If you think the 140-character Twitter rule challenges your creative juices, try your hand at producing a 6-second video. Twitter introduced a video feature last month that has piqued the interest of Twitter users who are willing to think outside the text box. Internet marketers also see the video as morphing into a promising new branding opportunity. Online marketers are biting at the bit to transform the 6-second video window into a marketing coup. It is possible that the video tweet will do for video ads what tweets did for brevity in creative texting.
For Vine challenge among marketers will be to re-think the entire perception of online video ads. The fleeting availability in time will require a more McLuhan-isque approach. Marshall McLuhan was the 60’s era media guru who coined the phrase “The medium IS the message.”His best-selling book comprised 160 pages of non-linear visuals such as collages, mirror writing, and even blank pages that constituted a collection of visual and text metaphors.
Employing graphics to communicate ideas has caught on as of late on the web as marketers seek new methods with which to brand their products. The new video app is sure to extend this trend into a video format. Tactics that will be incorporated into the 6-second video may include teasers or snippets from the production of lengthier ad videos. New 60-second ads can be broken down into 6-second time frames and presented on Twitter sequentially. Contests can be initiated where viewers are invited to submit their own 6-second ads of the product in order to win big prizes. The creative possibilities are endless. If expectations hold true, we may well be witnessing the birth of a powerful new marketing trend evolving before our very eyes.