Video Visual Virtual Awards 2021 Winners

Siemens USA

We Were Here

Video touts technology for bringing students ‘back to normal’

Siemens highlights its air cleaning solutions for returning to classrooms in a video that earned 21 million impressions—and won the Grand Prize for ‘Best Overall Video’ in Ragan’s Visual, Video & Virtual Awards.

Everyone wants to get “back to normal” as the COVID-19 pandemic (seemingly) runs its course, perhaps no one more than the nation’s educators and students. Safely reopening schools and colleges has become a paramount topic, especially to global tech firm Siemens.

Siemens sought to develop a video showing how it’s helping the country start to reopen crucial indoor spaces, particularly K-12 schools, by improving air quality with its technology solutions that help institutions meet four essential professional recommendations—dilute, exhaust, contain and clean.

Through June 2020, the paid media campaign promoting the video produced more than 21 million impressions, 5 million plays on partner sites and 6,000 visits to the Siemens landing page.

The one-minute video, “Reopening Schools,” shows empty hallways, students’ names on coat hooks, solitary chairs, equations on chalkboards and more. “They were here,” a narrator intones, “until America changed.” Though communities came together during the crisis, technology was needed to move through it. Siemens’s solutions, the video promises, will allow students to begin to return, filling the deserted hallways again. “America isn’t back to normal,” the video closes, “But it’s finding its way.”

Siemens employed a digital and social paid media strategy across business news media, targeting high-level decision makers to raise awareness of Siemens’s work to help students, teachers and staff return to in-person learning with greater peace of mind.

Good work by Lynn Boyce Campbell, Raya Finkelstein and Christina Bauer. –JC

View the video here.

The Kroger Co.

Kroger teams come together despite the disruption of COVID

In projects throughout the pandemic, Kroger’s communicators created a hybrid investor event, showcased its commitment to DE&I and boosted efforts to fight hunger. It won a Grand Prize as ‘Video Team of the Year’ in Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

Great teams bring a variety of strengths and come together from a variety of diverse backgrounds—think of the Avengers, the Justice League, even the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The teams at The Kroger Co. don’t have superpowers or wear costumes, but they’ve accomplished some remarkable things this past year.

Like superheroes in the movies, the Kroger team has had to improvise often and rely on technology to fill in the gaps. For Kroger’s 2021 Investor Day event, the previously in-person gathering of executives, investors and key stakeholders had to shift to a virtual happening. Teams collaborated to create a hybrid event that seamlessly combined prerecorded speeches from top Kroger executives with a live Q&A hosted by Kroger’s director of investor relations.

After Investor Day 2021, Kroger’s stock price rose 26.3%, and its total shareholder return increased 27.5%.

Similarly, COVID-19 safety protocols complicated the production of Kroger’s 2020 Diversity, Equity & Inclusion video, created to demonstrate Kroger’s commitment to DE&I to new hires. The entire video was shot in an empty dining hall located in a Kroger store in Columbus, Ohio, in a space that allowed associated to remove their masks for their close-ups. The 20 employees featured in the video came from that single store, showing the diversity of Kroger as a company.

The team brought in eight rolls of seamless colored backgrounds and spent five minutes with each of the 20 associates. The tight framing and high frame rate helped capture their uniqueness, their happiness and their true selves.

The video was shared with the entire company via email, as well as on Kroger’s internal news site and internal social media channels. All in all, the video has been viewed more than 15,000 times. (Check it out here.)

TD Bank

TD Bank Corporate and Public Affairs

Small business insights win TD Bank goodwill and a loyal audience

For a brand built on inclusivity, TD Bank has long been a company where all voices are heard and bolstered. The bank produced a series of videos on customer stories that highlight their dedication to social justice, winning the first-place finish in the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Video Category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

TD Bank has an extensive track record of helping marginalized communities, most notably being the first North American bank to offer benefits to same-sex couples in 1993. When the Communications and Public Affairs team first heard the story of Lambda Vodka, they knew it needed to be shared.

Charles Hughes and Richard Soloman opened Lambda Vodka in historic Harlem, NY, with the help of TD Bank and the goal of providing a safe space for LGBT+ patrons. Paying it forward, the bar owners agreed to share their story and expertise on running a small business in a series of videos for the bank’s network. Market research also suggests that consumers like companies they share values with, and the story of Lambda Vodka seemed quite fitting.

With diversity and equity in mind, TD wanted the story of Lambda Vodka to not only connect with audiences but teach them a thing or two about running their own business. By sharing inspiring stories like these with its audiences, the bank could build goodwill and brand loyalty across its customer base.

Crafted under strict COVID-19 protocols by a one-person videography crew, these videos were strategically released to the public through various organic and paid media channels. The Lambda small business tips gathered over 770,000 views each and a 10-15x increase in site traffic for TD Stories, the bank’s external storytelling site.

Stories that typically attracted a few hundred viewers attracted 5,000 and 10,000 unique views and the growth of a consistent audience. It’s this goodwill and brand loyalty that leads to more success stories like Lambda Vodka and showcases TD Bank’s support of small, diverse business owners.

Congratulations to the TD Bank team including Carmen Paul, Anthony Quintano, Chad Mitchell and Michael Rothman.

See one of the videos here.

– Written by Max Schwartz

Whirlpool Corporation

House and Home

Whirlpool Leverages Video Series to Build Participation for a Worthy Cause

Implementing a new social responsibility strategy felt more important than ever as the COVID-19 pandemic displaced millions of people globally. In light of this, the Whirlpool Corporation set out to use its network of global employees to enact change in homes across the world, winning first place in the Cause-Related Video Category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

Whirlpool’s new House and Home strategy took a local approach to the global issue of housing, using regional and brand collaboration to encourage its employees to give back to their communities. To get here, the appliance powerhouse created a series of programming to inspire employees and customers to work with their longtime global charity, Habitat for Humanity.

The team enlisted the help of their creative partner, The Nation of Artists, to create a series of video messages sharing the impact a Habitat for Humanity home has on the life of its homeowner.

