We talked about the origins of Beyond Ink in another article on this website.
In case you missed that, the Beyond Ink venture is an agency within The Review as it continues its 125-year tradition of helping businesses advertise and thrive. Beyond Ink is exactly what it says: opportunities for businesses to share more than just their sales and product offerings in printed products like newspapers and flyers. Showing the personality of your business, introducing your staff and talking to people are all part of today’s marketing. And videos can be a big part of that. And the crew at Beyond Ink, with includes Digital Project Manager Travis Desjardins, and Sharon Graves-MacRae, who does graphic and website design in addition to customer service, are key members of the team which works quietly in the background, kind of like ghost-writers, bringing social media sites to life.
While in the past, The Review has jumped into video making, it decided to hire some funny, creative guys to really go to town with engaging video content.
If you don’t know Maxime Myre, let’s just say this: he loves to tell stories. He’s a comedian. And he loves wacky ideas that get people’s attention.
That creative edge is what Review publisher Louise Sproule was looking for, along with the technical chops to script and film professional videos — short and long. So Beyond Ink and Myre’s fledgling company, Hawkmyer are working together.
Beyond Ink will continue its work, with Desjardins managing and promoting social media sites, and Graves-MacRae assisting with online web initiatives and design — and Beyond Ink clients will have exclusive video deals when they use Max and his team at Hawkmyer.
“We really appreciate having Maxime’s expertise available to us and we are already enjoying working together,” said Sproule. She, of course, is also a part of the Beyond Ink team, bringing more than 25 years of writing experience to the team.
“We seem to have the perfect mix of new ideas, new ways of looking at marketing, writing in engaging ways and putting all of that together for videos and more,” said Sproule.
“We care about local business, so you get all of our creativity, ideas for contests, events at your business and the best part is that we get to show you your business from a new perspective. What local businesses are doing is pretty amazing. Helping businesses never feels like work,” said Sproule.
Hawkmyer‘s specialty is creating captivating promo videos, scripted ads and even documentaries and films.
“I am already on the other side of the camera when Max and his team arrive every Wednesday to film The Review’s “News in Two” — our two-minute news videos. I am not one to be in front of the camera. I usually write at my desk, but Max and his assistant arrive, set up lights, a camera and get the wireless mike set up and we usually film in one take. Within half an hour, the video is edited and ready to upload. These are the smoothest videos we’ve ever made,” Sproule said.
The video offerings are in line with the philosophy behind all of the services offered by Beyond Ink.
“As online opportunities have grown for small businesses, the world is their customer. But reaching that large market and competing with every other business out there costs money. What’s your plan to compete? It takes time and expertise to create a website that actually does what you want it to do. As for videos, it’s the same thing. The images and the sound matter. Most businesses don’t have the equipment, the time or the personnel to make a video that makes them look good. And more to the point, the video has to have a purpose and tell a story. Crazy special effects and irritating music will make people tune right out,” she said.
“A big challenge for business owners today is figuring out where to use their resources. Are you going to get your staff to become videographers, social media marketing experts when you don’t expect your staff to repair the lighting and replace the toilet when you need a new one,” Sproule said.
Hawkmyer Productions uses video, photography and animations to tell stories and sometimes, to make people laugh or cry. Owner Maxime Myre says his company is also in talks to create original programming filmed right here in Prescott and Russell and in SD&G counties. He has assembled a team of talented young individuals ready to take on the challenge to create engaging and thoughtful content so that the area can shine online. His team is ready to create fun and innovative videos for Beyond Ink clients.
Myre says it is his love and appreciation for independent journalism that helped him decide to team up with The Review as its exclusive video production partner.
“The Review was already on its way to offer a digital approach to advertising, but it seemed like a coincidence that Max’s company strengths were the perfect intersect to what we wanted to do. Together, we will be able to offer our clients a solution to tell their story on the social media platform of their choice. The exciting part of this service is the way we can target our clients’ markets – wherever they may be,” said Sproule.
“Prescott and Russell and SD&G counties are nestled between two major Canadian cities; it is time to show people in Ottawa and Montreal that there are businesses here worth getting off the 417 for,” said Myre.
When businesses expand their advertising reach – their brand, services or products will be viewed by people through articles, social media posts, videos and animations.
“And so, Beyond Ink is all about telling your stories in ways to help your business. We can tell those stories everywhere: in ink, paperless, on websites, in videos and on social media. The trick is to get all of these platforms working for businesses,” said Sproule. And that’s what Beyond Ink and Hawkmyer will do together.
