Perhaps a blindingly obvious approach when thinking about online video to push a travel brand is to partner with someone with a reasonable amount of success already under their belt.
But it isn’t that simple…
Case in point #1:
Step forward the now (in)famous Where The Hell is Matt series, which saw the annoyingly well-travelled Matt Harding dance his way around the world a number of times, courtesy of Stride Gum.
Yes, a chewing gum brand, not a travel brand. Missed opportunity, many would say.
[The video is still actually a rather awe inspiring jaunt across the globe]
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfKdbWwruY
Case in point #2
But, of course, thinking that any virally successful video maker might be willing to take the marketing dollar is not the best plan of action.
Christophe Rehage put this incredible piece of time-lapse video together in early-2009 after a walking tour across Asia and became an overnight YouTube sensation.
The problem for travel marketers is that this style probably wouldn’t suit many brands and, one presumes, Rehage wouldn’t be so keen to give over the spirit of the piece for commercial purposes.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ky6vgQfU24
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About Kevin May
Saw inspiring demo by TripFilms CEO Tony Cheng (www.tripfilms.com) last week that begs your question in point #2: how does one commercialize individual creativity in videos? TripFilms is building a distribution model that draws on the creativity/labors of travel love by consumers with cameras. As for the wider industry, it comes down to how this creativity can be harnessed as a selling/shopping experience. With all of the gadgets out there, the fundamentally strong siren song of travel, and a culture of sharing on the web . . . this will get figured out.
I love these compilation edits and admire the individuals who have poured weeks/months into filming and editing them – I don’t think they will ever make money out of them but they surely had loads of fun making them and deserve kudos for their efforts.
I loathe badly edited, wobblycam UGC content. People who chuck that kind of stuff on their sites don’t deserve to make money from it. I also loathe rehashes of outdated tourist board footage – it adds nothing. This kind of stuff gives online video a bad name.
The future is, I think, in bespoke quality content that informs and inspires – there’s room for all sorts of styles. And yes, as the bar is raised and quality improves there will be more and more ways to monetise content.
Our particular model is based on the ‘reader offer’ principle, using first hand video reports as an alternative to a printed brochure or advertisement. Trust is key – hence the input of a team of highly respected travelgurus. In return for promoting selected holidays alongside the videos, we earn commission on sales. Video is at the core but its also about providing independent advice and service.
I loved these videos; regardless of what they were intended to do they tap that emotive core that most of us have about travel. Embedded video is something we have built into our site to try and help owners bring some life to their listings. We’re tiny right now and haven’t pushed it, but what Cathy says really resonates with us: “The future is, I think, in bespoke quality content that informs and inspires”. Video, as the above pieces prove, has the ability to do that. The problem is the need for a creative mind and, as ever, a little budget…