By Bryce Anderson, CEO, Lightswitch Video
Gathering authentic customer testimonials remains one of the most difficult tasks for the modern marketing team. Customers are scattered throughout the country, their schedules are packed, and getting even one to agree to a testimonial can be a months-long process.
Not only is it a logistical pain, but it’s expensive. The average cost of a testimonial, in our experience, is between $10,000 and $15,000 once you factor in crew, equipment, travel, admin, and post-production.
A tradeshow, work conference, or exhibition is a rare opportunity where many of your customers will be in the same place at the same time (and in a great mood).
By planning wisely and arranging things ahead of time, you can capture 8 or more testimonials over the course of one day, potentially saving your marketing budget tens of thousands of dollars.
There are two types of customer testimonials you can gather during a conference: formal sit-downs and what we call vox pops. A formal sit-down is what you’re used to: two camera angles, seated, well-lit.
A vox pop is more spontaneous: grabbing someone on the show floor, getting them to respond to two to three questions, creating a quick, shareable soundbite.
Both take planning, both can be effective, and both can be done in the same event.
Formal testimonials – the way to go if you’ve got time to plan.
While these take more planning, the ROI far exceeds individual travel shoots.
Start by surveying your customers to find out who is in attendance. Next make a wish list of your VIPs. We recommend starting this process 2 to 3 months in advance. Aim for a max of 8 testimonials in a day. If you plan for up to eight, but are only able to land 6, 4 or even 2, you’re still ahead of the game.
It is counterintuitive, but bad audio stands out to viewers more than bad video. Make sure to arrange a quiet space ahead of time. Book a conference room or a hotel room on site for the day. Put up some signage and bring a few items to dress the space like plants, blankets, or other accessories.
Schedule the interviews in tight hour-long blocks. Each customer will likely only sit for 30 minutes, but this gives your crew time to adjust in between interviewees.
We recommend a three-member crew with two cameras. (An audio engineer, director of photography, and a producer.) Your producer is there to coordinate with talent, ask good interview questions, and keep an eye on the second cam. If someone from your marketing department is going to be on site, they can serve that role.
You can also accomplish great content with only a two-member crew: one DP can operate 2 cameras in an interview setting and the second crew member can capture audio.
From each interview you should create (at least!) a 60-second to 2-minute video, a 30-second cutdown, a 15-second cutdown, vertical versions of each, and 2 to 3 very short sound bites. If you’re able to get 8 interviews in a day, that’s more than 60 marketing pieces from one day of filming.
Hot Tip: Plan for the post-production ahead of time. Crafting great customer stories from hours of footage takes a talented team of editors and a lot of time. Make sure that footage doesn’t go stale on a hard drive – have a trusted editor or agency at the ready to craft your finished pieces.
Vox pops.
If you can’t arrange sit-downs with VIPs but you have a booth in the space, vox pops give you a flexible option to generate some tight sound bites.
Find the quietest section of your booth and pull customers aside as they stop by.
Film in front of a branded backdrop on site, almost like a step and repeat.
You’ll want to have a 2-member crew so one can keep the camera rolling and the second can quickly mic them up. By having a professional crew who can move fast you get higher quality work, and are respectful of your customers’ time.
Ask two to three questions, and then let them go on their way.
Your small two-member crew can capture up to 8 formal testimonials in a day, and if you go the vox pops route it’s not unheard of to capture 12 to 20 interviews.
Important tip: For both formal sit down interviews, and vox pops, it’s important to get releases signed by anyone appearing on camera giving you permission to use the footage.
Your conference already comes at a big expense – make sure you maximize the opportunity while you’re there and capture customer content for months to come.
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