GEORGIA FILM INDUSTRY GENERATES $5.1 BILLION IN ECONOMIC IMPACT

FILM INDUSTRY GENERATES $5.1 BILLION IN ECONOMIC IMPACT

08/05/2014

ATLANTA, August 5, 2014—Gov. Nathan Deal today announced that Georgia-lensed feature films and television productions generated an economic impact of $5.1 billion during Fiscal Year 2014. The 158 feature film and television productions that shot in Georgia spent $1.4 billion during that time.

“Not only has this industry created jobs and investment opportunities for Georgians, it also has revitalized communities, established new educational programs, tourism product and more,” said Deal. “I will continue my commitment to growing this industry and to developing a film-ready workforce to meet the needs of the productions that are setting up shop in Georgia.”

According to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the motion picture and television industry is responsible for more than 77,900 jobs and $3.8 billion in total wages in Georgia, including indirect jobs and wages. Nearly 23,500 people are directly employed by the motion picture and television industry in Georgia, including 8,188 production-related employees. The MPAA member companies comprised of Paramount, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., Disney, Sony, Universal and Disney paid $696 million to 4,066 vendors in Georgia in 2012. These local businesses include technology, lodging, real estate and food service.

“The film industry is a powerful economic generator and is creating jobs for Georgians as well as new opportunities to a highly skilled workforce,” said Chris Carr, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development. “Since 2008, more than 90 companies have located in Georgia to support the industry. These new businesses are generating jobs and ensuring the industry’s sustainability in Georgia well into the future.”

On July 1, to assist with providing crew for film productions, Gov. Deal’s High Demand Career Initiative (HDCI) focused on the film and digital entertainment industry. The meeting was an opportunity to help identify specific needs of businesses that are producing film, television and digital entertainment projects. These skilled positions require training and special certifications that Georgia is prepared to cultivate and implement through a collective effort between the Georgia Department Economic Development, the University System of Georgia, the Technical College System of Georgia and key leaders in the entertainment industries in Georgia.

To tell the story of how important this industry is to Georgia, the Georgia Film, Music and Digital Entertainment Office created a video to share with legislators, constituents, industry partners and the public to shine a spotlight on the individuals who are benefiting from this booming industry in Georgia. The informative film is being officially released today and is available for public viewinghere.

In FY14 the state saw a rise in the number of big budget box-office productions filming in Georgia, including “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 & 2,” “Insurgent,” “Taken 3”and “Fast and Furious 7.” As these films are released in theaters they will create numerous opportunities for Georgia locations to be seen by millions of people all over the world. It also gives communities in Georgia an opportunity to create tourism-based product at a filming location and beyond. Last year the Georgia Film, Music and Digital Entertainment Office launched the highly popular ComeTourGeorgia.com to respond to the rising demand in film induced tourism. Fans of Georgia-lensed movies and television shows can visit the award-winning site to learn more about Georgia’s film history, movie tours, film locations, destination and events.

Georgia-filmed movies that are scheduled to open in theaters in the coming months include “Last of Robin Hood” starring Kevin Kline; “The Good Lie” starring Reese Witherspoon; “Kill the Messenger” starring Jeremy Renner; “Dumb and Dummer To” starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels; and “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1.” Upcoming television productions that will resume and premiere in the next few months include “The Walking Dead” on AMC, “Constantine” on NBC, “The Red Band Society” on FOX and “The Vampire Diaries” on The CW.

About GDEcD

The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) is the state’s sales and marketing arm, the lead agency for attracting new business investment, encouraging the expansion of existing industry and small businesses, locating new markets for Georgia products, attracting tourists to Georgia, and promoting the state as a destination for arts events and location for film, music and digital entertainment projects, as well as planning and mobilizing state resources for economic development. www.georgia.org

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CONTACT:

Governor Deal's Office of Communications
(404) 651-7774

Brian Robinson
brobinson@georgia.gov

Sasha Dlugolenski
sasha@georgia.gov

How To Use A Crane To Give Your Video A Cinema Quality Look

https://fstoppers.com/video/how-use-crane-give-your-video-cinema-quality-look-6662

PRIMA 8' CAMERA CRANE JIB
elliotturner.us

How drones are transforming movies

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-28757975

IT'S CRANE SEASON, WABBIT! - film and video camera crane

elliot turner enterprises, inc. releases new product.

