Impact Masters Podcast

#56 Impact Masters Podcast: Unlocking the Power of Video: Video Marketing Trifecta

• Impact Masters Media • Season 56

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Meet Tim Bradley, the creative force behind Pennant Video and pioneer of the "video marketing trifecta" that's transforming how B2B companies build trust and close deals. From his childhood making videos with his brothers in rural Massachusetts to founding a specialized agency serving tech's most innovative sectors, Tim shares the journey that shaped his unique approach to video storytelling.

What makes video so powerful in B2B marketing? As Tim explains, it's the medium's unparalleled ability to function like a conversation – engaging both heart and mind while providing the validation needed for complex purchasing decisions. His video marketing trifecta framework offers a structured approach to mid-funnel marketing: anthem videos that communicate your why, explainer videos that demonstrate your what, and endorsement videos that validate through customer stories.

Tim challenges the common misconception that smartphone-quality video is sufficient for all marketing needs. While authentic, low-production content has its place in your marketing mix, Tim emphasizes why production value matters most at critical trust-building stages. "First impressions count," he reminds us, "and when you're trying to make a good impression on a buyer, you don't get many chances."

Beyond the videos themselves, Tim reveals how a strategic video approach creates ripple effects throughout your marketing ecosystem. From forcing clarity in messaging to building a versatile content library that can be repurposed across channels, the investment compounds in value over time. For companies in sectors like cybersecurity, healthcare, and sustainability, this approach isn't just about better marketing – it's about communicating complex solutions that matter.

Ready to transform your B2B marketing approach? Download Tim's free video marketing playbook at pennant.video and discover how the right video strategy can shorten sales cycles, differentiate your brand, and build the trust needed to close deals in today's competitive landscape.


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Guest
Tim Bradley
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-bradley-pennant/

Host
Michael Kimathi
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelkimathi/
X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/m_k_global

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Speaker 1:

All right, all right, all right. This is Impact Masters Podcast, in collaboration with Retort Podcast, recording live from Nairobi and Boston simultaneously, and today we have an amazing guest, tim Bradley, himself, joining us today. Tim Bradley is the co-founder of Penant Video, a B2B-focused agency that has pioneered the video marketing trifecta. It's a trademark to power mid-funnel marketing strategies. With nearly two decades of experience in video marketing, tim has partnered with leading B2B tech brands like Cisco, italki, philips and countless startups, bringing their story to life with compelling video campaigns.

Speaker 1:

Before founding a penitent, tim was the executive producer at a large communications agency. In his 12 years there, he built, managed and mentored a 25-person creative team, while growing the business in competitive sectors such as staff tech, cybersecurity and healthcare. He believes in creating work that cuts through the noise methodical yet bespoke, scalable yet unique. Beyond client projects, tim mentors aspiring creatives through workshops and portfolio reviews, reinforcing his belief that elevating new talent forces a more innovative and story-driven industry.

Speaker 1:

Tim has built an engaged following on LinkedIn by being relatable, authentic and authoritative with equal parts actionable, authentic and authoritative with equal parts actionable, insight and compelling storytelling and the occasional dad joke. I believe today he's going to give a few dad jokes as he converts. Also, he believes in strongly in the power of community and mentoring, that connections mean more than just a numbers game and that young creative deserve the wisdom he has gained over a long and ongoing creative career. His philosophy is simple create meaningful connections through impactful stories that resonate and enjoy Outside the office. Tim draws inspiration from his love of snowboarding, family and the outdoors, channeling the focus, adaptability and persistence on the slopes into navigating today's competitive marketing landscape. When should a company introduce itself using videos? So today we're going to delve into a conversation with Tim. Hi Tim.

Speaker 2:

Hi Michael, Thank you for having me and thank you for that very warm introduction.

Speaker 1:

Well, no, I mean, this is quite an and we're glad to host you today as our main guest, and here we just actually introduce movers and shakers in tech. We've been doing it for Africa movers and shakers, and now we're covering some of the global movers and shakers. We're covering some of the global movers and shakers, you know, telling the stories that really matter and sharing technology, information and knowledge that really moves the needle when it comes to different aspects of life, as well as highlighting key innovators in the ecosystem. But without further ado. You know this is just what the official former UO Team Bradley is, but I know here we like going all the way back UO Team as a person, how was that team before it was formed to figure out marketing? Do you mind telling us UO Team where you were born? How was it growing up? A bit so that we get some background about yourself?

Speaker 2:

yeah, I'd be happy to. Yeah, so I'm, um, the oldest of of three, three boys, three brothers, right, and so, uh, my parents, uh, we grew up in western massachusetts, so this very um, pretty remote town. It was, uh, about 300 people, um, in this sort of foothills of some like very pretty mountains in Western Massachusetts, right, and so the with that it was a lot of nature, a lot of, you know, exploration and therefore a lot of like imagination. So I found that my brothers and I were often, you know, in our own little worlds, like you know, creating characters, creating sort of stories and situations, and I was fortunate enough that my parents had one of those oversized like VHS camcorders, right, like the big video cameras from the 90s, cameras from the from the nineties, and, um, we, we got to use that to create, you know, uh, little videos and stories of, of our, of our Lego sets or of our Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or of ourselves, right, so sort of that intersection of being able to explore and be creative and be sort of adventurous and storytellers along with, you know, you having the ability to do some recordings and things, um, I think, really started me down a path early right and into video storytelling at large. Um, fast forward.

