Transcript
Speaker: Your B2B marketing pint is a podcast full of insights for tech marketers. Joined by other marketing veterans. Your hosts, Brian O 'Grady and Brendan Ziolo, share expertise on what works today and why.
Speaker: Grab a cold pint of hot takes on branding, content marketing, demand generation and more. served with a side sarcasm.
Speaker: Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, everyone. Welcome to the next episode of B2B Marketing Pint. We are in season three, if you can believe it.
Speaker: And I'm super excited about today's episode because we haven't really covered this topic yet. Brian, why don't you tell us about our guests and what we're going to talk about? I thought you'd never ask, Brendan.
Speaker: Ladies and gentlemen, I want to introduce you to Mr. Dustin Schultz. He's the handsome one on your screen, not to get confused with the other guys. From what I hear, Dustin is the founder and executive producer of a... creative agency specialized in video that agency is called union and I think.
Speaker: Dustin will correct me where I go wrong. But he and his team are all about helping B2B teams translate difficult concepts. into videos that really get the job done. You didn't start yesterday. You've been around about 15 years. You got millions of dollars of content production. You got some big clients like the Pfizer's, the Cigna's, the Walgreens. So you've been around, you've done some things and you got something I don't have, Dustin, which is called an Emmy Award.
Speaker: i don't have one of those there's room if you look there's room back there So I can make that happen. Yeah. Dustin comes to us as a self -professed enthusiast of B2B Marketing Pint. I may be polishing the app a little bit there, but Dustin reached out to us because he actually checked out an episode, which I love.
Speaker: One of our episodes with Pierce back in season one. And maybe Dustin's disappointed that this one's not live in a pub and is remote. But we might. Part two will be live in a pub, Dustin. So after we talked about video with Dustin, we knew we wanted him on the pint to help us understand how best to use this medium and what not to do with this medium. Dustin, welcome.
Speaker: To the pint, and please. Tell our listeners what you're sipping today. Sure. Yeah. Brian, Brendan, thanks for having me. Everything you said is pristinely accurate and and fact -checked. Yeah, so today um I am non -alcoholic with...
Speaker: athletic brewing company. I'm from Connecticut. heard about these guys a bunch of years ago because they're based out of milford I'm completely unsponsored, though that could change. Heh heh. Should that happen. And i right now I'm drinking the Wild Run IPA.
Speaker: The Run Wild IPA. I feel like there's like an... asmr opportunity here for like a Right. much So very nice. But yeah, so that's that's that's what we'll be having today.
Speaker: Fantastic. How about you, Brendan? Wow. This is, well, I'd like to say this is totally unplanned, but we had discussed this at the pre -briefing call that Dustin and I were both going to bring athletic brewing. I'm drinking the Free Wave Hazy IPA, so we're not matching them. But yeah, when Dustin mentioned this as his favorite non -alcoholic one, I am in total alignment.
Speaker: And. I think there is no choice but for them to sponsor us. How many episodes has Athletic appeared in now? it's I've drank them a few times, but I'm not sure we've had two on the same episode. True. They are a frequent flyer, so to speak. And I will add a new sound effect to this as well. there Very nice.
Speaker: I will hold down the fort with an oldie but a goodie. Ain't nothing wrong. Although I will point out that there's different branding for this particular brand in North America versus the UK. Very, very different branding, which I won't go into here. But let's just say on this side of the ocean, it's considered somewhat classy.
Speaker: So I must be somewhat. Classy. i it i I spilled i spellilled some of mine. Okay, we'll start in final ASMR. We're going to pour and we're going to get into the part where we ask questions. As soon as I'm done pouring, Brendan, I'm going to ask you to put Dustin on the spot.
Speaker: Perfect with the question. Perfect. All right. And we should do it. We should do a cheers. Well, Brian, quick, pour faster. I'm working on it. The gravity's not as strong where I am. Cheers. All right. Cheers.
Speaker: um Straight from the can. Straight from it. All right. We're out of excuses, Brendan. Let's do it. Yeah. i tried I tried and cleaned up a bit of my keyboard there. All right. ah Yeah, let's get started. So.
