More Related Content
Similar to Business Action Video moves forward by actually going backward (20)
Recently uploaded (20)
Business Action Video moves forward by actually going backward
- 1. Marlborough company's videos mean business - Framingham, MA - The MetroWest Daily News 8/2/11 12:00 PM Marlborough company's videos mean business By Anthony C. Fireman/Daily News correspondent The MetroWest Daily News Posted Aug 01, 2011 @ 12:44 AM Recommend Be the first of your friends to recommend this. MARLBOROUGH For the valiant business executive, failure is never an option. When recessions strike, these visionaries understand that sometimes a radical corporate revamp is needed while their industry landscape transforms. And through the tumult, they must choose the right strategy without a guiding light. John St. Martin, owner of Business Action Video Inc. in Marlborough, found himself in this exact predicament. During the recession of 2008, he watched his compact and digital disc replication and distribution business lose ground to the Internets digital streaming. Digital streaming was already a popular way of delivering content to the masses. After the economy crashed, companies were slashing their costs every which way. Hence, corporations began to give streaming a closer look. As a result, St. Martin found himself behind, what would be, the new industry standard. "When the recession started, our corporate revenues quickly decreased by 60 percent," says St. Martin. "I had been through two or three of these in the past so I knew what was coming. So, in order to survive, we had to change the way we did business and think like a startup again." And with this startup mentality, St. Martin swiftly retooled his business. "YouTube changed the model for the video distribution business," says the Marlborough resident. "It is faster and far less expensive than CD, DVD or Blu-ray disc. When we saw our corporate clients posting videos online with the same titles we distributed on DVD we knew we had to change." Today, Business Action Video Inc. is a full-fledged production and distribution enterprise providing all of the tools necessary to develop, produce and distribute business video vignettes to client specifications. St. Martin will create the concept, write the script, shoot and edit the video and perform the voice-over. In addition, hell upload the end product to social media and online video outlets such as a customers Facebook page, YouTube and other industry specific file sharing sites. By the same token, St. Martin hasnt abandoned his original trade roots. DVD and CD-R replication and distribution are still available. Prior to owning his business, the 44-year-old Framingham native resided in Mamaroneck, N.Y., from 1988 to 1994. In New York, he worked for Cine Magnetics Corp. as an account executive, selling video duplication services to goliaths of industry, including Berlitz Corp. and Hachette Filipacchi Medias Car and Driver Magazine. But in 1994, St. Martin came to a fork in the road most on-the-road sales professionals confront: either they continue working for corporate America or they start their own business. "I wanted to move back to Massachusetts to be near my family," says St. Martin. "I also had the entrepreneurial bug so I decided to go out on my own." Therefore, with his video replication and distribution expertise, St. Martin headed home to Marlborough and formed Saint Media Inc. Last month, the company changed its to Business Action Video Inc. For many years St. Martin did extremely well working with such companies as Bose Corp. and CA Technologies. However, in 2008, when Americas economy tanked, his business did, too. The industry reality is the corporate behemoths are not the financial gold mines they are believed to be. Although they have large annual marketing budgets, their video production, disc replication and distribution costs can cannibalize their budgets in an instant. For production companies, originating video on a large-scale breeds more complexity and expense, too. Whats more, since securing future orders in the same year is typically rare, many go out of business. "The companies that go bankrupt are those that want to win awards by creating these large-scale Spielbergian productions," says St. Martin. "They never last. No one wants to pay $500 to $1,000 per minute for finished video production and distribution when margins get tight. These clients are one and done. " http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/business/x1158629375/Marlborough-companys-videos-mean-business?img=2 Page 1 of 3
