Trivia question: What was the first music video played on MTV in 1981?
Before we get to the answer, if you don’t already know it, video has a history of altering the course of mass communications and entertainment.
Video has played a key role in the home and housewares business since the late Ron Popeil produced his Chop-o-Matic infomercial in the 1950s.
Video moved onto the retail selling floor during the 1980s with the advent of demo loops on small monitors. Such point-of-purchase video support remained relatively unchallenged until the internet and smartphones conspired to put video content into the hands of virtually every shopper.
While online video by now might seem routine, the pandemic has pushed it to a much higher level of consumer reliance that can’t be marginalized by marketers.
Wyzowl research reports marketers plan to increase video usage and spend this year. Some 87% of video marketers surveyed said video drives positive ROI, compared to 33% who felt that way in 2015. Wyzowl attributes this to greater understanding of how to use video and how to track and quantify its impact.
Video is not only a more essential elixir of online sales. Video content accessible on demand at the point-of-purchase through QR codes, augmented reality and other applications is becoming a more integral and expected component of the in-store shopper experience.
Answer to the trivia question about the first video played on MTV: “Video Killed The Radio Star.”
We now know it didn’t. But video did alter music marketing and consumption profoundly and permanently.
Video is no doubt more of a marketing requirement for pandemic-influenced consumers. But it is not an all-encompassing answer. Well-executed video application in today’s on-demand home and housewares marketplace is best served as part of an integration of effective traditional and progressive sales and marketing methods.
Successful video marketing, nonetheless, requires a dedicated, adaptable approach. Video technology and application are advancing at a rapid rate. Constant reassessment, recommitment and reinvestment could be advantageous for suppliers and retailers already immersed in video marketing. Those only dabbling in video or yet to implement a video plan need to catch up fast or risk getting left behind.
There is nothing trivial about that.
