Online Video Marketing: Individual Case Study.

Background and preparations material for reference & use.

1) How to Complete a SWOT Analysis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D2fT6obqdg

2) How to Set SMART Goals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uThBb3kGf4k

3) How to Develop Competitive Advantage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9O2oPbT3fs

4) SWOT Analysis: How to perform one for your organization https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNXYI10Po6A

5) The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYF2_FBCvXw 6) Disruptive Innovation Explained

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDrMAzCHFUU

7) Disruptive Innovation - Clayton Christensen (Part 1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ7EG58J5eo 8) Disruptive Innovation - Clayton Christensen (Part 2)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5FxFfymI4g

9) Disruptive Innovation - Clayton Christensen (Part 3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N-1NzS4OJk

10) Disruptive Innovation - Clayton Christensen (Part 4) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdUDWFlUjOs

11) Dr. Clayton Christensen discusses disruption in higher education https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUGn5ZdrDoU

12) How Will You Measure Your Life? Clay Christensen at TEDxBoston https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvos4nORf_Y

13) Business Model Innovation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4ZSGQW0UMI 14) Alexander Osterwalder: The Business Model Canvas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FumwkBMhLo

Background of Previous 3 Classes.

Learning Objectives for Week One

By the end of this week, you should be able to:

List the foundational elements of online video marketing

Describe the overall market dynamics of video marketing and it’s impact on traditional marketing practices

Learn basic video production techniques and how to budget a video project

Learning Objectives for Week Two

By the end of this week, you should be able to:

Identify how opinion leaders impact online video performance

Learn key practices in optimizing video for sharing sites (i.e. YouTube)

Cite several successful online video marketing campaigns and the attributes that contributed to their success

Learning Objectives for Week Three

By the end of this week, you should be able to:

Optimize a video for YouTube

Employ best practices for titling and SEO

Plan for a video’s online lifespan

Chapter 1 to 5 of the Text Book: YouTube and Video Marketing: An Hour a Day

Assignment: INDIVIDUAL CASE STUDY

This individual case study is an opportunity for you to apply the learning objectives from Lessons 1 through 3 to either (1) a specific YouTube channel where the videos are the products or (2) a product or brand that has a YouTube channel and produces videos to promote its online or in-store products.

Analyze how the YouTube partner or brand you chose actively uses online video marketing successfully and to identify how they could do it better. Pick any company or channel you want.

Use video and screen frame grabs, apply best practices from our text, lessons and discussion forums, and support your critique with our textbook, discussions, industry articles from class or your own independent research.

Please evaluate at least 1 competitor (threat) and provide at least 1 recommendation. And please turn in your case study as a PowerPoint presentation. See my example below on Jack in the Box -- this is what I'm looking for from the assignment.

Any questions, please address them to the general Q&A Forum or email me directly at cwong@ocregister.com.

Q & A from the course: An important one.

Q. I don't understand the difference between Video sharing and Video Content Providers.

And the question I have about the assignment is to pick one Video and share how this video has utilized the 5 key

elements of online Video Marketing such as who, what shared, what channel, with whom and with what effect.

I am a little confused. An example will help.

Answer from the Instructor.

In Lesson 1-1, I listed several video sharing sites (loosely, you can define sharing sites as those online destinations

that host, aggregate and display video content). YouTube, Hulu and Yahoo! Screen are three examples. For the most

part, sharing sites don’t make the videos, they host the videos of others’ (like YouTube hosting GoPro’s channel).

Lesson 1-1 also listed video creators. These are the video content providers including Disney, Nike, GoPro and TED.

Of course there are countless creators, but these are some big ones. The way to think about content providers is

they create the videos (like GoPro) that are then hosted on the sharing sites (like YouTube).

When I worked in cable TV at FOX Sports Net, we were a video content provider, producing Lakers games or USC

football specials. Time Warner cable was one of our distributors. That was television, but if it was online, Time

Warner would have been the sharing site.

I’d like you to pick 3 sharing sites and 3 content creators (i.e. check out the GoPro channel on YouTube or see how

MTV’s video content is hosted on Hulu – that’s 2 content providers and 2 sharing sites right there). Then pick 1

sharing site OR 1 content creator that you looked at and post your thoughts on how you feel that sharing site or

content provider successfully employs at least one of the five key elements from the textbook (look for the five key

elements right after Figure 2-21) for creating compelling, sharable video marketing messages.

