Jules Blundell began her career honing her communication skills to capture the attention of one of the most commonly distracted audiences: school students. Recognising a gap in the education sector, she launched Bluewave International, an international recruitment company, specialising in finding positions for high-calibre teachers. After four successful years, Jules sold Bluewave and left the UK to return home to Melbourne, Australia.
In 2012, Jules established Marketing Hands, a company dedicated to helping small business owners navigate through the maze of marketing overwhelm. Through mentorship and training, she maintains an unwavering commitment to supporting business owners in creating more successful companies.
Jules founded VideoBuzz after recognising another critical gap in the marketplace. With a passion for all things digital, she leads a team of top-notch strategists, scriptwriters, production experts, animators and content creators to transform business messages into stunning, influential multi-channel videos.
Since establishing VideoBuzz, Jules has become one of Australia’s leading authorities on the art of engagement through what she calls “messages in motion”. She is the author of Capture More Customers with Video – The Why, What and How, and is a trainer and speaker on the topic.
Jules sits on the board of Duke of Edinburgh (VIC) and Urban Lifesavers and is a long-standing judge of the Anthill Cool Company and Smart 100 awards.
STARTING THE BUSINESS
What makes VideoBuzz so unique to the industry?
What makes us unique is our ability and focus on crafting amazing business messages that resonate deeply with their targeted audience. Due to a strong business background in sales, marketing and business development, combined with an MBA and years founding businesses, I understand what it takes to create the right message for the right audience. At its simplest, we are not technicians; we are business experts with a special knack in business messaging, in comparison to most video production companies, which are founded by videographers and animators.
What were the toughest challenges you faced when first starting the company?
I think the toughest challenge that I have faced and continue to face is the juggling of being a business owner, board director, wife and mum of seven-year-old twins. I want to be everything to everyone, but there is only so much you can do in a day. I also want to publish another two or more books and struggle to find any time to fulfil this dream.
Is there anything you wish you’d known when launching VideoBuzz that you ended up learning the hard way?
Because VideoBuzz is my fourth business, I would probably say that I wish I had acknowledged my age before starting this one.
*Jules laughs.*
Youthful energy and not having to manage a family makes starting a business considerably easier, only because you can work the necessary hours required and remained totally focused. Founding a business is not for the faint hearted. It is a roller coaster ride of high and lows, lots of money, no money and everything in between. It is your steel determination and impenetrable belief that keeps you going through the rough time and makes those wins so much sweeter.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
What’s the most important aspect to keep in mind to stay at the top of your industry?
At this present moment in time, I think personal brand is everything. People only do business with people they know, like and trust. They search for you online before they pick up the phone. So, I believe that if you are not ‘working’ your online profile and can be found easily and seen as a true leader in your industry then you are simply making it really tough for yourself.
Where do you see the industry in 5 – 10 years?
I recently blogged about this on LinkedIn (republished here for your convenience):
Marketing Departments of the Future – Are you ready?
To remain competitive in the future, it’s predicted that most companies will become major media producers. [Some are already there…check out Redbull and Salesforce].
Companies of the future will come to rely upon the creative, business acumen of their newly appointed Director of Video Strategy, all employees will be trained to become savvy native video producers (internal and external production) and these companies will become totally reliant on video content for all their sales, marketing & PR. Native video productions applications are also driving this change.
But perhaps the future is actually not too far away. Online video now accounts for fifty per cent of online traffic (HighQ) and is expected to be close to 80% by 2017. Early adopters are experiencing great results with some reporting to be obtaining a 200-300% increase in click through rates in email campaigns and using the word “Video” in an email subject line boosts open rates by 19%, click-through rates by 65% and reduces unsubscribes by 26% (Forrester).
“With the rise of mobile, video is in high demand because people love visual storytelling. This includes short form, long form, snippets, streaming, etc. This shift in consumption shatters some of the conventional marketing models. Content will need to be produced more quickly and efficiently which has big implications for the traditional agency/brand relationship.”
Source: 25 Predictions for what Marketing will look like in 2020.
We are also seeing a change in the way we communicate with our customers too. There is a subtle ‘shift from talking at the world to making the world talk’ (Jeff Beer). People hate corporate jargon, features and benefits and being sold too. They want authenticity and all they want to know is whether your product / service solves their problem(s). If it does, they will tell their networks about it because they have already earned the right to share and recommend content amongst their networks. Most brands, no longer have that right to disrupt these conversations.
Marketing departments of the future will become media producers. The quest for affordable content production will force them to bring a large majority of the content production services in house so that they can keep up with demand and maintain some form of control over their brand.
Is your company media ready? Many organisations have already started to evolve. I just searched on LinkedIn and there are 36 results for “Director, Video Strategy”.
How will VideoBuzz adapt to this trend?
We have already started to embrace this change by launching the first Video Production Training for organisations and individuals wanting to create videos like a pro. We need to be supporting the forward-thinking companies now and help them to achieve their video marketing goals. It’s not taking away my business; it is helping us all to grow.
What is your ultimate vision of success?
My vision of ultimate success for me is two-fold: my business sells for millions in the next 5 – 10 years, and then I spend the rest of my time presenting across the globe and helping other businesses to succeed for free.
Do you have any advice for entrepreneurs who want to follow in your footsteps?
Building a business is hard work. If you don’t love what you do, then it becomes an enormous up-hill battle that makes you miserable every day. If you choose to launch a business around something that you love, then everyday is fun, the roller-coaster ride is a thrill and selling is easy. Make sure your business is about solving real problems, not just a great idea that was founded over a couple of beers at the pub.
For more information on VideoBuzz, visit www.VideoBuzz.com.au.
Our thanks go to Jules for agreeing to take part in this interview.