The week before school was out for the holidays, my son had to write a speech for his 4th grade class. He waited until the last minute and was clueless as to what he would write. It needed to be about something holiday-related. I had actually just shown him the Zala video for Buy a Brick. Build a School. and he was very excited about getting bricks for his teacher, which he did. 

I suggested he write about Glimmer of Hope so he looked it up on the computer and wrote and gave the best speech he has written so far, from his heart!

So yesterday, he came to work with me and we went to the Glimmer offices and he got to see large photos of the Ethiopian people along with the actual jugs that they use to  transport the water. He was stunned. He couldn't believe that children had to walk 4 miles a day to get water for their families. And he was so excited to be helping to build schools. He really wants to share the Zala video with his class.

I want my kids to see that things are so different in other parts of the world, that life isn't so easy everywhere. 

I am online now, about to buy more bricks instead of last minute Christmas gifts for family members. It just makes more sense.

Recently I gave a friend $50 to help him reach of his dream of recording his first album. I waited two weeks to donate to his cause because I was waiting for payday. Money is tight right now with four birthdays, an anniversary and Christmas in December. It was easy donating. He's a good guy and the type of person that you can count on to help you out when you are in need. He has a good job, has his own house and very capable of doing whatever he wants.

However, with the Buy a Brick program, you'll be donating to people that really need it. Watching the video gives you a look at how we can make a difference. For every dollar you spend Glimmer of Hope turns around and buys a brick with each dollar they receive. I plan on donating to the Buy a Brick program in the next two weeks. Yeah, money is still tight but if I can donate money to record an album, there is no reason I can't donate to enrich and better the life of a child. Help them get a school, running water and improving their over all quality of life. I plan on buying $50 bricks. You'll be helping a kid go to school, improve their education and empower them to get a better life.

I gave money to somebody that has an education, a job, running water and food readily available. Now I plan on improving the quality of life of a child I haven't met. Here's to education because with education you can do anything you want.

I woke up today thinking about chicken. Specifically Colonel Harland Sanders (although the more I think about it, a winner winner chicken dinner may be in my immediate future). He’s the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (now KFC) and the man who made finger lickin’ good a universal catchphrase by appearing in his company’s commercials.

Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas dreamed of running the best restaurant in the world – at age 12 no less - and surrounded himself with carefully chosen mentors to achieve it, including Colonel Sanders, someone Thomas called a great influence. Maybe that’s why in 1989 Thomas agreed to appear in “a few” TV ads – resulting in more than 800 commercials over 13 years. Even though Thomas considered himself “just a hamburger cook,” he became one of the most recognizable corporate spokesmen ever, acknowledged by Guinness World Records as the “Longest Running Television Advertising Campaign Starring a Company Founder.”

For Papa John’s 25th anniversary in 2009, founder and ad spokesman John Schnatter drove around the country driving a replica of his beloved ’72 Z28 Camaro in a television campaign that resulted in him finding his original Camaro (and buying it back for $250K).

I just realized I’m talking about chicken, hamburger and pizza company founders – I really must be hungry. But my point is this: Advertising is hit or miss and featuring a company’s top dog sometimes doesn’t work, but many times the best person to represent your company is the man or woman who founded it. The same is true for video, and it’s significantly less expensive than television advertising.

When you create a well-executed video story of your company using a video-friendly founder or corporate executive, it can have a terrific upside. You give your company a face and a personality that builds trust and deepens the relationship between you and your customers or investors.

Over the years, video has exploded and companies are using video in all sorts of ways - to greet visitors on their websites, illustrate how a product or service works or give the company’s annual report to shareholders or contributors. Video allows a company to show what they used to only be able to say in words and charts and graphs and pictures.

For example, companies are saving thousands of dollars by creating their Annual Reports on video. Video Annual Reports (VARs) can be engaging, informative and cost effective, providing a unique opportunity for stakeholders to see and hear directly from a company’s executive management about its story, its successes, its visions and strategies ON DEMAND. The VAR is significantly less expensive than traditional printed corporate reports – and GREENER too. Just make sure you zero in on the right face/personality to represent you.

Here are some companies that have made the VAR work for them: Marriott International, California Pizza Kitchen, Kenneth Cole Productions, Jo-Ann Stores and VolunteerMatch.

What story can you tell in 3-5 minutes?  

Cut! LUNCH!

According to a Pew Research Center report published 3 days ago, 71% of online adults in the U.S. use video-sharing sites like YouTube and Vimeo. Online video is becoming an increasingly important component in successful communications strategies. Check out the full report for some more interesting stats about online video.

http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Video-sharing-sites.aspx

Through Sicola Martin, ProductionFor recently helped create the new digital signature for AMD to be used worldwide in all their digital media. Be sure to check it out on the AMD website (www.amd.com).

Joel Maysonet: Art director, motion graphic designer

Chris Blankenship: Producer, custom music and sound design

One of our core values is to use our skills and resources to give back and help organizations that are doing great things for great causes to achieve the type of visibility that we strive to provide our clients. Cancer is a disease that greatly impacts all aspects of life for both the patient and their family. The group at the Flatwater Foundation gave a tremendous amount of their own time and resources to further the awareness of this disease through yesterday's Dam That Cancer event. Their commitment to providing mental health therapy and family support to those diagnosed with cancer is exceptional, and we are proud to be able to provide visual documentation of this important annual fundraising event.

ProductionFor team members spent the day yesterday filming and hanging out on Lake Austin as over 20 Austinites paddled from Manfield Dam to Abel's on the Lake - about 21 miles. It was both extremely fun and inspiring to be a part of Dam that Cancer. Check out the spot we made from last year's event.

ProductionFor recently completed shooting, editorial and graphics for a Dell Partner Direct channel video featuring Dell VP of Channel Group, Greg Davis.  Shooting on both 5D and the new Sony F3, Jim Webb and Brian Watkins brought a personal touch to the corporate storytelling.  Christian Remde brought SicolaMartin agency art director Jennifer Taylor's graphics to life and we finished out the edit and color to deliver to a very happy client.

Check it out here:

http://vimeo.com/23697377