To Brand Or To Not Brand

 One of our agents is submitting her property to the Wall Street Journal. WSJ just wants the video file, however, they will not accept it with our name appearing on it.

Should a filmmaker not have the right to brand his video? It's like showing a Disney movie or even a clip and removing any reference to Disney... they wouldn't do it... would they?

Tour

So WSJ gets to put their name on our work what a bunch of BS.

Would you give the video to them for the benefit of the agent?

Yes.  I would do it.

It stinks, but I think the overall benefits are worth more than the alternative... nobody wins with the alternative, and that's bad for our industry all around! :)  That really is stingy of WSJ, but the old media types tend to be that way about things... lol!

I'd look for a compromise. Perhaps leave your branding on, but limit it to the very last screen of the video or perhaps just having the overlay on the last 8 seconds of the video. That way, it's on there, but not so "in your face."

 Is a fat baby heavy? When you last had your car repaired, do you know who manufactured the tools that the technician used to work on it? Of course not, all you cared about was that the car was repaired, working properly and is now dependable. The same holds true for the agent. However, she/he WILL be talking about the video on WSJ to everyone, which means you're in tight with her/him from now on. Plus, you can use a program like Camtasia to record your video playing on the WSJ site, to use in your demo reel. Think about a scene that focuses on video syndication, where that one video is playing on your site, the agents site, wellcomemat, other agency's sites, and the WSJ site, all at the same time.

Where's your target market? Focus on the agent's success with your video, not the other way around. Your success is completely dependant on your client's success. You should be asking yourself how you can use your video on the WSJ to add clout to your portfolio. As far as your target market goes, where do you think your best opportunity for business is, nationally or locally? Your video will occasionally play nationally, even on the WSJ, but your source of business is locally. The odds are totally against your becoming a big fish in the big pond, but you can use this opportunity to become a big fish in the little pond, which is your market area. It is the agent that is investing big bucks in showcasing the property on the WSJ, that's for sure, but what she/he is really doing is demonstrating her/his high level of marketing skills for future business. Now, in order to get a listing ,she or he will most certainly point that out at every future listing appointment. When she/he gets the listing, because a big part of her/his listing presentation is your video production and syndication services, whom do you think she/he now has to call to produce a new video. So again focus on her/his success and yours will follow. I benefit from my client's success, much more than I do from my logo.

 Thanks Guys,

It's great to get other views on the subject.