PRIMA 8' CRANE JIB

For Professional Film and Video Production

Allowing filmmakers and videographers the ability to easily create Hollywood-quality jib shots that can’t be done with a handheld camera, this crane helps create smooth, dynamic shots that increase production value. Easy set up. Mount on tripod or our PRIMA Doorway Dolly for great flexiblilty in capturing facinating moving crane shots.

Contact: www.elliotturner.us or call 404.981.5046

Starting Business Credit? Top 10 Expenses You Should Get Credit For

MAY 21, 2014 BY MARCO CARBAJO

Starting Business Credit

Is your business getting the credit it deserves?

Does your business expenses help establish your company’s creditworthiness?

In this post we’ll be covering the top business expenses companies make on a regular basis but never get credit for. It’s surprising how many business owners don’t realize all the expenses they make that never get reported to the business credit agencies. What’s even worse, many of these typical business expenses never get put in the company’s name.

Everything you do when it comes to business should be done in the business’s name. It not only makes it easy during tax time but it also protects the integrity of the corporate veil. Corporations, LLCs, Limited Partnerships, etc. are treated as separate legal entities so it’s imperative that you operate like one.

When it comes to personal and business separation I’m not just referring to credit, I’m referring to all aspects of how you structure and operate your business.

Here are ten expenses that you should be using in your company’s name that can help you instarting business credit.

1) Financial – whether it’s paying for business bookkeeping services, business plan services, or CPA services; each service should be invoiced and paid for in the company’s name.  Did you know there are bookkeeping and business planning services that report to the business credit agencies? We provide sources like these in our business credit builder system.

2) Communications –are your business phone line, fax line, and cell phone in your company’s name? All of these business office services that your company pays for on a consistent basis are considered trade references and should be showing up on your company’s credit file.

3) Printing/Mailing – how often do you use printing services, mailing services or ship products? Did you know you can set up corporate accounts with companies such as Staples and FedEx and even apply for a line of credit? Let your business benefit from all the expenses it’s already making but just not getting credit for.

4) Office supplies/equipment – I’m sure you use a laptop, iPad or desktop computer for your business but how did you purchase them?  Did you just run down to Best Buy or the Apple Store and use a personal credit card? Did you know Best Buy has a corporate purchase program? Did you know the Apple Store has a special financing program for businesses?

5) Web hosting/web design – paying for web design, web-hosting, domain names, and other services related to your company’s internet presence should all be paid for and established in the company’s name. Ongoing expenses such as web hosting and SEO services can be used as great trade references.

6) Marketing & Advertising – another ongoing and sizable expense a business should be getting credit for is marketing & advertising. Many marketing companies offer lines of credit with terms ranging from net 30 to net 60 days.

7) Air Travel – literally every airline has a corporate travel program which you should be using if you travel for business.

8) Transportation – need a rental car when traveling for business? Why not use a business car rental program? Did you know you can also lease a car in your company’s name?

9) Fuel costs – if you use a vehicle for business then you obviously purchase fuel on a regular basis. Fleet fuel cards are great when starting business credit since you’ll use it on a regular basis.

10) Meals/entertainment – whether it’s a business lunch or taking clients out to an event; you should be using the company credit or debit card for these expenses.

Starting business credit doesn’t have to be a difficult process if you take advantage of your company’s existing expenses and ensure your business gets credit for it. It’s simply a matter of taking action, putting accounts in the company’s name, and using trade reporters.

Understanding Branding Importance in Marketing Your Business

You may have heard something about marketing “branding,” but maybe you don’t truly understand what that that means exactly.
Some people think branding is like positioning, but it is actually different. The main difference is that positioning is a fluid concept. In other words, you can position yourself at different times in different markets as different things. Branding is more set in stone– it’s a hard-core recognition factor.

