We know that content is King but it’s 2021 and the world is flooded with social posts, blogs, podcasts, infographics, webpages and so much more. How does one reach one’s target audience when there’s a sea of social content for users to wade through? VIDEO, that’s how.
Sharp sales copy and on-brand imagery have always been pivotal components of a marketing strategy and should remain so. But content extends beyond wise words and great graphics in today’s digital-heavy landscape, which is why it’s time to introduce video into your content plan.
To tell us more, we chat to Chris Wilkie who heads up DreamCube Productions, a small but rapidly growing video production company in Melbourne.
An interview with Chris Wilkie, Managing Director and lead cinematographer at DreamCube Productions
Hi Chris, could you tell us about your career journey and the path you took to lead you into video production?
While it wasn’t a natural progression, some part of me always knew I would end up in some form of video/tv production. After finishing year 12, I could have taken the opportunity to dive straight into Radio and Television Broadcasting at Melbourne University, but I deferred, found a job, and began saving to travel around the world.
That was essentially me up until I was 25 and I decided to head to Uni and study AudioVisual Technology.
It wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped to land a job after completing the course, so I took the plunge and got myself an ABN and went out on my own. Fair to say the first couple of years were challenging, as I can imagine they are for most new businesses, but I stuck fat and now we’re experiencing the fruits of running a business that has constant flow of projects coming in.
Tell us about your travels. Where did you go and what life lessons did you take away from your experience?
I knocked off a fair portion of the world. Started in Asia, then onto Europe and finished in the USA. I ticked off some bucket list destinations like Greek Islands, Oktoberfest in Munich, South Beach in Miami and Vegas. I just remember being in awe at almost everything when I was in New York. It’s overwhelmingly big. I spent 2 and a half weeks there and probably saw 5% of it… but I did get the full experience by being robbed and witnessing a shooting in Brooklyn. Ahhh take me back!
I spent a lot of time in England with family from my Mums side, which essentially reconnected me to them and it hit home that I really needed to appreciate my family more.
I travelled around living in hostels most of the time. Doing so means you adapt to people from all walks of life. Maybe I used to be a bit judgemental towards people I didn’t even know? The experience straightened me out and I learned to accept everyone for who they are.
Who makes up the DreamCube’ Productions team?
We’re a small team, but have deep scope. There’s obviously myself and I am very well supported by my much better half (Sera) who doubles as the marketing manager. She definitely keeps me on my toes. We have a couple of gun video editors in Flo & Maurice and although we specialise in video production, occasionally photography goes hand-in-hand so we have a couple of champions in Ari & Mel who can jump in when needed.
Who are DreamCube Production’s clients and do you specialise in a specific industry?
We operate the most and have a reasonably sized client base is the construction industry. We’ve really nailed down and learnt this industry back to front so we understand where the problems lie for construction companies, and how we can solve them using video. Trust has always been an issue in construction and we like to think we bridge that gap with the video content we produce in that field.
Riding side saddle is the high-end property/real estate industry. We didn’t start out in the high-end market, but we worked our way up and that’s where we find ourselves and we love it. It was a natural progression to move into construction having been doing real estate video for so long.
Tell us some of your career “wins” to date.
I was lucky enough to win an award for an aerial video at sunrise over the HMVS Cerberus in Half Moon Bay, which was nice. But really, the biggest win for me is creating a business that has seen significant growth year on year. There is still a lot I want to do with it and incorporate some new things, but I love where it’s at, I love our clients and the relationships created, and I’m excited for the future.
If I asked your 7-year-old-self what would you like to be when you “grow up” what would you say?
I think would have given you about 15 different professions, but this one. Something that was always at the top of the list was to play footy for Collingwood. And yes, I have all my teeth!
Why should businesses incorporate video into their marketing strategies?
The stats are out there for every business owner to see why they should incorporate video, but it needs to be done right. Video on its own won’t work just because the stats say “this is what will happen if you do it…”. Different types of videos achieve different kinds of results. For a business looking to increase sales there are certain videos that will help with that. If a business owner wants to save time there are certain videos (i.e. training videos) to help with that too. Video will essentially fast track you to achieve the result you wish to achieve.
In the information age, you need to stand out, and you need to have content that is eye catching and easily digestible. You also need to show personality so people can connect on a human level. Video ticks all these boxes when it’s done right.
Chris Wilkie – DreamCube Productions
What is the most cost effective way for a business to incorporate video marketing?
Being cost effective is all about getting a return on your investment. You need to talk to a company that asks a lot of questions to really understand your business before flinging any sort of price at you. How are video marketing companies going to get you a ROI if they don’t know anything about you? Make sure your interests are put first.
Yes, you could get your iPhone out and film videos yourself, but are they going to represent your brand the way you’d like people to view it?
Chris Wilkie – DreamCube Productions
In your experience, what are the pros and cons of using social media video platforms such as TikTok, IGTV and YouTube for business?
It’s all about how you utilise the platform and they different from each other. TikTok is a platform you can have a bit of fun with and show your personality, which means your engagement levels will shoot way north. Insta’s IGTV is a great platform to post your content and connect with your target market by creating conversations, while YouTube is a platform to host a library full of video content, but it’s the educational content that seems to do well here. I guess a con could be that there are so many platforms now and new ones appearing regularly, it’s hard to keep up. But obviously the more places your video content sits, the more eyes are going to be on them.
If someone said to you “I can’t afford to pay for professional video content for my business.” what would you say?
Can you afford NOT to pay? Haha. It generally comes down to a person not having faith in the product, or truly not believing in their own product or service. It’s about achieving a return on investment for clients, OR, hitting a different kind of result. Of course, there will be an initial outlay, but the results that will come in will far outweigh the cost and give your company strong momentum moving forwards. People really need to view professional video marketing as an investment, rather than an expense.
What are the key trends in video content now and going forward beyond 2021?
Visual storytelling is always going to be at the forefront. People don’t just want to see brands, they want to see who’s behind it and why it exists so there’s human level connection.
Chris Wilkie – DreamCube Productions
I think live videos will continue to grow as people can engage with them in real time.
Training videos will become more prominent, so busy business owners don’t need to repeat the same information many times over. Being time poor is a real issue for many business people these days.
In terms of visuals, there’s going to be some pretty ridiculous resolutions. Soon enough, if we’re sitting close enough to our computer screens it’ll feel like we’re in them!
Are you working on anything particularly exciting at present?
We’re at a stage now where we only work with people that we connect to and we can really help drive their business forward, so every project is exciting for us. We’re just hoping that 2021 is relatively normal so people can get back to work and we can action all these projects in the pipeline.
Have you considered incorporating video into your marketing plans for 2021? To find out more, follow DreamCube Productions for industry insights on Instagram and YouTube.
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