Book Review: Show Me - Marketing With Video On the Internet By Jessica Kizorek

Title: Show Me- Marketing With Video On the Internet
Author: Jessica Kizorek
Publisher: PSI Publications (December 21, 2007) Hardcover, 216 pages
Genre: Business, Technology
ISBN-10: 1884230016
ISBN-13: 978-1884230011

When creating video content for the Internet, one of the biggest mistakes is taking a video originally made for television and uploading it online.

This is the kind of advice you’ll find in Jessica Kizorek’s book Show Me: Marketing With Video On the Internet. The enterprising 26-year-old film director and author, who has visited 55 countries on all seven continents directing and filming video projects for charitable and humanitarian organizations, knows whereof she speaks (despite the tongue-in-cheek disclaimer on the back cover: “Don’t pretend you know what you’re doing. Nobody does.”).

In the Preface to Show Me Kizorek promises “… an amalgamation of practical advice and general rules of thumb…” in a book “…about utilizing videos as a powerful form of communication.” She makes good on that promise in 12 numbered and two bonus chapters, plus a 19-page section of appendices.

Kizorek builds the case for using video as a marketing tool logically by first taking a look at the evolving Internet and the advantages of video. In a chapter called “The New Marketing Model” she examines the unique attributes of the Internet and explores ways online video can and should exploit those attributes.

In further chapters Kizorek talks about identifying one’s audience and deciding how to measure the success of online video content. She follows with an analysis of ten successful online video marketing campaigns. She rounds out the offering with a set of chapters on how to produce internet videos, get people to watch them, avoid legal entanglements, and ends with a speculative look at the future of the Internet and the part videos will play.

In the bonus chapters she relates online video use to not-for-profit and humanitarian work. Her company, Two Parrot Productions, recently filmed in Ghana. She talks about the perils and pitfalls of working on such projects as she experienced them on that trip. The appendices contain helpful legal document samples (Producer’s Agreement, Director’s Agreement, etc.) referred to in the text.

Kizorek’s writing is direct and easy to understand. The times she used technical jargon, I was easily able to figure out what was meant by the context. She frequently substantiates her statements with quotes from others in the industry and includes more quotes on pages interspersed in her narrative. As a whole, the book is authoritative; the beginning of the book lists 42 advertising agencies and 38 members of the marketing community who contributed exclusive interviews to the project – including such industry notables as Donny Adkins (Interactive Team, Soffer Adkins), Ari Paparo (VP, DoubleClick), and Michael Griffin (EVP Marketing, EyeWonder).

The 216-page hardcover book is printed on glossy white stock and has a nice heft. The first page of each chapter displays a black-and-white image above a black background with white type and chapter numbers in red. The whole book, designed using black and white with red accents, is striking and handsome.

I am someone whose only experience with online videos is viewing them as a consumer, so it was eye-opening to consider these videos from the other side of the camera lens and realize how intentional video marketing campaigns are. Kizorek’s analysis of the online video experience, the chapter describing successful marketing campaigns, and the one with her stories about working as a videographer in Ghana were ones I found especially captivating.

Whether your interest in online video marketing is sociological, humanitarian, or for business, Show Me really is a must-have - a valuable, timely, and beautiful addition to your reference library.

Check out Jessica’s video work here and here.