Here’s an example of the type of response I’m looking for:

I’m impressed with Michelle Phan as a video content provider. If you check out her channel on YouTube, you’ll see

that she creates engaging, original videos that her audience of 6.3 million find worth watching and sharing. Her

latest video featured makeup tips for graduation, which is very timely and I bet increases her share factor – she

knows what her audience is thinking about in May. It’s a good reminder for me to think about how I can hook the

copy I write at work to advertise the Orange County Register to the news of the day. Phan’s video headlines are clear

and explain exactly what the video will teach. At the end of her Graduation Beauty Tips video, she showed some

touching, personal photos of her own 2014 graduation keynote speech. Then, as a call to action, she simply listed a

hashtag (#DreamChaser) as a way to engage with her further off of YouTube. I feel an invitation to engage was the

right call to action rather than a heavy-handed “buy my products” sales message. After watching a 20 minute video

capped off by family photos, a sales pitch would have rang false and increased the “dislikes” on her video.

The goal of Lesson 1's discussion forum is to get everyone familiar with major sharing sites and to start a discussion

where, as a group, we can begin looking critically at videos in terms of what defines a successful piece of content.

Hope this helps clarify; please do not hesitate to reach out and thanks again!

SWOT as a planning, review and feedforward tool.

S.W.O.T. is an acronym that stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. A SWOT analysis is an

organized list of your business’s greatest strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Strengths and weaknesses are internal to the company (think: reputation, patents, location). You can change them

over time but not without some work. Opportunities and threats are external (think: suppliers, competitors,

prices)—they are out there in the market, happening whether you like it or not. You can’t change them.

Questions to Ask During a SWOT Analysis

I’ve compiled some questions below to help you develop each section of your SWOT analysis. There are certainly other questions you could ask; these are just meant to get you started.

Strengths (internal, positive factors)

Strengths describe the positive attributes, tangible and intangible, internal to your organization. They are within your control.

What do you do well?

What internal resources do you have? Think about the following:

o Positive attributes of people, such as knowledge, background, education, credentials,

network, reputation, or skills.

o Tangible assets of the company, such as capital, credit, existing customers or distribution

channels, patents, or technology.

What advantages do you have over your competition?

Do you have strong research and development capabilities? Manufacturing facilities?

What other positive aspects, internal to your business, add value or offer you a competitive

advantage?

Weaknesses (internal, negative factors)

Weaknesses are aspects of your business that detract from the value you offer or place you at a competitive disadvantage. You need to enhance these areas in order to compete with your best competitor.

What factors that are within your control detract from your ability to obtain or maintain a

competitive edge?

What areas need improvement to accomplish your objectives or compete with your strongest

competitor?

What does your business lack (for example, expertise or access to skills or technology)?

Does your business have limited resources?

Is your business in a poor location?

Opportunities (external, positive factors)

Opportunities are external attractive factors that represent reasons your business is likely to prosper.

What opportunities exist in your market or the environment that you can benefit from?

Is the perception of your business positive?

Has there been recent market growth or have there been other changes in the market that create an opportunity?

Is the opportunity ongoing, or is there just a window for it? In other words, how critical is your timing?

Threats (external, negative factors)

Threats include external factors beyond your control that could place your strategy, or the business itself, at risk. You have no control over these, but you may benefit by having contingency plans to address them if they should occur.

Who are your existing or potential competitors?

What factors beyond your control could place your business at risk?

Are there challenges created by an unfavorable trend or development that may lead to deteriorating

revenues or profits?

What situations might threaten your marketing efforts?

Has there been a significant change in supplier prices or the availability of raw materials?

What about shifts in consumer behavior, the economy, or government regulations that could reduce

your sales?

Has a new product or technology been introduced that makes your products, equipment, or services

obsolete?

Developing Strategies from Your SWOT

Once you have identified and prioritized your SWOT results, you can use them to develop short-term and long-

term strategies for your business. After all, the true value of this exercise is in using the results to maximize the

positive influences on your business and minimize the negative ones. But how do you turn your SWOT results

into strategies? One way to do this is to consider how your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities,

and threats overlap with each other. This is sometimes called a TOWS analysis.

For example, look at the strengths you identified, and then come up with ways to use those strengths to

maximize the opportunities (these are strength-opportunity strategies). Then, look at how those same

strengths can be used to minimize the threats you identified (these are strength-threats strategies).

Continuing this process, use the opportunities you identified to develop strategies that will minimize the

weaknesses (weakness-opportunity strategies) or avoid the threats (weakness-threats strategies).