Speaker 2:

I went to college for communications and so that was a bit of broad, a bit of journalism, like writing. I worked on the, on the, worked on the school paper, the newspaper, right. The bit of radio. I had a radio program every semester. And then video. There was several video classes you could take about documentary filmmaking or broadcast or just production in general, and so when I was sort of ending my time at college it just seemed very, very clear that video was often the preferred medium. You're going to hear me saying that a lot. It was just, you know, the medium that was having the sort of the best opportunities from as a professional, but also just for me. It just the creativity of video just really spoke to me, just for me, it just the creativity of video just really spoke to me.

Speaker 2:

So, yeah, with that I moved to Lake Tahoe, california, to pursue this sort of snowboarding, skiing, you know mountain lifestyle, right, and with that I did the classic thing of opening my first credit card and, you know, buying a camera and buying a computer. So I could just be really like immersed in the doing of creation, right, and in video, just be very immersed in that. So, looking back on that it was you know, this sort of culture of of skiing and snowboarding and a lot of it is very, very, very fluid, very, you know, you're feeling very inspired. You're just sort of inspired by the, by the mountains and the people, and there's no like right or wrong way to to necessarily to to do those sports Right, and so the combination of that with with video, um, just really allowed me to just like explore and learn. Learn you know all parts of the camera and how to edit, um, uh, you know a tight story, how to edit to music, like how to edit and and um conduct interviews and et cetera. So I really feel that those four years after college were even more like enriching right, cause I could just there wasn't anyone telling me, not telling me, there wasn't anyone necessarily like advising along the way, like in a college or in a school situation but that freedom to explore really helped me realize this sort of like bounds or limits of storytelling and producing right.

Speaker 2:

And then from there, yeah, when we moved back to Massachusetts, I found this job as a video production specialist inside of a public relations company and that was really such an awesome opportunity to be that sort of first creative hire inside of a burgeoning agency, right, and that opportunity to continue with that autonomy and that sort of entrepreneurial spirit as I'm realizing later. That, like intrapreneur, is the way I describe it now. I was there for 12 years and helped build a really robust team of creatives. We did motion design and animation, we did podcasting, we did live events and production and broadcast and all sorts of video across all channels, right, like internal communications and employer branding, to social media, to live events, to recruiting, you know, so, really like, so immersed in in in the medium. It was like the best thing for it.

Speaker 2:

But then I also got to understand, um, different, different industries, from healthcare and cybersecurity and and climate technology and green technology and and these sort of like always cutting edge, innovative industries, and that really like, spoke to me as, as a, as like the person I am in this stage of my life, right, maybe it's I had because I had a couple of kids and I want a safer, more secure, sustainable future for them, right, but that, um, that's sort of what? Uh, the combination of all those things, the skills, the relationships, the, the networking, um, the leadership that just brought me the overall confidence to then launch what is now Pennant Video Company. And so, as you outlined, we're a B2B focused, mid funnel focus, which I'm sure we'll talk about video marketing agency. So we use writing and motion design and live action production to produce, um really impactful videos that support marketing and sales teams and building out a robust buyer's journey for for their audiences. Right, like, our goal is to help empower decision-making um for audiences and um, yeah, that sense of focus and the passion of all of those decades behind it. Right, if they've brought me here today.

Speaker 2:

So, was that brief enough? Is that okay?

Speaker 1:

No, I mean I asked so many questions but definitely that was really comprehensive in terms of understanding with Tim Bradley overall, and in fact, today's topic would not really be out of the wild If 10 years ago, we did this podcast around video instead of B2B marketing. That would sound like you know what are you talking about, the expenses and all that with the real shots and all these video gatherings, attention span of everyone. There's no better time to discuss how these impact sales and marketing as well as revenue, and I think we can dive right in. So how did you just decide at the end of the day, this is it, and what research advisor before you know you said okay, I want to. You know, go to Penance and start a Penance video. I have a team that actually offers this as a service or as a product.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I love that question because a lot of it really centers around like a sense of like purpose and focus, right Again, like so much sort of love and affinity for, for that agency experience. But there's that, there is this saying that, um, one year at an agency is like three years in house, the sort of like dog years equation, right. So that was really true and a lot of it wasn't necessarily like burnout, it was more the sense of like, like lack of focus. So we were producing so much work for all sizes and scales of companies, from like kickstarter, earliest of foundation, to like fortune five, right, and then every channel, every sort of style and length of video, and it just got to this point where I was sort of losing the forest for the trees, right, or it's just like I'm not sure the impact of this work that we're producing anymore like in its broadest sense, right. So for me, the intention of Pennant to be really mid funnel focused, with a framework, that video marketing trifecta that supports sales and marketing teams to build out that buyer's journey, was really the thing that you know helps, continues to help me get out of bed every day. That like the work that we're producing is helping decision-making, it's helping these brands that have really important missions of, you know, safety, security or sustainability, and so those set of values align with the focus of, of the craft and the message and the audience is really what's helped like synthesize our business, right, um, but I love you what you said about the 10 years ago, because it's, it's totally true, like when I was inside that agency, um, as that, that video production specialist video youtube was only like a couple years old, right, I mean, it speaks to how old I am now, but like that that you know it was known as a place of cat videos.