Many employees at Whirlpool feared their long-time charity relationships would be eliminated with this new plan. To counter this, the team released a series of videos on the company’s intranet, titled “Did You Know?,” reassuring employees that multiple regional charities aligned with the complete House and Home strategy.

The virtual experience featured a special letter from Habitat for Humanity CEO Jonathan Reckford and a series of seminars called “HabiChats” detailing the new programming that would be available to employees.

The programming was a hit throughout the company, generating more than 45,000 views and increased engagement in its Community Impact intranet channel. The program motivated employees to schedule seven Habitat for Humanity builds across Whirlpool’s active regions. To further engage its primary audience, more than 250 employees signed up for HabiChats and 70+ new employees became Whirlpool Ambassadors.

The company smoothly transitioned thousands of global colleagues into its new plan and inspired thousands of others in the process.

The LinkedIn post garnered just under 17,000 impressions and more than 190 total engagements. Since its publication on May 21, 2021, Whirlpoolcorp.com, the company’s Social Responsibility page, has seen more than 2,400 unique visitors while YouTube has amassed more than 33 hours of watch time.

Congratulations to the Whirlpool team including Deb O’Connor and Rosa Skinner, and Elliot Kotek from Nation of Artists.

– Written by Max Schwartz

Alike Agency

An Ode to a Great Australian

Raise a glass to this award-winning video

Alike Agency created ‘An Ode to a Great Australian’ to position Bundaberg Brewed Drinks as central to Australian culture. It’s a winner in the ‘Company Overview Video’ category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

“Why produce another corporate video when you can create a film?” That’s the approach Alike Agency took when Australia’s Bundaberg Brewed Drinks asked it to develop a video telling its story.

Released in December 2020, by the end of January 2021 the film, “An Ode to a Great Australian,” had generated 39 news clippings, with a reach of more than 45 million, for a PR value of more than AUD $15 million.

Alike’s strategy was to focus on Bundaberg’s brand heritage, brand pillars and philosophy of “doing it right and doing it well.” The 2:30-minute film is a tribute to Bundaberg founder and brewmaster Cliff Fleming and his family, as well as a celebration of Bundaberg Ginger Beer, positioning it as the drink that best represents Australia.

The script was written in verse similar to bush poetry, a traditional Australian storytelling style. Alike sought to create the “ode” as a nod to the heritage and history behind the brand, while weaving brand values into the verses, being mindful to keep the video compelling without sounding like a sales pitch.

All footage was filmed at the Bundaberg factory in the heart of Bundaberg, a tiny town of less than 100,000 in regional Queensland, Australia. The people in the video are all part of the Bundaberg Brewed Drinks family. The film is narrated by Fleming, embodying the brand’s tone of voice: “We speak from the heart with real and raw honesty. And when appropriate, with a wink of Aussie humor.” Sound design was kept to a minimum so as not to compete with the story.

Bundaberg Brewed Drinks bought TV spots for key summer programming moments in December and January, but most results came organically from unpaid sources, including coverage in The Australian, Australia’s national flagship publication; front-page placement on the “Watch” section of news.com.au; coverage in Queensland’s flagship publication The Courier Mail and more. –JC

You can watch the video here.

ChenMed

#VaxTheNation Integrated Campaign

ChenMed combats misinformation and boosts vaccination rates through inspiring hashtag

When they weren’t in the clinic battling a new variant, they were on the digital frontlines spreading reliable health info for a range of high-risk seniors and underserved communities. ChenMed fought tirelessly to eradicate the spread of COVID-19 and misinformation, earning them a first-place finish in the COVID-19 Category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

ChenMed’s commitment to community service and health cannot be overstated during the pandemic. Over a 15-month period, the primary care clinic’s extensive integrated communications campaign, #VaxTheNation, aimed to educate and benefit a range of both internal and external stakeholders. The various video campaigns put the fun back in safety, reaching employees, patients and the general public. Each of these audiences was motivated by a different goal, and with these differing objectives came a range of video content.

Employees at ChenMed were encouraged to maintain workplace safety and share their love to patients through short-docu style videos featuring employee stories, while the general public participated in community events like Covid-19 telephone town halls. ChenMed’s campaign team strategically shared videos with patients, such as “Fight Loneliness” over the holidays and “Sharing Positive Vax Stories” to inspire people to stay safe and get the vaccine.

This large-scale, calculated campaign had an amazing impact on its target audiences. Among doctors and staff, nearly 100% of ChenMed employees and more than 90% of seniors under their care received the vaccine. Over 381 posts using #VaxTheNation led to a staggering 183,000 organic impressions and more than 49,000 new followers from March 1, 2020, to June 1, 2021.

ChenMed launched this campaign with the goal of encouraging vaccination, keeping its communities safe and spreading the love during an especially isolating time. What they achieved, however, was much more substantial because it made them a trustworthy thought leader and saved thousands of lives in the process.

Congratulations to the ChenMed team including:
• Marketing Communications Team: Juan Alvarez, Jim Brown, Michelle Campi, Marke Dickinson, Vicky Durkin, Carl Germain, Amy Gretz, Jeff Kuperman, Veronica Laguna, Marisa Lemen, Silvia Mangas, Jeff Opperman, Suzy Quinn, Tanya Racoobian, Dan Renaud, Desiree Rodriguez, Vicky Terrier, Allen Victor
• Core Clinical Team: Dr. Jason Lane with Dr. Alexandria Beranger, Steve Brownlee, Erin Diamond, Colleen Mourra, Emil Novak, Ikenna Obionnu, Brenda Senko, Jill Tager

– Written by Max Schwartz

TD Bank

TD Bank Corporate and Public Affairs

TD Bank’s Hope & Possibility road race video sparks inspiration, inclusion

For a brand built on inclusivity, TD Bank has long been a company where all voices are heard and bolstered. The bank produced a recap video about a road race that highlights its dedication to social justice, winning the first-place finish in the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Video Category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

TD Bank has an extensive track record of helping marginalized communities, most notably being the first North American bank to offer benefits to same-sex couples in 1993.

TD Bank’s sponsorship of and recap video for the Achilles Hope & Possibility Road Race in New York City embodies the company’s commitment to DE&I principles.

