From Florian König’s Perspective

An eight- to ten-minute MTE promotional video—and the voice of Reiner Schöne

Why our new promotional video is intentionally longer, what we want to show our customers through it, and how Optimus Prime’s voice became MTE’s voice.

For a few years now, we at MTE have been toying with the idea of a new corporate film. I deliberately say “film” here, rather than “video” or “commercial.”

Because that’s exactly what we don’t want it to be.

When you talk to people in the advertising and marketing industries, you’ll quickly get some good advice: A promotional video should be short and to the point. Viewers’ attention spans are limited. The first few seconds need to be compelling, and as many people as possible should watch for as long as possible.

I can understand that point of view.

Nevertheless, we made a conscious decision against it.

Our film is expected to be between eight and ten minutes long.

And there’s a pretty simple reason for that: We don’t want to generate as many clicks as possible. We want to provide as much information as possible about ourselves to people who are seriously interested in MTE.

I do the same thing myself

Perhaps our approach can best be explained by my own behavior.

When I buy something new, I take the time to learn about it.

A cell phone, a washing machine, a TV—or maybe even a car. Especially when it comes to a major purchase, I want to know as much as possible about the product and the seller.

I read reviews. And I’m well aware that I can’t always trust even supposedly genuine reviews 100 percent.

I look at test reports. Not just one or two, but as many as possible.

And interestingly, it’s often the longer reports that I like to look at or read through.

Why? Because I want to know everything.

I want to know what’s good. What might not be so good. What experiences others have had. How a company handles problems. What’s behind the product. And I believe that many of our potential customers take a very similar approach. Perhaps even more thoroughly.

After all, someone who buys a large bed-type or floor type milling machine isn’t just buying a TV for the living room.

This involves a significant investment. It involves production capacity, employees, new orders, and sometimes even the construction of a new facility. A decision like this can be of great importance to a company.

That’s why I’m convinced that a potential customer will appreciate any reliable source of information that helps them make this decision.

Visits to reference sites are part of the process. Discussions with existing customers are part of the process. Visits to suppliers are part of it. Technical discussions and quotes are part of it.

And that includes a video where you can really get to know a potential supplier over the course of eight or ten minutes.

We’d like to earn your trust in advance

That’s exactly what we’re all about at MTE. We want people to get to know us—not just our milling machines.

But rather the people behind the machines.

Our structures. Our way of working. Our production. Our service. Our mindset. Our approach to projects.

That’s why we launched our company podcast , “Maschinengeflüster,” some time ago. Our goal with this is to show even more clearly who we really are and how we think.

Our goal is always the same:

We want to help ensure that a potential new customer places their trust in us from the start.

Of course, this trust must be confirmed later on through our collaboration.

But before a customer orders their first MTE milling machine from us, they first need to get the feeling: “This is the company I want to talk to.”

And that’s exactly where transparency can help.

That’s why we don’t just show the finished bed-type or traveling-column milling machines.

Our new promotional video was produced over an extended period of time.

Over the past few years, we’ve consistently documented completed projects and collected extensive visual material in the process. We’ve taken footage at our plant, in our production halls and workshops, and, of course, at our location in Montabaur.

We showcase our milling machines. We showcase completed projects. But we also highlight the people behind them.

We provide insights into our production and our daily operations. We showcase areas that a customer might not necessarily expect to see in a traditional corporate video.

This also includes our service.

Because an MTE machine isn’t simply sold once it’s been installed at the customer’s site. It’s crucial for our customers to know what happens next.

What does the service entail?

Where can I get replacement parts?

Who takes care of it if something isn’t working?

How is MTE positioned to ensure a milling machine produces reliably for many years?

We’d like to provide answers to these questions as well.

Our facility in Montabaur and the departments based there—including service, the milling head workshop, sales, and spare parts supply—are therefore also featured in the film.

We want to convey as complete a picture of MTE as possible.

It’s not just about showing the finished bed-type, rigid-bed, or traveling-column milling machines.

A promotional film should also be fun.

