media production company for your project. However, it should not be the only factor you consider. Creativity, innovation, strategy, customer service and personality are all important considerations as well. In my next blog, I‘ll review some things that you might want to think about when you are evaluating companies for your next project.

Mike Schrader

Stay away from commercials
Commercials are great on TV but on the internet…not so much. People have itchy clicker fingers when they see shameless promotion on the web. As soon as they feel they’re being sold, they’re gone.

Provide real value
A better strategy is to provide the viewer with information that they can actually use - either in their business or personal life. It can certainly relate to the products or services you provide but you’ll get more viewers to actually watch if the video stays away from promoting your product specifically. Of course, if the video can be entertaining and engaging, all the better.

Here are a few examples:
A sporting goods retailer offered instructional videos on how to change a bicycle tire, set up a tent or use a camping stove. Again, this was useful information for clients but stopped short of self promotion for the sporting goods retailer.

A distribution logistics corporation published a series of video podcasts that featured cutting edge research on emerging markets around the world. The research provided valuable insights into local economies and businesses. This was invaluable information for their clients and could be used as part of global business planning efforts. The video podcasts featured the company logo and company experts but did not venture into self promotion.

A large national grocery chain offers a series of cooking shows on their website. The on-camera chefs are engaging and take the audience through complete meal preparation. A list of ingredients is also available from the website. The cooking show features very little in the way of promotion of the store other than a logo.

All of these examples offer the web video audience valuable information and an engaging video experience without subjecting them to a broadcast style commercial. The video is designed to offer real value in hopes that the user will respond by doing business with company sponsoring the website.

Quid pro quo …
We’ve all watched TV news stories on the web - but only after we’ve been subjected to the same commercials we’ve already seen on TV. It’s annoying. If a person visits your website, you want to keep them there - not drive them away. If they are willing to take the time to watch your video, give them something in return – information they can really use in an engaging and compelling manner.

Mike Schrader

• Maximize your investment in Media assets (Video, Flash, Print, Web)
• Meet and exceed your communications goals
• Create innovative, wildly effective communications assets
• Leverage your communications assets to achieve optimum results

Here are our thoughts for this week:
Chances are, you watched video on the internet this week - and, you’re not alone. You’re part of a growing tidal wave of computer users who are increasingly getting their TV fix over the internet.

And I’m not just talking about “You Tube”. . .

Businesses are also serving up a lot video content on the web. Many organizations have posted video podcasts on their own websites or on services like iTunes for their customer to download regularly. If your company isn’t taking advantage of this growing trend you’re really missing out on a huge marketing opportunity.

Look at it this way, if your company has a website and you have video assets you also have something else; your very own broadcasting channel. It’s a channel that can exclusively broadcast your message to your target audience 24/7. Think about it. Most companies already have an image or sales video. You may also have other video assets that would help your audience to better understand your company or your products and services. Better yet, consider crafting video assets specifically for broadcast on the internet. Access to your clients is virtually unrestricted and you control the message you deliver.

Video viewing on the internet has gone mainstream. Everyone – including your customers and potential customers - are watching video on the internet. Here are some statistics to consider:

• 74 percent of the total U.S. Internet audience viewed online video.
• 55% of all adult Americans now have a high-speed internet connection, according to a May 2008 survey conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
• The average online video viewer watched 228 minutes of video.
• 82.2 million viewers watched 4.1 billion videos on YouTube.com (50.4 videos per viewer).
• 54.8 million viewers watched 703 million videos on MySpace.com (12.8 videos per viewer).
• 6.8 million viewers watched 88 million videos on Hulu.com (13.0 videos per viewer).
• The duration of the average online video was 2.7 minutes.

So, what kind of video really works as a business tool on the internet?
That’s the topic of our next blog…

Mike Schrader