Goffman’s Impression Analysis: Four Steps to a Successful Marketing Video

My communications uh-oh moment originated in the Rhode Island state tourism office and their desire for a professional tourism video. Despite signing a detailed contract with a professional marketing firm, the organization ended up with a video touting the wonder and uniqueness of Rhode Island that included a scene from another country. Unfortunately, the tourism staff did not catch the foreign scene, and were caught by surprise when a well-traveled citizen recognized the Reykjavik’s Harpa concert hall located in Reykjavik, Iceland. The mistake was posted on social media, the video went viral, and all involved were humiliated. The marketing firm shot another video for free, but the damage was already done. The head of the tourism department resigned because of the debacle. In this multi-media presentation, I introduce the uh-oh moment to a client interested in producing a video to promote their town. Then, using Goffman’s theory of Impression Analysis, I take the client step by step through the planning process of the project to hopefully prevent the same sort of mistakes from happening to them. If the Rhode Island folks had followed Goffman’s theory and analyzed their video during each step of the production process, they would have discovered the mistake before it was ever recorded and the whole uh-oh moment would not have happened. Take a look at video production, Goffman style:

 

 

Making the multi-media presentation posed a number of challenges. I tried using Prezi, but then realized that because I am such a linear thinker, it was too much of a struggle to learn the software. I resorted back to PowerPoint where I could move from A to Z in an orderly fashion. (Eventually I will go back and tackle Prezi, but those few hours with the product made me realize I would not be able to become proficient enough in two weeks to complete this project.) I recorded the PowerPoint presentation with Screencast-O-Matic. For my on-screen shots, I had my daughter record me with my Sony Alpha 6300 camera and pulled those videos as well as the Screencast-O-Matic files into iMovie. I also pulled in the Rhode Island You Tube video and copied a few seconds of bumper music from GarageBand. Somehow, with a fair amount of assistance from my daughter, I managed to piece it all together in a logical way. Am I happy with the outcome? Yes and no. I am not happy about the difference in my voice from my computer narration to the camera narration. I am not happy about the way my eyes shift when I follow my carefully printed cue cards. And I am not terribly happy with the casual porch-swing background, but the rain started just as we were ready to film and that was the best we could do without filming inside with screaming grandchildren running about. I am pleased that I was able to write the script, incorporate several different platforms, and pull it all together into an acceptable presentation.

 

As I mentioned before, this process confirmed that I am definitely a linear thinker. I am a mathematician/computer scientist by education, so it stands to reason that I am more comfortable with software that moves in a linear fashion rather than in random, unfettered ways (think Prezi!) By the same token, it also taught me that, no matter how good you are, you can still fail to communicate. The business of communication is tricky. Whether you insult your state by using another country’s background in the official state video, or simply send a poorly worded email that is misinterpreted, communication is hard. And as if graduate school isn’t humbling enough, this project definitely impressed upon me just how much I don’t know, and how much there is to learn – and keep learning. Just when I get used to one program, or way of communicating, another demands my attention and the learning process starts all over again. Being in front of the camera instead of behind it as I usually am when writing stories, I gained a new appreciation for the subjects that I photograph and film. They always complain about having their picture taken and now I know why! There’s something about a camera in your face that is intimidating, and makes me wish for a personal stylist . . . In all seriousness, through this project and the podcast I completed a few weeks ago, I have learned just how difficult navigating the maze of all the social media platforms can be. But I’ve also learned that if I take them a little at a time, learning only what I need to know for a particular project instead of all the intricacies of each product at one time, then they aren’t impossible. In fact, if I’m not careful, I may actually become proficient at a few of them!