VideoMojo is a new creative video company with a lot of experience behind it. The brainchild of industry stalwarts Cat Toomey of CATalyzing Communications, Franklin Karp of Franklin Karp & Co., and John Frattasi of Gusto Media, the new venture looks to help dealers tell the story of what they do through bespoke videos that can be used across several platforms.
“Video is the most compelling way today of fostering engagement,” says Toomey. “It’s easier to digest, people can share it, and people are drawn to it. It is what dealers should be using, along with other methods, to tell our industry’s great story to trade partners and homeowners. This can be an industry-unifying marketing solution where we are all elevated in the minds of trade partners and customers, and so all boats rise together.”
“The only way integrators are going to grow their businesses is to communicate via video as part of their overall marketing and brand plan,” adds Karp. “And I don’t mean just shooting videos with their iPhones. There’s no question that the world has gone totally visual.”
Coming Together
The spark for VideoMojo was ignited when the trio was brought together to work on a video project that required two days of filming for residential integration company Audio Video Systems (AVS) in Plainview, N.Y., which had developed a new program called “Advanced Verification Process.” Karp was the COO of AVS at the time, and knew video was the clearest way to tell the story, so he brought in Frattasi to produce the video along with Toomey for scripting and all aspects of deploying the video via marketing.
“John, Franklin, and I came together and produced a compelling video about those new services that they were providing that we’ve used on every digital platform, including a video book mailer,” says Toomey. “In that process — with John’s expertise in video production, Franklin’s understanding of his company’s needs as a dealer, and my doing all the marketing and deployment for AVS from their website to their newsletters, blogs, online advertising, and social — we found that we work together very well.
“We realized the next step for dealers for brand-building and for making more compelling assets that tell the great story of what they do all led to video. But the drawback for integrators in our industry has always been some of the logistics involved with video, especially with shooting in client homes. If there was a way to get past the major cost and the time and still get the personalization and the compelling video…that’s how VideoMojo was born.”
As someone who has produced many videos for both CI dealers and manufacturers, Frattasi could see how it could all come together. “I think VideoMojo is a platform that’s for integrators, but it benefits everyone in the supply chain,” he says. “It helps manufacturers get more value and greater reach with content that already exists.
“With the manufacturer videos, sometimes it felt like it was a lot of work, time, and money for one video project, but then the reach beyond that wasn’t getting maximized. Something like this makes a lot of sense, specifically for integrators, and our team adds to that content in rich, compelling ways. We have created a centralized media library for the industry that continues to grow, then we augment that with stock footage, music, graphics and a creative team that can output videos in a way that works with the dealer’s own unique strategy. It’s very focused, and it’s already proven to be incredibly valuable for integrators. The beauty is that VideoMojo can also augment any dealer producing their own video content with a more expansive offering. They don’t need to be mutually exclusive.
“VideoMojo makes high-quality video now accessible for every dealer and can be made to feature their own company in their own way. How do you deliver a great video product that aligns with what the dealer is looking to do without having to go through all the logistics and on-site cost of production? That’s the big problem that we are solving.”
VideoMojo Sample
How It Works
VideoMojo offers a three-tier, good, better, best program that the team established and vetted by speaking with HTSA dealers at past summits. Plus, the team can adjust any package to dealer’s specific needs. The core three tiers are:
- Silver — A 90-second full company or technology video plus three sub-cut shorter videos, without on-site shooting, and with scripting, music, brand personalization and other elements.
- Gold — Six or twelve 30-second short videos for ongoing use for social media, blogs, websites, e-newsletters, and digital ads without on-site shooting. This brings dealers six months to a year or more of rich, branded content without on-site shooting.
- Platinum — Two 90-second or longer videos for brand, design, or customer services, and/or technologies, six sub-cut shorter videos, without on-site shooting, and all the branding and creative included.
If an on-site shoot is desired, VideoMojo’s close relationship with Gusto Media can make that happen. The company already has dealers who are opting for a hybrid approach with some of their own existing footage and on-site shooting, plus additional library footage and creative from the VideoMojo team.
In addition to choice of tier, VideoMojo’s online form also includes questions that help them to know the submitting company’s needs, including asking for information about brands carried, target audience, and technology or lifestyle focus.
“When an integrator comes to us, the most important things for us to understand the purpose of the video and who is the target audience,” says Frattasi. “Then obviously there’s vendor and manufacturer components to what we want to show. Every single company is going to have a different portfolio of brands that they work with, so with those three components alone, when you put them together, it has a lot of impact.”
