he Cynopsis Short Form Video Festival took place yesterday at NYC’s SVA Theatre, featuring insights from some of the smartest players in the space as well as showcasing fresh and surprising storytelling. The festival had been postponed by weather once, but Cynopsis was not planning to let a snowstorm get the better of us this time (though it did leave one of our event planners stranded in Nashville).
The day started with talks with brands, and it became clear that the relationship between brand and creator is key. Viacom Velocity EVP of Integrated Marketing Chris Ficarra walked the audience through a Subaru video with Daniel Tosh, emphasizing the importance of authenticity. Except for the rules it gives all creators – wear a seat belt, obey traffic laws – the car company let the comedian share his Subaru love this way, and it worked.
It was a meeting of the minds between SVP, Network Partnerships & Integrated Marketing, NBCU Entertainment Group Sari Feinberg and State Farm National Advertising Manager Karen Noel, who worked on This Is Us-themed videos that were so effective, one was used again during the Super Bowl. What did Noel like about working with NBC? “Everything they offered,” she said. Bodega’s Haley Geffen collaborated with Under Armour’s Meg Oepen, who repeated the theme that partnering with the right people is everything, and showed a dazzling video for an Olympic “speed skin” that matches the athlete’s natural movements.
Evan Shapiro, founder of eshap.tv, moderated a panel on maximizing ROI. “Data from short form really lives in silos at the brand level and it’s not always accurate to assume that what worked in the past will work in the future,” notes Zach Schwitzky, CEO of Limbik. Said Robin Monheit, Strategic Partner/Manager of Crowd Tangle, “We’re really about engagement, and less about views. I always tell people you can’t fake a comment.”
Time staff writer Eliana Dockterman and Time video producer Spencer Bakalar opened the curtain on Time’s Person of the Year viral video on “Silence Breakers.” Despite all the buzz, “Person of the Year is a hard package to sell because no one knows who the person will be – it could be Kim Jong Un,” said Dockterman, but added brands are getting more interested in getting involved. Of the women in the Person of the Year video, “We wanted to really show these women’s faces and put a face to the problem,” said Bakalar. “It isn’t just the Ashley Judds who are dealing with this”
And then it was on to the Cynopsis Short Form Awards, with guest presenters Oneika Raymond (Travel Channel), Savannah Sellers (Stay Tuned), Matteo Lane (The Comedy Jam) and Monique Moses (Sport Court) keeping things moving – and lively. The awards celebrated everything from animals to animation, from cooking videos to comedy, and branded content of every stripe. We saw winning videos on how not to kill houseplants, dorm decor, sports and the solar eclipse – for a complete list, go here.