Speaker 2:

Right, it wasn't. It wasn't like a place for business, it wasn't a place for, you know, it wasn't attached to google, you know, as like the second most powerful search search engine in the world, right, so there's just been such an evolution and and, in my mind, like overall adoption of the medium and certainly in marketing, right, like marketers have not just come to learn but just really like appreciate that, while video is sort of challenging to conceive and produce and and iterate on, like it just has such a important ripple effect across their brand ecosystem that, like how they produce their creative, it's impactful to the, the recipient, the audience, right, because they can just digest or take in so much more information because of the visuals and the audio right, it's the most primed for storytelling. So I'm not trying to convince you, it's just more that like, yeah, it's just funny how in in the 10 years, just video is so prolific, right, um, on all, on all channels. And here we are today on a, on a live podcast that's with with video. Right, because there's that expectation yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 1:

They say. If uh's not seen, it didn't happen. Yeah, exactly, yeah. But interestingly, until today, 2005, different companies still believe in B2B, basically because of culture, trust and how people have been used to closing deals. You know, for you to get into this, you know video of a B2B. Does that mean you replace? You know B2B or in-person, or you know emails and all these other channels of sales? And do I wait? Or does video complement the already existing mechanisms?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I would say it complements and amplifies, right? So if we're working with a marketing team or a sales team, it's like they have some sort of a message that they're trying to communicate repeatedly, right? So it's one thing to have one person do it on a one-on-one engagement, like ultimately you want that human to human, but you also need to sort of scale it, right, and so video in its sort of like truest form, is as close to a conversation as you can get, compared to any of the other marketing channels or mediums, right? So because of that, it's like we're always encouraging. Well, if you're trying to express your brands, why, like, why you exist, why your audience should care, why you're different, that is a great opportunity for a video, right? If you're trying to explain how, how, how your product or surface, uh, service works, like, like how it works and what it, what it does and how it works.

Speaker 2:

That's a great opportunity for a video. Then if you have customers and you want them to like, uh, validate what, what you, what you do for them, right, like that, who this is for and where set of story is really important, right, and so for us, like with the video marketing trifecta, that's effectively the point of this framework is to express your brand's why and differentiate you from the competition, explain what you do, that demonstration of your value set, and then that endorsement, that customer story, that validation is the third prong of the trifecta, of the trifecta. So for B2B like that, that clarity that you're, you know, in in the most engaged medium, a video is really impactful and it helps you build that buyer's journey, to build trust from you know why you exist, what you do, who this is for, right, like, all of those touch points are really important to build trust, especially when most B2B selling cycles are like nine to 12 months, you know. So to have all these like really impactful touch points is a great way to differentiate from your competition.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and interestingly is that, you know, given the trends and even the way different businesses look like besides the Fortune 500, we have seen artists actually produce even TikTok music, which actually start with challenges and all that and there are different strategies, of course, for business. And, as an expert, how would you say to get the maximum return on investment? Is it driven by creating original content that addresses the business, or is it good to go with the trends, or is it just to break the mold and create something that is kind of outside the box? How do you go about this to get the maximum return of investment?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, man, I love that question Because the shortest answer is just sort of like all of it, but that's not a great answer. Right. At the end of the day, really looking at the brands, the businesses' mission and purpose and making sure that you're being intentional behind, that is usually the first like that's your North star, right, and like from there you get a real sense of like well, of course, this is who we're serving. Like this is these, are these, are our buyers? Right, these are where our buyers exist. Like they're on these respective channels and these places, they're in these rooms, they're having these conversations, right. Like having all of that information is such a great bedrock for strategy. To then, how do you, how do you, produce the materials to show up consistently, to be visible, to provide value, to like the channels from there, like all of the channels have their sort of best practices, right? So you're saying YouTube shorts.

Speaker 1:

It's like well, it's in the name make it short.

Speaker 2:

So that is is like it's much more approachable to have a single person show up with value every day to produce a series of content Like it's. It's sort of it's almost as close to like consumer as to consumer as possible, but at the end of the day it's like you're showing up beating a drum, being visible, providing value. That is the best sort of bedrock or intention or scaffolding of that approach For us. We find that our best sort of partnerships with brands are the ones that are doing that internally. They have an internal resource that's taking care of the or it not, and by care I mean like they're paying attention to those respective needs and channels of like, of nurture specifically that sort of bottom of the funnel, right, like having, um, that employer branding content, that recruiting content, that thought leadership content, the internal and external communications like the social media, right, like that is like, in my mind, a lot of a social media strategy and video is a part of that. But having a small team or resources or even just dedicated persons to that activity is such a great way to show up repeatedly in in that space.

Speaker 2:

Right, then you have your top of the funnel, like your advertising. Those are like your big splashes, your awareness, like someone's never heard of you. How do you make that first impression like really count, you know, yeah. And then there's the middle, the sort of messy middle right, and like that's, that's where as pennant, where you like love to be, and because it has that most opportunity for impact in closing that gap right, like that conversion. How do you make that shorter? How do you make those timelines more concise, right, or at least predictable?

