Red Cross gives a lesson in the appropriate use of video

Just in case you weren’t tired of disaster fundraising case studies, read this blog about the sophistication/integration of the Red Cross’ effort at http://www.theagitator.net/communications/a-living-case-study-on-dealing-with-disasters/.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZf8MRYasss

There are a couple things I want to call out about this video:

  • The video was up within FIVE hours of the quake – incredibly fast.
  • The video is obviously incredibly rough (handheld camera? sticky notes on a giant map? talk about low production value…)…
  • …and incredibly effective. Over 1 million views, and an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars.
  • Also note the embedded donate link at the 12sec mark.

This is not to say all successful online videos should be this roughly shot, or over 5 minutes long. If anything, this points out there aren’t hard and fast rules about what makes a successful video – it really is dependent on the situation at hand. Check out another video put up just a few days ago by the Red Cross – also a good example of the right use of video for the circumstances. * By the way, the latest from the Chronicle of Philanthropy is that the Red Cross had raised approximately $153 million through last Friday 1/25.