Huge thanks to all who attended our free one-day seminar at the Ramada Plaza Hotel in Southport last week, it was a great success. More people arrived than we had anticipated but the hotel staff managed to find additional seating before the event began.

I was very impressed to find out that the delegate’s business interests ranged from Scientific Equipment Manufacturing, Aerospace Technology Development, Pharmaceutical Hardware Producers and Industrial Machinery Manufacture to E-learning and Marketing Agencies.

We started off by running through a broad set of examples where CGI animation could be used and where frequently, it is the only viable, cost effective visual solution before outlining the process of developing computer animation from a brief. This included our requirements from customers and a 3D software demonstration to show the nuts and bolts of how we do things which helped people to understand just how much work and attention goes into creating outstanding work for them.

Later we ran through several case studies and had a presentation from our friend and customer Peter Dench from Dravit Engineering. He was kind enough to devote some of his valuable time to show delegates the marketing potential and the invaluable contribution our work made on his company’s profitability and standing within his company’s sector. This included how our work was used in a company-wide strategy to become market leaders by clearly showing the achievements and innovations associated with their products. He explained how CGI was employed across the board from videos to web, print and even product demonstration and maintenance videos, making the use of CGI so much more cost effective. He also pointed out where additional savings were made on costs by using CGI animations showing functions of products without the need for translation into multiple languages. His section on return on investment when engaging CGI visuals over a measured period of time was particularly well received by all delegates.

 

 

We expanded on the potential for using CGI including the growing B2B expectation for high quality visuals following the lead of online retail and the estimated market growth for CGI expected over the next decade as outlined by independent research.

Further information on costs, working to budgets, efficient project management, customer requirements, our requirements from customers and systems of long-term integration into existing marketing platforms including social media were covered.

The advantages of engaging CGI as an alternative to traditional media were explained including costs, turnover time, the marketing of products yet to be in full production, economies of scale and the problems with specialist traditional media against the use of CGI were explained in detail.

Q&A ran over time, so we reconvened in the hotel lounge to continue discussions into the early evening.

I asked the delegates about the likelihood of engaging CGI Animation having attended, all of them agreed that not only do they now see the value of it, given the modest investment required, they would integrate it into their current marketing budgets. Some myths were totally dispelled at this event especially with regards to costs, how much of the customers time will be taken up with projects and the level of knowledge they require to engage our services.

Everybody seemed to enjoy the day given even though we had a lot of information to convey in a short space of time. Speaking to some of the attendees afterwards, our informal delivery and engagement with them about their thoughts and issues throughout the day was a refreshing change from the usual dry, lecture style events they had attended in the past. We went the extra mile to make sure the atmosphere was relaxed and breaks were frequent. We also injected a good amount of humour into each segment and listened to the delegates as much as we talked.

Beyond the sales side of the event, we learned a massive amount about our potential customers, their concerns, their understanding of our services and how they see and value their respective products. This information will really help us to attract more customer interest in the future and I highly recommend this kind of event as an invaluable insight into customer requirements and purchase influences. I also feel that the events of the day educated them, made all of them more confident in employing our services and I also encountered real enthusiasm about the potential to engage us within their respective businesses.

Since the event, two companies have already called me to discuss new and exciting projects and several emails following with very real interest in engaging our services in Q2 and Q3 of this year.

My thanks go to all the attendees, some of whom travelled a significant distance to be with us for the day, it was genuinely great to meet you all. Thanks also go to Peter Dench for his amazing presentation and the staff at the Ramada Plaza Hotel. Special thanks also go to our own Penny St.John for her exceptional efforts in organising the event and helping to make it such a brilliant success.

 

If you are interested in attending our next event in September, please call us on: 01704 571371.

If you want to find out what we can offer by chatting on the phone, we welcome your call.

 

John Harris – Creative Director, Redhound Studios Limited