Enter to Win A Free Video

Click Here To Learn More • Specialized Mailing Services, Inc. Home of the "Tear Sheet Queen"

Our friends at Specialized Mailing have a Free Video contest going on now!

Click on the picture to the right to get to SMS.

Find the same coupon by scrolling down on their main page and click there.

Submit all of your contact information in an email to enter.

Good luck!

Make sure to say hi to Alice, while you’re there!

CCG Event Productions Web Launch

If we always do what we've always done...we'll always get what we've always got!

CCG Event and Video Productions has been very blessed to continue working at full capacity, during these uncertain times. We even found time to update our website! Hope you’ll stop by!

As the year comes to a close, we want to take a moment to extend our sincere thanks to our valued customers.

We’re so very very grateful for their loyalty, trust, continued business and their friendship. Thank you all so much for collaborating with us. We really appreciate it!

Wishing you a healthy and Happy Holiday and all of the good things to come in 2010!

Cheers!

Congrats to our good friend, Karen Sorbo!

Karen Sorbo Event Productions

Professional fundraising auctioneer, Karen Sorbo, has rolled out her NEW Karen Sorbo Event Production website!

We always wondered why she waited so long. Organized, brilliant, beautiful and knows how to get the job done!

You’re amazing, Miss K!

The Eleventh Hour

I think we may safely trust a good deal more than we do. ~Henry David Thoreau

A common symptom of event production…the eleventh hour nearly too late; the last minute.

This dramatic human condition may be caused by to many meetings, large committees and a lack of trusted resources.

Good news…there is a cure and it’s never to late!

Virtual Assistance is a Sign Of The Times

Virtual Assistance for the New World!

Imagine an administrative virtual assistant who has the ability to prioritize and complete tasks within allotted time frames. They are personable, dependable, results-oriented and most importantly, self-sufficient. CCG Productions, Inc. is such a place!  We can take your brand, brochures, flyers, newsletters, blogs, events, tradeshows and more, from concept to completion. We combine our extraordinary creative services with exceptional graphics, imaginative writing and design expertise to create marketing media that your audience will remember.

MENU OF VIRTUAL ASSISTANT SERVICES

Administrative Support
Announcement Creation & Publishing
Event Planning & Production
Video & DVD Production
Website Design & Optimization
Brochure Creation & Printing
Business Card Design & Printing
Database Management & Creation
Flyer Creation & Printing
Logo and Graphic Design
Media Kit Creation & Development
PDF Document Creation
Ad Design & Placement
Banner Creation & Printing
Copywriting
Power Point Presentations
Blog Creation & Updates
Direct Mail Marketing
Custom Collage
Image Archiving & Organization
Email or Printed Newsletter Design
Internet Marketing & Research
Research & Development

Press Releases (PR)

Virtually, everyone benefits:
.    •New business startups with limited capital
.    •Small companies with limited budgets
.    •Business owners
.    •Traveling sales people
.    •Organizations, clubs and societies
.    •Professionals and executives
.    •Realtors

Need more information regarding how to hire a Virtual Assistant? Click Here!

How To Produce A Video or Corporate DVD

How To Produce a Video or DVD

Did you know that people remember a mere 20% of what they hear, and only 30% of what they see, and an incredible 70% of what they hear and see. Studies over the years have proven that the persuasive effectiveness of a corporate or direct marketing video boosts comprehension and effectiveness by 50%, over a live presentation. Case studies indicate that 95% of marketing videos are watched at some point in time and statistics also suggest that as many as 95% of those direct marketing videos are passed along to other viewers.

There are so many questions to ask, so many acronyms. We have budgets to meet and meetings to attend.

Who can we trust? Who will listen to our story and produce a product that will really project a full sense of our organization’s culture, mission and message, all at a price we can afford?

So we meet and discuss what we need the video to say and how much money we have to say it. Then we meet a few more times to try and agree on the content of the piece. At some point we’ve met enough about this production, so we finally delegate someone to initiate the RFP process to a selection of providers we have found on the internet, or in the yellow pages.

Sometimes we’re out of fresh ideas, so this process will help us to get production companies to bid on our needs, share their creative ideas, to gain our business, so that we can compile all of those ideas to make some sense out of what our true goal is. Then some of us make the mistake of running out and hiring the cheapest video or event production company to get the job done and off of our checklist. Whew.

We’ve observed this process many times and it’s frustrating to watch how complicated, confusing and expensive this all gets. Transactional marketing is running rampant in the corporate world. Take stock and evaluate how your internal corporate marketing processes may be affecting your results due to corporate blindness or positioning within your own organization. Do you have a process in place to gauge the effectiveness or longevity of those marketing pieces that you’ve spent all this time and money on?

Corporate video and event production, as we all know, isn’t cheap! Putting it into relative terms, you can spend as much as $5,000 on a wedding video that is usually nothing more that an enhanced slide show with a few transitions and 3rd generation background music.

Budget dollars translate into resources that are allowable for the production of any video presentation. You just need to match the criteria that you’ve had all of those meetings about.

So how much does it cost to produce a video?

How long does it take to come up with a great idea?

Two very different questions same answer. It depends.

