Modern marketing is brutal, so different to how it was even a decade ago with the seismic consumer shift from traditional media to video and social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn.
“You literally have two to three seconds to grab someone’s attention otherwise they’re going to swipe on past,” says John Wetherall, Head of Video Content at LMG Creative, based at WOTSO Fortitude Valley in Brisbane.
“In the first couple of seconds you need a great hook to keep someone engaged for the next 20 seconds. You really want to make the audience want to stick around.”
To do this he says you have to be rapidly relevant.
Attention-grabbing strategies may involve solving a common problem or producing a “hot take” on a current issue that makes swipers think: “I want to hear what this is all about”.
And this is where some of the old rules still apply – good creative and catchy messaging remains crucial to the success of every campaign.
“If you’re coming in cold as a business that’s just starting out, we find that that quicker, faster engaging content works a lot better in terms of getting people’s eyeballs,” John says.
“It’s a very competitive space now. The cost of entry is so minimal. Anyone with a phone can create content. So, you’ve really got to focus on the creative and messaging.”
After working for many years as a freelance cameraman on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane, John started working from WOTSO Fortitude Valley five years ago, soon after joining LMG Creative full-time.
While he still occasionally shoots footage, John’s role is now production-focused. The LMG website describes him as a “video editor, motion graphics master and after-effects wizard, responsible for turning creative vision into actual vision”.
Corporate work is LMG’s bread and butter. “A lot of training content, a lot of conference or live events – we found a resurgence in those post-COVID – and video for social media campaigns across all the major platforms.”
He says the flexibility and location of WOTSO are a big drawcard. “It’s an easy walk from Fortitude Vally train station and pricing is competitive.
“When a client wants to come along and chat in person, it’s good to have a space you can bring them that’s somewhat corporate, but still reflective of us as a brand.
“We’re not too serious, we don’t wear suits and ties – we’re creatives and it fits in well with that kind of ethos.”
His LMG colleagues on the Gold Coast also use WOTSO, working out of Robina when they need space, while another staff member is also based at Fortitude Valley.
“We’re all quite family orientated now so there’s a lot of work-life balance,” he says.
“It works well for us in terms of scale as well. If we need to get other people in, it’s easy to scale up if we’ve got a big project versus the overheads of having a big office space that you’d use 20% of most of the time.”