The NYC Hope & Possibility Race was founded in 2003 by Trisha Meili, whose memoir, “I Am the Central Park Jogger: A Story of Hope and Possibility,” detailed her life before and after the gruesome, infamous attack in April 1989. The race welcomes athletes of all abilities—from runners and walkers to wheelchair users. The iteration of the race held in New York City is run throughout Central Park, where Meili’s assault occurred.

TD Bank’s video recap of the event features several differently-abled participants: A visually-impaired woman runs alongside a guide; a woman with a prosthetic arm ties her shoes and bikes and jogs; and an older man participates in the race with the help of a friend.

By spotlighting the diverse array of participants and the camaraderie developed amongst runners, joggers and bicyclists, TD Bank’s video evokes feelings of inspiration, gratitude and awe and underscores its commitment to being “unexpectedly human.”

Crafted under strict COVID-19 protocols, these videos were strategically released to the public through various organic and paid media channels. Stories that typically attracted a few hundred viewers attracted 5,000 and 10,000 unique views and the growth of a consistent audience.

Congratulations to the TD Bank team including Carmen Paul, Anthony Quintano, Charles Mitchell and Michael Rothman. -EA

The Kroger Co.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

The Kroger Co. wields extensive employee network to represent diversity of voices

When it came to representing company diversity, The Kroger Co., was in no shortage of willing associates. As new hires began their onboarding process, Kroger launched its all-inclusive plan to promote change in its communities and workplaces, securing first place in the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Video Category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

Kroger launched its Framework for Action: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion plan in October 2020 to teach associates about its commitment to advancing diversity efforts. The exhaustive plan focuses on a number of areas, from creating a more inclusive culture to advancing diversity in its partnerships. The framework was introduced with a video to be shared among its vast network of associates, customers and investors.

With authenticity at the forefront of its mission, Kroger dipped into its employee base to film real associates for the video. This video also would serve as the company’s statement on diversity, equity & inclusion, which meant all 500,000 associates needed to be represented. Recording real associates meant that free time was not always available. Challenged with booking separate studio times, Kroger came up with a solution and brought the film studio to the associates.

The variety of stories from one Columbus, OH, location was enough to represent the entire company in one video. It speaks volumes about the company’s DE&I efforts that a randomly selected location was filled with happy and passionate associates willing to speak about their gratifying work at Kroger. This mix of personalities and perspectives highlights the company’s diversity of perspectives while showcasing its unity as a brand.

From in-store to onboarding teams, associates across Kroger loved the video. It also was implemented into the new hire orientation process and shared companywide via email, internal news site and external social media channels. The video eventually made its way to the framework’s landing page where it has been viewed more than 15,000 times.

By treating its employees with respect and representing them in its framework, Kroger built trust among its associates and admiration among its loyal customers and investors.

Congratulations to The Kroger Co. team including Sayer Crompton, Andy Brown, Danielle Belgiovane, Jonathan Marasco, Dan Roark and Chris Willig.

See the winning video here.

– Written by Max Schwartz

The Kroger Co.

Hungry For Solutions

Kroger produces award-winning documentary for a greater cause

As Americans grappled with one of the hardest years on record, large-scale issues like homelessness and food waste showed no signs of slowing down. To showcase these hardships and give back to its communities, Kroger produced an informational film about these issues, successfully scoring first place in the Documentary Category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

Kroger’s build-up for this film actually began before the COVID-19 pandemic, when they started the Zero Hunger | Zero Waste campaign in 2017. With the goal of feeding families, ending hunger and eliminating food waste in its company, Kroger collaborated with organizations across the country to see this mission through. As the pandemic worsened, however, Kroger knew it needed to act quickly. And so began production on this comprehensive documentary.

The film, which was based in Salt Lake City, was produced to highlight available food resources for the community as well as showcase the innovative redistribution of food waste. Beyond this, the film doubled as a thank you to Kroger’s community partners for coming together to help the millions of Americans suffering from food insecurity.

Like any film, the documentary came together despite a few bumps in the road—like in-person filming during a pandemic. Production for the film was a joint effort, requiring the utmost precaution by both Kroger’s team and the Salt Lake City community. By the time production was complete, Kroger not only provided valuable information to residents, it created a tight-knit community among producers, collaborators and campaign supporters.

Tremendous feedback flooded from audiences across the western U.S. The film was nominated for Best Short Documentary in the Utah Film Festival and won Best Documentary in the Action on Film Festival in Las Vegas. Additionally, the documentary was shown at the 2021 Kroger Annual Meeting of Shareholders to demonstrate its strong commitment to the communities it serves. Kroger proved that it’s more than just a food provider, but a people helper and a community builder.

Congratulations to the Kroger team including Sayer Crompton, Matt Holwick, Aubriana Martindale, Tracey Ames and Ryan Poole.

You can check out the winning documentary here.

– Written by Max Schwartz

American Financial Network, Inc.

Social New Network

American Financial Network revamps informational ‘SNN’ videos, public loves them

When the world began to shut down and work went digital, the American Financial Network (AFN) wondered what they could do to engage their employees. After a series of informative and entertaining training videos, AFN earned itself a first-place finish in the Educational Video Category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

Motivated by making education fun and digestible, the team at American Financial Network (AFN) brainstormed a format for training videos that didn’t feel like training at all. The team called these training videos the Social News Network (SNN), and they were initially released during the first virtual spirit week designed to unite the company during a pandemic.

AFN wanted to teach its viewers about the evolving social media landscape in a new way. With topics ranging from Facebook advertising to Tik Tok stardom, the team strived to do something new and exciting. They implemented feedback from the first spirit week along with new characters and script ideas to drive employee engagement and get people talking. Filming during a pandemic was no easy task, but AFN dedicated the time, resources, and investment to make it work.

The team’s social media manager starred in the first video as a one-time commitment and did it well enough that AFN invested in producing six more SNN videos throughout 2020. The videos were initially released to employees with a one-page handout accompanying each video. As the buzz surrounding the Social News Network grew, the team uploaded the videos on YouTube for the general public to view.

