How do you put online video to work to boost your nonprofit marketing? That’s what I asked colleagues to share in this week’s Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants.

Here goes:

• Alia McKee of Sea Change Strategies Direct remembers how Video Killed the Radio Star (not a bad song 20 years later). She recommends that online video should complement — not replace — more traditional and online channels at this point. She also shares 5 key tips for online video success, including keeping it under 2 minutes.
• Steve Andrews at the UK-based Whitewater agency shares the SolarAid (a nonprofit he’s helping to establish) online video strategy — they’ll be using video primarily to deliver timely, tangible, powerful feedback to donors. Donors and beneficiaries will be able to converse via blogs and vlogs (video diaries).
• Higher ed marketing guru Bob Johnson suggests that online video is an expectation for many nonprofit audiences (definitely for prospective college students) and warns against talking heads and other staged approaches. He also stresses the importance of quality production — as budget permits.
• Katya Andresen advises on how to succeed in nonprofit marketing in a quick-and-dirty (but effective) video, with links to easy directions for doing it yourself. Katya, you win the “most original” prize by a landslide. Enthused by her video experiment, she goes on to critique Neiman Marcus’ anniversary video campaign, concluding that show, don’t tell is the ultimate video must.
• This startling video from Greenpeace absolutely captivated me because it’s startlingly original, short, a bit frightening and hugely compelling because I get blamed for a huge world crisis. I clicked on the call-to-action link at the end of the video.
• Hatef Yamini at Frogloop interviewed video experts at Online Video Services (OVS) who advise that knowing your audience and selecting video “stars” that appeal to that group is key. Another important guideline — quality counts, e.g. you get what you pay for. OVS estimates the cost for a professional video shoot, including editing, at $1K for each minute of on demand finished content.
  • Caveat – There is an active debate what quality means, and adds, in online video. Some Carnival bloggers hold out for the authenticity of amateur video. My take — that amateur video will soon become tedious as the novelty of the medium erodes. Expectations for higher-end production values will begin to increase very quickly. I’ve watched this cycle before, most recently with blogging.

Some Nonprofit Video Successes
There are many powerful nonprofit videos out there to inspire and guide you. Here’s a list of top picks from Carnival bloggers:

• The Buffalo Movie — Video evidence connects donors and beneficiaries
• This video from UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School lets students talk about how they advance their careers in a great example of “storytelling” content that’s more effective delivered in video than written out as text.
• The Central Dallas Ministries Transition Resource Action Center produced this video, which motivated NPowerDC’s Jocelyn Harmon to become a first-time donor.
• Kids radio program Kidcast put together this simple video to spread the word. Thanks to David Brazeal for the heads up.
• Alia points to IRC communications officer Emily Holland who recently traveled to Darfur to document the lives of displaced Sudanese survivors. Her video diary shows us that IRC is working on the ground in key areas and is an absorbing story. Again, authenticity rules.
• NC environmental organization RE3.org is using video for online training, with the long-term goal of reducing training-related travel. This is a very simple and clever use of video — RE3.org simply video tapes a PowerPoint presentation with the audio, resulting in a full-fledged Webinar. Simple but elegant.
• OVS credits the California Bar Association with setting the bar in using video as a fully-integrated component of its anti-smoking campaign. Here’s Carol Burnett.

Let me know (click the Comments link below) how your nonprofit is using video, and what’s working best. I’ll spread the word.

Kansas City Area nonprofits honored for excellence in communications
Shoestring Creative Group & NonprofitPR.com were proud to be among the sponsors of this event.

Twenty-nine awards honoring excellence in nonprofit communications were presented Friday, Dec. 8, 2006, at the 4th Annual Philly Awards celebration at the Westin Crown Center Hotel. Sponsoring organizations were the Nonprofit Communications Network and the Council on Philanthropy.

“Best of Show” went to Gift of Life for an invitation to a fund-raising event entitled “Go, See, Do.”

