AGAWAM, MA (WWLP) – Halloween scare tactics that could give you nightmares, have proven to be a haunted house promoters dream.

Creepy clowns have started popping up across the nation as Halloween approaches.

It’s creepy even if you already know who is under the mask but for 1.5 million people that viewed this viral video, it is enough to cause nightmares. A clown, with balloons carrying a sign reading Free Hugs outside of Geisslers Supermarket in Agawam running after a car.

“We shared it on Facebook before you know it people thought it was a real clown, it was their cousin in the car,” said Matt Del Negro.

Mark Del Negro made the video with his partners to promote the first Scare Fest taking place at the Eastern States Exposition Storrowton Village from October 13th to Halloween. Mark said it took them three tries to get the video right and no one walking along was included.

It’s enough to keep you up at night even if you aren’t scared of clowns. The men behind the mask say this is top of the line prosthetics straight from Hollywood because they’ve worked on film productions in the past.

Del Negro said the reactions have been mostly positive, but said he had to tell one neighbor it was fake, “He actually thought it was real and was actually ready to create a mob to go and look for the clown. I had to tell him that. I was like dude that was a fake video don’t get all upset about it. On his Facebook post he said, ‘they picked the wrong town’ and he’s a big dude and I was like dude we didn’t pick any town it was like five minutes away from my house.”

Del Negro said he apologizes to anyone that may have been offended, “We were never intending to put anyone in danger or scare anyone. We were just trying to make a really bad viral video with our cell phone and I guess it was better than the actual commercials we paid for.”

The 18th century Storrowton Village will have a room dedicated to just creepy clowns during Scare Fest.

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Japanese airline All Nippon Airways wants to attract more European customers and has picked CNN’s social video network Great Big Story to create and distribute its message.

The result is a seven-part video series,“Ichigo Ichie,” which translates to “One Opportunity, One Encounter,” which focuses on Japanese cuisine, culture and hospitality. GBS is no stranger to creating popular videos about Japanese cuisine, having made ones like this: “High-Stakes Dining: Dare to Taste the Poison Puffer Fish?” which has been viewed 1.4 million times on YouTube. ANA wanted to tap into the “Japan curious” among GBS’s younger-skewing audience, to showcase Japanese culture.

“Food is a huge part of our heritage; it’s an art form,” said Nani Murakami, assistant manager European marketing for ANA Europe. “We wanted to create a truly authentic, quintessentially Japanese experience with these videos. That kind of feeling is lacking in marketing and advertising about Japan. These videos capture the real Japan.”

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Great Big Story was created last year as CNN and parent company Turner’s answer to younger digital media competitors like Vice and BuzzFeed. ANA wants to reach in the U.K., France, Germany and Belgium. The native ads will also run across the CNN Digital network, which gets 3 billion monthly pageviews, according to CNN.

“ANA wants to attract business travelers on CNN International TV and digital channels, but also the smart young people who are viewing content on Great Big Story. This is the first time we’ve married up both platforms,” said Owen Wyatt, head of U.K. ad sales, CNN International Commercial.

Each video is roughly three minutes long and centers on busting misconceptions around Japanese culture and food. The first video, which went live on Oct. 3, is titled “Why is wasabi so hard to grow”  and hammers home the fact that no one outside of Japan is eating authentic wasabi, but horseradish dressed up as the real thing. It then explains that’s the case because wasabi is nearly impossible to grow.

Other videos include “What is the diet of a sumo wrestler?” and “How can art and tofu combine for a unique restaurant experience?” They will run on the Great Big Story website, apps and YouTube channel. Videos will be repurposed for social channels like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. And stills and additional video footage from the production process will also be used for social distribution. Great Big Story claims it has 10 million followers across its own site, app and social channels.

Great Big Story’s core team of 30 people is New York-based, but it has a big focus on international stories.

Not to be outdone, ANA took a more involved role in the creation of an eighth video, devised by both the brand’s marketing team and CNN’s in-house creative shop CNN Create. Branded content deals now account for half of CNN International’s entire commercial revenue.

The branded content video will be the third video to be published and follows the artist Fuyoh Kobayashi, who is a master calligrapher and owner of the Shoraian restaurant. This restaurant is perched on the edge of a mountain overlooking the river Oi, but it can only be reached by a hike through the forest: No car can get to it. Shorairan is considered the best tofu restaurant in Kyoto, and Kobashi’s art work adorns its walls.