Soon after the videos went public, the company realized how content meant for its loan officers could become a tool for any professional navigating this new digital territory. Sharing the wealth worked in AFN’s favor, amassing over 65, 233 combined video views on its YouTube channel and 10,000 on the Facebook Business Page.

Dedicated to making information fun and accessible, AFN leveraged these educational videos to showcase all that its company brings to the virtual table.

Congratulations to the AFN team, including C. Trujillo [Writer/Executive Producer], M. Fleming [Writer/Actor], A. Constantine [Writer/Director] & A. Moger [Writer/Camera Operator] on this well-deserved award.

See one of the winning videos here.

– Written by Max Schwartz

Panera Bread

C3 Guiding Values

Explainer video utilizes employee stories to reinforce new values

Panera Bread’s spring menu rollout was more than a chance to introduce new pastries and fresh salads. It was the perfect opportunity to communicate the brand’s culture and values to its nearly 90,000 café associates. Diners and employees alike know this campaign was worthy of first place in the Explainer Video Category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

With more than 2,000 locations across the U.S., Panera had an obligation to ensure employees knew and loved the company they were working for. As part of a larger Guiding Values campaign, the team launched a companywide video featuring the very people it aimed to excite: Panera’s employees.

Authenticity was central to its campaign, so the video began with associates speaking about their time at the company, and quickly evolved into a holistic film with videos shot outside of café locations. Panera knew that what made it successful was the diversity of experiences among its employees and this meant what they did outside of work impacted their performance on the clock.

The COVID-19 pandemic posed unique challenges to the creation and filming of this campaign, so the bread giant needed to innovate and elevate in new ways. With a near-total virtual approach, the project took more than two months to complete and featured more than 60 café associates from over 1,000 video files.

Released on the company’s Learning Management System, the video was well received. Accompanying the video was an online course that resulted in more than 68,000 completions, an almost identical amount to the number of video viewers. The average rating of those commenting on the course was 4 out of 5 stars, with many expressing their excitement for Panera’s new culture and inquiries into their involvement in future videos.

Real associates and candid interviews were critical to the team’s success with this video. With a company this large, Panera proved that employees resonate more with stories told by other employees rather than with a top-down approach.

Congratulations to the Panera Bread team.

– Written by Max Schwartz

Panera Bread

Flatbread Pizza Launch

Restaurant chain leverages savory video to engage employees and customers alike

Coming off a rough year, Panera Bread needed a way to introduce diners to something new while keeping employees engaged and hopeful. Panera kicked off 2021 with their new Flatbread Pizzas, generating new levels of excitement across café associates and winning first place in the Food & Beverage Video Category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

The pandemic took a major toll on nearly every industry, especially food and beverage businesses that depended on in-person dining. As the country began to ease up on COVID-19 restrictions, Panera Bread saw the perfect opportunity to introduce its new menu item, Flatbread Pizzas, to its more than 80,000 café-level associates. In turn, Panera’s Learning and Development team created a video explaining what these new menu items were and why associates should be excited.

The team didn’t want to produce a standard video, but rather a fast-paced experience that builds anticipation and excitement for café associates companywide. This video experience aimed to incorporate the success of the product in test markets and establish Panera’s new culinary direction while thanking employees for their hard work in 2020. As ambitious as it was, this video would be a farewell to 2020 and the start of Panera’s new year and direction.

To create this visual experience, the team leveraged a representative of the culinary team to share a sense of expertise as they introduced the new menu items. To resonate more with associates, the team employed multiple members of café-level teams to establish a greater company message of positivity and resilience going forward. Although the pandemic posed some new filming challenges, the team adopted a hybrid model of virtual and live shoots to capture the entire video.

According to the positive reviews from Panera’s Learning Management System, the video was well received throughout the company. The online learning course was a hit, reaching over 61,000 completions and subsequent video views for its 80,000 café-level associates. The mix of food production content and unscripted interviews received more than 450 comments with a course average of 3.6 stars out of 5.

As one of its most successful product launches in recent history, Panera exceeded all projected goals for early 2021 and ended up releasing two additional flatbread pizzas later that year.

Congratulations to the Panera Bread team.

– Written by Max Schwartz

American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology

Step Forward

Nurse association leverages moving videos to refine health legislation after pandemic

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists, or CRNAs, are a class of nurses that can pretty much do it all. Their expertise makes them the first choice for treating patients with COVID-19, but that doesn’t mean they’re allowed to. The American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) produced videos to solidify the CRNA as a critical healthcare worker, winning itself first place in the Health Care Video Category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

Long-standing regulation stated that CRNAs required physician supervision to travel and work across different healthcare facilities. When the pandemic worsened in March 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced an array of temporary waivers that suspended these limiting rules for CRNAs. AANA used this announcement as an opportunity to produce their “Step Forward” videos convincing healthcare regulators to make these changes permanent.

Targeting U.S. Congress, hospital admins and the nurse anesthesia community, these videos could provide a new perspective that encourages the removal of barriers to the CRNA practice.

The Step Forward campaign consisted of several videos illustrating the need for nurses to step forward during this challenging time. The name also doubled as a sign of progress because if enough viewers resonated with the campaign, they might have the traction they need to make these regulations permanent.

With the help of digital production from Treeline Bamboo, AANA captured the moving stories of more than 20 CRNAs, from the military to college students. These varying stories of hope and innovation highlighted the pivotal work of these specialized nurses during the ensuing COVID-19 pandemic.

Released through organic and paid social media posts, the response to the Step Forward campaign brought unprecedented results for AANA. Organic posts featuring these videos performed best on Facebook, amassing 8,700 views alone and more than 17,000 views across platforms. Paid posts on Facebook and Instagram created just under 150,000 total impressions and led to a 31% increase in news traffic compared to the previous year.

In December 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a request for information on the costs and benefits of making these temporary policies permanent. The impressive results from the Step Forward campaign were just what AANA needed to get the ball moving and one step closer to its goal.

Congratulations to the AANA team.

Have a look at the videos here.