Right now, VideoMojo has video footage from many of the top industry companies, with more joining daily. Just a few of the brands already within VideoMojo include CinemaTech, Coastal Source, DMF Lighting, Future Automation, James Loudspeakers, Josh.ai, Ketra, Lutron, Leon Speakers, Meridian Audio, Salamander Designs, Samsung, Snap One, Sonance, Sony, Steinway Lyngdorf, and many more. The company is also in deep conversations on possible programs with Kaleidescape, McIntosh, Nice, and others.
VideoMojo Sample
For even greater customization, they can use any existing video from a dealer, along with manufacturer logos when co-op dollars are involved. HTSA has also offered its dealers use of their Services Suite funds for using VideoMojo.
“There is a level of sophistication that we are bringing after years of producing videos within the industry,” says Frattasi. “Even though we’re drawing from one media library, stock footage is vaster than it’s ever been. So, for example, we have a dealer in Montgomery, Ala., and we’re able to find drone shots of downtown Montgomery. And I work with some of the best music libraries in the business and have access to all types of sounds — whether you want something young and fun or classical music.
“There’s a lot of creative that goes into this that has nothing to do with the video footage itself but just designing what the look and feel of this is going to be for that specific company and treat them as a brand themselves. At the end of the day, the dealers are the heroes in these videos.”
Related: A short guide to help you implement video marketing
“Anybody can put out a video from their phone,” says Toomey. “You see that all the time, but I always suggest to dealers that their videos should match the world-class brand they are or aspire to be. Every video that they put out is a reflection of their persona — just like their website. We’re making high-quality, authentic, branded videos that tell their story. We listen to the dealers, and we help them build their personal brand and their voice.”
Great Video. Now What?
What good is a spectacular custom video if nobody gets to see it? VideoMojo sticks around after delivery to help clients maximize their investment.
“If a video is developed in the right way, it has a very long life,” says Toomey. “You can put it out everywhere. One piece of content that’s 90 seconds, I could have it in my showroom, I can put it out on social in little bites, I can add it to a blog or website, I can send it to a target audience over an email campaign whether it’s an end user or a set of trade partners. That’s the beauty of it.”
“Also, you’re talking about multiple videos being produced — especially the 30-second ones — and you put them in a rotation so that they’re not being used every day,” adds Karp. “That extends the life as well.
“Our client Barrett’s Technology Solutions just took the first three videos that we delivered and they’ve already used them multiple ways. They used them in their newsletter, blogs, and on social platforms. In some cases, they just took screenshots to use.”
“We’re also collaborating with Netsertive to make sure that search engine optimization and digital advertising is top-notch,” adds Toomey. “We partner with them on behalf of dealers and vendors. Barrett’s is another great example of that, as they use Netsertive to track clicks to the video views on their website as compared to ads and searches that didn’t have videos in them before. They’re also going to track open rates on their emails and click-thru rates on those that have links to the videos. Plus, for dealers who are not already using CATalyzing full marketing services and they need something such as a new blog written to include the video or update their website, we stand ready to support them in a 360-degree way.”
Tell Your Story
With many CI businesses serving the luxury market, they need high-quality videos that represent that space and that appeal to a high-end audience.
“This whole supply chain of architects, designers, lighting, specifiers, and users, the language of how you need to communicate is going to be different, so your video can be really tailored to that,” says Frattasi. “You can take what you feel is your best value proposition and create that in a video and use it over and over again.”
“For this community, the videos should represent a combination of lifestyle, maybe your design and collaboration services, your brand, your vendors, and what you’re an expert in,” says Toomey. “And it’s luxury. At the end of the day, 90 percent of these people that we’re talking about here are selling to mid-to upper-level wealthy folks, and all your marketing should reflect that.”
Related: From strategy to upload — our top tips for video production.
“We provide them with a level of professionalism and the end product that, in some cases, is more professional than they might be at this time,” Karp concludes. “But we’re trying to lift the boats because the industry needs to be more professional in the way they present themselves. And we have a tool for that.”
For more information, visit https://www.video-mojo.com or email [email protected].
Video Marketing Facts
- 1 billion people consume videos daily online
- 1 billion hours of video are watched daily on YouTube
- 96 percent of users have viewed an explainer video to learn more about a product or service
- 95 percent of messages are retained by viewers watching video compared to 10 percent when reading that message in text
- 89 percent of people report watching a video has convinced them to purchase product/service
- 93 percent of companies have acquired new customers via video on social media
- 91 percent of businesses use video as marketing tool within their marketing plan
- Video content is 50 times more likely to drive a company’s organic search traffic than plain text
- As of 2023, a staggering 91 percent of small businesses use/will use video as a marketing tool
[Source: Wyzowl Research Survey, Forbes Research, Hubspot Research, Statista, Biteable]