Speaker: This probably applies to every world, but we're talking B2B here today, Dustin. so better video. is probably not the best defined term in our industry. It's sometimes of confused or represents, you know, high end production, well polished.
Speaker: type thing. But, you know, do you agree that that's what is better video or in your mind, what distinguishes, you know? a high budget. you know, all the bells and whistles production from maybe a strategic asset that actually moves the needle. What works and what doesn't?
Speaker: Sure. Yeah, yeah. that's a good That's a good question, because I think they can be the same thing, but they aren't necessarily. the same thing. And I think if they are going to be something that is, let's say, more cinematic, more polished, some of the things you expect from maybe a a national TV commercial or the quality of your favorite streaming show.
Speaker: That is a creative decision. That really has to come back. to In What Way? Is that creative decision supporting business goals? B2B, I think sometimes struggles. with video unless they have a strong video advocate in house i've noticed that a lot is that a lot of the folks who kind of who come to us very excited either have had
Speaker: um maybe outside of B2B video experiences at like a B2C company, D2C company, or have a video background in and of themselves. And so they become... an advocate of the medium because they know how to use it a little bit better but i think Folks who don't have that begin to experience a level of intimidation.
Speaker: And I think to be fair, it's probably a little telling that. On a B2B marketing podcast, this is maybe only the second time you guys have talked about video. Right. It's like. the where The percentages line up.
Speaker: Mm -hmm.
Speaker: But to answer your question, I think more directly, there's a couple things or maybe three things that I think set um a video up. for success versus just this kind of like, make it better, make it look. Can you add more pop, Dustin? Can you add 20 % more pop?
Speaker: Right, right, exactly. thank Yeah, can you make it? Thank you. leave the logo on longer? Can you give it some razzle dazzle? So one one, maybe I'll say all three that I think. One is intentionality.
Speaker: of they're like Why are you even doing this? like Why are you setting out to make this? And is it actually the best? medium, to achieve your goals. I think if you could be honest about why it is, then that'll get you.
Speaker: a bit further down the road clarity one of the The biggest things in B2B. is A lot of our industries are just so... Jargon heavy?
Speaker: that Goodness, if you could just say it the way your audience. Like a human? And stop trying to sound so freaking smart. Then... you might actually sell more.
Speaker: So clarity, if your video can communicate clearly as opposed to just how thought leader e of a thought leader you are. Awesome. Lots of syllables, but let's maybe focus more on pushing sales and driving some bottom line. And the last thing that I think, so, so the first thing was intentionality. Why are you even setting out to make this? That has to become clear. The, are you willing to make it simple enough to cut through and actually make a difference and in clarity? And then the third is.
Speaker: What do you do with it? And the data that you get back. that relates to success or lack of success. In determining that upfront,
Speaker: think this is This is what I see a lot of people do. Let's create a product video. and we're gonna Put it on YouTube. Cool. the Video didn't work out.
Speaker: You're surprised? Yeah. what we measureuring What problem are we trying to solve? Yeah, well, you know, where what metrics of success were you setting out to do? What type of, you know, funnel did you try and attach it to? Where in multiple steps down the funnel did you say?
Speaker: Here's where we can apply video. Here's where we can apply it. And here's where we can apply it to expedite. that that funnel and that customer journey. Those are three things that it's like, man, if you can begin to think about some of those things before you ever get into what your level of investment can afford in terms of quality or look, I think you'll be just be so much happier and not have a buyer's remorse when it comes to video because it's never. terribly cheap to do.
Speaker: Yeah. So what I heard there was goals, platform and audience and message. Sorry, I guess I heard I took your three into four. Did I get that right, Dustin? Yeah, I think i think those those would be, yeah, definitely bullet points that land. with Within those categories, for sure.
Speaker: Really like not measuring quality on buzzwords per minute. I really like. Not using that KPI. That one makes me. Yeah, that's not what BBM. Stay angry. for Okay, well, I'm going to riff on where you just took us there because...
Speaker: At heart, I'm a writer and... but the demand generation. character So every time I get my hands on a cool offer of any kind, I'm like, hey, how much demand can I generate with this offer? Will people like it? does it How do I stage it? How do I position it?
