Last Year’s Light the Night event from Blue Marble Media on Vimeo.

That’s right – Blue Marble has stepped away from the video cameras and editing suites to form a team – and we’re ready to take steps toward curing cancer as we “Light the Night,” during the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s annual fundraising walk Saturday, October 13.

With just two weeks to go we need your help!  Our team goal is $2,000.00, which will go toward the support of lifesaving research and patient services for those suffering from blood cancers.  To meet this goal, we need your help – AND FAST!  Even a small tax deductible donation can make a large difference!

Did you know that more cures for all kinds of cancer come from research on leukemia and lymphoma than from other types of cancer research?  Neither did we, but that’s an even bigger motivation to support this worthwhile cause.

It’s our second year supporting this incredible cause.  Last year, we were so moved by the hundreds of people marching – each with an illuminated balloon to honor those affected by cancer — that we made a promise to march again this year.  Adding to that commitment, our own Cal Miller, Blue Marble’s VP of Business Development, volunteered to serve as a board member for this year’s event.  So, Blue Marble Media is all in!

Please consider helping us as we support the important work being done by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.   To make a donation of any size by credit card use the button below or click here.

Thanks!

So…what goes on behind the scenes in the making of a corporate video?  Here’s a sneak peak at a nighttime shoot for client Manhattan Associates.  The location:  the historic Fairlie-Poplar district of downtown Atlanta.  Some logistics:  we obtained permits for blocking off one half of a city block for the shoot … a small semi was rented for use as a portable green room/make-up/wardrobe, etc. … props included a delivery truck and boxes all labeled with a fictitious company’s product and logo.  The camera:  Canon 7D.  An unusual challenge:  the video had to be framed so as to work on both a 16:9 format TV monitor and a 60 ft., 4:1 format screen for a live event.

OK — I just have to tip my hat to real creativity.  The Tomorrow Awards has launched what might be the coolest one-to-one marketing strategy that I’ve ever personally encountered.  Which isn’t to say there aren’t more impressive examples out there — it’s just that none of them have ever targeted me!

So, this week I received an innocuous handwritten letter in the mail.  Return address: “The Future”.  Who knew the future actually resides in Richmond, VA?  Anyway, I don’t recognize the handwriting and I don’t really think I know anyone in Richmond, but I go ahead and open it.  (Amazing — I was hooked by the return address!)

Inside is an actual original crayon drawing of a dinosaur with one handwritten  line scrawled in crayon:  www.stopthedinosaurs.com/Cara B.

I let the thing sit on my desk for a couple of days.  I mean, is this some insidious, twisted plot to expose my computer to who knows what virus or scam?  Am I about to become the butt of some international internet-based joke?  I could only hold out so long…

blueMarble caraBarineau from Nate777 on Vimeo.

Pretty cool, right?  I mean, this campaign — despite it’s adolescent trappings –  appears to have taken some serious work.  First the folks behind this campaign had to find us and a sample of our web design work.  (By the way, the web site featured in this video is for The Voyager Group of Laguna Beach, CA.)

They had to identify me and the address for Blue Marble.  And, of course, they had to customize their video and their crayon drawing just for me.

And did it work?  Pretty much, I’d have to admit.  I watched their video — twice.  I clicked through to the Tomorrow Awards web site and searched all around it.  I haven’t yet signed up to be a judge, but I probably will.  And now I’m promoting them with a post on our blog!

Yep — they got me.  Hook, line and click-through.

I loved this campaign on so many levels!  First, the personalization — I’m speechless.  Second, the use of video was fun and engaging.  Third, the hook to the Tomorrow Awards web site was superb.  Fourth, direct mail — it’s still alive and kicking!

This is a great demonstration of the power of video on the web … the effectiveness of combining old and new media … and, let’s face it, a lot of good old raw creative thinking!