Forward to “Show Me”
By Nancy Hill, President-CEO, 4A’s
Jessica Kizorek has a unique way of getting in your face … and under your skin. I mean this as a compliment. In many ways, she is the embodiment of the ideas and strategies that she writes about in “Show Me,” her masterfully executed treatise on the power and value of online video for telling stories and shaping opinions.
Like the book’s subject, Jessica is thoughtful, inspiring and increasingly influential. Not bad for a 27-year-old documentary filmmaker who is as comfortable behind the camera, shooting video in the Republic of Congo (or in any of the 55 other countries where she has worked and traveled), as she is in front of the camera, speaking as an expert in digital video marketing.
The first time I met Jessica was in March 2008 at the 4A’s Media Conference in Orlando, Florida. Less than a month before, I was appointed president and CEO of the American Association of Advertising Agencies (better known as the 4A’s), and my opening remarks at the conference were my public debut in my new role as the head of the largest advertising trade association in the United States.
During my presentation, I recalled a story that occurred at the 2006 Media Conference: Jason Hirschhorn, then the head of digital at MTV Networks, asked the audience if anybody had ever heard of YouTube. Out of the 1,000 attendees in the audience that morning, perhaps a dozen or so people raised their hands.
Hirschhorn remarked that these digitally savvy audience members were likely parents of ’tweens and teens, the consumers who were already posting their homemade video clips on the then-growing but not-yet-exploded video Web site.
Today, YouTube is a given, a brand name in the ranks of Google, now its parent company. And now with premium online video destinations such as Hulu and Joost, consumers aren’t just watching video clips of bulldogs that skateboard. They’re watching premium content online. And consumers, advertisers, and so-called traditional media companies are taking notice.
In fact, I said last March, according to a report from comScore Video Metrix, U.S. Internet users watched more than 10 billion videos in the month of December 2007 alone.
Almost immediately after my remarks, a young woman approached me. “Hi, I’m Jessica Kizorek, and I’d like you to read my book.” She handed me a copy of the first edition of “Show Me,” which I accepted, tucked into my bag, and then … forgot about it.
Over the course of the conference, which was themed, “Digital Changes Everything,” there was much discussion and debate about the influence and impact of digital technologies and media. As industry confabs tend to be, there was a bit of information overload, and lots of industry pundits vying for attention and prominence.
At the conclusion of the conference, I promised myself that I would take a short break from thinking about digital technologies and media.
But a funny thing happened while I was traveling back to New York after the long and exhausting week at the 4A’s conference. On the plane, as I was going through my stack of work materials, I came across Jessica’s book.
Staring back at me from the cover was Jessica’s picture, practically daring me to crack open her book and read it. I did…
Anybody who knows me more than 10 minutes … no 5 minutes … knows that I’m a tech geek at heart. When it comes to digital technologies, I like to constantly explore and play and learn. And I have a lot of fun doing it. I think others should do the same, although I realize that not everybody shares my passion (even though they should).
Whether or not you’re inclined toward being a tech geek, you can’t become a digital expert—or even digital apprentice—simply by osmosis. That co-worker sitting in the next office, cubicle or desk isn’t going to magically transfer his or her digital knowledge to you.
Chances are you are both in the same place about all the new tools flying in and out, and whizzing by your eyes and ears, much of it online. And in reality, you’re not going to “get it” by top-lining the science and technology sections of CNN or The New York Times, either.
These days, marketers have little choice but to adapt their digital media strategy to the shifting behavior of consumers online. The demand for rich media is growing rapidly across the board, and the influence of online content and communities is dramatically altering the way consumers interact with brands, products and services of all kinds.
While most savvy marketers and agencies understand that integrating video into existing online strategies is a critical next step, many are unclear how to do it.
“Show Me” presents a solid case of digital video marketing, and reading the book is an excellent way to gain knowledge about one of the tools with which our industry can reach, engage and connect with consumers through marketing with video on the Internet.
I’ve always believed that the Internet is one of the major cultural evolutionary tools, not just for marketers, but also for consumers. It ranks right up there with the first hand tool, the Rosetta Stone and Marconi’s wireless. The hand tool spurred tribal cooperation; the Rosetta Stone spurred communication with different languages; and Marconi spurred communication across continents.
With our increasingly global marketplace, the Internet has facilitated faster, more efficient ways to interact and exchange ideas. We can communicate in an instant to millions of people—locally and throughout the world—regardless of language or culture.
This incredible surge of information and thoughts and visions and conversations has changed everything we know and perceive. It is absolutely essential to the success of our business that each and every one of us understands it and can use it.
Reading Jessica’s book for the first time validated many of these ideas for me, and also taught me a few tricks I didn’t already know.
That Jessica’s book is being updated within a year of its first edition speaks volumes about how rapidly things change. What was new yesterday is old today. What is inconceivable today will be commonplace tomorrow. But the foundation of much of the information in “Show Me” is a good starting point for anyone invested in communications.
After all, before you fly, you need to walk. And “Show Me” shows us all how to begin the first step.
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