Speaker: I think about that all the time with video and I do like me some video, but I'm going to display a bias. for you right now And you're probably going to tell me I'm all wrong, which would be great, or that I'm all right, which would.
Speaker: also be great. But my bias is... Somewhere in the middle. Maybe. In general, I'm completely sold on using video at the top of the funnel and in the middle middle of the funnel. For all kinds of those tasty, softer KPIs, awareness, shares, engagement, views, influence, you want to go down the list of KPIs. Yeah, no no question I'm on board. We should use some some video for that. But when people want to start closing with it, when they want to start using videos at the bottom of the funnel, I get more nervous.
Speaker: Because I've seen them. do nothing or fail at the bottom much more often than I've seen them succeed. And I will say there are some successes out there, but they're rare. And I've been very pleasantly surprised when I bump into those.
Speaker: successes that are cranking leads from a video. But I actually can't tell you in advance. which ones are going to work and which ones aren't. Can you? Is there a difference? do Which ones work at the bottom? Which ones only should only stay at the top?
Speaker: Or is that just totally audience dependent? What do you think's going on there? Yeah, a couple of different things. So I think in some ways we need to remember that the definition of video is very broad um and that lives from your.
Speaker: streaming TV ads, which... B2B still has a place in certainly to your mid funnel content, which is more traditionally like testimonials, brand films, case study videos, things like that. But as you get to the bottom of the funnel, I think there's an interesting place for for a couple different things. One would be.
Speaker: Really? raw, organic content. from your sales team. directly to the person, right? You're sending follow -up emails. What if you sent a follow -up video?
Speaker: And there's there's providers who do this, you know, BombBomb and Vidyard and in in folks like that. who you can you know do screen share. you know screen recordings and send that you can drop video content right in like a pre -recorded video messages right into linkedin messages and You know, when it comes to especially an area. where the LinkedIn, where... you're bombarded with
Speaker: I'm 95 to 99 % sure this is an AI message that is, they pulled some info. from my profile and made it seem you know specific. It's...
Speaker: Really hard to fake. Hey. video that's just your phone and i think that's what that's that to me is the point of a video is not necessarily better because it looks better. When you get to the bottom of the funnel and someone is looking to consider establishing a relationship with a company.
Speaker: then Some of those really personalized videos that almost look bad on purpose. Art. could be really what helps you close. and And I think also at that stage, you're getting to, maybe this gets a little bit.
Speaker: middle of the funnel but or let me let me go back to the personalized ones because For a... you know, an AE to hop on and do. ah do a recording, screen recording with their face in the corner about a specific aspect of a SaaS platform. that the the customer was wondering about. They know that it's not just this mass -produced thing.
Speaker: It's this one -to -one deliverable, and you can turn it around fast. You can you can record you can write it, record it, send it within 20 minutes. And the success rates would be really high. So I'll leave it at that. I think that's a great example of where video works really, really well.
Speaker: right before I close. Authenticity trumps just about everything else in that situation, I think I'm hearing. Yeah, completely. Completely. And you can use video to have that communication. You know, it's it's one thing to like send a letter.
Speaker: Two. you know, your parent or a sibling or something like that. But it's another thing to have a FaceTime with them. You know, and and you're probably going to do that at the holidays if you're not together versus, you know, so like there are those aspects where you can really personalize things well. using video.
Speaker: Like it. I like it a lot that helps. I may follow up at the end of this with the examples of the ones that knocked out of the park for us, which I think. hold water around here. But over to you, Brendan.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. And I think Dustin, that's a great example. Cause I've received been on the receiving end of a few of those, you know, how here's how you do x with our product or here's how you accomplish y with the product and it's yeah it's quick it's personal it's specific and yeah it gets you across the line from trial to paid or
Speaker: on the fence to close or whatever the scenario is and stuff. So yeah, I think that's ah that's a great example. um I do want to take it a bit maybe up a level from that. I know when we talk, you do a lot of work in, let's call them more complex.
Speaker: uh compliance driven uh verticals like fintech and uh healthcare and things like that and obviously i think we've all faced this as marketers you know The buyers are more wary. They're looking for certain things. The internal approval process is.