This is the first branded content campaign ANA has run in Europe.

The Oklahoman Media Company has put together a Free Business Builder VIP Event to share tips on creating compelling content.

The free event, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday at the Devon Boathouse, 725 S Lincoln Blvd., includes a complimentary lunch. Sign up at oklahomaunfolded.com/events.

Experts will discuss brand journalism, video storytelling, effective blogging and more. Every business that attends is qualified for a free evaluation of their online presence from digital marketing experts at BigWing Interactive.

The Oklahoman Media Company is parent of BigWing, The Oklahoman and NewsOK.com.

Content marketing provides a way to connect with customers. It provides the opportunity to increase customer loyalty and boost a brand while telling consumers the brand’s story.

But creating the right content can be an elusive endeavor, even for those with solid content creation experience. Here are four common misconceptions about content marketing and how to overcome them.

I’ve got a blog, so my content marketing is covered, right?

Blogging’s great for content marketing. It can help drive traffic to your website, increase SEO rankings and allow a business to stay top of mind with customers. A blog can even become a lead-generating machine.

But content marketing shouldn’t stop at blogging. Effective content is about much more than posting a keyword-stuffed blog to a website every week. It’s about engaging customers and creating value for a brand. So consider additional channels for content, like video.

The Content Marketing Institute notes, “Video is taking over the world, with more than 4 billion hours of video viewed each month. In fact, YouTube is now the second-most used search engine, right behind Google.”

I want grade A content, but I can’t afford video

You may not have the budget to spend thousands creating new commercials, but your head of marketing or co-owner has a great idea for multipart video campaign. It involves “Rocky” theme songs, stunts and exploding cars.

While this may sound like a killer idea in theory, keeping content simple, and affordable to produce, is important. Especially in the DIY game. Remember, Hollywood movies and Coke commercials have huge budgets and their content often still misses the mark.

A big helping of creativity mixed with audience research and practical assessments of time, budget, and planning is a surefire recipe for stellar videos with engaging content. And even if marketing money is lacking, a solid, simple script that possesses a story arc is key.

Make sure to include a “pain point” or need that is important to customers, and don’t forget the essential Call To Action.

I’ve written the blog and made the video, my job is done

There’s more to content marketing than hiring a SEO-trained blogger to write weekly updates and a local video company to produce four killer commercials. Content marketing requires a solid distribution plan. Producing amazing content doesn’t mean the world is seeing it. Content doesn’t gain visibility without a delivery strategy behind it.

The testimonial you shot last week likely won’t go viral, but compelling content has the potential to motivate an audience to take action if it’s properly distributed. Having a standard checklist of places you promote content is essential to not missing a promotional opportunity. Remember, Twitter users are different from those of Instagram, so don’t just post the same link across all platforms; keep things interesting by varying your messaging.

What is brand journalism and how is it marketing

The term “journalism” may not prompt one to think about content marketing, or marketing at all. But something known as “brand journalism” is emerging as a new form of content marketing. BrandJournalists.com explains brand journalism as, “involving telling journalism- style stories about a company that make readers want to know more, stories that don’t read like marketing or advertising copy.”

As consumers grow more savvy, they also are more weary of direct sales and marketing messaging. Big companies such as Intel, IBM and GE have taken notice of this trend and are getting into the brand journalism game. Brand journalism is a great way to have a conversation with customers instead of bombarding them with bullet points about why products are so great.

L’individu était accompagné d’un jeune homme de 19 ans, qui a survécu à l’embardée. Les deux amis circulaient vers minuit dans un sentier forestier privé près de la rue du Boisé et auraient « passé tout droit » à une intersection en T, selon la Sécurité du Québec.

« Le survivant, l’homme de 19 ans, a perdu connaissance, mais il ne sait pas combien de temps. Ensuite, il est allé cogner à une résidence sur la rue du Boisé pour demander de l’aide. Il était très confus et ne savait pas ce qui s’était passé », indique le sergent de la SQ Ronald McInnis.

Arrivés sur place, les pompiers et les ambulanciers se sont rendus dans le boisé près de la rue pour ratisser le secteur, puisque l’individu de 19 ans ignorait où l’accident s’était produit. Ils ont finalement trouvé non loin de là le VTT et le corps inanimé de la victime de 23 ans.

« Les deux hommes ont été transportés à l’Hôtel-Dieu de Victoriaville, où le décès de celui de 23 ans a été constaté », mentionne Ronald McInnis.

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