Agents Ratchet Up Video Productions

2020 11 lighting agents become video producers - western Michigan lighting.jpg

Above: The team from West Michigan Lighting prepare the Fluxwerx Aperture fixture for a video shoot

There was a time in the not-so-distant past when it was rare for a lighting agency to employ a dedicated marketing person. Understandably, lighting agents have historically focused on one-to-one in-person sales interactions with specifiers, distributors, contractors, end users and other customers in their marketplaces.

As the pandemic has hindered agents’ abilities to connect with customers, salespeople are getting creative. Many agents are augmenting their one-to-one focus with a one-to-many strategy of reaching customers on social media platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.

In recent months, it has become fairly common for agency salespeople to post homemade videos: Michelle’s sample case pitches, Christine from her home office and JP in the shed. Yes, the shed and it's awesome. But some agents are going next-level with investments in video productions. Storyboards, scripts, green screens, set lighting, advanced editing and rehearsals are now part of some agencies’ regular activities. Here are their stories:

West Michigan Lighting & Controls

In July, this Grand Rapids agency got serious about creating high quality videos with a personal touch. Four "on camera" product spokespeople write their own scripts, coordinate visuals with manufacturers and produce each video. They knock out the green screen video shoots in one day and roll out the content over four weeks. Andrew Jones brings the raw footage to life with some advanced video editing magic.

“Our goal was to find a way to keep a personal touch in our approach to presenting products. In addition, our clients have the ability to stay updated with 2-minute segments on a weekly basis, viewing and sharing them at their convenience.” -Mike Anderson, Principal

“We can always share marketing material from our manufacturers, but we believe our customers would prefer to hear about a new product from a familiar face.” -Beth Bloemers, Specification Sales

www.westmichiganlighting.com

Nevada Lighting

With their video series #Between2Lights, the folks from Nevada Lighting combine insightful product information with frequent irreverence and occasional dad jokes.

According to agency principal, Scot Domini, the goal is to provide customers with short videos that are not only informative with cutting edge product and technology, but also fun and engaging during these unprecedented times.

Scot explains, "the feedback from our lighting community has been amazing; with comments ranging from, 'we love the interaction of the hosts,' to, 'the videos are well produced and informational,' (and to our surprise, some professionals reaching out to be a part of our process)!"

Before filming, the talent plans the content using white boards -- ensuring that three critical topics are covered. The camera is always rolling because rehearsal may turn out to be the best take or the editors can use some humorous outtakes for other content.

www.nevada.lighting

Illuminate (New England)

Realizing that one video series simply was not sufficient, Illuminate has launched four separate channels on their Illumiflix platform. (No credit card required.)