Information is important. Good visual material is important. Content is important.

But we didn’t want to simply string together ten minutes of information.

The film should also be fun.

And that’s why one thing was particularly important to us during production: We didn’t want to use the typical corporate video music that you hear in so many other corporate films.

We wanted a voice.

A voice that’s pleasant. A voice with character. A voice people enjoy listening to.

And that’s when an idea came up—one that I myself didn’t initially think we’d actually be able to pull off.

Optimus Prime’s voice will be MTE’s voice

Personally, I’m a huge Transformers and Star Wars fan. So when I was thinking about which voice might suit MTE, a very specific voice came to mind pretty quickly:

Reiner Schöne.

Many people know him as an actor and voice actor. Among other roles, he is the German voice of Optimus Prime from *Transformers* and Darth Vader from *Star Wars*. He has also provided the German voices for Willem Dafoe and Mickey Rourke, among others. Reiner Schöne – official website

And then I thought to myself:

Why don’t we just ask him?

So we got in touch with his agency over a year ago. And in early September, the time had finally come. We were able to record the voice-overs for our film with Reiner Schöne.

And so, an idea that we ourselves didn’t really believe could work has actually become a reality.

Optimus Prime’s voice is now MTE’s voice.

And when you consider that we build large milling machines, I honestly think this connection is quite fitting.

And then a narrator became more than just a voice

What I hadn’t expected, however, in the run-up to the filming, was that I would also get to meet Reiner Schöne in person and that this would lead to such interesting conversations.

Reiner Schöne is now over 80 years old. He is an actor, voice actor, author, and musician, and has led an incredibly eventful and interesting life.

Above all, though, he is an incredibly warm-hearted person.

Of course, we talked about the voice-over script and the film. But we also just chatted. And in the process, I rediscovered something for myself that I might be missing a little bit these days.

I’m 40 years old now, and unfortunately, there are hardly any older people left in my immediate circle. I used to really enjoy talking with my grandparents. I liked listening to them, asking them about their experiences, and learning from them.

Even about things that happened long before my time. These conversations with Reiner brought back exactly that feeling for me. Just listening to someone who has over 80 years of life experience and has been through so much.

To hear: What was it actually like back then?

For me, it was a truly wonderful experience. And it immediately sparked the next idea.

Reiner Schöne on “Maschinengeflüster”

I’d really love to record an episode of our podcast “Maschinengeflüster” with Reiner Schöne.

Of course, we want to talk about how we came to meet in the first place. And, of course, about what it feels like to still speak and work with such enthusiasm after so many decades.

But I’d also like to know what makes this person who he is.

What did he go through?

How did he get to where he is today?

Which people and events shaped him?

And what kind of stories can someone tell who has been part of the film, theater, and media worlds for decades?

I think this could lead to a very special conversation.

MTE Promotional Video – Now It’s Time for Editing

The voice recording is done. Now it’s time for us to start editing.

Our new promotional video is the result of many years at MTE, drawing on numerous recordings, projects, machines, and conversations. It will be eight to ten minutes long.

And yes: This means we’re going significantly longer than some marketing agencies would probably recommend.

But that’s exactly the point.

Because our goal isn’t to get as many people as possible to click on our video.

Our goal is to provide as much information as possible to people who are seriously interested in MTE.

We want to show who we are.

What we build.

How we work.

The people behind our milling machines.

What our customers can expect from us.

And why we’re convinced that we’re the right partner for an investment that’s often meant to last for many years.

Maybe someone will watch our video all the way through.

Or maybe not.

But if someone is considering investing several hundred thousand euros—or even over a million—in a new large-scale milling machine, we’d rather give them ten minutes too much information than five minutes too little.

Because in the end, it’s not just about a milling machine.

It’s about trust.

And that’s exactly the kind of trust we want to earn—and perhaps gain a little head start on that trust with our new image film.

In any case, we’re really looking forward to the result.

And especially to being able to say soon:

“Here’s the new MTE image film—narrated by Reiner Schöne.”