Corporate Filmmaker Captures Passions and Moves People

By Bill Doerr, Sales & Marketing Editor
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You just have to love someone whose mother says:

  1. at the end of a film you’ve co-produced and directed . . .
  2. showing in the main theater at The Smithsonian in Washington, DC . . .
  3. as your name scrolls up in the credits and fills the screen . . .
  4. in a voice loud enough that people all around you know who you are . . .

“That’s my son!”

I know I do. And that’s a true story, by the way. The main character is Tom Clifford. Tom is an award-winning filmmaker (full-time director / some-time producer).

His passion is helping a company or non-profit organization tell their story in a way that is uniquely engaging, energetic, compelling, meaningful and motivational. Did I also mention, ‘authentic’?

Ironically, that’s precisely the way I describe Tom to someone who doesn’t know him. He’s one of the really ‘good’ guys. And, I’m honored to have him as my friend.

In a recent conversation, Tom shared a notable achievement – “I made the Advertising Age ‘Power 150’ List!”. I must have looked like I didn’t know what that meant exactly because he graciously went on to explain it to me. “You know Advertising Age” (a ‘must read’ publication for the media moguls and wannabe’s out there), right? It maintains a list of the top media and marketing blogs and . . . I made THE list!”.

Typical of Tom, he was proud but not arrogant. I, on the other hand, was impressed.

I first met Tom a number of years ago when he was exploring how to leave the cramped corridors of corporate culture for the expansive highways of entrepreneurial endeavor. At that time, I doubt he was thinking about – or planning on achieving -- goals like making such a prestigious list as Advertising Age’s ‘Power 150’ (by the way, his blog’s still in the top 150 even though the list has grown to over 600!).

So it was somewhat amazing that I, in my Internet travels, began to see arcane references to Tom and he was looking pretty good! Ever the Seth Godin fan (I am, too!), he had a CHANGE THIS! MANIFESTO published titled: Bring Your Brand to Life: Harnessing the Power of Remarkable Corporate Video Stories. “Dang, TC. Not bad!”, I thought.

A little more investigation and I find that he’s a pretty serious player on Linked-In, the online business networking service where I find that Tom’s become one of the most connected individuals on the planet (well, it seemed that way, anyway!). And why not? He’s good friends with fellow TNNW editor, Jason Alba and author of the wildly popular book, “I’m on LinkedIn, Now What?”.

A little more ‘digging’ uncovered Tom’s Squidoo lens (actually, he’s built several of them for the various niches he serves) which is a variation on your basic blog which Tom authors.

But the endorsement from the Oprah (do I really have to say, “Winfrey”?) celebrity, that renowned metaphysician, Deepak Chopra, M.D. who said, “Organizations wishing to produce enlightening corporate films from a seasoned veteran would do well by embracing Tom's unique ability to capture authentic and engaging stories on film."

That was the final straw! I HAD to find out how ‘Director Tom’ had managed to get such incredible visibility AND credibility . . . in such a relatively short amount of time.

We met over breakfast to catch up. Here’s what he shared about his remarkable ‘rise’ to prominence via the electronic media . . .

First, he’s paid his dues. “It’s hard to believe, but I’ve got well over 20 years in this wonderful (and, often crazy!) business of making films and telling compelling stories that move people into action”, he said. “Hmmm”, I thought. “Must be that ‘overnight’ success factor that just takes you 25% of your whole life to work through!”

Second, he’s embraced the power of modern media. Web 2.0. The Internet in general. And, blogs, in particular!

“I started casually blogging in late 2005. About a year later I began to really see the potential value of blogging as a way to ‘join the conversation’ with others and ‘find my voice’ as a thought-leader in my field.”

“I learned that, although corporate films – and people who make them – are everywhere, there was no single venue where I could go and make contact with my peers and colleagues. That was disappointing. So I began to blog as a way to reach out to myself, my peers and any related parties who felt a burning passion to help a worthy organization, person or idea find a way to tell their story and, as a result, change people and their perception of the world as they’ve known it. Hopefully, for the better!”

