OT: Coffee Tradeshow Video

jkrepner wrote on 2/2/2006, 12:33 PM
I just wanted to get some general advice, and perhaps some pricing suggestions from anyone that has produced videos for clients to be used in a tradeshow. The client is a coffee importer/producer/vendor that has a big coffee industry tradeshow coming up in DC on the weekend of Feb 24th - so it's a rush job. They will have a mock coffee shop set up in the booth and they want to display *something* on a flat panel mounted on the wall behind the counter. it looks like they are spending big bucks on the booth, so I guess they have a good budget.

Two approaches come to mind; a simple slideshow/PowerPoint feed via computer, or a looped DVD. I think they'll go with the DVD option since it will allow us to use video footage, better sound, better graphics, etc. Short of flying to Columbia to film beans being harvested, we might get some stock footage of coffee harvesting, people drinking coffee in shops, as well as some stock footage that I can pan/scan behind the bullet points. I'll need to film the roasting process and some other factory type things, so I figure a day to shoot, maybe a half. I'll be acting as writer on this since they don't really know what they want. So I need to bill for my creative ideas - since they don't have anything specific in mind, they "just want a video."

My concern is that this is an after thought for them, so it's not the only thing on display and not the key part of the booth. I'd like to charge them a fairly high amount and do a really nice video for them, not a little throw-together. Maybe I can sell them on the idea that this video can be used and repurposed for other things, like their web and as promo material that they mail to potential customers. (Good idea: then I can, of course, be the person they go to to get copies made!)

1) How long should a tradeshow video be? I guess shorter the better - right?
2) Is this overkill? Would they just be better off with a little slideshow?
3) Assuming they go with me and the video idea, do you feel a tradeshow video would be effective in trying to convey such things as the history of the company - or is best just to flash some pretty pictures of coffee?
4) For cost, I guess I'll need to figure my rate for a day of shooting, maybe 10 - 20 hours to edit/author, plus some "rush-job" time.
5) Any other thoughts from the tradeshow perspective?

Sorry to ramble - they gave me some free samples and I'm a little wired.

Comments

Spot|DSE wrote on 2/2/2006, 12:44 PM
1) How long should a tradeshow video be? I guess shorter the better - right?
If it's a loop, 3 mins max. We do a lot of these, and it's fairly common at tradeshows to have a few 3 min loops. Tradeshow attendees don't have long attention spans.
2) Is this overkill? Would they just be better off with a little slideshow?
That's probably more a client question than a forum question. If you can get big bucks for a slideshow, go for that instead.
3) Assuming they go with me and the video idea, do you feel a tradeshow video would be effective in trying to convey such things as the history of the company - or is best just to flash some pretty pictures of coffee?
At a tradeshow...I don't know I'd be going for a coffee docco, but rather just eye-catching, coffee-related information.
4) For cost, I guess I'll need to figure my rate for a day of shooting, maybe 10 - 20 hours to edit/author, plus some "rush-job" time.
Usually, rush jobs are 20% to 50% more, but one company in the tradeshow biz charges double for fast turnarounds.
5) Any other thoughts from the tradeshow perspective?
If it's to catch eyeballs in the booth, the flashy and fast paced with slow moments interspersed are good to go with. Were it our job, I'd probably find out what the client has in mind, then build a couple 180 second spots that have both fast glitzy editing and then a couple slow paced montages. Glitzy fast to catch attention, standard montage to inform. Then on to the next glitz.
jkrepner wrote on 2/2/2006, 2:00 PM
That's a really good idea: fast video to grab attention, slow video to inform, and then repeat.

I'm glad I asked now because I was going down the one longer-video path for sure.

Thanks.