Speaker 2:

How do you build that journey for audiences? And so, with that, production value tends to matter a bit more like your, your clarity and what your, you know those, those key cornerstone questions you're trying to ask like why, what, who, where, when, right, those should be like really clear, really concise and engaging, like whether in sort of like a humorous sort of way or a way that at least is aligned with your brand's tone of voice and mission and value set right. So you know I just described the entire journey, but there's like a lot of complexity within that. So being really thoughtful strategically for each of those moments across the buyer's journey is really important and it doesn't mean you have to do all of them all of the time but, to really help build the layers of that funnel is really important.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and in this aspect you'll find that most companies actually will always try and do everything and anything. Is there a sort of framework? And if there's a framework, because at the end of the day, giving some sort of framework gives some clarity, regardless of whichever business that wants to do video so where do you see the biggest gaps in a company's video marketing approach and how can Anthem explain us and the endorsement, and you can actually delve further in these three Anthems.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1:

To tell us how do these fill out the gaps and how do you go about it. You know if there's a framework out there that really has worked, or how even Penant comes into play.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, absolutely yeah. The the way I like to describe it is like you've, as an audience member, you've been sold a click meaning. Meaning, like you, you've become aware of some, uh, some business that seemingly can help solve a problem or a challenge. You're having, um, especially in B2B, right, like there's, there's many of them, but it's like you're you're looking for a solution ultimately. And so with that sorry, I went blank for a second With that, once that click happens, it's directing you realistically to a website in most common experiences, right. How do you keep them there? How do you provide clarity? How do you build on that trust, right? And so having video front and center is a great way to do that. There's data bound. That, like having video above the fold on the homepage, keeps people on site. The more time they're with you, the more engaged they are, the more interested and intrigued they are in your solution, right? So that's where the beginning of the video marketing trifecta starts.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Speaker 2:

If it's sold, a click they've arrived on your site, the. So to expand a bit more on that differentiation demonstration, validation of those types of videos is is is really the other way I like to describe. It is speaking to the heart, speaking to the mind, and then that's sort of then, that gut check of trust before making a commitment. Practically, anthem videos, anthem videos, are that mission, those values, that, why that? Why you exist, why your audiences should care, your differentiation, right, that first prong of the trifecta. The second prong are those explainer videos. Right, they demonstrate what you do and how you do it Succinctly, clearly. They often speak to pain point, solution sets or like leaning into certain industry segments. Right, like what you do and how you do it in a certain industry or category. Right, like how, like, um, what you do and how you do it in a certain industry or category. Right, yeah, the third prong of the trifecta is those endorsement videos. They express um, who, who you're for and where, and that's often that customer testimonial, that case study, that customer hero video. Right that showcases or invalidates your, your, your, um, your solution through the, the voice and perspective of a customer. Right that showcases or invalidates your solution through the voice and perspective of a customer right.

Speaker 2:

So these three prongs really build a strong foundation and they build that buyer's journey and that's that framework that we've found is really successful. And from there, any of those prongs can have a ripple effect on the rest of your category or the rest of your brand. Right, like taking any B roll or testimonial soundbites and like transforming those into other digital assets. Right, using them as social fodder. We've had a lot of our art from, like an explainer video, being repurposed into a trade show booth. Right, because that art is really impactful. So it's like the investment in those key assets is really critical from a marketing and sales standpoint. But then you've also built you're starting to build and compound on a robust library that can be used and repurposed throughout the sort of buyer's journey. Right, but certainly at the bottom, to just show up consistently and repeatedly on those channels that you can be most visible on.

Speaker 1:

Interesting and of late we have seen different companies, including, you know, isecurity, which has always, for the longest, been a bit, you know, secretive, not because they don't want to share but because of the security involvement. We've seen safety. We've seen even military actually record some of the proceeding as well as some of the acquisitions in terms of capability, and all these are shared through videos. But also you have seen companies and organizations in sustainability drive face-in video marketing which actually shares more capability. Is there, you know, a way of doing this video in a certain way that really resonates with the audience addressed? Or how do they do specialized storytelling that really compels the intended audience or customers to really relate to it? And how do they stand out? Because, at the end of the day, if it's fundraising, everyone is fundraising. If it's security, of course it has its own issues. If it's safety, different companies offer different safety value or such in the business. So how do they really stand out and what should they focus on?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I always encourage a couple of things Like. One is someone should be paying attention to what the audience is looking for and desiring right, and some of that can be in the analytics of your different social platforms or at your key events or talking to sales right Anyone that's on the front lines of conversations with customers. They are primed to help support your storytelling and video marketing initiatives right. But on the whole, you got to look internally too. If there's a message that you're either struggling to synthesize or there's a moment of inflection, so like a company rebrand or a company launch of a product or service, or a sales kickoff or a customer experience event Like these are really important moments in time. There's a lot of attention, there's a lot of consorted effort internally working in lockstep to support this moment in time. That is such a great time to produce video that is like of high impact, high value, right, because it's that we call it that flagship asset. Right, like that blue chip material. That is such a great way to align the communication, align brand mechanics, and then it can be that ripple effect at the same time to like get your message out across your channels and across your audience segmentations. So it's sort of the cross section of those. Right, like someone is paying attention to the needs of customers and their desires and what they need. That's inevitably happening in the business, right. But it's like someone's ear to the ground, to the storytelling moments, and those are usually through the eyes and ears of customers, right. And then the calendar. What are those key moments that are happening in a calendar year and how can we make the most impact in those moments? Video is that path, right. So I'm often encouraging a video first mentality, meaning if you're like, okay, we're going through a company rebrand, how do we lead with video?