– Written by Max Schwartz

ServiceNow

Pets @ Work: Now Live Opener

Entertaining pet videos unleash record employee engagement, spark positive conversations

What do our pets do when we leave the house? This long unanswered question has finally been addressed during ServiceNow’s bi-quarterly live event, securing itself first place in the Humorous Video Category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

Twice per quarter ServiceNow holds its global All Hands event, Now Live, for its more than 14,000 employees. The event kicked off with a funny video aimed at representing its employees and addressing the future of remote work. To accomplish this goal, ServiceNow produced its Now Live: Pets Opening video with employee-submitted videos featuring their furry friends.

The team held an open pet “casting call” on its Facebook Workplace to drive engagement and incentivize employee participation. With more than 200 employee submissions to choose from, the Employee Comms team carefully selected 20 pet participants to be featured at its Now Live event. Selected pets and their owners were given a filming guide with activities and were give roughly four weeks to record a video with help from the company’s video director.

The resulting two-minute video combined employee footage with a creative narrative to show what pets might do when employees finally return to the office again. Pets ranging from dogs and goats to chickens and hermit crabs came together in this amusing satire to reimagine what goes on when humans aren’t there. Whether it was cats on a zoom call or goats exploring the house, the team found a way to engage its employees in new, innovative ways.

Compared to previous employee communication records, engagement with the Now Live: Pets video was very impressive. More than 7,000 employees joined the event livestream with an additional 2,700 viewing it later on-demand. Externally the video performed much better than its typical employee storytelling content, drawing over 120,000 views and 1,700 reactions across various social media platforms.

Congratulations to Evan Graner from Edelman and the ServiceNow team including Emily Gaviria, Ami Nomura, Liana Viselli and Leo Lopez.

See a sample of the videos shared here.

– Written by Max Schwartz

University Health

Behind Every Mask

University Health raises funds for new foundation by honoring its frontline workers

Healthcare workers have always been an integral part of any modern society. When the COVID-19 pandemic began to strain workers too, University Health created an appreciative video to show thanks to these selfless people and give back to the community, earning first place in the Inspirational Video Category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

To show appreciation for its tireless staff, University Health established a new Staff Resiliency Fund to provide health care workers with a range of mental health resources. These new resources aimed to reduce employee burnout rates and enhance self-care across all staff levels. The University Health team created “Behind every Mask,” an awe-inspiring video that drove considerable donations for its new fund.

“Behind Every Mask” used first-person accounts and reflections to represent the stories of 15 University Health team members. This diverse amalgamation of commentary, engaging visuals and limited narration provide viewers with a timeline of the team’s response to the pandemic, from Winter 2019 through Spring 2021. “Behind every Mask” serves as a visual anthology of worker experiences so audiences can see these health care workers behind their masks.

What makes this video unique is its diversity of staff stories and titles represented. The team heavily strategized, tasked with revealing a sense of pride and humanity among workers that didn’t feel disingenuous. Everyone from IT and lab managers to doctors and nurses had their share of screen time, highlighting the team’s commitment to fair and equal representation.

The video was launched in May 2021 as the centerpiece of the University Health Foundation annual Medical Miracle Gala. Aimed at building support for the Staff Resiliency Fund, the virtual event raised $370,000 and was shared with the more than 9,000 members of the University Health community. The video received an outpouring of love across social media and served as a much-needed morale booster for University Health employees and healthcare workers everywhere.

Congratulations to the teams including Leni Kirkman from University Health and Robb Long from UT Health San Antonio.

Check out the winning inspirational video here.

– Written by Max Schwartz

Citrix

The Source

Weekly informational video reaches record number of employees across the globe

Although hybrid work has its perks, connecting with employees has become increasingly difficult as more people work from home. With a need to consistently update its global employee base, Citrix created “The Source” and earned itself first place in the Internal Communications Video Category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

When the pandemic shifted work to its virtual format, Citrix needed a way to effectively and efficiently disseminate information to its more than 2,000 sales employees. Citrix’s Worldwide Sales Enablement team created The Source, a weekly 7-minute video series sharing relevant business practices and success stories in a compelling format. Each video is created to be entertaining, educational and accessible so that employees can watch them whenever, wherever.

Episodes of The Source frequently featured guest speakers from across the organization to discuss relevant industry news and information. As the pandemic continued, the videos reflected this and began including remote work tips, showcasing creative home office styles and adding a greater variety of speakers to appeal to the company’s global audience.

Each episode was broken down into three sections covering important product news, animation-style announcements and a best practice or success story. Easy-to-follow formats like Q&As and top three tips kept viewers engaged while allowing them to easily consume the contents of the video. The Source continued to spur employee participation in new ways such as viewer-submitted cameos and entertaining weekly contests.

Once the episodes were finalized, they were published and promoted through Citrix’s weekly newsletter, a calendar reminder and a meme in the internal Teams channel.

The team’s hard work paid off, surpassing its viewership goal by 11%, reaching a record 91% in 2020 and the first half of 2021. Each video included subtitles for Citrix’s non-English speakers, which worked in the team’s favor as viewership for its EMEA sales team grew from 82% in Q2 2019 to 99% in Q2 2020.

This record-breaking viewership demonstrates the team’s ability to effectively educate employees while driving sales opportunities forward.

Congratulations to the Citrix team including Matt Lee, Sarah Lieberman and Cari Simmons.

– Written by Max Schwartz

Hilton Effect Foundation

Hilton Effect Foundation Grantees Video

Hilton brings attention to its foundation through pandemic recovery efforts

Humanitarian issues like food security and the need for clean water arose across the globe as the COVID-19 pandemic raged on. Consistent with its goals of supporting vulnerable communities, Hilton awarded grants to several international organizations helping in relief efforts, highlighting this in a video and securing itself first place in the Nonprofit Video Category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

The Hilton Effect Foundation sought to recognize the efforts of organizations around the world aiding in pandemic recovery efforts. In 2020, the nonprofit awarded 23 grants totaling more than $1 million to these organizations with the goal of helping them address their needs. The foundation also recognized that in the current digital climate, it’s become increasingly difficult to find positive news stories.

To highlight the efforts of these organizations and provide digital consumers with some “good news,” the Hilton Content and Foundation teams created the Hilton Effect Foundation 2020 Grantees video.