Branding is more about following rules because if you don’t follow those rules, things don’t look the same and people won’t remember you. When you put out your marketing pieces, you want to create a similar look and feel so that people remember you. And you want that similar look and feel on every piece you put out.

The good thing is that you get to make the rules…colors are the same, style of lettering is the same, logo, etc. However, there is some flexibility as long as you follow the rules. You can’t go too far out of bounds, but you can change some things within the framework of what others can still recognize.

Branding in your marketing has to make you feel something. A technology company can’t have an old-style font — you might not think that they are very advanced.

A brand consists of eight basic building blocks:

• The name
• The logo (brand icon)
• The brand’s colors
• The slogan and brand messaging
• The sound of the brand
• The overall look and feel = the brand’s position
• Packaging the brand
• The brand experience

A brand is a greater sum of its parts. It is always more than just the nuts and bolts, the pieces; great brands are always the result of the whole equaling more than the sum of its parts.

Branding is about making the consumer or buyer more hip, more in the “know,” more cool than anybody else. We are a generation and a nation wanting to be special. We want to be richer, more beautiful, better dressed, and more effortlessly gorgeous than any other generation that we know.

Benefits of Branding

Your business needs to create a positive image in the minds of consumers. Contrary to what most people believe, branding isn’t just a logo. Your business’s purpose, focus, and image all combine to create your brand. Why should you make this effort? Below are a few benefits:

• You are remembered: It’s hard to remember a company with a generic name. You may not be able to distinguish their purpose and business focus. And why would you call a company if you couldn’t tell what they did? Branding your business ensures that consumers will know what you’re about.
• You gain customer loyalty: The fact is, people build close bonds with brand identities. Consumers want quality products that they can trust. So, your business should have an identity that your customers can cling to. If your company delivers great products and services and has a great brand identity, people will remember you. Additionally, they will often refer you to friends and family.
• You become well-known: You want the people who have not done business with you to still know who you are and what you do. If they see your ads on billboards, hear them on the radio, see them on television, or any other media, they will know your brand identity. And when the time comes that they need your product or service, your company will be the first to come to mind.
• Consumers pay for image: We are a very brand-aware society. People commonly associate brand names with quality and may only buy certain brands for that reason. If people only want one brand of a particular product, they are willing to pay a higher price. Having a great brand will make your company have a superior image and cause consumers to forget about the competition.

When you have distinguished your business through branding, the marketing has the capability of becoming so profound that little else is necessary. Developing your brand takes time and effort, but after it has been solidified, and after customers have had the chance to identify with it, your sales can increase naturally. You won’t have to spend as much time planning marketing strategies to attract the public.

Online Branding

Branding, as a whole, is essential for any serious business because a company’s brand is what distinguishes it from its competitors. In today’s computer age, it is necessary for most businesses to have an online presence to stay competitive. Effective Internet branding, just like its offline counterpart, helps bring awareness to your unique business offering and drive customer demand.

While Internet branding offers huge opportunities for business, in order for it to be effective, one needs to attract and engage its customers. This isn’t easy on the Internet. Branding is not as easy as putting up a website and adding your company logo and slogan. Your Internet branding strategy should make your online brand noticeable and apparent.

Branding utilizes hi-tech tools to create an online presence for your business. Graphics and animation, compelling web copy, and overall website design that reflect your company are some of the important elements that will bring your online brand alive. An attractive website that helps customers easily and quickly find the information they need is the key to getting customer interaction and eventually, business. Your branding plan should include good design elements and ease of use to create an effective overall impression.

A strong online image will make the difference between a customer who buys from you online or switches to your competitors. Remember that online customers can just leave your website and go to your competitors with the click of a mouse. A lot depends on the impression they get from your website. Branding seeks to convey an immediate unique message about your business to your target clients.