Speaker 2:

Because, because video is, is the most like, complex medium. You know there's, there's the, the message is the tone of voice there's. There's the brand, there's the words, there's the, the, the sentiment of like. You know what is the music, what is the, the, the feeling, the vibe, the words. There's the, the, the sentiment of like. You know what is the music, what is the, the, the, the feeling, the vibe we want from this thing? What are the pictures or the images? You know, like, it is perfectly complex, but if you put in the effort to produce that piece, you've, you've, you've sort of invariably supported so many other aspects of decision-making, like how do we say our message in 60 seconds or less, right, great, that's going to have a great impact across all of your, your marketing and sales. How are we showing up visually? Great, that's going to really, you know, have an impact across your brand identity.

Speaker 2:

And how you produce your visuals for all your social channels, right, like what's the, what's the tone, like what, what's the mood we want to evoke here that really aligns everybody. And how they communicate this message, like in person or at events, or on socials or in emails, and all of it, right. And then there's that library where it's like you've, you've produced this really impactful moment to this video. You can carve that up into static graphics, you can carve that up into animated g, you can carve that up into animated GIFs. You can make shorter form versions. You can make vertical versions for social channels, right. So now you have a relative like campaign of assets that can be put into email, onto social, into trade shows, into the hands of your sales force on their desktop, you know, um, for in-person or or or virtual meetings, right? So, yeah, again, impact is a word that I use time and time again, cause it's the most sort of close to the, to the moment, to what video can really do for a business.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely. And that's actually, uh, brings me to the you know, the next question, which is around um, you know, at the end of the day, people now are shooting videos using their phone, you know, using the minimum viable, uh, you know gadget that is available and, uh, you know, at trifecta you guys offer it professionally. At what point do someone actually outsource this work to you? Um, and why is it important for B2B to really, you know, like you know, outsource this work to you? And in this case, why does it make it a critical difference in driving conversations and focusing on that mid funnel? Because, at the end of the day, there's always the awareness that is created and some activation that really goes thousands and thousands, but then you close maybe 10 or 20 businesses. So why is it important to either do it internally or, at what point, even if you're doing it internally, to outsource it to Penant and do this work for you?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, absolutely. I love that question.

Speaker 2:

The challenge I always pose is like or the thing that I always bring up is like first impressions count, right so if you're trying to make a really good impression on a buyer, right, or a customer or a client is, you don't get many of those chances right. And so when you're top, mid funnel, mid funnel especially, right, like you want to show up with the right amount of care and the right amount of like respect for the audience's time, right, it's like especially when it's fleeting and you're trying to build trust at each of those sort of rungs. So, so, while the it's like the funnel sort of inversed, it's like you can do a lot of content at the bottom, but that's because you've already built, you've already built trust Right, and people now just want to show that you show up, to see that they're supported, to learn more about the you know your product rollouts and like the innovations that you're always working on to see your people in action, and so that is is totally um, fine, for like a lower production value. It's more like getting your people to show up and build trust on that human to human level. But when you're further up, it's like less, less content but more production value, right, like you want to show that the care and the respect you have for for your audience's time when they're just trying to, to to make a quick decision or at least a thought, a like concerted decision on what and what is the best solution for their pain, for their problems, their challenges that they're having, right.

Speaker 2:

So, if you can, if you, if you're one of a couple competitors, right, and you're showing up audience first, video first, with production value, to show that you care about this decision making in this moment and you're trying to give them the clarity and build on trust to go in your direction, then why wouldn't you invest in that way, right, especially when it has that ripple effect across brand and channel and content marketing at large, right? So, yeah, that's how I usually, you know, put it back. It is sort of my client situation is have them considerable. If they're the audience, how do they want to be perceived, you know? And so that care and intention and clarity, those always come together.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I mean. That actually brings me another question that is very important. As you're speaking, I was thinking about it. You know, shooting the video content is the easy part. There's always the strategy, the planning and what do you want to see. But that video is as good as it goes out and as it's promoted. How do you advise your clients to really go about it? Do they even set a budget for promotion? Do you actually include this in when you are quoting and do you help do it? Or do you just say here are your videos and these are shared. These are strategies, the roadmap on how you share it, or how does it go? Because, yeah, I might have the best of the videos, but if no one sees them, they're just videos, right. So how do you go about that with your client, especially B2B? Because we know most B2B companies have a marketing team, they have social media strategists, they have different arms of company. Now we see CEOs actually tweeting or sharing some of the captures. So how do you go about that to make sure that you're successful?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I mean it's the two prominent distinctions, right, organic and paid. While we don't do paid in-house at pennant, we have our partners to support that right, and so that is like its own strategy, right, but when it comes to organic, it's it's assuring that what we're delivering is um is the most resonant on the channels that they're being distributed on. Right, so it's like social media. Great, making sure it's shorter form versions. It's it's it's a variety of versions so they can AB test. It's showing up with the copy that supports the video. Right, cause it's there's often some copy and a call to action related to it. Right, like, how do you make sure that that not just like fills a content calendar, but it's like supporting the, the conversion world we're living in from, from the mid-funnel strategy. Right, it's also assuring that they have a playbook to be like great, this is where they should live on your, throughout your website. There's probably at least one, if not a couple, places that this specific video can and should live throughout the architecture of your website. Right, it's assuring that it's it's in a, in a format and a file size that can be downloaded by people internally so they can use, you know, in zoom meetings, they can use on their iPad at a trade show or et cetera, right, it's making sure that there's a version that at least has the closed cat, a branded closed captioning, if not like a text on screen animated version so that those can play at trade shows, right? So it's really just making sure that you know. And then it's having the animated gifts that go into email to be distributed. That point to the landing page or wherever the video is, right, so that, just that organic distribution strategy.

