Epic thoughts for the year’s end
What kind of year was 2020?
Do you really want to look back at the rollercoaster ride that was this past twelve months, or would it be better to chalk it up and forget about it as quickly as possible? Many people are probably asking themselves that very same question. Our team has had many lengthy conversations on the matter and we came to the conclusion that we would definitely like to take a look back at 2020 and share our story with you. We didn’t make this decision because we were among the big winners of the crisis and want to brag, or to simply complain. No. Something else drives us. The strong belief in a light at the end of the tunnel and that the most rewarding lessons often arise from extreme and exceptional circumstances, allow us to look back with an open mind. This past year has been full of both positive as well as negative situations. We would like to share the experiences and lessons learned of this largely COVID-19 shaped year. As always we are interested in how you fared, whether you had similar or contrary experiences. So, please take five minutes to read and then we look forward to having a conversation with you, if you wish.
The mood in January was bright and the year couldn't have started off any better.
Our schedule was full, our team members returned well rested from their vacations and we had begun work on one of our dream projects. A documentary about EC Red Bull Salzburg which took an exclusive behind the scenes look at an ice hockey club playing for the league title. We had already worked on many productions with the club in the past but this one was something special. This was the most extensive and intimate project with the hockey team that we had ever had. As a production team, our members were suddenly a part of the whole, an integral part of this fast paced club. Not only were we close to the team and the people in charge, but our cameras were right in the middle of it all. We were allowed to document EVERYTHING that happened on and off the ice. Epic Minutes would like to personally thank Joe for making this long-awaited dream project, for both sides, possible.
Our second documentary project of 2020 was “Way Back To Life". This project followed our friend and colleague Peter Brose, after suffering a devastating swimming accident during the summer of 2019, which left him a paraplegic. This was certainly the most emotional project our team has ever been involved with. Peter's strength, courage and confidence, fighting his way back to life during rehab was extremely impressive and our team members were moved to tears on more than one occasion. After the accident, we started a funding campaign for Peter and his family. Along with the Brose’, Epic Minutes decided to produce a documentary that followed his struggle. The main purpose of this project was to encourage others in the same or similar situation by giving them hope, especially when setbacks happen, and secondly we want to raise further funds for the Brose family. Peter's strength serves as an extraordinary example of courage and determination. No matter how bleak and hopeless the situation may have seemed at the moment, Peter’s positive attitude became the guidepost for the months ahead.
Then, came Corona...
Shock, uncharted territory and reorganization.
Before the first lockdown in March, we were still able to implement clients’ films, social media, and online marketing projects. From March onward, we began to notice that clients were becoming increasingly restless and hesitant when it came to releasing orders and confirming deadlines. We had only just returned from a rally shoot in Tunisia when some companies fell into a complete state of shock during that lockdown. B2B business models that supplied the foodservice industry, for example, suddenly no longer worked. The rally industry was also shut down and all competitions were postponed indefinitely. Events were banned and canceled, hotels and restaurants were closed. As a result, emails went unanswered and projects were no longer pursued. “On hold” as we say in agency terms. Even our dream project “unprECedented” came to an abrupt end as the ice hockey season was canceled with no return date in sight. We are extremely good at thinking on our feet, and even we had to take a moment, shake our heads in disbelief and adjust to the new situation. We lost a number of film production contracts overnight. It quickly became clear to us that existing contracts would no longer hold water due to the changing global situation. We also realized that any COVID-19 aid would be a long time coming if it came at all. Unlike other production companies, our employees and colleagues are permanently employed, not freelancers who go their separate way after a project is complete. We could not, and did not want to sit and wait around for someone to come to rescue us. That has never been our style and our friend Peter Brose would have had a good reason to give us a piece of his mind had we done so! We would like to take a moment to thank our amazing employees. Despite all the difficult circumstances, they have continued to be highly motivated in helping Epic Minutes by keeping our customer’s projects moving forward.
Our online experience is in demand now more than ever
Our biggest advantage is that as a hybrid of film production and online/social marketing agency, we are at home in the digital world and this knowledge is now proving useful. The world has been predominantly shifting online, but for many companies, this world is still uncharted territory and quite scary.
The combination of slow-moving emergency government aid, digital inexperience and the increasing need for online and social media consulting, led us to launch our own Epic Minutes “Corona Immediate Aid Package”. While others buried their heads in the sand, we've looked ahead, expanded our business model, and paved the way for new clients and startups to enter the online world. We offer special promotions with deeply discounted fees and longer payment terms because we believe that something meaningful should arise from this terrible situation. Since our team members are still receiving their salaries, this project also allows them to put their time and knowledge to good use. We have gained a handful of new clients with this campaign who continue loyal to us, staying true to the motto: “Never change a winning team”.
Of course, there were some who took advantage of the low-cost service and know-how, then quickly left. There will always be a few companies out there that are unprofessional, but that is life and we will not stop offering the service simply because of that reason.
In general, we saw there was a great amount of solidarity between service providers and customers, everything went hand-in-hand. Our long-standing, loyal customers are considered more friends than simply business associates. Special greetings and a big thank you to the KINI’s and Das Alpenwelt Resort, with whom we have gone through thick and thin together!
They are the exceptions to the rule! Unfortunately, we have experienced that the payment morale of other clients decreased with the increasing size of their company.
It’s been said...the bigger the company, the harder it is to receive payment.
This holds true with companies that have received billions in financial aid from the government because they are systemically important. Anyone can understand that, but it is the small and medium-sized companies, which hardly have anything, that meet their obligations in a timely fashion. Some large companies, on the other hand, simply don't seem to care that others are also dependent on payments. We are not going to dive any further into this issue here but we'll just note it and leave it as is.
Livestreaming is the new thing
Our team didn't let that get us down and continue to look for new ways to position ourselves favorably. We had already implemented live streaming in the past and in 2020, we upgraded technically and expanded this service. Our approach to live streams is not simply to broadcast a speech or panel discussion online but to entertain viewers, and ideally keep them interested for a longer period of time. Our live streams have a TV show atmosphere and thus the potential to be entertaining even over a length of an hour or more. Interaction, accompanying inserts, multiple moving camera perspectives, and appropriate content editing are some of the key factors for successful streams. We see a lot of potential in live streaming now and in the future. Many streams we watch could be designed to be much more exciting and if you want to stand out from the crowd, you cannot avoid thinking of the right content and perfect theatrics.
In our opinion, online marketing, social media marketing, content production and live streaming will continue to play an important role in communication going forward into the future.
This does not mean that offline channels will lose their relevance. On the contrary, the forced entry into the online world and what has been learned in the process gives companies the chance to combine online and offline more effectively and massively increase the reach and efficiency of their communication measures.
To conclude our review on a positive note, let's once again remember Peter and his "Fight Back To Life". There will be a time after Corona, and we look to the future with confidence, even though there will certainly be more hurdles to overcome.
We can promise one thing, there are great things coming up in 2021. We will open our fourth Epic Minutes location, this time in Nazaré, Portugal!
We will also be celebrating our fifth anniversary and for that, we've come up with something special. It will be our biggest, dedicated Epic Minutes production project yet. Peter's documentary will soon be completed and the series unprECedented is also scheduled to go into a second round. A successful Season One, ran with four episodes on Sky Sports Austria , including a highly emotional season finale. More to come.
Stay tuned!