Restaurants and Online Video are the Perfect Combination

Restaurants and other convivial establishments (bars, clubs, etc.) can all make great use of online video to help drive new business from online advertising.  That our partner Citysearch features video profiles on hundreds of local restaurants is a testament to its effectiveness for owners who want to reach the growing online audience searching for the best restaurants in their local area.

As more people go online to find out where to spend their entertainment dollars the restaurants that do the best job of informing the online audience and telling a compelling, authentic story about their establishment will be the most successful in converting online browsers in to in-restaurant customers. 

Nation's Restaurant News recently covered TurnHere's success in creating online video for restaurants in an article titled "Indies, chains broaden reach to guests with online videos".  You'll need a subscription to view the full article.  Here is the opening line:

A growing number of operators are producing short videos for the Internet in an effort to attract the throngs of potential customers surfing the Web for news and entertainment. 

We believe nothing makes a restaurant standout than by providing the online viewer the opportunity to get a sense of the restaurant in action with video of the food, atmosphere and staff that makes the restaurant a great place to eat.

Below is a video we shot for ChikaLicious Dessert Bar in New York.  This unique dessert-only restaurant leverages videos to show the incredible experience of coming to their location just for dessert. How can video help your restaurant showcase its unique attributes?

Video and Travel are great partners

Producing great video often relies on an intriguing subject and visually appealing footage.  There may be no better opportunity to capture both than in video for exotic and unique travel destinations.  TurnHere produces videos for hotels, tourism boards, and other unique travel-properties across the country and around the globe.

From large hotel brands to small independently-owned and operated businesses; TurnHere is rewriting travel video by leveraging our 3,200+ global network of filmmakers to drive down production costs to a point where video makes sense for travel-based ventures of all sizes.  From producing and distributing 700+ pieces of micro-media video for InterContinental Hotels to in-depth profiles for the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, TurnHere creates captivating video that drives viewer interest and ultimately travel.

By using TurnHere's signature ad format travel businesses create an authentic experience for online video viewers.  Rather than an over-produced advertisement, viewers are guided on insider tours of the destinations by local filmmakers and hosts who know the best restaurants, shops, and must see spots that give viewers real insight to make travel decisions.

InterContinental took advantage of the low video production costs to create more than 700 videos featuring their concierge's from properties around the world.  Each video features a InterContinental concierge leading viewers on their top picks for dining, entertainment and sight seeing from around the properties. 

This video from InterContinental Hong Kong showcases this format:

The Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau promotes the different colors of the islands in their Go Hawaii video campaign.  They took advantage of TurnHere's video distribution channels including a branded YouTube page to highlight their videos online.

TurnHere Produces Video Around the Globe

TurnHere's wide network of filmmakers makes shooting on location a reality anywhere in the world.  Our filmmakers produce video in Italy, China, Kenya, French Polynesia and more.  By using local filmmakers TurnHere eliminates travel costs while bringing a local, insider perspective to video production by highlighting little-known facts about a travel destination in the final production.

This format has worked to great effect for our customers in the travel industry who have the difficult task of promoting the unique attributes of far flung properties to potential customers who are bombarded with marketing clamoring for their travel dollar.  TurnHere travel videos stand out from the noise and highlight not only the hotel or destination; but really dive in to the attributes that make the destination such an attractive place to visit.

Concierge.com used TurnHere's filmmaker network to produce video in the Amalfi Coast, Barcelona and Rio De Janeiro.  InterContinental Hotels used TurnHere's video production services for more than 200 of the company's properties around the world. 

Here's CondeNet's Richard Glosser talking about the concierge.com video initiative as they rolled it out last summer:

Personality Hotels Finds Success with TurnHere Video

Personality Hotels energetic president and CEO Yvonne Lembi-Detert believes that online video is an important key to the success of the San Francisco boutique hotel properties.  That's the focus of the company's latest press release titled "Staying Ahead of the Pack: Personality Hotels Launches Innovative Online Video."

Lembi-Detert approached TurnHere about creating a unique video profile of five of the company's signature properties in downtown San Francisco after turning down alternatives such as virtual tours and slide shows.

The impact of the video tour has been tangible:

“We’re always seeking out fresh & innovative ways to increase our customer base, and creating an online video has been an excellent vehicle to engage, educate, and entertain current and prospective customers,” says Lembi-Detert. “In fact, I’ve had many guests introduce themselves and tell me they feel as if they know me personally from the video.”

This authentic, engaging experience is what TurnHere strives for in each video we create.  Lembi-Detert's personality shines through and web-site visitors get a glimpse of what it is like to stay and dine at these unique destination hotels.