The following table will help to organize the strategies in each area:

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MGMT 461.48: Online Video Marketing

Lesson 3 Assignment: Individual Case Study

Case: HBS

From: Rajendra Singh

To: Caroline Wong (The Instructor & Course Facilitator)

1. Company Background of HBS

Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard

University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The school offers a large full-time MBA program, doctoral

programs, and many executive education programs. It owns Harvard Business School Publishing, which

publishes business books, leadership articles, online management tools for corporate learning, case studies

and the monthly Harvard Business Review. The school started in 1908 under the humanities faculty, received

independent status in 1910, and became a separate administrative unit in 1913. The school's faculty are

divided into ten academic units: Accounting and Management; Business, Government and the International

Economy; Entrepreneurial Management; Finance; General Management; Marketing; Negotiation,

Organizations & Markets; Organizational Behavior; Strategy; and Technology and Operations Management.

From the start the school enjoyed a close relationship with the corporate world. Within a few years of its

founding many business leaders were its alumni and were hiring other alumni for starting positions in their

firms. Financial Times, CNN Expansion, Business Insider, Bloomberg etc rank HBS as number 1.

In recent times, with the onslaught of Digital Media, Social Media and Internet, the education or business

model of education, learning, business, writing and consultancy started undergoing major change which

cannot be termed anything less than transformational or disruptive to the traditional methods. Video-

recording and dissemination is now possible on the go thanks to wireless technologies like 4G and modern

methods of mobile as well as storage in cloud and miniaturized cells. The value chain per se, cost structure and

engagement are now far more mutual and collaborative. The days of exclusive, on campus, expensive and elite

methods have been challenged.

Other institutions like MIT, Stanford, Wharton are undergoing similar problems and instead of keen

competition they are getting together to fight the onslaught of digital wave. New schools like many in

California including UCI have come up in the last 60 years and they are trying to create new alternatives.

New institution like Coursera has come up which is totally Digital, uses Video in a big way, the business model

is largely Freemium and has started gaining formal acceptance. The quality is work is excellent, price very

competitive, uses modern technology and has collaboration at the centre of its strategy. They are highly

convenient and can be scaled enormously. Coursera has the power to disrupt existing education / consultation

methods of big players like HBS, MIT, Stanford, Wharton etc. Soon the traditional kings have become pawns

and are now either working like equals or are followers hitherto unheard positioning. There are additional new

players like Khan Academy again based on the power of Video vehicle.

2. Channel Background of HBS

Harvard has two main You Tube channels: HBS and HBR having 44912 and 87496 subscribers. Their content is

created by various thought leaders and business leaders. They are real and connect with the audience like

students, business leaders, practitioners, consultants, entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, business executives,

academicians etc. As on date Harvard holds tremendous influence and authority and is vehemently challenged

by new players. If Harvard fights the new players full blown it may disrupt its profitable business and

engagement.

Harvard is in traditional arena like their own premises, print etc. The new medium is video: content, sharing

and hosting. Video is fastest growing, most impactful and has tremendous power to improve over traditional

methods, cost, creation, sharing and flexibility in adoption to various situations, needs, contexts, convenience

and ease.

3.1 Background of Competition

Coursera Education for Everyone YouTube has 32093 subscribers.

https://www.youtube.com/user/coursera

Khan Acedemy YouTube has 1796911 subscribers.

https://www.youtube.com/user/khanacademy

Harvard Business Review has 87496 subscribers.

https://www.youtube.com/user/HarvardBusiness

Harvard Business School YouTube has 44912 subscribers.

https://www.youtube.com/user/HarvardBSchool

MIT OpenCourseWare has 535562 subscribers.

https://www.youtube.com/user/MIT

Stanford Graduate School of Business has 86200 subscribers.

https://www.youtube.com/user/stanfordbusiness

Clearly in the new era of digital competition big players are now fighting the battle with new players and are so

far not doing badly but their dominance is over. Players like Google has emerged as the first level of reference

followed by Wiki etc and then come the books written by various thought leaders associated with HBS, MIT

etc. They still hold exceptional value and are adopting the digital wave but their dominance is no more

exclusive.

3.2 Background of Competition.

4Ps are out and 4Es are in

Let’s use 4P versus 4E to evaluate how the competition is. Bit about 4P vs 4E is given

hereunder:

EXPERIENCE Discover and map out the full Customer Journey on your own brand – in your own country.

EVERYPLACE Develop your knowledge of new media and channels the way a chef masters new ingredients. Try new things – do something

that doesn’t start with TV or print.

EXCHANGE Appreciate the value of things, not just the cost. Start by calculating the value of your customers – and what their attention,

engagement and permission are worth to you.

EVANGELISM Find the passion and emotion in your brand. Inspire your customers and employees with your passion.

Clearly the new players like Coursera, Khan Academy are more on the side of 4Es than the Harvard, Stanford,

MIT, Wharton etc which are more on the side of 4Ps.