Promoting Your Brand

If you haven’t already initiated a brand for your company, now might be just the time. Use these simple techniques in the promotion of your special brand.

• Make your brand as unique as possible: Catch the eye of the public by creating something different — something that people have not yet seen. Instead of doing what has already been done, go the opposite direction and be creative. Don’t forget the legal dangers of copyright infringement related to borrowing or stealing from another firm’s design.
• Display stability: Take time in the development process to establish your brand and accomplish the look you really want. It’s better to spend sufficient time in the beginning fine-tuning your design for the desired outcome rather than to play with it after it’s been revealed to the public. Changing your brand, and all that’s involved with it, including colors, slogans, logos, and tag lines, doesn’t support an image of reliability and longevity.
• Stability should be maintained with branding: If you have integrated a brand into your company’s marketing, use it all over the place. It should appear on all of your marketing materials, business cards, website, and printed items. The same is true for your packaging. Your brand should appear on all of your products.
• Give your brand away to the public with diverse promotional products: You can help your brand to saturate the consumer population by handing out precious, yet low-cost, items. Promotional products encourage possible customers to keep in mind your brand and your gift every time they are used.

Conclusion

Branding is just like the old coat of arms that families used to have connected with their name. It instills respect, fear, and wealth. Likewise, a country’s flag gets people to feel a certain way about their country.

Think about what message you want to convey. What do you want recipients of your promotion to think about you? What image of your company do you want to put out there? That is your brand. When people see you continually as one thing, they begin to expect the same from you and they get used to you.

We are pleased to provide you with the insightful comments contained herein. For a complimentary assessment of your online presence, let’s have coffee.

by

Michael Cohn

How to use Hashtag on top social sites? Marketing Strategy, Tips, and Tricks

Twitter activity analysis of Interband 100 companies highlighted that 97% of them shared at least one hashtag tweet in the last quarter of 2013.

This lone fact is enough to state how important #hashtags are becoming for top brands & businesses. While usage of hashtag as we know it evolved on Twitter, other leading social media brands like Facebook, Instagram, Google+ and Tumblr embrace it over time. So, hashtag deserves your attention if you are creating a social media marketing strategy.

Read on to learn how to effectively use hashtags for social media marketing & everyday interactions on popular social platforms.

How to use hashtags for business?

People use hashtags like #love and #poetry to mark their tweets. However, using hashtags for business advantages is an entirely different ball game. Generating business advantages from search option requires appropriate use of hashtags.

Pay attention to following points before using hashtags for promotional posts;

• Create relevant hashtags by using group of words. For example, if you are a local bakery shop in NJ, then, go for #BakeryInNJ. Don’t ever use #bakery #shop #in #NJ.
• Think what your target audience might search before creating hashtags.
• Don’t stuff your posts with hashtags. Think about readability as well.

Beginners Basics & Hashtag Facts

Hashtag (#) is used on social media sites to mark keywords or topics. It can be a single word or a group of words preceded by the symbol #. It is used by people to discover content and participate in conversations.

Interesting hashtag facts & stats;    

• Chris Messina is credited for using hashtag for the first time, back in 2007
• Twitter made hashtags clickable in 2009
• Tumblr was the second major social media platform that started using hashtags. Instagram, Flickr and Facebook followed suit.
• Cross-channel nature of hashtag has added greatly to its popularity.

Types of social media hashtags

People all over the world use vast range of hashtags to connect and engage with each other. This is the main reason why young marketers want to learn how to use hashtags on Facebook, Twitter, & other social sites.

Hashtags are usually categorized under following types;

Brand specific – These hashtags usually include company name. Big brands also use their tagline for these hashtags. Kit Kat for instance uses #haveabreak

Campaign specific – These hashtags are made as per campaign in question and usually have a small social life.

Location specific – These hashtags are widely used by small businesses to connect with local community.

Trending – A trending hashtag is one that is very popular presently. These hashtags usually represent a topic of discussion.

Popular hashtags - These hashtags are in popular usage and are frequently used by social community. #FirstWorldProblems and #BraydenStrong are two popular examples.

