Josh GriffinMore PostsLesson for Us Video Folks

Some pretty good insight in Business Week in reference to video production – I think in the student ministry context we’re always pressing for bigger and more, when maybe there’s another way. A few thoughts in making video impactful:

Understand the context. One of the best-selling books of all time, The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren (Zondervan Publishing, 2002), starts with a bold, declarative sentence: “It’s not about you.” This is a lesson more companies should learn. Super Bowl advertisers know that tens of millions of people eagerly anticipate their commercials and don’t want to sit through annoying speeches telling them how great a product or service is.

It’s perhaps odd that an advertiser–who is, after all, trying to sell something–would be expected to restrain its sales impulses. But the first rule of selling anything is to know your audience. There’s a time to ask for the order and there’s a time to build relationships.

That’s perhaps why, year after year, Budweiser and Bud Light walk away with the ADBOWL crown. The marketers at Anheuser-Busch (BUD) know that people watch the Super Bowl to have a good time, and that their desire for entertainment doesn’t pause at the commercial breaks. Any given Bud spot may not make you want to buy a beer, but no brand-building advertising works that way. What a well-executed commercial will do is create affection for a brand, and over time, that affection will pay off in increased sales. Anheuser-Busch wouldn’t have spent over $250 million in the Super Bowl over the past two decades if it didn’t.

JG

TagsComments Add Comment February 5, 2007

Josh GriffinMore PostsInterview with the Gears Guys

Wired has a new interview with the guys behind the fantastic Gears of War and the upcoming Unreal Tournament 3. Here’s a clip about what’s next:

WN: Microsoft wants to have Gears games for “a long, long time.” Is Gears of War 2 in the works?

Rein: Right now we’re still working on Gears of War … and we’re still making some great downloadable content, some new stuff for the game. Our next big thing is Unreal Tournament 3.

WN: It’s interesting that the development cycle now extends beyond the release of the game.

Rein: I think that’s an important model if you want to have a game that has a long lifetime…. The Long Tail, I guess you could call it. The downside is that people will say, “we’ve brought PC-style patching to console.” But that’s not a bad thing, to be able to fix something you didn’t get quite right, or create new types of gameplay….

I’m glad people have hard drives and the ability to download new content. We’ve very much applauded Sony for having the hard drive on every single machine. We will absolutely take advantage of the hard drive on UT3. So if you don’t have a hard drive on Xbox 360 and you want to get the most out of your UT purchase, think about getting one.

WN: Mark Rein to gamers: “Buy a hard drive.”

Rein: Actually, I think all the really serious gamers already have a hard drive. We’ve had a huge number of downloads of the Gears of War map pack. There are a lot of people who are downloading content, and a lot of people who are playing online.

JG

TagsComments Add Comment February 5, 2007

Josh GriffinMore PostsRobert Goulet Commercial

Love it. See all of them on YouTube, too.

JG

Comments Add Comment February 5, 2007

Josh GriffinMore Posts10% Off Staff Favorties at SYM

New sale this week at Simply before we head to the conference… 10% off some of our staff’s favorite resources. Check them out if you’re interested!

JG

Comments Add Comment February 5, 2007

Josh GriffinMore PostsLove One Another

This was slipped under the door of Simply Youth Ministry today. Huh?

JG

Comments Add Comment February 5, 2007

Josh GriffinMore PostsThe Superbowl Ads

Great game! If you missed any of the commercials, you can grab them on demand here. Really well organized, you can choose by quarter or advertiser. Nice.

Favorites. Hmmm … FedEx is always good for a laugh, Emerald Nuts’ Robert Goulet was great, Coke had a couple of great spots and Sierra Mist as a nice surprise. The other side? Revlon was a total waste of money and for once the beer companies didn’t have the best spots.

JG

PS: Click the BOSS BUTTON after you watch a few spots, it’s a pop up window if your boss walks over to your screen when you’re watching the ads again during work. Classic.

Comments Add Comment February 4, 2007

Josh GriffinMore PostsXbox Wireless Headset

I just ordered an Xbox 360 Wireless Communicator from Amazon.com – yes, thank you to the Google Ads on the site. January was a good month, so thanks for clicking when you find something interesting. Still averaging about an Xbox 360 game a month or so. Nice!

JG

TagsComments Add Comment February 3, 2007

Josh GriffinMore PostsSuperbowl Predictions

Just to make this official and on the record, I thought it might be good to post one final prediction of the Superbowl tomorrow. Should be a GREAT game, love both teams so this is a perfect matchup. Not to mention the commercials …

Peyton Manning will finally get this Superbowl ring and will be named the Superbowl MVP.

They will show a hundred too many shots of Archie Manning up in the stands flanked by son Eli who is happy-for-his-brother-but-internally-battling-the-football-demons. Rex Grossman will have fallen apart at the seams, the only bright spot is the Bears defense who scores a defensive touchdown early in the first half to keep it interesting. 20-7 Colts win, and the commercials weren’t as funny as you thought they would be.

JG

Comments Add Comment February 3, 2007

Josh GriffinMore PostsSuper Sweet Leader’s Night: Part Deux

You remember this Fall’s Super Sweet Leader’s Night for our student ministry volunteers? Well, tonight was Part Deux. Here’s the highlights from tonight:

  • The chocolate fountain
  • New location: the RSM Civic Center
  • Getting to hear from Jake about the new San Clemente satellite campus
  • Hearing great stories from our volunteers
  • Getting a chance to thank the people that are making a big difference in our student’s lives
  • Super Sweet Swag – a pen, candy and a new book to read
  • The chocolate fountain

JG

Comments Add Comment February 2, 2007

Josh GriffinMore PostsPDYM Student Leadership Graphics

We just uploaded a series of downloadable posters and graphics for the 2007 PDYM Student Leadership Conference. Are you coming out to Saddleback this July with your best and brightest? Come on, it’s going to be a blast!

Check out the website and grab the posters to promote it in your student ministry today! Raise the bar.

JG

TagsComments Add Comment February 2, 2007
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