Through this video, Hilton wanted to connect with its viewers with emotional storytelling and eyewitness accounts of inclusive recovery efforts. It also doubled as an opportunity to give thanks to the countless organizations and leaders across the world doing good in their communities.

Hilton’s Internal Content Team showcased the foundation’s voice through one-on-one interviews with the leaders of community-based organizations assisting in these COVID-19 recovery efforts. The team strategically incorporated Hilton’s mission of working with inclusive organizations by highlighting various exemplary recovery efforts.

The Grantees video first appeared on the Hilton Online Newsroom, attached with photos, a press release and an informative infographic revealing where in the world these grants were going. The team then released the video in five organic, in-feed posts across the @HiltonNewsroom’s Facebook, Instagram, Instagram Story, Twitter and LinkedIn.

The results were far-reaching, generating a combined 150,000 impressions and 985 engagements. LinkedIn was the video’s best-performing platform, amassing over 71,000 impressions alone and just under 30,000 video views. The newsroom’s Twitter also performed well with the post reaching around 16,300 unique impressions.

Sticking to its goals, Hilton successfully leveraged this video to bolster the importance of good storytelling and show consumers the profound impact of the foundation’s grants.

Congratulations to the Hilton team and agency partner Coyne PR.

– Written by Max Schwartz

GSK/CCA

Not on My Watch Movement

Public relations video reaches millions through weighty celebrity and patient stories

For many women facing advanced ovarian cancer, hope is sometimes hard to reach. With the help of Chandler Chicco Agency, GSK highlighted the need for women to stop “watching and waiting” for cancer to return by reigniting its Not on My Watch movement. GSK produced several videos advocating for this cause, finishing first place in the Public Relations Video Category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

In late 2020, GSK reintroduced the “Not on My Watch” (NOMW) movement with the goal of mobilizing women with advanced ovarian cancer to have the conversation about maintenance therapy. GSK previously launched the NOMW movement from October 2018 through December 2019 but put a pause on it given the COVID-19 pandemic and new advancements in research and science.

Using community feedback from the GSK-hosted summit, the healthcare company animated these insights to refine and improve this next phase of the movement. GSK’s digitally focused approach employed actionable program messaging with real emotion and appropriate humor to create videos that resonated with its various audiences.

To accurately represent the impacts of this disease, the videos featured several interviews from patient advocates as well as a celebrity cameo. Actor Scott Foley, who served as a caretaker to his late mother who had advanced ovarian cancer, was called upon to share his expertise. GSK harnessed the voices of both patients and celebrities to ensure its messaging reached as many people as possible.

This new extension of the NOMW movement launched in November 2020 with a call-to-action of 22,000 video shares, or the number of women in America annually diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Additionally, GSK pledged to donate $100,000 to ovarian cancer non-profit patient organizations.

Shared across both Foley’s and the movement’s social media channels, the program achieved almost half of its sharing goal in just the first two months. The total numbers were astounding and by summer 2021 the actor’s “watch and wait” video reached over 2 million views and 20,000+ shares. To date, program impressions across traditional, social and digital media sit just under 620 million with more than 247,000 website visits.

Congratulations to Stefanie Nacar, Jillian Hodge and Ruchika Kalra from GSK, and the team from Chandler Chicco Agency including Ashley Martinez, Kate Galak, Alison Aromando, Arielle Cline, Chelsea Kelsey, Frannie Marmorstein, Stephen Dennis, Morgan Landman, Alicia Triant, Lily McCann, Lily Campbell, Tim Finn, Tim Djentchouraev and Dara Levin.

Take a look at one of the videos here.

– Written by Max Schwartz

Verra Mobility

Worst Red-Light Runners

Video vividly shows the perils of running a red light

Verra Mobility used footage of crashes to highlight the need for its safety cameras. It won in the ‘Public Service Video’ category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

Of course you’d never run a red light, would you? In 2020, though, more than 2.8 million drivers did, according to data from red-light safety cameras installed by Verra Mobility, a smart transportation solutions company. In 2019, approximately 143,000 people were injured by red-light runners.

Cameras have been shown to reduce the rate of fatal red-light crashes by 21% in major cities. Verra Mobility set out to create a video that would warn the driving public about the dangers of running a red light—”2020’s Worst Red-Light Runners,” a montage of the worst examples of red-light running in 2020 as captured by Verra Mobility cameras in six U.S. states.

The video drew more than 30,000 views on YouTube from Dec. 29, 2020, to Jan. 4, 2021, and garnered 2,772 views on Verra Mobility’s landing page, with an average time on site of 1:52 minutes.

Verra Mobility launched the video on Dec. 29, 2020, on its YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn pages, as well as embedding it on its website landing page. At the same time, the company released a media alert on PR Newswire that included a link to the video and a description of how and why the video was created.

The video, 1:22 minutes, opens with a quick series of statements on how red-light safety camera programs can reduce red-light running, change driver behavior and raise public awareness. Then it goes to the crashes, from Scottsdale, Arizona, to Fayetteville, North Carolina.

In Orange County, Florida, for example, a red-light runner flips a car turning left from the oncoming lane. Another Orange County crash sends a car spinning into the opposite lane. “Please, stop on red!” is the closing message.

You can watch the video for yourself here.

Following the release of the video and the media alert, Verra Mobility secured coverage in 14 news outlets across Arizona, Florida, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas and Utah. –JC

Panera Bread

C3 Guiding Values

Employees extol Panera’s Guiding Values in video view of culture

A diverse workforce teamed up during the pandemic to discuss values in their own authentic voices—winning in the ‘Recruitment or Employer Branding Video’ category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

Values are an integral part of any organization’s culture, and sharing them is essential to recruiting and retaining employees. Panera’s Guiding Values video was part of a larger companywide campaign aimed at communicating and reinforcing Panera’s culture and values during training for Panera’s Spring Menu rollout.

Because the message needed to feel authentic to employees viewing the video, Panera’s strategy called for café-level associates to talk about who they were, where they came from and how their diversity contributed to Panera’s success. To achieve the authenticity needed, the associates would have to have influence over the final language and tone of the script. Virtual scouting and pre-production interviews allowed for less heavily scripted narration and more candid commentary.