Most hashtags fall in above categories with the obvious exception of very standard tags like #love, #poetry and #pain. Interestingly, there is another form of hashtags that are literally used every day of the week.

Hashtags for everyday of the week

Hashtags are used by people & brands on daily basis to become part of discussions. Following day based hashtags have evolved over the passage of time;

Monday – #MondayBlues, #ManCrushMonday, #MCM and #MeowMonday

Tuesday – #TransformationTuesday, #TT, and #TuesdayTreat

Wednesday – #WellnessWednesday, #WayBackWednesday and #WoofWednesday

Thursday – #ThrowbackThursday, #TBT, and #ThursdayFunDay

Friday – #FollowFriday, #FF, and #FridayFun

Saturday – #SaturdaySwag and #Caturday

Sunday – #SelfieSunday and #SundayFunday

If you don’t have the time to come up with unique post ideas, use every-week-of-the-day hashtags to make social media updates. However, make sure you don’t create your hashtag marketing strategy entirely around them.

How to use hashtags – Basic Points to consider

Hashtag usage is not rocket science but even experienced marketers sometimes get them wrong. Pay attention to following points to learn how to use hashtags effectively;

• Make sure your campaign hashtag is easy to spell, remember, and not very lengthy.
• Attention span of Twitter users is very low. So, keep tweets short and sweet.
• Use a hashtag that your audience can resonate with and hints about your product, brand or well-known marketing pitch.
• Run a search on your chosen hashtag to see what kind of results it generates. In case it is already associated with some other brand or brings out something negative, desert it & look for another.
• Careful study your chosen hashtag for double meanings, slangs, and linguistic issues. Always take a second opinion before finalizing
• Restrict hashtag usage in individual posts. While hashtag tolerance varies from channel to channel, keep them below 3 to remain on the safe side.

Above basic guiding points will help you avoid hashtag blunders but to make your hashtag campaign a success, you need a hashtag marketing strategy.

Marketing strategy to use hashtags effectively

Whether you want to run a Twitter hashtag marketing campaign or Instagram hashtag promotion, you need a master strategy to engage users and generate interest. Think about following points while creating your hashtag strategy;

Goal determination – Defining social goals is critical to come out with the right pitch. Do you want your hashtag to reach top trends on Twitter or aim to appear for a popular hashtag search query on Facebook? Define your goals for getting the right response.

Hashtag research – Extensive research is important to find the right hashtag. Consider generic hashtags that resonate well with your product, audience and campaign theme. Nike’s #makeitcount is a great example.

Push strategy – For social media beginners, initial push or publicity is important. Think how you are going to send out the message about your hashtag campaign. Brands partner with influencers and invest in paid marketing to reach their target audience. So, think how you are going to get the initial eyeballs.

Participation strategy – Starting a hashtag campaign and not following up with the interactions is the worst thing you can do. Create a participation strategy and define how you will interact through hashtag. Communicate with people through mentions and keep a close eye on threads.

Campaign promotion – Even if your hashtag campaign is Tumblr based, other social media campaigns can generate additional buzz and coverage. Inform your followers on other social media channels about the ongoing activity. Sharing campaign information and user generated content is a great way of doing the same.

Needs more tips about how to use hashtags on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and Tumblr?

Here they are!

• Studies have shown that engagement improves when links and hashtags are used together. So, remember the formula, Link + Hashtag = Better Engagement.
• Use your brand tags in your online marketing campaigns to improve recall.
• Take your most important tags offline. Promote your online hashtag based campaign through offline merchandise.
• Don’t forget to run risk assessment while planning a hashtag campaign
• Set realistic expectations for your campaign.

Facebook was the last one to bow down to the power of hashtags and optimized its system for them in 2013. You can choose to avoid them or make them part of your social media strategy to get better brand visibility & benefits.

Do you have any questions about using hashtags to improve your social engagement and response? Share your questions in the comment section or get in touch with us directly.