Speaker 2:

While not like, not super complex by any means, it's just like we can come in and be like, hey, like, we would advise you use it in this, this ways, in these places, and also like share it more than once. You know what I mean. Like people, it's not often that everybody's on that channel in that moment. So, like, build it into your like, into your program, um, your content calendar, so that it can be repurposed consistently, you know.

Speaker 2:

So, yes, that combination of organic and paid, and again, it kind of just depends on the moment. Paid because it's like you're trying to capture new audiences while, or new, new potential clients, right, while also like informing your current clients of like what this means in this moment to them as as as a customer, you know. Um, so it sort of just depends, I suppose, on like the purpose of the trifecta and like the, the content that you're creating in that, in that moment right and then just the moment of the business and what you're trying to do and activate based on the, the work yeah, and now we have seen, uh, emergence of ai, uh, you know, um, and, and this has impacted differently how the story is told.

Speaker 1:

We're told to when, how, in which language? Are this really impacted your strategy in how you build better for your customer?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I mean AI. I have a lot of thoughts. All right, like, even for us. It's a really attractive shortcut, right, it's like we can produce transcripts out of interviews Within our editing software. It can help us shortcut a few things. But the concern I have is when we have conversations with clients or customers, they're like, well, let's just produce the whole thing in AI or let's use one of these AI video generators to do it. It's, it's.

Speaker 2:

It's not that it's like wrong, it's just is that shortcut going to build trust with your audience? It always, just always, just goes back to trust. Like, in what you're producing, does that empower the decision, empower decision-making by your audience as it does it build trust during that moment, right, so yeah, it's. I mean it's trust during that moment, right, so yeah, it's. I mean it's all really attractive and, honestly, as a creative, it's like, wow, this is, this is really really powerful. But I think it's just like making sure that the intentions and the reasons for, for leveraging the, the image generation, right, um, is is just really clear and it's and it's gonna. It doesn't. I mean the adverse is that you, you produce something because it's a, it's a perceived sort of cheap shortcut or something right Is like if that erodes the trust that you've worked really hard to to build on today, like that's terrible, roi, right, so yeah, and um, um, I also sort of equate it to like to stock video, um, which is like it has its purpose, right.

Speaker 2:

Like sometimes it's like you just don't have a way to to to showcase how something is working in the real world without you know. Just take like military and defense, for example right, it's like you can't really showcase that in a lot of ways for so many red tape reasons, and that's fine. So your roots are like go stock or produce something that's that's new and novel and motion design or animated in a way, right. Or or like the gives a sort of impression of the thing you're talking about and you're doing it with with live action production. The shortcut with with stock is that, well, you get it done and you can go to market and use it, but invariably a lot of your competition is probably using the same stock. Other one like this doesn't help with my decision making and doesn't build on the trust that that I want to have with this customer or with this, with this um, with this business.

Speaker 2:

So yeah, so it's often just like caution combined with care, right, just like making sure you're careful and providing showing up with care for your audiences. So yeah, and I get it. It's like you, like you're hungry to use this tool. You know you're eager to get it out there, to have it start working on your behalf to compound your efforts. But yeah, it's not like one misstep or anything can ruin that, but it's just those small decisions in the creative certainly do have a long-term impact.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and actually with trust comes authenticity right, and in this case you have to really tell your own story and be out there sometime, vulnerable sometime, sharing what has always been a secret or perceive that if it's shared out there, there'll be compromise, and especially in the military defense and any other industry which actually considers data privacy as an issue for either security or otherwise. So why is it essential for marketers to prioritize authenticity in their videos and what steps should they take to ensure they truly resonate with potential buyers or potential customers?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I'm going to answer this a few different ways. The one is, like the people inside your, your business, your subject matter experts, right, like they are so valuable to to to help, like um, showcase your message through through, through a human lens or a point of view. You know, and it's like these, these your employees are living, uh, unique experiences day to day right and in like the, the, the challenges that their customers are up against, the challenges that the industry faces, and so having the capacity and, honestly, a bit of courage to just like show up and present these thoughtful sense of purposes right as the person on camera, often just in this type of way right Is, is really really helpful from a brand because, like, it humanizes that brand. It shows that you, you are trustworthy people behind the, the, the brands sort of like allure of of logo and color palette, you know, and so that um, that that posture and ability to show up on camera is a really important skill set um for for any professional right. So, and it's really valuable to a brand to have someone being able to do that um, either in this way or, of course, like on a stage or something like that. So it's always like from a professional pov really important way to to do that right. Um, but when it comes to like, uh, the production and and and writing and and craft of of like the sort of higher production value, right, there's a lot of like control within that.

Speaker 2:

That creative, it's like, yeah, the creative development and expression is a bit not like freewheeling, but it's meant to be like a bit ambiguous because you're exploring, you're trying to be like what is ambiguous because you're exploring, you're trying to be like what is the right sort of avenue or path to take here creatively or visually or tonally, right.