One challenge was making sure the video’s content aligned with the defined Guiding Values. The team decided to record several descriptions and explanations to ensure collecting the desired language in a variety of voices. Another challenge was posed by COVID-19. With travel restrictions and access to filming inside cafés limited, the production team met virtually with more than 60 people to film the content, scheduling and virtually supporting all the shoots via Microsoft Teams. Filming took two months of scheduling and virtual support, resulting in more than 1,000 video files to work with.

The video opens with footage of employees strolling outside, playing the guitar, rollerblading with kids and smiling. Then it shifts to employees donning uniforms for their shift in the café—masked, of course—explaining the Guiding Values: Warmth for Guests, Bold Thoughts Brave Action, Own It and more.

Diversity is on display as dozens of employees speak at a rapid pace: “We’re proud of this café—it’s ours,” says one man. “We celebrate our shortcomings and also our successes,” says a woman. “We’re not just co-workers,” says another woman, “we’re friends.”

The video’s target audience was approximately 90,000 café-level associates. The online training course had 68,243 completions. Employees who took the course shared 95 comments on it, most expressing excitement for Panera’s culture, praising their coworkers for sustaining it and asking how they could participate in future films. –JC

View the video here.

KeyBank

Heart of Key Video

‘Heart of Key’ video honors 6,000 workers on the pandemic’s front lines

KeyBank created a new award to thank employees for staying at their posts during COVID-19. It’s a winner in the ‘Shoestring Video (Under $300)’ in Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

Not everyone could work from home during the pandemic. At KeyBank, more than 6,000 employees stayed on the front lines serving clients. To show its appreciation for their dedication, service, courage and resilience, KeyBank created the Heart of Key Award, a special, one-of-a-kind pin to be worn only by those who served clients in person in 2020, announcing the recognition at its annual Chairman’s Award event.

A small subset of the KeyBank corporate communications team was assigned to create a virtual experience where all 6,000 frontline teammates could participate live and at their convenience. That meant producing a video for the event.

Working swiftly, with a budget of zero dollars, the team developed a script for 10 corporate leaders across the company. Virtual production work incorporated recorded Zoom videos, personal phone videos, submitted photos and an in-person shoot with KeyBank’s CEO. Eleven recordings of KeyBank’s most senior leaders were shot in five days, and editing, approvals and finalization happened in less than two weeks.

That already sounds like a lot, but the communications team also had to develop robust communications to ensure frontline teammates received their invitation to the event. During a regular year, about 300 employees are invited—a number that grew to nearly 7,000 with the addition of the Heart of Key Award. The team delivered unique and personalized invitations to all frontline teammates for the virtual awards ceremony, many of whom were being invited for the first time.

The video features KeyBank executives speaking next to images of employees, many masked, all hard at work during the pandemic. Comments from grateful clients also are included: “Your call and information about the Paycheck Protection Program was a godsend,” says one customer.

Execs then announce the Heart of Key award: “This award was created for you—a small token of recognition for your commitment, dedication and bravery throughout the pandemic,” says Victor Alexander, head of consumer banking. “For your selflessness and service, thank you,” says Becky Tally, director retail network experience & operations. “For going above and beyond every day, thank you,” says Kevin Sloan, branch network executive—and more, including CEO Chris Gorman: “You are the Heart of Key, and I am incredibly proud to play on your team.”

Thousands of frontline employees joined the virtual ceremony to receive their recognition in real time. The Heart of Key video was played live for all attendees and shared with all KeyBank employees following the event. Post-event communications generated more than 1,000 additional views, including through email and the bank’s intranet, Key Connect. The intranet article was viewed nearly 3,000 times and generated dozens of comments.

Credit for the video goes to Andy Rigo, Allyssa Dalpiaz and Megan Wolk. –JC

View the Heart of Key video here.

MMI Agency

Crest Whitening Emulsions: “Jane”

Video brings a smile to Crest campaign

MMI Agency repurposed influencer content, taking advantage of its humorous approach, to create “Jane”—a video promoting Crest’s new teeth whitening product. It’s a win in the ‘Social Media Video’ category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

We all want whiter teeth and a dazzling smile, right? Crest’s new Crest Whitening Emulsions promised just that—three new products using first-of-its-kind technology. To debut the product, the team opted to repurpose influencer-created content that would show a clear departure from the more common videos the brand usually focused on … and use humor to stand out from the rest of field. Video would be key to the campaign.

The 15-second “Jane” video, as it was called, garnered 1,401,157 impressions for a total 30,880 reach and 40,096 link clicks across Facebook and Instagram, driving 30,325 views on the Crest Whitening Emulsions landing page. The video saw a total of 616,284 plays; on TikTok, “Jane” received 6,400,425 impressions and 33,425 link clicks.

MMI Agency worked with Crest to gather raw video content that had already been shot by an influencer for other projects, editing the footage and branding it to better serve the campaign goals. In the raw content, the team recognized an element of humor that could be a departure from other campaigns. This new angle showed promise when tested with target audiences.

MMI had to edit the influencer’s longer original content down to 15 seconds while keeping the message of the video clear and compelling. The video presents the product in the first three seconds, focusing on the question: “What will give me that ‘wow’ factor?” Instead of showing the influencer buying the whitener, the video cuts to her using it right away, so the audience will immediately associate the video with Crest Whitening Emulsions.

The “Jane” video launched on Facebook and Instagram on March 15, 2021, and on TikTok on April 21, 2021, staying on all platforms until June 30, 2021. The metrics across all three platforms suggest the humorous approach worked. Crest Whitening Emulsions rapidly rose through the ranks of all products on CrestWhiteSmile.com, with “Jane” playing a key role in keeping it consistently in the top three.

Kudos to MMI Agency’s Sydney Bailey, Garth Sykes, J.P. Lopez, Alana Waters-Piper, Rosemary Rey and Haley Robinson. –JC

Take a look at “Jane” here.

