Welcome to the Deep Dive! If you're a retail
executive, you definitely know that high quality
video is probably the most powerful way to train
your associates. Oh, absolutely. It's visual.
It's engaging. Right. It shows people exactly
what good looks like in action, you know, for
standardizing service or handling equipment or
even compliance. Video is just unmatched there.
It really is the gold standard. I mean, think
about showing someone a complex display setup
or inventory flow or maybe a tricky customer
service situation. Video just cuts through all
that text instantly. Mm -hmm. But let's be honest,
there's always been this elephant in the room
for, well, pretty much every retailer. The cost.
The cost, yeah. And the huge logistical hurdles
of actually producing good traditional video.
It's the friction point, isn't it? Mm -hmm. It
stops good training from getting made, or, maybe
even worse, stops vital updates from happening.
Exactly. Okay, let's unpack this. Before we get
to the future, let's nail down what the status
quo really costs, because that's the burden we're
trying to lift for you, the listener. Right.
And the cost you see on paper is just the tick
of the iceberg. Think about the actual doing
of it. Producing these videos in a live store.
Yeah, that sounds like a nightmare. It is. You
can't film when customers are around, obviously.
It disrupts everything, messes with the brand
experience. So you're forced into off hours.
Exactly. You're scheduling overtime or expensive
overnight shifts just to get the store to yourself.
Huge, hidden costs there. And we're not talking
about just using a smartphone here, are we? Oh,
heavens no. Not for polished, effective training.
You need a full production setup. Like what?
Camera operators, sound engineers, proper lighting,
directors. Often post -production editors, too.
It's a whole crew. OK. Then there's the talent.
Whether you hire actors or use your own associates,
they need to look right. Makeup, stylists? Yep.
Makeup artists, stylists, ensuring they're camera
ready. And the details matter. They have to be
in perfect uniform, dress code compliant right
down to the name badge, and any accessories.
Authenticity is key. That sounds incredibly expensive
up front. Yeah. But the real killer, the thing
that drags on must be the changes, right? Retail
changes so fast. That's the long term pain point.
Absolutely. What happens when your product packaging
changes or there's a new state compliance rule
or even just a tweak to your internal safety
script? Which happens constantly. Every quarter,
easily, sometimes monthly. And every single one
of those changes means that whole expensive process
cranks up. Ugh, it's reshoot. It's this vicious,
really cost prohibitive cycle. Rebook the crew,
reschedule the talent, disrupt the store again.
The costs just spiral. Yeah. And what we hear
from sources is that this often means training
content is actually out of date almost the moment
it launches, sometimes before you've even recouped
the initial cost. So teams just stop making videos.
They get hesitant. They dread that reshoot penalty.
So maybe they stick with manuals, which aren't
nearly as effective. OK. Here's where it gets
really interesting. Let's pivot to the economics.
You mentioned AI video is changing the game How
is it shifting the CFO's view of the L &D budget?
How big a change are we talking? It's honestly
a fundamental cost revolution We're seeing a
big leap from you know, those earlier AI video
platforms, which were okay, but a bit limited
little robotic Yeah, kind of. Now we're looking
at sophisticated tools like Google's VEO3. The
capability now is generating these incredibly
realistic on -camera performances. You genuinely
struggle to tell them apart from pro actors.
So we're past that uncanny valley stage. No more
stiff avatars. Absolutely. That hyperrealism
is the game changer and the ROI impact. It's
immediate and frankly... Give me an example.
OK, say a critical safety protocol needs an update.
A traditional one -day reshoot might cost a retailer,
let's say, $15 ,000 all in crew, store closure,
talent time, everything. Right. With AI integration,
you could slash that update cost and time by
maybe 90 % or even more. 90%. Easily. You're
taking what used to be maybe a two -week delay
just for scheduling and filming and turning it
into potentially a two -hour content update done
remotely. So you can generate update, reissue
content almost instantly without anyone ever
needing to step foot in a physical store for
filming. Okay, that immediately solves that reshoot
penalty you mentioned. Exactly. If a compliance
rule changes tomorrow morning, you don't need
a lighting crew. You update the script in the
AI platform, generate the new video clip, boom.
Done. It removes almost all those physical and
financial barriers to keeping essential training
current. It's about agility, pure efficiency.
That sounds incredible. But, okay, let's hit
the brakes just for a second. You mentioned VE03,
and right now I think those clips are limited
to, what, about eight seconds? That's generally
the current state, yes, around that length. So
for the retail executives listening, they're
probably thinking, hold on. How does an eight
-second clip cover a complex safety procedure?
or explain a minute -long compliance law. And
I don't want 30 tiny disjointed clips stitched
together. That sounds messy. That's a totally
fair question and a really important one, especially
when you're dealing with critical or regulated
stuff. But what's fascinating here is that eight
-second limitation. it actually encourages, maybe
even forces, a better training approach. How
so? Well, think about traditional training videos.
We often fall into the trap of making one long,
maybe 10 -minute video lecture. Right, the passive
viewing problem. People just zone out. Exactly.
Our sources really highlight that this modular
approach, these short bursts of targeted video,
is actually much better from a learning perspective.
