Now I understand what you’re thinking…wow, those are awfully big words for a company that is barely two weeks old. Twitter unveiled Vine, an app for iPhone and iPod devices that lets anyone create and share 6-second looping videos. The same way that Instagram burst onto the scene two years ago, Vine is following that same wow-factor entrance. Ad agencies everywhere have been put on notice: there is a new sheriff in town on how digital media advertisements should be created. And you have 6 seconds to grab my attention.

My friend Ann Handley of MarketingProfs had a really great blog explaining Vine as: Stupid, Simple, Brilliant. I couldn’t have agreed more, and I think she hit the nail on the head as to why content creation tools that are both intuitive and flexible scale and scale quickly:

1.     Stupid-simple in design.

2.     Dumb-brilliant in their constraints.

3.     Foolproof-flexible enough to have broad application.

This GAP video collects all of the style, branding and messaging in 6 seconds. You’ll find yourself watching the loop 3-4 times to experience all of the 6 seconds too.

A trip down #Gap advertising memory lane for our #firstpost on Vine. vine.co/v/b5PeYQOLuLj

January 25, 2013

We’ve been slowly hurdled, a lot like cattle, into a digital world where every moment is a documentable moment. Before chat tools like AIM or gchat, were you ever saying, “BRB potty”? Until Instagram, were you ever taking a picture of your food before you ate it? The digital communication tools have educated users to see content moments everywhere. Everyone improves 1-2 levels of a particular skill because of technology apps like Instagram or Vine. Photobucket took too much time, so did YouTube. But with apps like Instagram and Vine, I’m creating visual media that can be digested and liked in a matter of seconds.

I think the true brilliance of Vine is the loop factor. The video is only 6 seconds, but if you watch it 4-5 times on ‘repeat’, which is what looping does, you experience what would normally be a 30 second commercial spot. You know the normal commercial, the one where you tune out everything after the first couple seconds. The loop factor sucks you in, and causes you to digest the video clip for longer, and with more intent and attention than any current non-hilarious commercials or advertisements.

That is where the next generation of advertising comes into play: I’m mobile and I don’t have a lot of time. How are you going to engage me in between checking Facebook, email, and text messages? Better yet, how are you going to get me to remember your brand? And share your message?…please…it’s my turn in Words With Friends. Vine does just that – it grabs my attention and evokes me to want to share what I’ve watched.

You can’t make the video longer than 6 seconds, so it forces content creators to “keep it tight”. There isn’t a pay-to-play premium account that lets your video be longer than mine. Think about that for a minute…if this new medium of delivering messaging ‘takes’…30-45 second commercials will be transformed into 6 second commercials. That means 80-87% of the fat trimmed. That is really tight messaging. That is challenging creativity. That is a game-changer if I’ve ever seen one.

The possibilities are endless. The medium of advertising as we know it has been thrown a very wicked curve ball, and I see Vine as moving a new medium of mobile advertising for brands. This communication style for brands will be adopted and become the newest tool in their marketing and advertising toolbox. The 6 second limit creates hyper-focused videos, which combined with the loop factor keep viewers engaged and enthralled longer than any form of advertisements today.

I realize I’m making some pretty drastic predictions off of very little data, heck no data really. I stand firmly behind those predictions though, I see this as the new ‘commercial’, especially in our mobile-focused world moving forward. 

Imagine seeing this 6 second clip, with a “Folgers Coffee: It needs to be in your cup,” text for the last second. (You’d have to shorten this video by 1 second to add that, but you get my point.) And with the loop factor, you’re seeing the branding message every 6 seconds of the 18-24 seconds you watch.

Dying for a coffee. #magic #vineart #pleaselike vine.co/v/bJwnA9qjYiH

January 29, 2013

Vine is the first in the water, but the ripple effects of its tidal wave will be felt all the way inland to ad agencies in NY, London, and across the globe. It’s stupid-simple. It’s dumb-brilliant. It’s mobile advertising gold. It’s here.