The PPMT is the cooler, younger cousin of the "SMT." We will get into that in a moment, but to understand how the PPMT is better, you need to first understand the SMT.
You've known the SMT (Satellite Media Tour), they have been around for years. They are typically interviews set up via satellite, maybe with an actor pitching their latest movie from a location in Hollywood. Called the SATELLITE MEDIA TOUR (SMT for short) because the process involves having the subject in a studio transmitting the signal over the course of the day to large media markets around the country via satellite, appearing on those city's local lifestyle/entertainment or news programs. The SMT allows for maximum coverage in the least amount time. Though it still takes all day to reach audiences coast-to-coast and involves repeating the same things over and over and over for each live audience. It's also expensive. Booking studio time, a crew, and satellite access is often cost prohibitive to brands without deep pockets. Heck, it can cost as much as a Tesla to set up a single SMT. (I'd rather have the Tesla). The biggest selling factor of an SMT is that allows the interview subject to interact live with a show's hosts, the bad thing is, since an SMT is live, anything can happen and usually does. Sometimes the signal is even lost completely. Oof.
Eventually advertisers realized the potential of the SMT and started booking their own segments to reach audiences in major markets. You've seen those cooking segments, book authors, tech and toys, fashion and clothing lines, health and wellness products, home goods and DIY tools, food brands, and beauty and skin care lines, etc. all being demonstrated on live television. The expert standing behind a table, pointing to products, and reciting a litany of facts and niceties. It is an effective way to get the word out about a new product or brand and reach millions far and wide while targeting direct to a show's specific demographic. The shows that carry these SMTs also realize the potential profit in this too and charge for the time to broadcast them. So what used to be an expensive but effective way to transmit a product's message became even more expensive, leaving this option beyond reach for some brands. And quite frankly, advertisers funding these SMTs didn't really need nor want the witty back-and-forth banter between the show's hosts and their expert representative. This was just eating up precious satellite minutes that they pay for to get their messaging out. There had to be a better way, right?!
The rise of YouTube. It seemingly changed everything. Now a company can just make a video and put it on YouTube (for free) and reach the world! While this is true, and should always be part of a brand's marketing strategy, the internet viewer can just click on to something else. Poof...they aren't going to watch that 4 minute cookware demo. Turns out, there is still tremendous value in reaching television audiences. Mostly because television is passive viewing. Viewers typically just leave it on the channel they are watching, if the content is engaging enough for them, they'll stay for all 5 minutes of it, viewing it from the comfort of their couch. The MEDIA TOUR can still relevant and still effective. Now you'll notice I didn't say SATELLITE media tour. That's because thanks to high speed internet, you no longer need to book a expensive studio and crew, reserve time on an expensive satellite, and have to employ a coordinating producer who is standing by to communicate in real time with the talk shows' producers. Companies like Lunarvue Media can now pre-produce a media tour and then distribute it via the internet to your intended market's favorite news/lifestyle and infotainment show. No satellite and no studio necessary.
How? At Lunarvue Media, we have pre-produced dozens of media tours and have worked directly in the lifestyle/infotainment talk show sphere for decades. Our PPMTs (Pre-Produced Media Tours) are a more efficient, higher quality, and more cost effective way of conducting a product media tour.
We've learned what works and what doesn't. A quality team like ours can create a big budget Media Tour look from within a living room of a house! Which makes sense when you consider that you are reaching people at home about products that are used in the home, right? Lunarvue's PPMTs utilize knowledgeable and experienced on-camera talent, amazing in-house produced B-roll, and script writing that hits the targeted messaging points on time, every time. It's also NOT live (though we can make it look that way) so a brand doesn't have to worry about their expert fumbling the key attributes and best yet, we won't lose the satellite signal! So what does it cost? First off, it's waaaay cheaper than an SMT. For example, Lunarvue's PPMT's (pre-produced media tour) can be a 1/4 of what an SMT can cost.
There's lots of benefits of incorporating your brand's product into a Lunarvue PPMT:
No need for coordinating and booking complicated and expensive satellite time
Use your expert or one of our knowledgeable and friendly on-camera talent
Pre-written and pre-approved script means talking points are on target
Emmy award winning production quality and shot with cinema cameras
A PPMT can be shot anywhere...your place, our place, or any place
PPMTs are pre-produced so the brand's marketing department can make revisions
On-site B-ROLL is included where best needed and/or we can use provided elements
The timing is smoother and is less rushed than doing it live
Want a live feel? We have our ways of doing what we call a "look live" PPMT
The final video can be uploaded and shared on social media platforms
Alternate edits can be factored into the production
It's less expensive than a traditional in-studio or a satellite tour
No travel needed! You send the products and we make the video.
How to get started; first step is to reach out to Lunarvue or any reputable production company and ask them how they produce their media tour content. Creating this content isn't every studio's cup of tea, so make sure they have experience in this field. Once you've found someone that aligns with your company's culture and brand, you'll need to outline your product(s) attributes and market demographic. From there, a script and a shot sheet can be created prior to production.
Lastly...there's one more way to make this even less expensive! The Co-Op (cooperative) PPMT.
This is when multiple related brands can be combined into a single topical media tour. For example, we might have a "Best Products for Dad" PPMT that we want to air around Father's Day. It might include a razor brand, an active wear brand, a tech brand, and maybe a tool brand. Each sharing 1 minute of a 4.5 minute PPMT. That reduces cost of each brand's involvement over a single brand PPMT! Thanks in part to the internet and social media, there are now even more ways and more avenues to get the word out about products that are coming to market. But we all still consume engaging television content and advertising everyday. A Lunarvue PPMT gives clients a way now to create advertising that IS engaging television content, direct to their demographic that is most interested in what they offer.