Every week, my goal in writing Radio3D is to give you something “sharable.” My hope is that you find enough valuable information and ideas in Radio3D to warrant forwarding it to your colleagues and friends—perhaps even printing it and bringing it to one of your staff meetings as a constructive conversation piece.

We regularly receive ideas from creative folks in radio’s growing interactive sector. This week, with their permission, we’ll share some of them to help you get started on your Q3/Q4 interactive brainstorming.

Several weeks ago in Radio3D, you read about viral videos. Those are creative videos created by marketers that advertise a product or brand in the context of humor or other entertainment that is compelling enough for the audience to view (and share) it, despite the fact that it is a blatant advertisement.

For instance, one of the most popular viral videos this year is the Evian dancing babies campaign.

The most successful viral videos are:

1. SHORT

2. ENTERTAINING (and usually funny)

3. BRANDING oriented, NOT a “call to action”

John A. Laur, the Digital Initiatives Manager at 98Rock WIYY in Baltimore, says, “At 98 Rock we have really used video as sort of our ultimate tool of engagement. We have had fun and success with a few videos that really just hammer home the brand and create laughs.

“Our Christmas card last year was a blast and let listeners, clients and partners get a good look at the office here:

“Every year we take a trip with the Baltimore Ravens Cheerleaders to a tropical paradise to shoot their cheerleader calendar. We take a videographer with us on these trips. It is a great chance to brand ourselves with the team, get some gals on camera and show off our goofiness.

“And this was a freaking blast and got a number of Facebook embeds after it was done:

Not to mention selling the sponsorship on the pre-roll.

“This week, we had this ridiculous inter-office bet regarding the mascot of KBER in Utah. We decided to do a quick dumb video and this thing had over 100 responses on Facebook, close to 400 views – it was kind of crazy (but true) testament to the power of video,” says Laur.

You don’t need major market call letters or a big team to take advantage of viral video as a free PR/marketing opportunity for your station.

Thane Phelan, Program Director of 92.9 The Bull KDBL and Classic Country 1460 KUTI in Yakima, Washington says, “While we no doubt do not have the budget or production quality of the examples in your “Viral Video…a missed opportunity for radio” Radio3D newsletter from June, we have had significant success with branding and video. We started putting up videos in 2007 and have amassed over 100,000 views total, not bad for a staff of three here at 92-9 The Bull – KDBL. Without ad budgets, it has gone a long way to spreading the word and we are always thinking of new video ideas.”

Phelan says, “When we produce a video, we add it to our ‘Bull Tube’ page and post on our website, and we also upload quick, unproduced videos directly to our Facebook page. Often times we will add video to YouTube, Facebook and to our local portal The Daily You, to maximize exposure.”