First-place awards in the “under $1 million” category (for nonprofits whose organizational budget is less than $1 million):

• Down Syndrome Guild of Greater Kansas City (annual reports)
• Rosedale Development Association (informational brochures)
• Gift of Life (invitation/special event publications)
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Kansas City (membership/fundraising appeals)
• Midwest Center for Holocaust Education (newsletters)
• Higher M-PACT (video presentations)
• Gift of Life (Web sites)

First-place awards in the “more than $1 million” category:

• American Jazz Museum (annual reports)
• Kansas City Art Institute (informational brochures)
• Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey (invitation/special-event publications)
• Kansas City Free Health Clinic and No More Homeless Pets (membership/fundraising appeals)
• Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics (newsletters)
• Salvation Army (video presentations)
• Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Web sites).

Second-place awards in the “under $1 million” category:

• Shawnee Mission Education Foundation (annual reports)
• Arts in Prison, Inc. (informational brochures)
• Child Abuse Prevention Association (invitation/special-event publications)
• Animal Haven (membership/fundraising appeals)
• Down Syndrome Guild of Greater Kansas City (newsletters)
• Gift of Life (video prsentations)
• JZckson County CASA (Web sites)

Second-place awards in the “more than $1 million” category:

• Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics (annual reports)
• WaterPartners International (informational brochures)
• DeLaSalle Education Center (invitation/special-event publications)
• Unity (membership/fundraising appeals)
• PKD Foundation (newsletters)
• People to People International (video presentations)
• Harvesters-The Community Food Network (Web sites)

Presenting the awards were Susan Melton, president of the Council on Philanthropy, and Jody Ladd Craig, president of the Nonprofit Communications Network. Winning projects were selected from among 141 entries, up nearly 44 percent from last year’s event.

Keynote speaker for the event was Dave Helling of The Kansas City Star, who provided an overview of trends in the media.

Congratulations to all the winners!

Advocacy Campaign and Lobbying Efforts
AAA of Northern California, Nevada, Utah – Utah Teen Driving Safety

Corporate Partnership/s
Xerox Corporation – Let’s Say Thanks To Our Troops

Crisis Management
The Humane Society of the United States – Crisis Management – Hurricane Katrina Response

Employee Communications
Peel District School Board – Picture the future: internal launch kit

Event PR & Tradeshow PR/Marketing
American Veterinary Medical Association – Marketing Hawaii
U.S. Postal Service – Baseball Sluggers Stamps Hit Grand Slam at Yankee Stadium

External Publication
University of Cincinnati – The Ivory Tower and the Smokestack

Fundraising and Membership Campaign
American College of Radiology Imaging Network – DMIST Trial

Interactive PR and Marketing
National Association of Home Builders – Building Homes of Our Own

Marketing Communications
Christiana Care Health System – 2005-2006 Celebrating Women’s Health Lecture Series

Media Relations Campaign
Massachusetts General Hospital – “Critical Care: The Making of an ICU Nurse”

Member Communications
National Association of Home Builders – NAHB Nation’s Building News Online

Press Releases
Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber – Blitz Jay Leno Day

PR on a Shoestring
Pennsylvania Department of the Auditor General – Rural Transportation for Persons with Disabilities

Public Service Campaign
Marmillion + Company – America’s WETLAND: Campaign to Save Coastal Louisiana

Web Site
Dairy Management Inc. with Edelman – Growing the Mom’s Network on 3aday.org

Nonprofit PR Executive of the Year
Janet Moore, Director of Marketing, Mission Health & Hospitals

HONORABLE MENTIONS OF PR NEWS’ NONPROFIT PR AWARDS/2006:

Advocacy Campaign and Lobbying Efforts
AARP – AARP Tennessee Choices for Care
dawson/duncan Communications – Braille Textbook Transcriber Campaign for American Foundation for the Blind and Verizon Foundation
National Association of Children’s Hospitals – Family Advocacy Day
U.S. Postal Service – New Orleans Absentee Ballot Initiative

Corporate Partnership/s
Avnet – Avnet Tech Games
First Degree – The UPS Store & Mail Boxes Etc. Deliver Some Love: 2005 Toys for Tots Campaign
Honeywell International – Honeywell got 2B Safe Awards Program
Operation KIDS – “Tsunami Relief Project: Operation Kids & Xango – it Makes a Village”
United Way of America – Storm Corps

Crisis Management
Girl Scouts of the USA with CRT/tanaka – Girl Scouts of the USA Issues Management
Heart Rhythm Society – Heart Rhythm Society Takes Leadership Reins on ICD Crisis
Washington Hospital Center – “MedSTAR Transport Mayday!”

