Santa Cruz Business Fair 2012
Our whole gang has recently returned from participating in the Santa Cruz Business Fair held at the Cocoanut Grove in Santa Cruz on Wednesday, March 14th. We were able to unveil our latest toy – the RED Epic, to do some shooting during the event. Seeing as it was our RED Epic’s debut into the public eye, it instantly became the “life of the party” – not without it’s fair share of “oohs” and “ahhs,” along with a plethora of prodding questions from surrounding business booths and the public. Many of the businesses that participated in this event were unfamiliar with the high-quality digital cinema camera and this was our chance to show them what it was all about and introduce them to the level of quality available so close to home.
With three 20-inch monitors, our booth was set up to display the projects we have completed within the last few months – ranging from music videos and commercial shoots to our most recent CLAi reel. We hoped to be eye catching and our projects, visually arresting… But without freebees like pens, pencils, tote bags, and lip balms, it seemed we disappointed the casual passerby. Why? Because we have higher-quality concepts to promote rather than a tangible object. It isn’t so much about the instant giveaway that people receive after inquiring about a business, and more about our company sparking a conversation with them; getting to know what they are doing and how we can potentially play a part in helping them expand their business through film and video production. With all of this to say, plain bumper sticker logic just doesn’t correlate to our quality and product – which is really more of a service. Hopefully, our lasting impression is enough of a “giveaway” to remember.
In terms of trying to find where we fit into the Santa Cruz Chamber group of businesses, ranging from real estate and insurance agents to kettle corn startups, it can get a little tricky. Our approach is different – we want to obtain more potential clients, connect with people and find out what their story is so we can help tell it better – rather than trying to sell people a cookie cutter service with a cheesy sales pitch. Instead, we try and get to know people and create a connection, while discussing their potential to reach more clientele by incorporating video into their marketing strategies.
What we may have learned from the Santa Cruz Business Fair is that our target audience were the other booths, less than the visitors because we don’t quite fit the mold. But, we are just another small, local company achieving big world results, and we want to help bring that mentality to the
Santa Cruz area. This was just one step in our goal of localization for 2012…and keep posted for our continuing efforts!