Speaker: let's politely say long and challenging. painful with some of those yeah painful sure i'll I'll say that I think there's other words we could use but we'll keep it clean you know so and a lot of times at the end of that process and I'm talking probably more the internal process here you know, some of the
Speaker: Cool factors, some of the great ideas, some of the creativity tends to get diluted, let's say. So how do you strike the balance in these more complex verticals? And it might apply to ones I didn't mention where, you know, you still get a compelling video, you still get an engaging video, but you get through that process and get it approved and out there. What are some of your learnings or tricks there?
Speaker: Sure. Yeah, yeah, it's like, it's almost, ah your your idea almost has like a hazing. as it runs through, you know, people just... but You think you're a creative idea. here Right, exactly. You know, it's funny Marketing is really funny because if people did to finance. what everyone feels like that in an organization they can do to marketing.
Speaker: Like... The CMO is going to weigh in. on everyone's budget. What if we did it in Euros this year? What if we did it in Euros? I'm dead. Right. so Like everyone's, you know, not everyone's an accountant.
Speaker: But for some reason... Everyone's a marketer. in you know when it comes to their opinions and and really so like that's almost like a ah a leveling perspective to say like we all have opinions Even the marketer's opinion might not be that. We we have a great client who said this to me one time.
Speaker: he said one of the reasons i love working with you guys is because you'll even challenge my ideas to make sure that it's not just the thing I like, but it's the thing that our audience is going to have be effective for them. And so like we get when you get into these kind of softer, like you said, worlds of creative and things like that can be really easy for our preferences to start to to move in.
Speaker: And so, so there's some Questions, I think, are important. marketers are should arm themselves with when talking to your chief revenue officer or whoever to ask when they weigh in in on on an opinion. Can you help me understand?
Speaker: why you think that would be better. and begin just like not challengingly like question like what what makes that maybe more effective Um, One of the So... so bringing some questions back to help understand to seek to understand what why someone is challenging an idea is really important because I've found 50 -50 Coin flip.
Speaker: If their answer is way more so different than you thought it would be based on like, ah, they hate the music. Well, oh it reminds me of them of this video or when they were thinking of what this could be. They saw this other film and they never knew how to to specify that the music was what made them love it. when they shared it as a reference. So just some things around that.
Speaker: But I would also add... I think. The ability for marketing and creative to tie back. their decisions to non -creative goals.
Speaker: related to kind of business goals. And I'll probably answer almost every question with that same thing, because that's, I think, one of the most effective things for. advocating for an idea in B2B.
Speaker: is that if before the process starts the reason the video Reason video is the chosen method in the.
Speaker: What it sets out to do are clear to every all stakeholders involved. Then you can take a creative decision and point back to one of those things and say, remember, we said the goal was this was to talk to this person or was to communicate this message. This is why we're making that decision. This is why we're choosing for it to be blue. This is why we're choosing to use, you know. real per people versus actors. Like there's so many micro variables that if you, you can tie so many creative to decisions actually back to the business objective.
Speaker: So I think that's important because it's hard to argue with. when, you know, that, you know, another high level stakeholder says, I don't like this. well Help me understand why. and i will i can And I can help you understand why I made this decision.
Speaker: so But you go first. You know? So I think that's it. like yeah it Right. An interesting approach to make sure that you consider. And I think the last thing, too, is there is a lot of data. around wasted budget.
Speaker: for non -creative content. so you will spend A multiple. on media buys. For content. and i like and I know this in the video space, you will spend a multiple to try and get the return that a creative...
Speaker: that a non -creative video has versus something that pushes the creative envelope. something that cuts through. You know, I don't know how many like Dasani commercials you've seen and talk about, but you've probably talked about a liquid death commercial at some point. Dasani is going to have to crank that media by for you to have them top of mind because it's just a volume play.
Speaker: Versus. creative cuts through more organically. So that's I mean, that alone is like a hey, Mr. CFO. Should we spend 10x in media? or should we spend?
Speaker: a little bit more in creative and it's going to be more effective that That boils down to, I can't wait to share this versus, oh my God, I have to sit through this or I have to watch this. That's basically what you just described.
