Your CEO goes on Fox News. Awesome! But who wants to watch his talking head for more than a few seconds?

Nada. Zip. No one.

Imagine getting a chance to show much more! That’s where the importance of B-roll comes in. We’ve all seen it – cutaways during a newscast that show visuals enhancing the story. No PR effort with the national TV/cable news media is complete without having a B-roll handy to send them. Your B-roll helps the TV/cable station show video about your company while the CEO is talking. It’s a sweet opportunity to get out in front of the message by showcasing your company and its products at its finest!

Don’t leave the video editor scrambling to find visuals! Even worse: They might use images of your competitor because that’s all they could find. Give them your visuals on a silver platter; make their job easier; and you’ll be in a better position to control the visual message.

Case in point: Sheri Baer of The Hoffman Agency was developing a PR campaign for their client IDT. Working with WMS media, she created one snappy B-roll file that was picked up when Fox Business News aired a story about IDT. Sheri says: “Whether we’re pitching CNBC, Bloomberg or Fox Business, one of the first questions we get asked is, ‘Do you have B-roll?’ Everyone knows video makes for a much more engaging segment — and being able to provide those supporting visuals can make or break an opportunity.”

B-roll: Don’t leave your office without it.