Lights, camera, action!
Commercial productions destined for broadcast television don’t always evoke feelings of genuine, authentic storytelling. And how could they? Once there’s a film crew, cast, locations… the Hollywood-ification takes over, right? It doesn’t have to. Authenticity in commercial video production stems from genuine human experiences. Developing an Awareness CampaigCelebrating their 50th year of operation this year, Sun River Health came to us with the vision for a nonprofit commercial production that would celebrate their decades of community service and make sure anyone who could benefit from their services knew about them. This awareness campaign would play a huge role in their marketing efforts.
As a community health center operating throughout New York state, Sun River Health has touched millions of lives. Serving a diverse population, people from all backgrounds are welcome. We knew that speaking to people from many walks of life would be a key element. When we began development on this awareness campaign, Sun River Health expressed a serious passion for authenticity. Fortunately, this is where Incurrent excels. Having worked primarily in the documentary space for nearly a decade, it’s our aim to tell genuine, human stories through empathetic storytelling. Originally, we hoped the nonprofit video production could feature actual patients and doctors. But, as we know, the devil is in the details.
Location, Location, Location
Marketers who have seen a film crew in action will know that video production can be a bit disruptive to everyday life. It quickly became a scheduling obstacle to identify patients, coordinate availability with them, and make sure they were available for the time that a dedicated film crew would need. Highlighting Sun River’s telemedicine offerings, we weren’t just planning to film in a public space – we also hoped to film in people’s homes. Understandably, quite an ask.
Similarly, identifying physicians who were available for filming turned into a challenge that seemed unresolvable: they were booked with patients. Fortunately, in video production, there are creative solutions for every obstacle. In this case, investing in a filming location helped to alleviate both scheduling and aesthetic challenges. By selecting a filming location that would serve as multiple characters’ “homes,” we were able to plan exactly what shots would be needed to tell the story. Rather than extending the shoot over multiple production days, we were able to film in three different settings all in one production day. The cost of securing a location
Location can paint a whole picture all on its own – we dressed the sets to speak to each character’s role. We paid close attention to cultural nuances that would add to the story rather than overcomplicate it. Another key benefit? Nobody had to worry about cleaning their home for filming!
Authentic Casting
By coordinating with professional actors, we were able to ensure scheduling conflicts wouldn’t arise. Working with real people, they might not realize the time commitment associated with filming. Similarly, if someone got cold feet, a last minute dropout would have incurred major costs for the nonprofit video production if we had to restructure the shoot. Investing some of the budget into professionals who understand exactly what they’re signing up for meant there were no surprises.
For many of us, being on a camera is the most nerve-wracking part of our day. And having people who are comfortable being on camera is invaluable. Audiences connect with people who appear natural and relaxed. Similarly, hiring actors allowed us to represent a wide range of identities who might view the commercial. A number of key personas were ideal: a parent, an employee, a wide range of ages and gender identities. Most of us don’t fit into tidy demographic boxes. Hiring actors to represent a brand is a great way to be sure to connect with target audience demographics of all kinds.
In this case, we combined four unique patient stories into one commercial. In 30 seconds, we were able to represent many different walks of life.
Movie Magic makes for Cost Savings
Surprisingly, a nonprofit commercial production can ultimately lead to cost savings when compared to a documentary style shoot. By making concentrated efforts to lock down locations and actors, production was simplified to just 2 days for this campaign. That’s time that would have added another day to the crew fees, not to mention the marketing team’s time in coordinating schedules and managing expectations. Similarly, utilizing the budget for actors and locations made the set more efficient. Being strategic with the budget reduced everyone’s stress and ensured the nonprofit commercial production resulted in delivering the creative assets that we needed.
Investing in video production can be a tough sell for nonprofits: every dollar that goes toward marketing is a dollar that could have been spent supporting the community. But the reality is that extending reach and bringing in donations depends on increasing brand awareness. Video storytelling is the most powerful way to communicate an organization’s values and how it helps the community. The Sun River Health nonprofit commercial campaign is currently running on broadcast television and out-of-home settings around New York state.
Contact us to plan a nonprofit video production that aligns with your goals when it comes to story, audience, and budget.
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