By JOE BUTLER, Spokesman-Review
Just over a year ago, a question woke up Alan Jacobson early in the morning. Truth be told, what actually roused him was how to answer a question posed the night before by his business partner Janet DeGeorge — “Why can’t classified ads be more like YouTube?”
The question was fair, since the amateur video sharing site has certainly exploded in popularity. Simultaneously, newspaper classified ad providers continue to look for new ways to stand out from the crowd, reach more eyeballs and better connect sellers and buyers.
So Jacobson, president and CEO of Brass Tacks Design, a national newspaper design consulting group, thought about what it would take to merge video and print ads, followed by the larger question, would people use the result?
“You have no idea how complicated it could be to set this up, but it still needed to be as simple as possible for users,” he said. “But it’s something new and different.”
Right away, he invited DeGeorge, a nationally known classified advertising consultant, to help in tackling those questions.
Eventually, the pair came up with “Real People Real Stuff,” an innovative new advertising service that allows people to record and upload their own video classified ads – essentially turn themselves into the producers and stars of their own commercials.
Then they began contacting newspapers nationwide to see which ones might be interested in this approach.
DeGeorge describes Real People Real Stuff as if ‘YouTube and Craigslist had a baby.”
“In creating this, we wanted to put together a product that incorporated two of the most popular sites out there, and at the same time, create a searchable category list that fit into the world of newspaper advertising,” she said.
Dozens of papers have already signed up for the service, and each can customize many of the features for their respective markets and customers.
The Spokesman-Review has been one of the first papers in the Northwest to join in.
Like YouTube, the uploading process is simple – users have up to 10 minutes to record their own messages, which can include video, audio, background music and special effects. And, unlike YouTube, their submissions can also include plenty of supplemental text giving extra details or links to a personal or business Web site.
Users with something to sell can film their own videos with their Webcams, phone cams or traditional camcorders. Then, it’s easy to upload.
Local ads already submitted include Spokane Dance, which demonstrate many cool moves; Merlyn’s Comics, showing many of the store’s products; and the staff at Luigi’s, who thank customers for their support and describe the good times and good food awaiting them.
“You don’t need to be real high-tech anymore,” Jacobson said. “Phones all come with cameras now, the computer editing software is free most places and easy to use, and most of us have access to broadband Internet at home or work.”
Potential buyers can search by topic or city. Recently uploaded videos are placed at the top of the site, so Jacobson said these traditionally are the most popular.
Rates for the service are $50 for most posters or $100 for Realtors. The real estate industry can especially benefit from Real People Real Stuff – imagine the power of a 10-minute walk-through of a listed home.
“You can get unlimited views of your ad from anywhere in the world,” Jacobson said. “People can look at your ad 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
DeGeorge said it’s a perfect time for newspapers to offer something like this, and easy for customers to respond to.
“Online video responds to the customer desire of ‘I want what I want and I want it now,’” she said. “It’s on demand 24/7, and free to view for the consumer when they want it or need it, in a most visually creative manner.”
Jacobson and DeGeorge have only been marketing Real People Real Stuff for the last year, and interest is growing.
“People think of the Internet as something that goes fast, but some new things take a long time to catch on,” he said. “Even YouTube took about eight months for people to start visiting it.”
DeGeorge said Web visitors want more and more online, especially where video is concerned.
“The YouTube debates on CNN brought a lot of credibility to the video world, and if newspapers can embrace this change, they can offer customers exactly what they need to get another level of customer, the ‘YouTube generation’ buying their products, and selling themselves to the customer in a way that only a expensive TV commercial could have,” she said. “So for the all the businesses that wanted a TV commercial but couldn’t afford it, now they can have the very same thing, online, and the newspaper is doing it for them.”
Both of them are excited about some of the exposure the project has received.
He’s been mentioned in two Wall Street Journal stories about the future of advertising, and been interviewed on NPR’s “Marketplace” program. Springwide.com, which tracks start-up companies world-wide, picked Real People Real Stuff as one of the year’s top entrepreneurial ideas.
“We’re seeing a lot of interest,” he said. “It was just a matter of time before all the technology came together for this.”