Speaker: Awesome. I like and my favorite answer. which i don't always get away with and i may have to stop using but when You pitch the idea to the chief revenue officer and the chief revenue officer comes back and says, I don't like that idea or I don't like this execution. I like to respond personally with.
Speaker: Awesome. Because you're not the target audience. Yes. that's the The conversation quickly goes only in one of two ways from there. But anyway. Right, right. That's good. So i I want to change the topic to social proof for a second, because as marketers, I think we're in love. We should be in love. I'm in love with social proof and the whole concept. The question is, how do you do it? There's lots of different ways to get social proof, but I think video is a pretty strong way of doing it. and
Speaker: One of the most typical examples, one of the most useful examples, you've already mentioned it, is a is a testimonial or a customer case study. Sounds like a great fit for video. And it sounds like a great fit for, hey, if I've got a big brand that had success with me and I want other prospects to know about that, I'm going to put that. guy or that gal on video talking about how great we are. but they don't all work. Some of them are phenomenal.
Speaker: And you might remember them. Maybe you do business with those. those clients or those companies after you see those testimonials. And then there's a bunch of other testimonials which are like next, boring, flat.
Speaker: disinterested. Doesn't apply. How do you? as a video person Can you see that in advance? And can you head can you can you correct it? So that you're not making another beige, boring testimonial that everyone in the boardroom thinks will work, but you as a video person suspect won't.
Speaker: What's the difference between those? And can you can you? head them off of the pass and fix it. Hmm, that's a good question. Kind of like ahead of time, yeah. Yeah, I think, I mean... There's one interesting aspect to um let's say Let's say you had three testimonial videos on your homepage and they're below the fold and you scroll down past them and maybe someone does or doesn't click them. Simply having them.
Speaker: I believe is a plus one. because the person went past them and had the thought Three people like them enough. to have said something good. Right? And so so there is a little bit of like, you know, you'rere you're getting all the points you can from anywhere you are as you're trying to nurture someone.
Speaker: So it's doing some work even before you've pressed play. It's doing work before you plus press play, right? Like in email marketing, you don't get all the opens. But... If it got in. and someone when saw your name one time,
Speaker: Before they deleted it, At least it's just one more drop in the bucket because we all know B2B has long nurture cycles. So. so that's one thing But to answer your question directly, yes, when it comes to selecting There's one I'll give maybe like a framework to think about. And then I'll give a.
Speaker: Important tactic. is that ah one of the things we do when we help Our clients do testimonial campaigns. is we make sure that we pre -interview. All of the people. for that. We're going to ask them kind of the questions we think are important. We might do it with the client. We might ask to do it without the client. and And for us, what we're doing, we're looking for is a couple things. One, we're trying to get an understanding. like Is this person going to be like... Pulling teeth.
Speaker: and And we're really going to have to coach them if if this is an important person to show. Or are they naturally... engaging and likable and you know they'll so give more than one sentence answers and in some things like that. So we're so we're looking for that.
Speaker: And Dustin, I interrupt you because we did do a pre -show meeting like that. And you did. You decided to join this podcast anyway. Despite that. So that was brave. No, it was it was not the likability. No?
Speaker: Please go ahead. Yeah, so we're looking we're looking for that, right? So then another thing we're looking for is, because we're we're thinking in two parts, what is the marketing objective? And then what is the authentic story?
Speaker: Right. And in we want them to be parallel. We want them to be the same. and The authentic story may look something like... I'm just gonna put myself on the hot seat here. but say they, you know,
Speaker: This bike ended up being so great. that they ride it to work every day. you know And so we we might get this aspect these aspects of the story that we might not have known if we only talked to the client and then you know production just shows up to film it and you're kind of just...
Speaker: I'm just capturing the thing you're telling me to capture versus... It's on the human element. You find found a human element. Right. And like. make Like - Why is that better for you to ride to work and you you end up having a better experience during the day? And suddenly we have this whole visual story that we know we could film in addition to the the story component or what we call the A -roll, which would be like the interview with someone or versus the B -roll, which would be just the additional story visuals.
