How do I get a hypothetical product in front of an actual audience of pro and amateur video editors?

March 23, 2004 7:38 AM

If I wanted to get a hypothetical product, created by a hypothetical design studio, in front of a non-hypothetical audience of professional and amateur video editors, how would you suggest I reach them? I have found a short-list of forums and how-to sites but feel I must be missing some other resources and/or online communities. Thnx.
posted by coudal to Work & Money (5 answers total)

Maybe go through a trade magazine? There are tons out there, from AV Multimedia Producer to Videography. (At least, I get tons of 'em in my mailbox.)

Also, most decent-sized towns have Avid/Final Cut Pro/your-platform-here users' groups. These tend to cluster around (or be sponsored by) training centers or vendors of the hardware and software.
posted by Vidiot at 9:09 AM on March 23, 2004

you are being a bit cryptic though...is the hypothetical product something that they would use? like software/hardware?

You could go to NAB in vegas and find half of the [broadcast] video editors on the planet.
posted by th3ph17 at 10:39 AM on March 23, 2004

Response by poster: I don't mean to be cryptic, I just don't want to be violate any self-linking rules. The product is our Jewelboxing system and we've considered print ads and will look into user groups. I guess it's that sort of thing I'm looking for, forums, sites with tutorials, etc, just feel like we're missing something.
posted by coudal at 2:56 PM on March 23, 2004

When you said "get your product in front of" video editors, I wasn't quite sure what you were looking for -- design refinement, feedback, sales, et cetera.

Your system looks great (noticed it a ways back, actually), but alas I personally have no need for it. (Yet.) For what you're doing, I'd suggest ads in the trade mags. You may also want to check with the local chapter of the ITVA MCA-I, which is essentially the corporate/industrial video trade organization. They may be a good market, and possibly amenable to a demonstration.

As I said before (and as you mentioned), trade mags may be a good bet. AV Video Multimedia Producer is a magazine that caters to independent producers, Millimeter is more aimed at post-house editors, et cetera. I bet voiceover announcers, stock footage houses, and the like would all be interested in your system as well....they're always sending out demo discs with stylish packaging, and want to stand out from the pack.

And, as th3ph17 points out, every broadcaster sends at least one rep to NAB. Might be difficult to stand out in all the hoopla, though. There are lots of smaller trade shows all around the country, though, like DVExpo and many more.
posted by Vidiot at 7:26 PM on March 23, 2004

Response by poster: Thnx for the input. So far, the more narrowly we target an interest group, the better luck we seem to have. So your specific advice is appreciated. We're only in week twenty, but we've had a very wide variety of customers, musicians, developers, photographers, motion graphics, students, but not too many editing and post-production houses. Seems like that should be a good area for us. Especially as our system makes it easy to produce sweet one-off jobs, etc.
posted by coudal at 8:24 PM on March 23, 2004