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Why is American Idol the biggest show on TV? I’m not going to argue the relative merits of the program that has introduced Barry Manilow to a whole new generation. What keeps people coming back week after week is the competition, we pick our favourites, and we want to know who wins. Works for game shows, works for sporting events, it works for reality television. The competition is one of the easiest and most reliable narratives to use, who is going to win?

So why are we so afraid to use this in corporate video? How can we introduce this element of the payoff into a promotional video message?

One method would be to follow a customer through an interaction with the company, through to the successful conclusion. We introduce a problem, the company helps the customer, the customer wins. For a charity, we setup the goal (raise this much money, reach this many people), we introduce the people who will be helped if we reach the goal, then at the end of the video, we say that these people need your help to win the race. Let the action of the viewer help the charity win.

While competition can drive the narrative, it can also spur action, which at the end of the day is what our kind of storytelling is all about.

It’s not often that we get a front row seat on the crafting of a new communications medium. Something like television has been around so long that when the conventions of the form change, we hardly notice as it’s a bunch of subtle changes that happen over a long period of time (remember the 60 second commercial? Now we’re down to 10 seconds at times)

When moving pictures first arrived, they were only a few seconds long, playing on loops in a box. Editing, something so natural to us now, didn’t come until years after the first films were made.

Today, we have the form of video online, and we’re learning a few things. One of them is that we can’t treat it like television. People will sit through a much longer narrative in front of a TV on the couch than they will in front of a computer. So online videos have to be short and to the point.

The other element that I find to be more important online is a strong host. Online video is something that is watched on a one-to-one basis, much more intimate than television. So having a lead that you can empathize with is very important.

Here are a couple of examples of shows that I believe are really starting to figure out what works and what doesn’t with video online.

EPIC-FU is a show about technology and culture. Short, lots of info, good host. That seems to be the formula that is working for them.

Beach Walks with Rox is done by Roxanne Darling, someone I met at the Podcast Expo in September. Everyday she shares her thoughts as she walks her dog on the beach. It’s something that would not work at all in TV, but really works in online. It’s that personal connection she creates everyday, just sharing a meditation walking along the beach.

My last example is Zaproot, a show about all things environmental. It follows the EPIC-FU formula of quick, lots of info and to the point.

It will be fun to see how the medium evolves over the coming year, and we at upNext hope to do our part to contribute real soon.

With the new year upon us, I’m finally going to brush up on my mad online skills. I think this program will really help get me on my way. Found at Escape from Cubicle Nation.

The new year is always one of my favourite times. The new year is like a blank sheet of paper, all crisp and ready to be filled with ideas, adventures, challenges, and the promise of a better tomorrow. Or it could just be that we’re still all happy from the leftover Christmas chocolate.

Either way, 2008 is going to be another year of big changes and growth here at upNext. In 2007, we got an office, did some really fun new projects, mounted a successful television PSA campaign, met new friends and collegues, and acquired a great drink fridge. In 2008, we will be expanding again, defining our niche better, and continue to tell great stories. I hope we’ll get a chance to continue the conversation.

There is a very large project that we at upNext Media have been working on for the past few months, and is now airing on Channel M here in Vancouver. It’s called the Village of Men, and it’s an initiative of Abbotsford Community Services. The Village of Men is a series of public service announcements about domestic violence in the South Asian community. We did the production, and are continuing to work on the project website.

Check it out at villageofmen.com