Speaker: And so that's that's one of the other things we're looking for is like what things like really unique about this story that can take it beyond just really generic lifestyle. stuff of them you know using the product. So that's another thing we're looking for.
Speaker: So. Doing that pre -interview is something to really always, always go after, certainly. Dustin, I'm going to do it again because it strikes me your guidance about good video is all about making it authentic and connecting it to real humans and real situations. And so much of B2B marketing is let's not do that.
Speaker: But that's all scary. That's unpredictable. Let's stick to message and make it all beige. Yeah. Yeah. And, and, you know, I don't know the last time you walked through a beige house and was like, wow, that was really interesting.
Speaker: I feel sleepy. I feel a little sleepy. Yeah. I mean, to the to the fact of that, too, I think there's... um Aaron Sorkin, who's a great screenwriter, he says, It's really critical. Every story has to have intention.
Speaker: And it has to have obstacle. Like there has to be something that you want and there has to be something in the way of getting it. And that's what. Every story is formed out of like the guy wants the girl or the the player wants to win or like the. All of that. And all of that makes.
Speaker: The content engaging. And so... If you're using that same thinking. Instead of having a testimonial that starts off with some like... Well, they were great to work with and their customer service. He was like so responsive like this, you know, you're like, that's that's fine. Like, it'll give you a few points.
Speaker: on your scorecard towards nurture. But if somebody starts off with... Again, i'm now I'm just like having to make up stories on the fly. Changed my life. If they start off with every day.
Speaker: I worked in. I work in the accounting department. And it's... Every Friday, I am late home because it takes so long to file our expense reports. I've missed so many baseball games. I have been late to dinner.
Speaker: I can almost hear the music in the background of this. Right? You're like. Yeah. And some in in now that's not for everyone. but it probably is for your ideal client. If you make expense reports, faster to file.
Speaker: right And so they're like, yeah. That's me. Ours need to be on Thursdays. But... I also missed so many baseball games because I had to get this done. And then suddenly when they're like. And I've tried so many platforms and I thought x speedy expense.
Speaker: sass was gonna be the same as everybody else, but it actually changed my life. it actually like i'm home on time and you begin to like build this not only like you You have this tension. You have a narrative that someone can step into. You have that the benefits and the end result and all of that packages into somebody who's like.
Speaker: Like. I want that. All from that one testimonial? As opposed to like their customer service was really quick to respond. It was within 24 hours, like they promised. And like, ah you know. So get it.
Speaker: Yeah, hopefully. Hopefully that helps somebody. terms of making their pe I'm going to go out on a limb and give you an example right back to you, which is you said there's ah there's ah an intention and then there's an obstacle. This is the Aaron Sorkin school. So if my intention was to be able to drink on the job and there was an obstacle where people said that's not actually professional, smart, healthy or safe, I could create a podcast.
Speaker: Where you actually... You drink on the job. Yeah. i'm you and aaron sorkin we're like this there right yeah exactly i think that was the One of the main examples he used, which is good though. Yeah exactly.
Speaker: Fantastic. All right. I'm going to take us. and a bit more tech angle i guess dustin because it can't be a podcast in 2026 are we in Or 2025 or 2024, probably, to be honest.
Speaker: ah where we don't talk AI, at least for a little bit. So. you know It's obviously had an impact on you know video production, video marketing. you know, other aspects related to that, you know.
Speaker: Maybe quickly, where does it help the most in your world? And maybe where is a pitfall or two that... are worth avoiding when it comes to using AI.
Speaker: Sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The main question I've answered in the last 18 months, I'll say. um We don't even know if you're real, Dustin. You could be AI. Yeah. We haven't met in person.
Speaker: I certainly, yeah, I certainly am. It's all robot from here down. um um like ah Like a mermaid robot of some kind. Also cool. This is for a different podcast.
Speaker: Yeah. Okay. Well, let me let me maybe establish where I'm coming from in this a little bit. So as as an agency. 90 % of our work is in video because we focus on campaigns.
Speaker: and and the bulk of it. is is with video content our team personally has done tens and tens of thousands of dollars worth of generative AI content. just in the last six months, fully.