Pedagogically superior. Okay. It forces the instructional
designers to be really crisp. Focus on just one
or two to clear learning objectives per clip.
These concise, super -realistic little eight
-second segments become memorable building blocks
of learning. Oh, okay. Building blocks. Yeah.
You sequence those blocks logically to cover
the full 60 -second compliance topic or the multi
-step procedure. It makes complex stuff much
easier to digest and remember, especially because
it lines up better with how people consume content
today anyway. Short bursts. So, kind of ironically,
the tech limitation forces better instructional
design. built -in micro learning. You've got
it. It channels the focus. And you mentioned
realism before. This extends right down to the
store environment itself now. Does it? Because
that's important for buy -in. It is, dramatically
so. For training to really land, associates need
to feel like it applies to their world, the latest
AI tools. They deliver amazing realism, and critically,
they get the details right. Like uniforms, badges.
Exactly. Uniforms, name badges, specific brand
styling, even the look of the store fixtures
can often be replicated very accurately. It matches
the feel of their actual workplace. That makes
sense. That authenticity helps the training stick
because it feels relevant, not like some generic
corporate video. Precisely. It's filmed in their
world, even if it's generated digitally. OK,
so we've established that the tech is getting
incredibly realistic, it's efficient, it slashes
costs, especially for updates. But let's talk
strategy, because just having the tech isn't
enough, right? You can't just hand VEO3 over
to, say, the marketing intern and expect great
training. Oh, absolutely not. That's the biggest
strategic risk here. The risk of what? The risk
of dropping AI into untrained hands. The tech
alone doesn't guarantee good training. You could
make video that looks incredibly professional
polished. But it doesn't actually teach anyone
anything effectively. Exactly. If the core instructional
design, the scripting, the content flow, the
actual learning objectives, if that foundation
is weak, the training will fail. The danger for
you, the executive, is spending maybe less money,
but generating hours of video that looks great
but delivers zero business results because nobody
retains it. Cheap doesn't equal effective. So
what's the difference then between a good traditional
instructional designer and one who can really
leverage these new AI tools effectively? Is it
a different skill set? It's an evolved skill
set. It's about strategic sequencing and speed.
A traditional designer focuses, quite rightly,
on the learning objectives and the content. An
AI era designer needs to do that and understand
how to break those objectives down into that
modular, super efficient, maybe eight second
delivery structure we talked about. They need
to grasp the pedagogy plus the visual branding,
the execution tools, and how to manage this incredibly
rapid update cycle potential. It requires strategic
integration. So you really need a partner who
gets it, someone who understands the retail world,
the pressures, the need for solid instructional
design, and knows how to actually wield this
new tech properly. That's exactly right. Expertise
becomes absolutely crucial here for any executive
wanting to use AI strategically, not just tactically.
It seems like the point where having that experienced
partner really matters. It is. And this is precisely
why expertise from companies like Multimedia
Plus becomes such a vital resource, specifically
through their designed by MMP services they've
been doing this for what over 28 years creating
high -impact training for major global retail
brands they don't just know the AI tech exists
they know how to weave it into a strategy that
actually works in retail and drives performance
so they bridge that gap between the cool tech
and the actual learning outcomes. Precisely.
Their teams blend that deep instructional design
know -how with practical production skills. They
handle the scripting, the sequencing, integrating
the visual branding, the whole execution. They
ensure the AI video isn't just slick, but it's
strategically sound, impactful, relevant, and
tied directly to your business goals. It's not
just about cost -cutting. It's about effectiveness.
So bottom line. What does all this mean for you,
the retail executive, looking at your L &D plans
and budget right now? It means you can realistically
look at permanently eliminating those painful,
costly in -store shoots, getting rid of the talent
logistics headaches, the store disruption, and,
crucially, escaping that endless, expensive reshoot
cycle. You get scale and cost -effectiveness.
Yes, and you get it combined with a level of
hyper -realism and operational speed that was,
frankly, unthinkable even just a couple of years
ago. The economics of training are genuinely
changing for good. Today's eight -second limit?
That won't last forever. Longer sequences, even
deeper realism? all coming. So the retailers
who jump on this shift now, they gain a real
competitive edge, right? And agility and impact,
their training can finally keep pace with how
fast the business changes new products, urgent
compliance needs. Absolutely. But the key for
any executive listening is unlocking that potential
smartly. It means partnering with experts. You
really need to trust proven resources like designed
by MMP production services from Multimedia Plus.
They have the track record to make sure this
powerful technology works strategically for you,
not just superficially. It's about making sure
the efficiency game doesn't come at the expense
of learning impact. Couldn't have said it better
myself. The ultimate goal isn't just saving money
anymore. It's making training as dynamic and
responsive as your retail business itself. Okay,
so here's a final thought for you to chew on.
Think about your current training library. What
essential compliance topic, what critical procedure
is currently out of date? Or maybe hasn't even
been turned into video yet, simply because the
cost of that reshoot or the sheer hassle of setting
up a film crew in store was just too daunting.
That barrier, it effectively no longer exists.
The tools are here now to get it done accurately,
quickly, and keep it current today.