From the press release:

In less than four minutes, potential guests are able to learn about Personality Hotels and get an inside peek into each of the properties, all the while getting to know the president and CEO on a more personal level. Personality Hotels’ video can be viewed on the company’s homepage at http://www.personalityhotels.com/html/video-preview.html. The video has also been optimized for Google searches and is syndicated on YouTube, as well as numerous video portals across the Web.

The well-appointed hotels, the infectious personality of Lembi-Detert and the authentic style of the video make for a winning combination.  Visitors now get a chance to see the properties from the inside; guided personally by the owner.  We can't think of a better way to choose a new place to stay.

TurnHere's YouTube Channel Gets More Videos

Have you visited TurnHere's YouTube channel yet?  If not, you're missing out on more than 1,000 videos produced by TurnHere all about interesting places and people.  We just uploaded a fresh set of 200 videos that highlight top travel destinations around the globe.  The videos, made for InterContinental Hotels, feature local's-only info on cities such as Frankfurt, Nairobi, Shenyang and other must-visit destinations. 

If you love to travel and want to get an inside look at what's in store for you at these exciting locales you must check out these videos.  I don't know about you, but they make me want to jump on a plane!

Where?

These are countries that TurnHere is shooting in this month:

Jeddah
Shenzhen
Asmara (Eritrea)
Dubai
Beijing
Buenos Aires
Bora Bora
Puerto Vallarta
Los Cabos
Istanbul
Cozumel
Cancun
Merida
Tashkent
Valencia (Venezuela)
Mzaar (Lebanon)
Tahiti/Moorea
Beirut
Bucharest
Al Ain (UAE)
Almaty
Ixtapa
Medellin
Sydney

Go Hawaii

TurnHere, Inc., an online video solutions platform, today announced a deal with the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau (HVCB) to distribute GoHawaii videos across the Internet. The videos showcase stories about people who live in Hawaii, and through broad distribution will introduce Hawaii visitors to the unique diversity of activities and culture that awaits them on the islands.
TurnHere has built a YouTube channel for seven GoHawaii videos, a GoHawaii travel blog and is loading the videos into all the major search engines. TurnHere will also be announcing other distribution agreements with travel destination sites in the near future. HVCB looked to TurnHere’s solution to help extend its brand across the Web and expand its audience by tapping into popular video and travel sites. TurnHere’s distribution model also allows HVCB to showcase videos without using traditional ad models, enabling them to engage customers with compelling content early in the decision making process.
“TurnHere has a proven track record in delivering video content in a unique way online,” said Kara Imai, senior director of online marketing for the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau. “By distributing this video content on YouTube, our new travel blog and destinations across the Web, we can engage with potential visitors in new ways and illustrate what we love about Hawaii’s rich culture, history and natural beauty.”
The GoHawaii blog features many social media capabilities that increase interaction and further engage viewers. From the blog, viewers can copy and embed code and place the videos on their own Web sites or blogs, adding to the virality of the videos. Visitors to the blog can also email and comment on the videos, add them to Facebook, del.icio.us and Stumbleupon, and can subscribe to the site with RSS.
“TurnHere’s distribution strategy continues to develop as we embrace new opportunities in online video and social media,” said John McWeeny, senior vice president of TurnHere. “We are reaching a diverse and engaged audience with these travel videos, and are enabling travel companies and visitors bureaus to connect with vast audiences of potential visitors in new and compelling ways.”

Car videos

TurnHere has produced a number of videos for the car industry. One such partnership is with NewCars.com, in which we do video car reviews with Mother Proof. Check it out by clicking on videos on left part of page.

Travel companies embrace Web video

Web video is a great tool for businesses in the travel/hopsitality space. Whether you're a hotel looking to increase online reservations, a consumer travel site that sells airline tickets or an interactive travel guide, high-quality video can boost your site traffic, increase sales or attract advertisers to your Web site. Companies like Orbitz, TripAdvisor and InterContinental Hotels & Resorts are just a few of the many travel firms that have adopted video.

Here is one of TurnHere's latest travel videos for InterContinental, about Cannes, France.

TurnHere broadens its global reach

TurnHere's international filmmaker network is fast approaching 3,000 filmmakers. Based in more than 50 countries, these talented videographers are experts in creating short, engaging stories for the Web. Here's one of TurnHere's latest productions...all the way from New Zealand!

Travel videos

Have you ever visited the Mayan Ruins? Here is your chance. Travel is made for Internet Video.

TurnHere in Jakarta

TurnHere filmmakers are producing more and more videos in exotic spots around the world. Here is a recent TH production from Jakarta.