Speaker 2:

But once you arrive at that sort of milestone, there's a lot of control within the words and like how you're portraying an idea, how you're conveying an emotion or a sentiment, right, and so there's a lot of opportunity in there to you're not trying to like skirt around anything that, but like you can sort of be matter of fact, like if there's, you know, if you work in a business or in an industry that has tremendous NDA considerations, it's like that's okay, lean into that and describe it as it is, and like people will trust you for that, and like, oh, that makes sense, you know, and so I think it's that combination right Of like putting your people, giving them the like, empowering them and supporting them to put their ideas and intentions out there that align with you, because you know they're working on your, you know you're working with them and they're working with you right From an employer standpoint. Yeah, and just being careful in how you show up for your audiences with the higher production value, mid-funnel types of content.

Speaker 1:

Interesting. Now this actually gives me some perspective. You're giving experience in the industry. Assuming I'm a beginner of you know I want to venture into this. You know video storytelling. Is there any tips to start with, or do I need also to work for someone to understand how it works? Develop my acumen? You know, understand all the loops? Or should I just take my iPhone, go to the biggest company in the valley or Boston or you know Nairobi, and say you know what? I can tell your story better? Because today we have so many influencers with over a million followers across different channels who actually have been building this just using their phone. We've seen also big names in the industry struggle to even use these influencers to get their brand out there. How should that look like? Should I land the ropes, maybe using Penant as an intern or an employee, and then start my own company? Or should I go with what I have and start?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, wow, that's a great question. It's almost like what would I say to my past self today, right, I mean, as we spoke to my like, as I was describing my experience like a lot of it was just leaning in and doing it myself. Like just like understanding the mechanics, right, Like, okay, like what does it mean from? Like lighting? Right, like there's so much you can do with lighting. It almost always start there, it almost always starts there and then it's like all right, what about the, the, the movement of a camera, like the perspective of the lens? Right, like the perspective that I want the audience to have, like the feeling that that evokes through that. Then, of course, audio. It's like, yeah, of course, there's like the, the, the spoken message, but then there's like the undercurrent of a music, better, or the tone there, the sound design, to like help bring the audience in right. So it's, it is tremendously complex, but like you kind of don't know that until you, until you do it yourself, right. So it's like get, just diving in, is, is it kind of the best first thing, I would say, um, but have the, I don't know, have the, the right system in place for yourself to make sure that you're, you're learning along the way.

Speaker 2:

You can't just like produce and walk away. It's like, well, you need to get feedback from people. You need to seek out those like anything. You need to seek out those mentors that can help advise, like how this could be improved. Go to I YouTube has a tremendous amount of resources on, on, on video and production and the sort of value behind that Right. And then storytelling too. That's its only, that's its own beast in another way, right. So I think it's like that combination of your passion for, for, for the, the, the industry or or the mission that you're aligned with, right. And then the courage to sort of show up and produce and iterate and learn and improve and honestly, just watching yourself, you learn a lot about. You know just sort of like just your own posture and how you speak and present yourself right, and so all of those things in repetition and consistency will get you where you need to go.

Speaker 1:

Interesting. So in fact, there's one thing even me I've been like asking myself, because on the side I'm a pro DJ and I know the power of music. Then I've been following you know big production houses and how they use the background, sound effects and whatnot. Does it mean, if you're really a big production house, this aspect of sound engineering, people who are thinking like what goes well with this kind of story and so on and so forth, and does that mean now you know, even set the bar higher? Once you know you, you know you establish your acumen, then you need to also think about sound engineers. You know even artists to some extent yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 2:

I mean, I think when I started out early it was like I want to, I want to film on my own stuff, yeah, but then I need to edit it. So I was like, great, I learned sort of those two like key elements. But then it's like the pre-production of planning and like having a sound logistics plan and like lighting plan and just all of those strategy behind it, all Right, it's like you start to become a well-rounded, like jack of all trades. Right, but eventually and this is where I'm at my career it's like working with experts in each of those parts of the system. So, like the director of photography, someone that's like really paying attention to the lighting and the mood and the capture of what we're trying to produce here right.

Speaker 2:

Working with that sound engineer, the person that can, like really get the best tones out of whatever you know. It's the voice, the voiceover, if it's the room that we're in right. Like the sound design to help like lift up the things that we're in. Right. Like the sound design to help like lift up the things that were that were showing. Right. Working with writers, like someone that are really, really excellent at their craft and choosing the right amount of words that can be compressed into a 60 second video as an incredible, incredible skill, right. And then editors, right, like someone that can take a mountain of footage and condense it down into a uh, you know, a paste and and and compelling and engaging visual story, right Is is a really true art form.

Speaker 2:

So, yeah, it's, it's one of those things where, like, if you, if you do it all of your, all yourself, you learn and have a tremendous respect for all the different components of like how video is produced, and that's a huge leg up, right, but then eventually you'll you'll recognize in yourself, like, what are the things that sort of bring you the most energy, or the things that you're most sort of like passionate about that, the parts of the craft that you, you really are just excited about, frankly, right, and the others? You'll find those, those key players that are also really passionate about the things while you're not passionate about them. They, they, they synergize and they connect together in a puzzle, you know, um, so yeah.

Speaker 1:

Interesting Uh and and these actually gives us a chance for you to give uh, where, where, if someone wanted to engage you, where do they find you and what?