Speaker: degenerative AI. We've done full campaigns. for multi -billion dollar companies. that are Only AI. and Some. in my industry might. Just.
Speaker: Blacklist me. Some people just saying that. Yep. They just hung up some people, but not all. They all did. they all did So now we can talk the adults. mm -hmm
Speaker: But so so that's kind of like a little bit of the background. We've been kind of experimenting with it from the beginning. We never bought into the whole like, let's be a generative AI video agency because I've watched. trend. I've watched like tech. trend chasing over the years. And and it just always swings up and down. it just ah like I don't think it's so worth putting all your eggs in that one technical skill basket. All right. So you kind of all of that to establish that we we do this, we deliver it for our clients, like real clients, real money.
Speaker: like content in fact we even one client we have a monthly retainer where we ship a campaign every single month based on with generative AI. So that's, I guess, the the authority setting for like, we do this.
Speaker: Yes. I love it. You're not against progress. Not. And I'm not here just Just like spouting theories about what I think it can kind of do or can't do or like the LinkedIn post that like promises so much. And you're like, I don't know about that. Like you doctored that more. But like if we look at.
Speaker: If we look at. creating video let's just say it this way if we look at creating video on a continuum from A. is the initial idea to z is like a completed shipped Product.
Speaker: What AI is really good about is combining steps. And so suddenly you can maybe. automate. A step from.
Speaker: See you to DDE! e and then the human has to double check like you know especially like and i'll start very early on you do a discovery call You take your AI notes. You put it through your preferred video brief and it knows what to look for and it builds it out. Suddenly your team is jumping into a creative call substantially faster.
Speaker: Right. So expediency is there. um I'm going to totally switch analogies. building Creating videos like building a house. you have to have a blueprint. Let's call that a creative idea and a script and a story. Like there needs to be.
Speaker: thought to it. Then you need materials. like building house, like lumber, cement. um shingles whatever this is just the video pieces you're working with whether it's animation whether it's something filmed whether it's genitor of AI.
Speaker: And then lastly, you need like. place for it to, you need you you need a place for it to be assembled. together. Right. So like. You can have a blueprint and you can have all the stuff shipped to the job site. But if there's not someone there or a robot or whatever to put it together, like.
Speaker: You know. Little Timmy still doesn't have a room. So. So, AI has... so So if we look at it, is that that's the analogy. AI has places within each of those steps where it where it helps. It might help.
Speaker: Take. It might help be a creative partner in a script. where you're like, I'm thinking this, can you short shorten it up? if that was terrible what if we did this and you just banter with it right like like you do with ah with With like another person. And then. It could be helpful in generating custom music. It could be helpful in generating... a clip you know oh i have this five second shot and now i need another angle of coverage that's going to be tied together with it in the last step and so it might generate the material for you to work with and assemble
Speaker: And then in the last step, is, I think right now, the weakest. is that there I have not seen yet a good... Editor. of assembling the pieces together. that creates a final output that's strong. So the way that we work is.
Speaker: We'll use... generative AI to... help craft images for storyboards, especially if those images are going to be used in in motion. with with turning them into video and adding motion and stuff.
Speaker: We'll use it to... to develop individual shots. Right? And then the assembly. And the music and the sound effects and the voiceover that gets laid in and all of that, that's still completely human craft assembled. to have.
Speaker: the quality of output that you end up with and i think that's that's the miss That's the missing component or that people don't fully... recognize. Is the. Like, yeah.
Speaker: There's nothing where you can just go in and, oh, I'm going to write three paragraphs of prompt that's like. Create me a commercial that looks like this and it's going to come out the other end in something that's worth anything. Yes.
Speaker: Right. That's fair. And that that sounds like a voice from the trenches too. I appreciate that. You know what you like it for and you know what you don't like it for. That's pretty valuable. Yeah, it's just a tool. It's like a camera.
Speaker: in a lot of ways in my mind like like it's different but it's but there's a lot of similarities Awesome. Well, Brendan. You'll be shocked to know we've run a little long because we found another interesting guest. Who was it? We'll have to find the boring guest and finally do that 20 -minute podcast. We need the beige room, beige guest. Yeah, yeah but we didn't we didn't get that today.
