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Video news releases
The success of VNRs (click here for definition in glossary) depends
on there being a newsworthy story to tell, the polished execution and timely delivery of that story - and space in the news agenda at the time of release.
Some items of great importance to companies or with fundamental importance for wider society will not be picked up by broadcasters if they are not well supported by visuals, do not have a "newsworthy" aspect, do not
meet the current news media interests, or if the supplied material does not meet broadcast technical standards.
A key to success is to find aspects of a story which have audience appeal or news value, and to create striiking, stimulating footage which captures that story.
Often this means planning well in advance, and collecting or creating footage which it would not be easy for a news crew to pick up at short notice.
A successful VNR is rarely based on supplying independently-funded coverage of an announcement, speech or event that broadcasters and news organisations have shown no interest in covering.
VNRs for terrestrial broadcasters normally have to be delivered at broadcast technical quality - unless you have some truly striking and rare footage with news value.
Typical costs for a simple VNR start at around £4,500+ mark, plus VAT. This can quickly ecalate when more complex staging or memorable or newsworthy events, capture of unusual footage, or collection and editing
of images from multiple sources is required.
Hiring a broadcast cameraman and (Digibeta) kit for a one-day shoot costs in the region of £550 - £650 plus VAT and expenses. A 2 person crew (with dedicated sound recordist), allow £750 - £900 plus VAT and expenses.
For a reporter / director, which you are likely to need for all but the simplest of coverage, allow £250- £400 per day, probably for at least a day's preparation, a shoot day and an edit day. Editing costs vary
enormously - a fast and simple news item will be turned round quickly on relatively inexpensive kit. A more elaborate edit, involving multiple sources, creative use of effects and a corporate review-and-approval
cycle, will be a lot more time-consuming and may involve a more expensive edit suite.
Of course a "guerilla" publicity approach, staging or creating newsworthy events and capturing low-budget, even near-domestic quality pictures of those events, can sometimes be used with striking success.
From Grapevine's portfolio:
An animation software development company maximised awareness of its Queen's Award for Export Achievement
by using a short video news release, prepared by Grapevine in less than a week, which helped attract local and satellite media attention, making the BBC local news morning, lunchtime and evening bulletins
as well as being picked up by Sky News.
For more on the developing role of new technology in extending the range and reach of VNRs both in the UK and internationally, you could take a look at the News Market website
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