Black History Month Spotlight: Obie Sims

​​Today's Black History Month Spotlight is Obie Sims, Content Creator & Video Editor at Obie's Cookies and valued member of the Chamber! Here's our discussion: 

Q: What is the most important event or milestone to occur in your lifetime? 
A: The most important event to occur in my lifetime would have to be 9/11. It served as a vivid reminder to not take any moment for granted, to be present in conversations, mindful in my day-to-day checklist, and set intentions with all of my activities - whether big or small!

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Q: Who has been the most inspiring leader to influence you in your personal and professional career?
A: The most inspiring leader to influence me personally would have to be the fictional and legendary character of Rocky Balboa. Besides the fact that every time I hear the theme song, I spontaneously feel the need to shadow box, he was living proof that there is no "cheat code" to success and if you want something, you'll have to work for it.
 
Q: What is the most important conversation that the business community should be having? 
A: The most important conversation that the business community should be having is the creation of content and that if you are not creating content on a regular basis (audio, video, written) for the most prominent social platforms, you are not only doing a disservice to your organization, but also to your potential customers.
 
Video content continues to be a driving force for engagement and conversions, arguably even more so during the pandemic. At Obie's Cookies, a local video agency, we understand that video content maturity varies across organizations as do budgets and internal team capabilities of managing such projects. We pride ourselves on meeting our clients needs whether new to video or exploring options for specific projects. https://www.obiescookies.com/. 
 
The use of video content in 2020 was effective and will continue to be leveraged to attract and convert customers. According to HubSpot:
· 87% of video marketers say that video has increased traffic to their website
· 80% of video marketers claim that video has directly increased sales
· 84% of people say that they’ve been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a brand’s video

​Underinvesting in or overlooking the importance of video content can have unintended consequences. 
 
We leverage a broad network of talent which allows us to both scale up when project loads are heavier as well as keep costs reasonable. The team has extensive expertise across all channels and platforms and our work spans industries from health care to hospitality. We have created videos for internal communications teams, social media, websites, and television. We have had multiple videos "go viral" with 13M+ views on TikTok, a platform that has 100 million active users in the U.S. (as of August 25, 2020). 
 
Our capabilities span live shoots, editing, and animation. We have a small studio in the Bethesda area and follow CDC guidelines for any live shoots. We have also managed self-recorded shoots remotely, providing clients notes and direction through a zoom call. We are innovative and scrappy in our approach, working closely to reduce friction in the video-making process.