The Circuit - "Media Matters" January/February 2010

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I had a little hiatus from my Media Matters article in The Circuit during wedding season, but I'm back and ready to talk about what you need to know about what you need to get the most out of your media dollars!

It’s the New Year and you’ve decided to go ahead and spend some of your hard earned marketing dollars on a local television spot… No other advertising medium is as likely to eat up your marketing budget as quickly as TV will, so here are a few tips to ensure you get the most out of those dollars.

You’ve only got 30-seconds. With this amount of time it’s essential to choose the most critical sales points for your business. The message must me clear and precise. Typically 30-second spots are for getting one thought or idea out and then having the viewer come to a website or call for the rest of the story.

Make sure the script includes the NAME of your business. This is copywriting 101, but here’s why I feel the need to reinforce this… I’m a big Good Morning America fan. Although I don’t have my eyes glued to the screen, you can bet between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. the show is the background noise to mornings in the Banks-Morgan household. And this is the key here - it’s background noise. I may a lift my eyes to check out a local weather pattern, but like many busy moms who are the key demographic for this show, I’m only listening in, not actively watching. So, when a local commercial comes on mentally I’m tuned in. Almost daily there is an ad running for a local financial planner who sounds like he knows what he’s talking about. Unfortunately, at no point during the 30-second spot does he SAY the name of his business. The spiel sounds good, but I have no idea who he is.

Get an exclusivity contract signed by the talent hired for your commercial. We’re not a big DMA, so there isn’t an abundance of local talent. However, if you’re spending those hard earned dollars on television, you want to ensure the voice /on-screen talent you hire isn’t going to be selling air conditioning services for you one day, and fronting a local restaurant the next. It undermines the credibility of your company, and as I’ve already explained, often viewers are only listening to your commercial. Chances are they’ll recognize the voice of the talent. It’s the responsibility of a good production company to scout and recruit new talent, and if they know where to look, finding a fresh voice/face shouldn’t be an issue.

Finally, talk to other chamber members about their experiences with broadcast advertising. While salespeople from TV stations and cable providers can be very helpful, they are, after all, trying to sell you something.

I must be on a roll I don't think I've ever blogged three times in three days...

Sneak Peek: Maya & Quincy

(LOVE this shot by photojournalist Deb Hausserman)

The longer we shoot weddings, the more I realize we are often who our parents raised us to be. I felt this very strongly with Maya and Quincy when we filmed their wedding in October and realized they were both a reflection of the people who love them most. When we have the time, I like to get friends and family to tell the story of our couples through their eyes, and with this wedding there was barely a dry eye through the whole day. I didn't think it would be as powerful a couple of months later when it came time to edit the wedding, but it has been. Again, I sniffled my way through their wedding day, reliving the tears of joy with them and reminding myself we are blessed. So, Maya and Quincy, thank you again for letting us share the joy and love that was your wedding day with you, but also "thank you" for reminding me why I love my job.

Chenoa & Josh in Mississippi Magazine

We don't usually post full articles when one of our brides turns up in a magazine, but Chenoa & Josh's spread in the annual bridal issue of Mississippi Magazine was just so gorgeous we couldn't resist! This was one of those weddings which was like a perfect storm - beautiful venue, flowers and couple, innovative details (seriously - how stinkin' cute are the cakes by Fatty Patty's?) and of course a wonderful photographer, Amanda Suanne. And they were fun. Chenoa kept me giggling most of the day. My favorite moment was when she walked up the stairs with a mason jar filled with champagne and said "Yes, I am from Mississippi!" You can check out their wedding trailer on our main website under the section titled Wedding Films.

2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™

WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced Diva Productions has been selected to receive the WeddingWire 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™ for videography!

The annual Bride’s Choice Awards recognizes and celebrates excellence in quality and service within the wedding industry, as determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 500,000 newlyweds.

Diva Productions is among the top five percent of all vendors in the WeddingWire community, which includes over 100,000 wedding professionals across the US and Canada. Awards were given to winners across 19 different service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers.

“We are excited to recognize and honor the success of the top wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “The annual Bride’s Choice Awards program has given us the unique opportunity to highlight the best wedding professionals in each region as reviewed by brides and grooms who have utilized their services in the past year.”

We are thrilled that for the second year in a row, Diva Productions has been voted among the very best wedding film producers within the WeddingWire Network, which includes WeddingWire and Martha Stewart Weddings. We would like to thank our past newlyweds for nominating us for the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards!

In the News!

We're absolutely slammed with editing at the moment, but I wanted to take just a minute to let you know we're in the news this week with "The Circuit." They picked up on my (not so little) hyperventilating session when we found out about our "Best of Weddings" award from The Knot and featured us in the "Biz Spotlights" section of the January/February issue.

The photo of Rob we sent them to include with the article was taken by the super talented Amanda Suanne.

Diva Class of 2009

Because I spent most of Friday moving electronic media around external hard drives (I sound like such a techy nerd) I found myself with some down time. I got to thinking about all the incredible people we met last year. Each and every one of them had a story worth telling. We are so pleased that in some small way, we had a chance to do that through their wedding films.

We started the year with tornado warnings for Brenda & Derrick's wedding at Inlet Beach in March and wrapped up 2009 on December 27th (my birthday) with Jodie & Gabriel's wedding in Santa Rosa Beach. They were quite possibly the most thoughtful Bride and Groom ever because, as a cake designer, Gabriel actually made me a birthday cake!!! Seriously, who does something that thoughtful when they've got a wedding to attend?

We filmed at some of the most beautiful places in Florida - Rosemary Beach, Eden Gardens, Seaside - and worked with some of the greatest photographers in the area, from talented up-and-comers like Cassie Olimb to seasoned professionals like Paul and Mecheal Johnson. We were fed by extraordinary caters like Townsend Catering and Blue Mountain Catering. And the cakes? Well, just put it this way, Rob and I have never met a wedding cake we didn't like! But none of this matters without the people who pull everything together - the wedding planners. Thank the Lord our couples chose some of the best like Stephanie Tate of Savoir Faire, Robyn Bomar of Mix Mingle Glow, and Victoria Volpone of Carillon Weddings.

We had some truly meaningful moments in 2009... We had one couple that was married by the bride's father, one by the groom's father, another by a bride's uncle, and yet another married by the bride's grandfather. There were several family friends who stepped up as officiants for our couples. We watched our couples cry, we listened to them laugh, and we recorded their stories. Some were high school sweethearts; others were lost loves reunited years later. All were thoroughly in love on their wedding day.

Thank you to the Diva class of 2009 for entrusting us with the responsibility of documenting your wedding day. We enjoyed getting to know you, your families, and friends. We had a lot of fun and we ate a LOT of cake ;)

And yes, I did have a little cry while I put this together. It was an incredible year, but not without it's challenges both professionally and personally. However, looking back at 2009 like this reminds me just how blessed we are to make a living doing something we love. Onward.

Sneak Peek: Nikki & Jeremiah

Nikki, Nikki, Nikki... Nikki was one of those brides wedding professionals love to work with. She's funny, she's thoughtful, and she's organized. A dream client, and we fell in love with her the first time she called. Then we met her fiance´, family and friends and found out it wasn't just Nikki who was a wonderful, but all those people close to her were as well! Nikki and Jeremiah, it really was an honor getting to record your big day for you. Here's a little sneak peek to hold you over until the film is finished...