Driven by passion for innovation and humanity’s growth, Tom Dodge and the team at NewView.Media guide brands through pre-production, filming and video editing to craft creative content that engages, educates and encourages action. In 2019, the company produced 413 videos across 85 marketing, event, and fundraising campaigns! All of Tom and his team’s dedication and hard work has paid off — NewView.Media earned “Best Business Video Marketing Agency - Greater Boston” from Corporate Vision Magazine’s Media Innovator Awards.

We’re excited to feature Tom Dodge in this week’s Member Monday highlight. Continue reading to learn more about Tom Dodge’s college experiences that led him to launch a video production company, insights on how food and video intersect, and general advice for entrepreneurs. 

You launched NewView.Media in 2017. What inspired you to start your own video production company, and what was an unexpected challenge that you encountered in that process?

I started my video production company, Frame of Reference Media Collaborations, LLC (also known as “FOR Media”) in 2014 after graduating Boston College and then rebranded to NewView.Media LLC in 2017.

I was a Political Science and Communications double major at Boston College and that exposed me to a range of storytelling courses, including my video and audio classes. I had been involved in starting an online college newspaper with 50 writers from over 30 schools my sophomore year, worked for equity crowdfunding platform Netcapital my junior year writing business plans for startups to raise money from investors, and spent all senior year on building a media company. I became more involved with the Boston College Entrepreneurship society and while we didn’t win the business competition senior year, I made the decision to stay committed to starting a company and lived at home for 2 years while attending a wide range of networking events. By spending time in the State House, I also secured our first big client, a documentary for retiring state senator Steve Brewer. Before moving into the city, I made the decision to pay for office space at CIC Boston’s 50 Milk Street building as a way to gain more exposure and clients, which in hindsight was probably the most important move to building a sustainable business. 

Thus the biggest challenge is putting in the initial time to build relationships and growing your skills into becoming an expert in the field. As my Great Uncle Henry Appleton said when I first incorporated, “it takes 5-7 years to build a sustainable business”.

In recent years food and media have come together like never before. Social media is full of food content - pictures, videos, etc. What do you think is driving this trend and do you have any predictions for the future?

Video is such a dynamic means to engage, so I only see the trends exponentially increasing. As a driver for this trend, people are so connected to the internet via their phones and other devices that it’s becoming a continuous battle for engagement and consistent content is amongst the key factors on how to stand out and build your audience. 

There are countless ways for a business to share their brand story. For food brands, what do video campaigns bring to the table that other marketing methods don’t?

Video is arguably the most important marketing asset to help brands grow through communication with target audiences. For instance, statistics show that video has a 1200% more engagement rate than text or picture posts combined. We’ve also seen companies with professional videos are much more likely to raise more with crowdfunding campaigns.

What advice do you have for entrepreneurs who are trying to create a video campaign strategy for their food brand?

Creativity isn’t a linear process, so devote a few weeks for pre-production. Schedule an ideation meeting with the key stakeholders for the campaign. Determine which team members, clients or industry experts would authentically represent your brand. Brainstorm messaging points and visually engaging shots that could be captured or graphics that can be created. Ensure you have a trusted videographer to capture the interviews, silky smooth B-Roll shots and will work with you to develop the editing iterations. If you’re devoting resources towards a video campaign, I highly suggest developing a strategy for more than one video to be produced from it as it’s all about consistently releasing content for different segments of target audiences.

How has your Branchfood membership helped you expand your reach and further accomplish NewView.Media’s goals?

Branchfood is amongst Boston’s best resources for entrepreneurs to help grow every aspect of their mission. Our business would not be in the place we are today without Branchfood’s physical space, educational events, networking opportunities and overall support of Lauren Abda’s team. Branchfood is our home and it’s been an honor collaborating with members from their food community such as Sated (who we helped raise $180k on Kickstarter), OpenCity (who we filmed at FS Tec in Dallas and produced Product Demos), Bohana (who we helped get on SharkTank), Relavent Systems (who we helped restaurants reopen from COVID), and most recently ImpactsSnacks - whose Kickstarter I’d highly recommend supporting!

Also, Branchfood’s Serving Up Support Series has been an invaluable resource for the community during these uncertain times. It’s a testament to the Branchfood network that such a diverse range of dynamic speakers was assembled so quickly to help entrepreneurs in all areas of business.

How can our audience support NewView.Media?

You can check out our highlight reel or browse our website to see the kind of work we do. We also recently worked on a video podcast, Creating the World We Want, that focuses on long-term solutions to society’s most pressing problems, with guests including Dr. Don Berwick, Governor Michael Dukakis, and more. If you can, support Impact Snacks Kickstarter campaign — they’re making a 100% plant-based superfood bar that reclaims more carbon than it makes and produces zero plastic. Finally, connect with me or NewView’s Executive Video Producer, John Duke Logan, on LinkedIn, follow us on Instagram @NewView.Media, @tcdodge25, @johndukelogan, or get in touch via email: tom [at] newview [dot] media.

Thank you to Tom at NewView.Media for being this week’s Member Monday spotlight. Are you interested in how a Branchfood membership can help you succeed? Learn more about our membership benefits, and stay informed with our newsletter. Be sure to follow us on Instagram for our next Member Monday takeover!