- 2. Marlborough company's videos mean business - Framingham, MA - The MetroWest Daily News 8/2/11 12:00 PM So when the worlds preferred content delivery platform switched to digital streaming, St. Martin called an audible in his company game plan. "The hardest part was deciding what to do next with what I had," he says. "My business was shrinking. Since I also understood the production side too, I took a chance and shifted the business backward from distribution to production." And the gamble is paying off thanks to new economic realities. First, uploading video content to the Web plunged distribution costs. Also, the basic equipment needed to produce and upload a video is a camera and computer so production expenses are now minimal. For this reason, St. Martin now saw small businesses as his new frontier. "When content was delivered by disc, it was expensive," he says. "Smaller businesses could never afford video production and distribution. Now that uploading video content onto the Internet is free, video production is a viable option." The small business owner has no room in the budget for complex marketing fluff. So, to ensure a small business owners success, St. Martin believes in keeping his products and services simple and flexible. "Our goal is to produce content that is short, targeted, relevant and interesting," he says. "Were able to do this by creating either a custom proposal for video based upon a clients specific needs or through our package deals." St. Martin offers comprehensive half-day and full-day production packages. The half-day program is for structured presentations with defined start and end times such as training sessions and seminars. This comprehensive offering purveys three hours of high-definition shooting at a clients locale, three hours of editing and uploading three unique, five-minute videos onto YouTube and similar industry file sharing sites. St. Martin will also travel to the clients choice location up to 100 miles roundtrip. This package cost $750. The full-day program costs $1,200 and is geared toward all-day events with looser arrangements. These may include charity golf tournaments and company outings. This program encompasses the same tasks as the half-day package. The difference is the time allotted for each task. Full-day services provide six hours of on-location professional high-definition shooting, six hours of edits, six five-minute vignettes, uploaded to YouTube and similar industry file sharing sites, and 200 miles in roundtrip travel. (For each package, additional travel miles cost $1 per mile.) As for customer feedback on St. Martins services, he has received high marks. Katherine Whidden, an employee and labor relations executive with Partners HealthCare, hired St. Martin to create foreign training videos viewed by roughly 35,000 employees. "Working with John was a great experience," says Whidden. "You can tell hes very committed. During two major snowstorms, he got to our downtown location on time. Also, he made the whole production process quick and painless." Steve Hitner is another St. Martin fan. Hitner co-founded Marlboroughs Massalimonyreform.org, a lobbying group focused on changing Massachusettss alimony law. St. Martin created an original, dedicated YouTube channel using the lobbys collage of video segments produced by WCVB, WHDH, NECN and FOX. They described the lobbys plight, the politics involved and what the lobby calls egregious horror stories instigated by the current alimony law. St. Martin also re-edited, re-formatted and uploaded the clips. "He did a fabulous job," says Hitner. "He came in and immediately knew what to do. The work he did helped us increase our viewership and membership, too. John really knows his business." While St. Martin has built sound customer relationships, he also has developed strong bonds with his freelance network. This helps him with all facets of his own business branding and his clients video production. Liz LaFrance of Providence, R..I, is the founder of Colored Spots: Creative, LLC. She assists St. Martin by designing Business Action Video flyer layouts and splash screens. LaFrance also supports St. Martin with any client brand-building initiatives. "Working with John is fun and exciting," says LaFrance. "Its refreshing to work with someone who values new technology and has an open mind to apply it anywhere and everywhere." St. Martin is currently offering an introductory special through the end of the year. According to St. Martin, the program is "for people to try video who never would." For $250, customers receive one hour of high-definition, professional video shooting at their business and an additional hour of editing and uploading onto YouTube and similar industry specific file-sharing sites. St. Martin is also offering to travel up to 50 miles to a clients location on a roundtrip basis. Business Action Video Inc. is at 212 Sudbury St., Marlborough. For more information, visit its website at www.businessactionvideo.com. Copyright 2011 The MetroWest Daily News. Some rights reserved http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/business/x1158629375/Marlborough-companys-videos-mean-business?img=2 Page 2 of 3
- 3. Marlborough company's videos mean business - Framingham, MA - The MetroWest Daily News 8/2/11 12:00 PM Comments (0) Login or register to post a comment: Login Username: Password: Forgot password Login Register Email: First Name: Last Name: I agree to the terms of use I am over 13 years of age NOTE: Your inbox must accept emails from "no-reply@gatehousemedia.com" Register Contact us | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | The MetroWest Daily News | 33 New York Ave. Framingham, MA 01701 Copyright 息 2006-2011 GateHouse Media, Inc. Some Rights Reserved. Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. SEO by eLocalListing | Advertiser profiles | Cherrp Local | Find your Wicked Local Town | Real Estate http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/business/x1158629375/Marlborough-companys-videos-mean-business?img=2 Page 3 of 3