Even with great planning, external factors can hamper a scheduled video shoot. Sometimes we video marketers have to “roll” with it, too. On a recent promo shoot for an upcoming webinar “How Bad Plumbing Clogs Good Video,” we had an actual, non-video plumbing issue. Let’s set the stage.

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Picture a large room with many people, a 60-inch television on the wall.

People are jovial, many adorning the jerseys of their favorite football teams.

Nachos and chicken wings make the rounds, along with some beer and cocktails.

It’s Super Bowl Sunday; the most hyped day of the year.

Suddenly the crowd goes silent, watching a scene unfold on the television, only to break out in a cheer.

Touchdown? No. First down? No. Turnover? No? Super Bowl Commercial? Yes.

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Drum roll, please… and the Academy Award for Best Business Video goes to Acme Corporation for their new Turbo Widget product. We’re not quite sure what a Turbo Widget is (or does), but the video certainly looks good. It's a good thing their friends and family watched the video, because their prospects, customers, and business partners certainly didn’t. And if those people didn’t see it, then they certainly didn’t turn that video into a business transaction. But at least it looked good. Damn good, in fact.

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Some marketers warned us that flash mobs were passé, but we went ahead and organized one anyway. So why did we do it? Because we knew we could do it differently, and most importantly, we brought our special sauce – video marketing – to the table. It went well for those involved, our marketing community, and our business.

Recently, Verne Harnish, founder and CEO of Gazelles, Inc., wrote an article for Fortune Magazine highlighting five ways to think differently about growing your business. The article is also reproduced online on CNN Money. 

Our flash mob made the list under the heading "get really crazy." Naturally, we think getting really crazy in a sane (and compelling) manner is a great way to grow a business. Despite the logistical challenges of planning, promoting, and pulling off the flash mob, it went off without any major hitches and ultimately resulted in new business for us. In the following video, we discuss how we pulled it off: 

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As business leaders and marketers (and perhaps as human beings), we continually look for patterns. It may be to capitalize on business opportunities or it may be to save our lives. Nonetheless, recognizing and responding to patterns is critical to our way of functioning.

Recently, I’ve been spending a great deal of time in the online video market. Not surprisingly, I’ve been looking for patterns and asking, “What are the key things in online video and video marketing?” Are there patterns, either good or bad? One area keeps coming up: YouTube. But what does that mean? Are there truly YouTube patterns? In fact, there are at least a couple.

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On a recent late afternoon in downtown Boston, the mundane, end-of-day office exodus was interrupted by a frolicking throng of people dancing in unison in historic Copley Square. Passersby stopped, surprised both by the music and performers. Many quickly pulled out their mobile phones and filmed the event, which culminated with the spirited group of dancers forming of a very large letter “M.” Seconds later, the music stopped and everyone withdrew back into the evening commute as if nothing had ever happened.

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