Speaker: So in that spirit. I'm going to, this one's going to be a stinger. This one's going to be a quick one, Dustin. It's the final question for every episode, every guest on B2B Marketing Pint. And this is your big opportunity to remove a bunch of annoyance from your life, from your future self. sure Because your future self is going to walk into a bunch of rooms where people hit you with this old.
Speaker: tale about how video works and what it's good for or what doesn't work. And you spend too much of your life rebutting that argument and saying, no, that's not. True. And you hate this.
Speaker: falsehood you hate this myth you lie awake at night thinking about how to kill it and this is your chance What's the myth about video and B2B marketing you would like to slay right now? Go.
Speaker: Sure. Man, i feel like I feel like I already began to hint at it. in the beginning. And it's that. It's this idea that it's a necessary evil to invest in. but it just doesn't really work that well.
Speaker: Like... Video exists, so we have to have it. But. To me, I think it comes back to that same, I guess I... shot myself in the foot by giving it away. earlier by accident, which is this idea of We made a video.
Speaker: We posted it on YouTube. Waited for the marching band and the parade. And we just fireworks. And it got 47 views. And half of them were from the main person who made it. and And it just didn't, it never had a plan.
Speaker: it never had like It never had a chance. Dustin, my mom loves this all these episodes of B2B Marketing. My mom loves them. yeah che She watches each of them 100 times. I get a like. every time.
Speaker: Yeah. and i And I think that's it. It's like, it's like if somebody. printed, A billboard. And they had whatever, I don't know what billboards printed on. canvas or I don't know. I'm embarrassing myself in front of the out of home people. But like if they just printed the material.
Speaker: And then they just kind of like laid it. on the ground in front of their office. And they're like this. is not driving results. let's Look boss, we have a billboard. Well, you never put it up.
Speaker: Like, you never had a plan for it. You never, like, you never put it around the city that you know has, like, a ton of your demographic. It's in Latin. Why is it in Latin?
Speaker: Yeah, it's, it's, you, you, you. You asked for a sword. Because you knew where you were going into battle. And then you put it in your closet. And then went into battle anyway. And we're like, why did we lose? It's like, well, because you never really used it. And I think that is that to me is the frustration is that. um And here's I guess where the myth comes in.
Speaker: is that someone will say, you want to make. um a brand film. for our organization. And I'll say, okay. Great. We'll answer some questions and determine. Okay, that does seem seem to make sense with your goals.
Speaker: Where do you imagine it living? And they'll say... I know. We're gonna figure that out later. or you know and so Sue. They leave the placement.
Speaker: to happen. where it happens sequentially as opposed to planning for it from the beginning where So many creative decisions could be made for it to be most effective.
Speaker: for that placement. Because I don't know if you know. but a YouTube pre -roll video. is a lot different then a TikTok video, and let's decide this up front.
Speaker: Yeah. Yep. What are you going to do with this thing? It's good. Exactly. So all right make a plan. I think that myth. is slain. oh i didn't even mean to use this the sword analogy there but i guess it all comes Here we go.
Speaker: It came together. And we're on a theme this season already, Dustin, about planning and discovery seeming to be the key to a lot of successful marketing as opposed to just going right to the razzle dazzle. Yeah.
Speaker: I gotta to wrap it up. Brendan, are you ready to wrap it up? Should we wrap this up? i'm not I'm not ready, but I think we have to. I think we have to. I'll i'll take a stab out at it, Dustin. I really appreciate it. Clearly, we could do this all afternoon. I might need another pint if we kept going.
Speaker: I know you guys are going to get a bit goofy on your a non -alcoholic athletic brewing. points there. Really appreciate your time. ah We're all agency people. We know what time is worth around here and you shared some of yours with us. We appreciate it. Thank you. Don't be a stranger. And that was a really good time.
Speaker: Yeah, thanks, guys. All right. Cheers everyone. Cheers. Hey folks, if you liked that episode, you won't believe the next one. So don't forget to subscribe on your favorite platform and you won't miss out. Or... If you've got an idea we haven't thought of yet.
Speaker: Hit us up in the comments. We'll cover that too.
