Facebook Brands and Bold Thinking

At the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) on Thursday May 28th, Facebook held an exclusive event called “Brands and Bold Thinking.” Over 400 creative minds from across Canada came together to learn advertising best practices for Facebook. There were presentations from Facebook and Instagram, along with corporate marketing leaders, such as Duncan Fulton, Senior Executive Officer of Canadian Tire Corporation and CMO of Sport Chek and Mark’s Work Warehouse.

Not surprisingly, Cinemagraphs were a hot topic of discussion, and Flixel played a key role in the event. Flixel was the only partner invited to present. Chief Creative Officer Mark Homza, presented on the many unique ways that cinemagraphs are being put to work by marketers including the cinemagraph Flixel created for Mercedes-Benz Canada – the first-ever, sponsored, cinemagraph Instagram post in Canada.

Instagram ad for Mercedes-Benz Canada

Summit attendees also had the chance to get their very own cinemagraph taken at a custom Flixel photo booth that we designed and executed for Facebook. The theme: Dundas Square. An iconic Canadian/Torontonian location.

Guests lined up with enthusiasm, waiting to get their cinemagraph taken by our photographer, Adam Zivo. Attendees of the event watched in amazement as one 4K screen played stunning Flixel cinemagraphs from around the globe, while the other showcased the ease and intuitiveness of editing in our app. With a team of talented individuals, each shot was quickly brought to life with the magic of Cinemagraph Pro. Each person was then sent an email with their unique cinemagraph video to share on social media with the #ThinkBold hashtag.

Cinemagraph from Facebook’s Brands and Bold Thinking Event

With the prominence and reach of digital media, along with the overall message of “thinking bold”, cinemagraphs were the perfect medium for the event.

Brand Activation

Our partnership with Facebook continues to deepen, as we work more and more with the team on both brand activations and developing cinemagraphs as the ideal digital advertising medium. Cinemagraph photo booths are becoming a sought out addition to major events in the media industry. In mid-May, we also worked with Facebook at their Automotive Summit, creating cinemagraphs portraits for all of the attendees.

At a standard photo booth, most activations provide a physical print of the photo. What makes cinemagraph photo booths different, and arguably more effective at spreading brand awareness, is the delivery format. Digitally transferred as an MP4 file or sometimes a GIF, people can then share the cinemagraph on their social channels. This special online/offline activation is not only great for brand exposure, but also for the overall experience. People get the personal, real, intimate interaction of the photo booth, along with the digital, shareable, lasting visual memory in the form of a cinemagraph.

By Sherif Mokbel

With Facebook now auto-playing native video, and Instagram auto-looping and auto-playing video, cinemagraphs (and Flixel) was the perfect pairing for this event.

Make your Video Content Stand Out, by Josh Bloom

Josh Bloom, Director of Sales at Facebook Canada, took the stage by storm, discussing how to make the best out of your digital marketing strategy. Focusing on videos, Josh provides some helpful tips for creating the best content.

Cinemagraph of Josh Bloom from Facebook’s Brands and Bold Thinking Event

1. Consider the sound off experience

• You need to be able to tell your brand’s story without audio, as that is how people will be first viewing it in their Facebook or Instagram newsfeed.

2. Animate your story with moving graphics

• Capture people’s attention, engage them and get your message across while educating them

3. Grab the viewer’s attention in the first few seconds

• Often referred to as the “3-second audition”, your video MUST grab the attention of scrolling eyes within the first few seconds of content.

Considering the sum of all these tips, cinemagraphs become the perfect solution.

1. Traditionally displayed with no sound

2. Certain parts of the image are animated, pulling focus to key points of interest

3. They are highly engaging, and people love staring at them

Cinemagraphs allow marketers to diversify their video strategy. Not only are they easy to create in Flixel Cinemagraph Pro, but they can also be created from existing video content. An old commercial, some B-roll footage, or even cheap stock video; repurposing marketing materials has become one of the most efficient ways to create more content. Turn a blog into an infographic. Turn an infographic into a video. Turn a video into a series of cinemagraphs. There are many different ways to tell a story, and cinemagraphs is one of them.

Thank you Facebook & Instagram for including Flixel in this incredible event!