Videos offers foundrymen a new marketing venue.

Invite customers into your foundry via the use of a video brochure; an effective addition to your marketing program.

An effective marketing program takes a foundry's products to the marketplace as aggressively and imaginatively as possible - matching the foundry's marketing innovations with its manufacturing innovations.

A relatively new approach to foundry marketing is the production of video brochures. Much like a regular brochure, a video brochure should highlight your foundry's processes and steps to quality, as well as help define and strengthen your foundry's niche. But, the advantage of a video compared to a brochure is that potential customers are able to actually see inside your facilities and the people who create their castings. A video reinforces advertising and marketing efforts to promote your casting capabilities and makes your foundry even more credible in the eyes of the viewer.

Roy Evers, president of St. Louis Precision Casting Co., said his foundry made a video brochure because they didn't want to be left out. "We wanted to be on the leading edge of marketing. We use the video as an image-building tool, sending it to our existing customers to solidify our position with them, and sending it to potential customers to let them know what we're about."

Getting started

Before the search for a production company begins, much preparation must be done within the foundry, including designating a project supervisor; defining your message; determining your target audience; and setting a budget.

The first step is to appoint someone to lead the project. "The foundry should designate someone in-house to carry the project from point A to point B," said Tecla Metzel, communications coordinator, AFS. "The foundry industry is a lot different than most industries and many people don't know a lot about it. The inhouse supervisor must guide the production company through the foundry as much as the production company guides the foundry through the video-making process."

Defining your foundry's message and determining your target audience sets the tone for your foundry's video. Once you've decided what you want to get across and to whom, you can determine how technical or basic the content will be.

This in turn helps determine how much you plan to spend. According to Chuck Ness, Salt River Productions, a broadcast-quality video will cost about $1500 per min, plus or minus $300-$500, depending on variables, including the length of the video or the amount of animation or graphics to be included.

"This may seem like a lot of money," said Ness, "but if you aren't looking at this as an investment for your company, you're not looking at it the right way and probably shouldn't be doing it at all."

Production Companies

Once you've established an idea of what you want in the video, it is time to hire a production company. Evers suggests a foundry look for a company that will offer a lot of guidance. "A foundry isn't expected to know how to put together a video, so find someone to do it for you."

However, it is important not to lose control of the production. Ness suggests that you find a producer you are comfortable with and confident in. Learn as much about the production company as possible.

"Make sure you find someone who will tell your story the way you want it to be told," said Ness.

It is important to find out what facilities a company offers when choosing a producer. Some important questions to consider are can the company complete your video - from start to finish - under one roof, can they produce copies of your video at a reasonable price; and is the company capable of filling your future multimedia needs?

The Video

One of the most important things Evers said to think about when planning a video is to limit the length to fewer than five minutes. "You don't want to bore your customers to death."

Metzel agrees, saying that if you aren't able to convey your foundry's message in fewer than 8-10 min, you should probably reevaluate your message.

A broadcasting tip offered by Ness is to "Never let a few facts get in the way of a good story. Focus on the qualities of your employees to reflect the quality of your company. Stay away from facts and figures - that is boring and people will lose interest fast."

For the sake of the industry's perception as a whole, make sure that your video portrays your foundry as a safe and clean environment. Only use footage in which everyone is wearing the proper protective equipment and following proper safety procedures.

Results

As with most marketing tools, it is difficult to judge the impact a video will have on your foundry's sales, but Evers said, "For the past three years we've had record sales and profits. I believe that money for our marketing videos was well-spent. It may just be a coincidence, but the positive feedback and comments we hear from our customers makes the project worthwhile."

A foundry video is only a tool in your foundry's marketing and sales effort and as Ness points out, "A video should complement and supplement your foundry's printed materials and personal promotions."

A well-rounded marketing program is an investment every foundry should make. "The foundry industry is not known for its marketing," Evers said, "but as the saying goes, 'if you think education is expensive, consider the cost of ignorance.'"