Bringing People to Your Building
In the UK, Radio 1 is the BBC’s national youth pop music radio station and 1Xtra is its sister black music station. Both have recently started developing its video capabilities to enhance their audio output.
I belatedly noticed, this week, a behind the scenes video for 1Xtra, that’s been around since September. Today, Radio 1 launched the Annie Mac video podcast.
They’ve probably been created by the same team (Hello Will) but they’ve done it in quite a different way. Firstly though, it’s a great thing to do. People are generally very exicted about going behind the scenes of things that they are passionate about. However when they get there they want it to be amazing. The trick with these things is delivering on the promise.
They’re also an excellent opportunity to demonstrate relationships. If people are enjoying themselves, having fun and just generally being passionate about something they love - it ends up rubbing off on the viewer. The other thing to remember is that people are choosing to download the video, it’s not broadcast conent that people might just come across, it’s content that they’re actively seeking out.
Radio 1 have got the right idea in producing it in vodcast form. This will allow it to develop and cover different content areas. At the moment however it’s far too generic, the mock comedy bits get in the way of actually providing any insight into Radio 1. Other than seeing some famous faces the only thing we find out about Radio 1 is that it has some open plan offices.
The 1Xtra video is a one-off and follows a similar format but somehow has much more heart. You get the impression that they really are all part of one big happily family. They have fun with each other rather than at the expense of each other. ‘Boring’ talking heads actually show the real passion that the team have about their product.
Video is a great way to bring a product to life by providing context to help provide real reasons why someone should want to consume your product. It removes the bullshit layer that lots of advertising campaigns mysteriously insert between their products and their consumers. It also has the opportunity to speak directly, with passion, to the people who want to like what you do. It should be an open goal to connect with your audience.