Employee Communications
Christiana Care Health System – Smoke-Free Campaign
Oregon State University – University Day Celebration

Event PR & Tradeshow PR/Marketing
American Association for the Advancement in Science – Evolution on the Front Line Event
Drisha Leggitt & Co. Communications – 33rd Annual ‘Eppie’s Great Race’
SAE International – SAE International Centennial Celebration
The Century Council- Girl Talk: Choices and Consequences of Underage Drinking

External Publication
Mainstay Life Services – Mainstay Life Services: Life Stories
National Audubon Society – Audubon Annual Report 2005
The Nation’s Food Bank Network – America’s Second Harvest

Fundraising and Membership Campaign
Herberger College of Fine Arts – “One Hand Clapping” Fulton Campaign
National Catholic Educational Association – Child to Child Campaign

Interactive PR and Marketing
American Society for Microbiology – MicrobeWorld Radio
Battelle, Pacific Northwest Division – Threat Alert 2006
WE MOVE with the Chandler Chicco Agency – Life in Motion Campaign
Rollins College – Rollins College Uses Online R-Journals to Aid Recruitment

Marketing Communications
Hirrons & Company – Indiana Unclaimed Public Relations Campaign
Homeownership Preservation Foundation – Hope for Homeowners- Helping to preserve the American Dream
ImMEDIAcy Public Relations, Inc., Palm Beach County Literacy Coalition, The Palm Beach Post – Read Together Palm Beach County – One Book, One Community
RDW Group, Inc. – Plastic Bag Recycling Campaign

Media Relations Campaign
WE MOVE with the Chandler Chicco Agency – Life in Motion Campaign
Colorado State University – CloudSat in the Media
U.S. Postal Service – Holiday Campaign
UJA-Federation of New York – Neediest Cases Campaign

Member Communications
American Veterinary Medical Association – AVMA News Bytes
CPCU Society – “After Katrina” – A Special Publication of the CPCU Society

Press Releases
Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp. – Philadelphia: The Next Great Vintage Shopping Destination
ASU Herberger College of Fine Arts – Press Release-Super Heroics

PR on a Shoestring
MWW Group – Supporting Paralysis Research by Making Christopher Reeve Foundation Superman Tags the Hottest, “Must-Have” Item
Voce Communications – A Forum for Social Change
Weber Shandwick – STEP-UP – Providing Job Opportunities for Disadvantaged Youth

Public Service Campaign
Brooklyn Public Library – Brooklyn Reads to Babies
WE MOVE with the Chandler Chicco Agency – Life in Motion Campaign
Metropolitan Transportation Authority – MTA Security Campaign: If You See Something, Say Something”
The Advertising Council – Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving Campaign Launch

Web Site
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants – CPA Student Recruitment Campaign
Louisville Regional Airport Authority – “A New Travel Web site – the First of its Kind in the US”
Pennsylvania Department of the Auditor General Web Site

Nonprofit PR Executive of the Year
Neal Zipser, Vice President, Communications, MEMA

AD COUNCIL CAMPAIGNS
http://www.adcouncil.org/default.aspx?id=15
A complete list of all the current Ad Council campaigns, which focuses on three areas: Community, Education, and Health & Safety. The mission of the Ad Counsil is to identify a select number of significant public issues and stimulate action on those issues through communications programs that make a measurable difference in our society. To that end, the Ad Council marshals volunteer talent from the advertising and communications industries, the facilities of the media, and the resources of the business and non-profit communities to create awareness, foster understanding and motivate action. The site also includes information on how to become an Ad Council campaign: http://www.adcouncil.org/default.aspx?id=319

AD COUNCIL ENDORSED CAMPAIGNS
http://www.adcouncil.org/default.aspx?id=62
In addition to its own campaigns, the Ad Council also reviews campaigns created by other organizations and agencies. PSAs for Endorsed Campaigns do not bear the Ad Council logo and are not distributed by the Ad Council. Please call or write to the contacts listed for each campaign to receive media materials. There is also information on how your campaign can Become an Endorsed Campaign.