Like the future . . . blogging . . . ain’t what it used to be. And neither is Tom Clifford. Now he’s not only an award-winning filmmaker (PBS specials, MTV and the like) but he’s an acknowledged thought-leader on the power of corporate filmmaking whose ability to tell a story in a marvelous medium like film and, more recently, digitally-rendered visual media, has helped him to progressively fulfill his personal vision of changing the world –– one person, one perception and one position at a time.

“Tom” I asked, “what advice can you share with our readers about harnessing the power of the Internet and building a platform for changing the world?”

“Nice question, Bill!”

“Start the Conversation *. Literally. Join the Conversation is a great book by Joe Jaffe. Get it. Read it. Live it.”

* Deliver Magazine's Samar Farah interviews Jaffe

“Start a blog. Don’t wait. An imperfect performance beats perfect procrastination every time. In fact, you might like to start by creating a Squidoo lens*. It’s designed to make blogging as easy as possible plus it offers a lot of built-in capabilities a solo blog may not”.

* You can read more about Squidoo in Rita Wilhem's Networking Your Website article.

“Comment on other blogs. Make relevant, respectful and thought-full contributions. Blogging is a community of thinkers. If you’re not participating, you’re not in the community. Remember, “Blogging is a full-contact sport”. Spectators are never ‘in play’!”

“Learn how to use one of the best social networking tools in existence today – LinkedIn. Thanks to Jason Alba’s book (I’m On LinkedIn, Now What?) I’ve learned so many little ways to really ‘tweak’ that tool to help me reach out to the world, attract key people to me and the support the causes I believe in. It’s fantastic!”

“Tell your story. By that I mean, discover a compelling message that you know will resonate with some portion of the population you want to move because, in the end, it’s all about movement. And if it’s not yours, it’s someone else’s. Your story is your life, your love, your passion. It’s not something you have to do . . . it’s not a mechanical structure your English teacher would give you an ‘A’ for . . . it’s your raison d’etre . . . it’s why you’re here. That is so powerful and once you tap into it and learn to communicate it, there’s practically nothing you can’t do because you’re aligned with your truest purpose.”

I asked Tom if blogging successfully meant he had to make tons of posts every day. “No”. I was surprised at that. “Well, think about this – I post relatively rarely now on certain blogs – like my Squidoo lens because that’s designed to maintain its currency in a relatively automatic manner. And in my other blogs, a few – three or so – well crafted posts each week is enough to maintain my ranking in Advertising Age and generate at least one request for an interview about every 7 – 10 days. That’s pretty good for relatively little effort! The key is to make posts that are relevant and timely. Incorporating key words that are likely to be ‘hot’ because they’re current and tied to larger issues or events is very easy and very important”.

As we neared the end of our time together, Tom drew on his ‘signature’ beret (it’s scary how directorial he’s become!) so I figured I had better ask my big closing question:

“Tom, what thought would you like to share with our readers?” Tom paused, reflectively. “Well Bill, I’d like to say to remember to create a conversation with your blog. Do that and you’ll be creating a way to connect people and create a community. That’s key because groups of committed people, coupled with a common concern or interest can rally resources to change their world and the world of those all around them. That’s pretty cool, isn’t it?”

“Yes, Tom . . . yes it is”.

To learn more about Tom’s views and passions check out any of the following:

Tom Clifford produces his films through Moving Pictures, Inc., a visual storytelling company dedicated to helping organizations capture their message, communicate their story and create response-ability in their employees, donors and shareholders.

He can be reached at: 860.632.5657 or by email.

Bill Doerr, CCO of SellMore Marketing, LLC is the creator of The Preferral Prospecting System®,
The Expert Directory® and The Ultimate Client Development System™. Bill uses these programs to
help service providers build their business by leveraging relationships and generating more referrals.
You can reach Bill by phone at: 860-798-6964, online: www.sellmoremarketing.com or by
email or by the TNNW Blog: http://thenationalnetworker.blogspot.com

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