3.3 Background of Competition

Contests in the market place.

With greater flexibility, nothing to lose the new players are giving run for money to the old champions like

Harvard. The new players start various contests in the market place more easily, are far more innovative, their

costs are lower, pricing very attractive, they engage the content creators/sharers/users/consumers in far more

innovative and personal ways than the traditional big ones. They do face IPR issues from time to time but

overall their ability to time and engage is far better.

The number of users who enrol is in millions compared to the traditional players like Harvard who get number

of enrolment in one tenth or lower. This trend has build over time and still moving up in favour of new players

like Coursera, Khan Academy and their like. Harvard, MIT, Stanford are trying to adopt but have problem of

their own existing business which is getting disrupted.

3.4 Background of Competition

POST (People, Objectives, Strategy, Technology) - When we evaluate old and new players on the basis of POST.

The fight so far is equal but the new players have been able to create new audience, have far more focussed

strategy and they use far more relevant technology of VIDEO than the traditional players. The focus of new

players is also better. So they are able to enlarge the room (as we saw in the campaign of Obama) and are able

to place themselves at the front of audience /crowd.

4. HBS Case: Strengths.

The strengths are influence, authority, World class content, entrenched alumni, exceptional traditional

infrastructure, strong financials, cash flow from the traditional business, ability to get higher price/margin in

the market, strong credentials and brand.

5. HBS Case: Weaknesses.

Weaknesses are their own existing models, infrastructure, internal competition, lack of innovativeness,

existing internal comparison, focus on traditional audience, lack of creativity, high cost structure, low

propensity to take risk or try out new things, the fear of failure, low penetration in digital/video space.

6. HBS Case: Opportunities.

New and expanded audience - thanks to new players and new video technology to create content, share and

host.

Lower costs, mutual learning, many experiments happening in many areas (open innovation), the activities at

the bottom of the pyramid which will eventually move up the value chain.

Huge younger population available over the entire World, longevity of knowledge workers, rapid business

transformations caused by new technologies which compel quality learning/education, shortened experiment

time, higher competition which forces far more quality work/reduced margin of error.

7. HBS Case: Threats.

Cost threats. The new cost parameters are transformational and disruptive.

Engagement threats. The consumer today wants to be far more involved in the whole value chain and isolating

the consumers will kill the engagement.

Technology threats. The new technologies, apps are genuinely disruptive. The legacy impact of old technology

in content creation, sharing and hosting will be crippling.

Brand threats. Now the brand is based on higher levels of engagement and older associations may not last too

long. The cycle of brand creation is based on 4Es rather than 4Ps. Old strengths may become the constraint in

the new World.

Collaboration threats. The new World is completely based on collaboration and open innovation. It is not

possible for any player to dominate the value chain like before. This also raises issues like IPR and sharing of

profits in far more democratic ways.

8. HBS Case Recommendations:

a) Necessary to combine Harvard Business School and Harvard Business review channels to fight the new

players like Coursera, Khan Academy,

b) Focus far more on 4Es than 4Ps. Have integrated social media and audience/user participation.

c) Adopt POST method of business.

d) Adopt Freemium models of business aggressively instead of only paid methods.

e) Small and Medium business have emerged as the new order. Shift focus on them instead of catering to only

big businesses.

f) Understand POEM (PAID, OWNED, EARNED media of business) and focus on the earned part far more than

Paid and Owned media.

g) Involve the consumer effectively in the whole value chain of content creation, sharing and hosting.

The days of high pricing are over. It’s better to follow lower pricing, relevant content, fresh content and mass

adoption.

h) Concentrate on Blogs because Harvard still has the best thought leaders, they can create great blogs

which can be embedded with relevant YouTube and can be used in timely, calendarised creation in text

and YouTube- both rapidly.

i) Engage and interact with your subscribers far more emotionally and timely than done so far. The days

when the consumers and subscribers came to Harvard premises at high cost to listen (one way) to the

thought leaders are over. Get 4Es fast.

j) Get new thought leaders to support/lead the old horses. Get more relevant and authentic.

k) Focus on subscribers: activation, numbers, engagements, actions and support which must be watched in

relation to objectives, competition and KPIs (currently on these parameters Harvard is very low and is

beaten even in North America by Coursera, Khan Academy, etc). Having Geographical spread,

demographic spread and inroads into new influencers is a must.

l) Harvard is famous for its case studies which are written in text form and deliberated in text as well as in

person form. The time has come when the conversion of existing cases in to video form, creation of new

cases in primarily video form and interaction / engagement about the case studies should also be in video

form through e.g. YouTube or similar.

m) Last but not the least - be ready to fail often to succeed a few times.