Marketing videos

[distracted]

This video, about biathlon, appeared on my Facebook feed earlier today. It's nearing half a million views in a little under two weeks...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwJh2JUfzfc

It's actually an advert for a clothing company, but the way it portrays the sport is very different to anything I've seen for orienteering. And yet - it could argued - there is similarity in the nature of the two sports.

Should we be looking outside of our four walls more regularly, to see what others are doing/how they are promoting themselves, and what they find is successful?

[SeanC]

Most orienteering marketing is aimed at other orienteers so tends to be minimal and can give the information that appeals to us but might put off newcomers (eg map extracts of the most complicated bit of the map).

When we do market outside the sport, we tend to undersell the beautiful countryside we run through, and the challenging running. Here's an example of how Ashford Tri Club are marketing their trail run (in Kings Wood, home of numerous orienteering events). http://www.ashfordtriclub.co.uk/php/wordpress/

Not mega complicated but quite effective.

As an aside, I do think there is income to be generated by clubs adding a mass start trail run to their events, but using controls instead of marshals. So long as we can market them effectively to runners.

[Sunlit Forres]

Moravian's latest effort (idea copied from Quantico OC in the USA - a massively growing club who really seem to 'get' the world of PR and marketing) http://on.fb.me/17CMFiC

[Dave]

Colin, forget forest jump and get the makers of this in for WOC

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FnE-hftGQo ... ogle&gl=GB

[andypat]

Its a great video - very similar to forest jump....

I hope these two guys are nice grounded people because... training in their national O suits, turning their names into a logo, own website, starring in their own film....there's a phrase for that up here that starts with "Up his own..."

[NeilC]

Its a great video - very similar to forest jump....

Not similar at all. Despite some posturing, and some control sites that would have struggled to get through a thorough risk assessment, this came across as elite orienteering as we should want to present it, not just two lads messing around in a forest that happened to contain some controls.

[andypat]

A two person race. Some "moves". Some, as you say unfeasible controls. So, similar.

I meant similar as in - maybe ripped off the idea.

[Dave]

Similar as in not at all the same, yes. I didn't see any furious teenage wrists pumbing in and out of shot in this video. And they actually ran with maps and conpasses, which you might expect to see at a WOC.

[usuallylast]

I'd like to get an 'outsider's' take on some of these videos. You can use as many fit looking bodies as you like and add energetic music, but they still end up looking like a few blokes/women running effortlessly through the woods. Be nice to see some more varied terrain - and there doesn't seem to be much emphasis on the 'cunning running' aspect of it - you know, the mental anguish of trying to pick the best route through the bracken and brambles, getting lost, seeing the same (wrong) control more than once, battling with the elements, falling in the mud, the steamed up glasses - ah, maybe that's just me

[denbydale]

For explaining orienteering to the layman I don't think you can beat Chris Brasher's commentary on the 1985 British Relays
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3jmNcKBbOs

and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPThVuYGcMw

[Sunlit Forres]

this came across as elite orienteering as we should want to present it, not just two lads messing around in a forest that happened to contain some controls.

Just to set the record straight, here's the background to Forest Jump.

When I took up my 40% of the Grampian RDO post (covering Moray) in April 2012, my first priority was to get something together to help make the sport more appealing to local people, mainly youngsters.

One of the lads who made Forest Jump for me had produced some excellent home movies featuring his free-running skills. As a junior he was an extremely talented orienteer but for perfectly good reasons he chose not to not pursue orienteering to the level he was undoubtedly capable.

I asked him to work with his mate to produce me a film that I could use locally to excite people about orienteeering. The only guidance was that it had to include a map at some stage, orienteering controls and some nice orienteering terrain. It was never meant as a marketing film for orienteering on anything other than a local level, featuring as it did two well-known local junior sporting figures.

Those of you who have seen it will know that it has a story line. It is not simply footage of orienteers running through nice forests. I would say that the 22,376 viewings on You Tube probably make it one of the more popular orienteering-related films on the internet. The comments are favourable in the proportion 60:1

Forest Jump is supposed to be catchy, irreverent and fun. It was conceived, filmed, edited and sound-tracked by two 15 year olds doing it all themselves using their own kit. It had a fantastic impact locally, especially in schools. The fact that it seems to have been a hit with many orienteers is a bonus. It was certainly not designed as an advert for WOC.

[usuallylast]

Just to set the record straight, here's the background to Forest Jump.

I detect a note of defensiveness here which isn't needed - I for one think Forest Jump is an excellent video and probably all the better for not trying to be of the super slick marketing variety.

[EddieH]

And interestingly, whilst both lads still do compete at orienteering, it is the friend of the original that I see most often at events today.

[NeilC]

Forest Jump is supposed to be catchy, irreverent and fun.

I'm sure that the original went down very well with its target audience. I'm just not convinced that irreverent is the tone that we should be adopting in a marketing video for our world champs. Perhaps I'm in a minority in cringing when watching that section, or perhaps a bigger message was lost on me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwoaXuRdwkk

[Sunlit Forres]

I'm just not convinced that irreverent is the tone that we should be adopting in a marketing video for our world champ

Fair point Neil. I was referring to the original Forest Jump purely in its original context, and not to its descendants. I personally like the WOC launch film but agree that a full-blown WOC promo film might need a different tack. As far as I know, the launch film made use of using existing footage from the 6 days promo film.

UL - I admit I was being a bit defensive - it's probably because I'm quite proud of what the boys did and didn't want their efforts and achievement to be undermined in any way, however well intentioned.