Speaker 2:

does that mean, do you?

Speaker 1:

serve US businesses find you, and what does that mean? Do you have us businesses? Do you serve global businesses? If it's global businesses, how does that work? Do you come on the ground? How does it work?

Speaker 2:

yeah, no, I appreciate that. Yeah, so from, uh, like a business standpoint. So pennant, pennant video yep, uh, we're at pennant dot video or pennant video dot. Um, I should actually mention that while, while while you're there, we have a ungated um. We call it a playbook, but it's it's a, it's an ebook that supports a lot of what we talked about today. That's sort of funnel focused um playbook to help marketers better understand, like what is the right type of video, where, when building out a buyer's journey right, and where to sort of put the most concerted efforts. So, yeah, I encourage anyone to to go to the website and um can can grab that, that um, that ebook. It's just a PDF download. Uh, there's also a little quiz in there which is fun. It sort of like helps you understand, like where you're at in your own sort of video marketing development journey. So that's I've. I've heard that's really helpful for folks. But, yeah, so we're.

Speaker 2:

We are really focused on sectors that embody safety, security and sustainability as their core missions. So what that really means, or what that means, is, like med tech, healthcare, life sciences, cybersecurity, data. Oh nice, perfect, yeah, so there's that pop-up that just came up. Where was I? Oh, green tech. I'm a tech, right, so all of that is where we really aspire to be and that we know we can really support these really innovative and competitive industries right, with the power of video.

Speaker 2:

These are usually like high growth types of businesses or like really mature enterprise, right, like ones that need a lot of good video or ones that need like very selective good video to help amplify their message, right, um, so that's where we, where we exist, um, but then for me personally, right, like I'm always, um, I'm very active on linkedin, like you said. So, um, you can find me at tim bradley pennant. Um, our, our, you know, our business has a linkedin too, but that's the primary channel for us, yep, so there's a few examples of our work there. There's a lot more that came from we're actually, I'm like sort of chuckling because we're redoing our website right now, so in about a month's time, there'll be quite a bit more examples on there. But, yeah, I'm excited for people to check out the work and if they want to learn more about just video marketing strategy at large, I'm I'm on.

Speaker 1:

I'm on linkedin oh, nice, and this is good. Uh, definitely looks like you have done some really, really good work. Uh, maybe, as we, you know, we check out your work. Uh, you know, as you conclude, we normally do a proverbs, right, your favorite proverbs? Then, because you have good daddy jokes, you can give us one of those. And if you are an avid reader, which is the best book that you could read the rest of your life if you had to read just one book?

Speaker 2:

Oh wow, those are tough questions. I'm looking on my bookshelf above me right now to see what. What I might say um a proverb. Yeah, I'm not sure about a proverb specifically, but this, this uh the microwave.

Speaker 2:

As you know, it is history well, uh, a mentor of mine gave me this phrase um, you can do anything for 90 days, and that I, I found, has been really helpful. When I'm, you know, as that sort of business entrepreneur, right, it's like this feels really challenging to like onboard this, this new system, or onboard this new or produce this, this new part of our system, right, and, and the mechanics of that is just like. Getting started is always challenging, right, but like the mentality of you can do anything for 90 days is just like been really helpful for me as like a bit of a mantra, and it's like you're right, like suddenly you're, you're like an expert at there, at least on the path to being an expert after that 90 days, right. So a lot of that just helps with the, you know, helps you build a framework for consistency and and just making sure it's sustainable and predictable, right, um, so I think that would be.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, any daddy jokes? No, it's usually like. The beauty of a dad joke is that it's often like in the moment of life, you know, you see something and you riff on it and it's so silly. So I have a nine-year-old daughter and a six-year-old son.

Speaker 2:

And so it's really living that dad life right now. It's fun yeah.

Speaker 1:

So I mean that's really awesome, and thank you so much, Tim, for making time for this. It's just the beginning of the story. I'm sure we can loop in in future and talk about more.

Speaker 2:

I'd be happy to it's doing.

Speaker 1:

I like some of those innovations. Possibly you come or we meet in San Francisco and Nairobi.

Speaker 2:

We can actually meet in person.

Speaker 1:

Likewise, if you come or we meet in San Francisco or Nairobi, we can actually meet in person.

Speaker 2:

Likewise if you come to the East Coast, if you come to Boston or New York, let me know.

Speaker 1:

Definitely. I normally come there. In fact, I was there last year it's just that we're not connected. But without further ado, this is Impact Masters. We also offer software as a service, design as a service, developer relations and developer community and developer experience as a service. We are a community that is thriving, trying to connect the Silicon Valley and Nairobi, which is Silicon Savannah, with the intention of bringing all the innovators together, and we've started with the stories which we are telling for all the innovators around the world, which we are telling for all the innovators around the world, with the intention of also building a hacker space that people can join creatives, engineers, creatives to be able to fuse the energy as well as tell their story. So I work for Africa Stalking, which is a communication platform service offering 2G solutions, that is, SMS, SSD, voice, and now CAI, which is more or less a voice with AI, in collaboration with our partners like Google and Mozilla. So you can check us out at africastockingcom and impactmastersio.

Speaker 1:

My name is Michael Kimathi, until next time enjoy.

Speaker 2:

Goodbye everyone, thank you.

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