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    Content is King

    As a natural progression from our previously successful HDSLR Guide initiative, B&H wanted to offer an educational series for HDSLR cinematography on a mini-site. YODI was given the task of making it all happen, while working with budget and timing restrictions. The YODI team was fortunate enough to collaborate with the well respected cinematographer Shane Hurlbut, ASC. – Director of Photography for Terminator Salvation (2009).

    After launching the series, the HDSLR Guide, HDSLR Hub, and B&H HSDLR E-Commerce Solutions page rounded out 3 of the top 5 google search results. Due to the content initiative’s success, B&H was the only retailer found on the first two pages of results – which positions it perfectly in front of potential customers. Additionally, the site traffic was robust – well into six figures – while maintaining a majority loyalty rate, and an extremely low bounce rate (some 15 times less than the google benchmark) in it’s first two months of operation. Aside for achieving its stated goal of increasing awareness and loyalty, the initiative succeeded in doubling sales within the HDSLR category, as well as garnering widespread buzz and high customer approval.

    While the project consisted of many fast moving, high-stake components, YODI conceptualized, executed, and managed the project from start to finish. This included creating the marketing strategy for the program, producing the series, developing the mini-site, and all marketing materials. We were also responsible for overseeing the reporting and analysis of site statistics. The project presented many challenges for achieving so much with so little in terms of time and budget, yet YODI jumped in head first, with the results being well worth the challenges.

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    • Video Series

      Partnering together with Shane Hurlbut, ASC. was the first step in creating a masterful learning experience. We had two simple criterion for hosting the HSDLR Educational Series for Cinema: First, be a craft master who has the respect of his peers, and second, be an engaging center of attention who can transmit educational info to the masses. Shane, of course, met both. The series was carefully designed as a six-episode program, that would cover just about all relevant topics. Sure, video content of this subject matter had been done before at the youtube level, though never as a concise and complete series, and neither at the production level one can expect from the likes of Shane Hurlbut, ASC. The end result - based on the overwhelmingly positive feedback received - was a series that was enjoyable to watch, and completely practical, to the point where university professors, as well as video production houses are incorporating this series into their programs.

    • News

      To complete our web strategy surrounding the entire HDSLR Content initiative, YODI added a 'News" component to the Hub, so that we could provide real-time insight into industry happenings, product releases, and technical problem solving. The YODI team was entrusted with site and content management for the hub on an active monthly basis. Our team kept a close eye on industry developments, attended and reported directly from trade shows, and conducted interviews with industry pros in order to create compelling news-worthy content items.

    • Mini Site

      The main goal of the mini-site was to provide a viewing platform for the web series, as well as to provide ongoing insight into HDSLRs. The mini-site was designed to present a fresh look that would both complement the production level of the series, as well as adhere to B&H's brand guidelines. Considering that the entire initiative was web-based, the site design set the tone for all other promotional and marketing materials that surrounded the Hub and Series.

    • Email

      We created several email blasts that were sent to the B&H customer base with the goal of generating buzz, as well as direct traffic to the site. The email blasts proved to be successful as they were among the most clicked on email blasts B&H has sent out.

    • Promotional Campaign

      We developed a fully integrated print, online and PR promotional campaign in order to build anticipation for the series' release, as well as to promote the site after launch. The campaign consisted of ads in magazines, the B&H catalog, banner ads on industry blogs and content sites, as well as PR efforts that generated many articles about the series pre and post launch. The results were monitored using sophisticated web tools that allow for social media tracking. The result was far-reaching and widespread recognition of the hub and series that spanned the globe, from Dubai, to the Netherlands.