Remember…content is king. Take stock of the video content and images you have lining your file drawers and shelves. It helps to fill in the gaps and really helps keep production costs down. Besides, finding a use for those old ideas gives you back some of the ROI you expected from those marketing pieces in the first place.

Professional video production can range from the low thousands to the hundreds of thousands. Corporate production costs depend on the organizational effectiveness of the coordination and management of the video production and the creative thought that goes into the story being told. Pricing can fall within the $15,000 – $100,000+.

Translated into per minute pricing you can expect to pay anywhere from $1,500 per edited minute for an industrial production to $8,500, or more, per edited minute for a higher-end corporate production/commercial. Most corporate video productions seem to fall into the $3,500-$5,000 per edited minute range and at that price you can expect a very professional end product. Productions that are promised under $3000 per edited minute should raise your eyebrows a bit as the costs that are cut in that price range are usually in the editing process and can affect your results. If all you are looking for is a dressed up PowerPoint slideshow, than the lower per minute edited price is right.

Time is often the largest cost and can be tricky to plan for. Experienced video producers prepare, plan and organize the video production process to keep all of those billable hours in line. Creative sessions and meetings can be minimized if your producer asks the right questions and has the creative resources to get the production rolling in the right direction.

Beyond the time element you must also take the following needs into consideration when creating your budget. Equipment, transportation, accommodations for personnel, materials needed, production costs include creative concepts, content development, scripting, client content, editing, graphics, voiceover, music tracks, actors and licensing.

Video equipment and technician costs are pretty much defined and are always hired by the hour or the day. Pricing depends on the area of the country you live in.Here is an example of average day rates for various video production charges for your information.

Edina Realty Expo 2009 Event Production

Creating a spectacular event for Edina Realty was quite a challenge, during these economic times! Topping it off with a NEW contact person made it even more challenging. So what made the event a success?

Answer: Every detail was covered with kit gloves and respect!

It’s always interesting to have a NEW contact person come in to an event that has been produced by the same production company for over 9 years. You have to take it slow and allow them to get comfortable with the process without letting on that their contributions may not be original. There are only so many ideas in the creative process, especially when you are entertaining the same audience, year after year.

Our goal beyond the success of the show was to break the ice with our new leader and help him join in on the fun…once we had ours.

Below is our stage design based on our first creative theme meeting with the marketing department at Edina Realty. It was purely a hoax to bring as our new contact described a military mentality in this unusal marketplace. Bringing his creative thoughts to life was so much fun…even though he back peddled on the military theme once we were into our 2nd creative session. The real stage design that we settled on is displayed but the military stage design was given as a gift to our new friend, so he could remember meeting us for the first time:)

 

How Good Do You Want To Be?

 

Just Kidding!

On with the show…

Edina Realty’s Expo 2009 was a grand success! Given the emotional state of corporate America, it was a challenge that turned into pure joy and excitement. Collaborating with the Edina Realty marketing team, we were able to create a tasteful stage design with a thoughtful and imaginative show flow, unbelievable show & technical production staff and a receptive audience…everything was perfect in the world!  You can be sure that the family at Edina Realty will take this day with them and implement all of the tools that were shared to benefit in their success… and be assured that it could take months for the smiles to wear off! 

Here’s a few of our favorite event photos to commemorate the day:)

What We’re Working On

Edina Realty Expo 2009

This week we will be producing Edina Realty’s Expo 2009. We’ve produced the show for the last nine years and this year has been one of  the most challenging!

How in the world were we going to come up with some creative ideas to motivate realtors in this market?

Our collaboration with Edina Realty’s marketing department brought us to the tag-line…How Good Do You Want To Be?

With a simplistic stage design, motivational speakers, great trade-show booths and an inspirational video describing the extraordinary service that Edina Realty provides to their clients & agents…we’re ready to pump those 2000 agents up and spread positive vibes everywhere!

As Wayne Dyer puts it so eloquently…Change the way you look at things and things you look at will change!

More to come!

The Creative Gang

Independent Production Saves Time & $

Welcome to CCG Productions WordPress Blog!

Here’s a little bit about us…

The Cre8tive Collaboration Gang, is a leading independent production firm in the Twin Cities area, perceptively built itself upon those economic principles, developing and incorporating over many years enduring relationships with a consortium of support vendors. Themes, video, audio, lighting, staging, talent, pyrotechnics, special effects, venue selection, scripting, music, decorative or any other element required is at your finger tips through a single coordinating source. This eliminates headaches relating to your having to juggle multiple vendors, or the costs associated with “everything under one roof” behemoths.

We blend this creative financing with over 40 years of award winning creative production, delivering an extreme level of innovation and professionalism in corporate and private events of all types, both large and small. We work hand-in-hand with you in collaborating and delivering on time and on target. Our single goal, your success.

Recession. Economic Slump. Belt Tightening. Volatile Marketplace. High prices.

Unsettling words, yet the current financial cycle we are experiencing is simply that, a cycle, an adjustment most have been exposed to in the past, and one we inevitably will recover from based on our response to it. Current industry magazine articles attest the fact that many corporations are responding by utilizing the talents of independent production specialists, as opposed to in-house or large, overhead ridden production companies. Their cost savings are measurable while simultaneously enjoying a higher quality level.

Our goal is to share enough of our experiences to help you create spectacular events, video’s and trade-shows!

Cheers!