Claritin

The Outsideologist Project

Get outside! video series entices kids to explore nature

Claritin’s ‘Unboring Starts with U’ music video kicked off a variety of videos designed to lure kids and their families out of the house. It’s a winner in the ‘Video Series’ category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

The pandemic had lots of us spending all our time indoors. Wanting to change that, Claritin launched The Outsideologist Project, aimed at motivating kids to spend an extra hour a week outside. Instead of calling on children and their parents to abandon their phones, tablets and gaming consoles, Claritin embraced technology, kicking off a video content series with an animated music video showing kids how “un-boring” the great outdoors can be.

The “Unboring Starts With U” music video garnered more than 3.7 million views on YouTube. Meanwhile, the project’s dedicated Instagram account has gained 4,000 followers following its first four livestreams, which have received more than 3,400 views through organic posting only.

In the video, a tree beckons kids glued to technology inside their homes to come outside and explore the world. Set to an original rap, the lyrics celebrate the weird and wonderful joys of the outdoors, like bees having five eyes and butterflies tasting with their feet.

Claritin enlisted five social media influencers to form The Outsideologist Project Advisory Board. Each member of the Advisory Board was assigned to create content that would be engaging for both parents and their children. They developed short lessons followed by easy activities, like teaching outdoor nature photography and how to make a flower press, all based on the influencers’ particular area of expertise.

The “Unboring Starts With U” video series was further supported through livestreams hosted by the Outsideologist Advisory Board. The livestreams were recorded virtually at each experts’ location, then saved as Instagram TV posts to continue social engagement, encourage questions, engage with the experts and reach more families. –JC

Take a look at the video series:

Unboring Starts with U

Weather—by Meteorologist Tevin Wooten

Nature Photography by Joel Sartore

Plants by Summer Rayne Oakes

Animals by Zookeeper Jawnie

Deloitte

The Resilient film series

Deloitte video series highlights the resilience and values of the Millennial generation

‘The Resilient’ featured six individuals to represent a generation and showcase Deloitte’s annual Millennial and Gen Z survey. It’s a winner in the ‘Video Series’ category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

It may sound like a riff on “The Hunger Games” or “Divergent,” but “The Resilient” video series from Deloitte focuses on six members of the millennial generation who embody key characteristics identified by Deloitte’s annual survey of nearly 23,000 millennials and Gen Zs across 45 countries, exploring their attitudes about life, work and the world around them.

The campaign promoting the launch of the series generated approximately 40 million social media impressions and more than 64,000 video views based on the organic social media campaign alone. The paid campaign delivered 1.13 million video views and 25.9 million impressions.

Through the years, the survey has identified several key themes: Millennials are resilient and values driven; they strongly believe business should have a purpose beyond profit; and they don’t accept the status quo. The objective for the film series was to bring those themes to life in a human and engaging way.

Through Zoom interviews, the Deloitte team selected six subjects to focus on. Because of the pandemic, production crews in different parts of the world recorded each subject with safety in mind. Last-minute changes were sometimes necessary; for example, a plan to record one subject in India had to be scrapped when the pandemic peaked in that country, so the team pivoted to a different location. Ultimately, though, the videos were put together seamlessly, as if created by one production crew.

“The Resilient” series was launched one week after the release of the 2021 Millennial and Gen Z Survey report, with new episodes going out every few days in late June and early July, followed by ongoing promotion throughout the summer.

Externally, the videos were promoted heavily across the Deloitte website and through an organic and paid social media campaign across Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. Internally, they were shared across the company’s 25+ internal communications channels, promoted to Deloitte’s global network of comms professionals and shared by Deloitte’s global CEO in his newsletter.

The staggered launch approach of “The Resilient” generated high volumes of social media impressions and video views, along with a long-running dialogue across social channels. Every new video launched on social media produced spikes in impressions, which continue to grow steadily, supported by promotion on influential social media channels like One Young World and the SDG2030 Twitter handle.

Congratulations to Christine Selph, Lesley Stephen, Paul Cardwell, Marina Zheng, Brie Gobel, Tung Ke Kong, Maria-Irene Angelidis and Stephanie Anderson. –JC

You can view the videos here:

Trailer

The Resilient: Mexico

The Resilient: Nigeria

The Inclusive Storyteller

The Disability Champion

The Enterprising Environmentalist

The Sustainable Fisher

Advantest

Virtual VOICE 2021 Developer Conference

Tech firm passes the test when pivoting to a virtual conference

COVID-19 forced Advantest to shift to a virtual format for its annual conference, but it drew record attendance anyway. It’s a winner in the ‘Virtual Conference’ category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

During uncertain times—like a global pandemic—maintaining customer engagement and steady communication is crucial to business survival. Advantest, which manufactures automatic test and measurement equipment used in semiconductors, faced that challenge when pivoting to a virtual format for its 2021 VOICE Developer Conference.

The VOICE Developer Conference is an annual event for users of Advantest’s test platforms, memory testers, handlers and test cell solutions. The first-ever Virtual VOICE received record attendance, with 320 live event attendees representing 53 companies, 20 of which were new to VOICE. Additionally, 97% of those who responded to a post-event survey gave a “recommend” rating to the conference.

To deliver an authentic conference experience, Advantest researched the latest in virtual event technologies, selecting a customizable platform for real-time Q&A sessions with keynoters, a live emcee host and dynamic visuals. To promote the conference, Advantest distributed regular press releases and media alerts, email campaigns and an interactive digital flyer with a QR code to scan for updates. Social media efforts included Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, using LinkedIn’s targeted ads to promote registrations.

The conference ran from June 21-23, 2021. Keynotes and paper presentations were scheduled in the morning and early evening, with a midday break. All live presentations were recorded for on-demand view. To increase attendee interaction, presenters held live Q&A sessions at the end of their presentations. An optional, virtual hands-on learning experience, Workshop Day, was offered after the conference closed.

A call for papers for the conference drew 163 submissions and 68 acceptances. The Technology Kiosk Showcase, with Advantest’s latest test solutions and product offerings, featured 32 live sessions and 19 virtual booths—a new VOICE record. –JC

CompTIA

CompTIA ChannelCon

Tech saves the day for virtual tech conference

CompTIA’s ChannelCon conference made the shift to virtual during the pandemic without losing the opportunity to connect in person. It’s a winner in the ‘Virtual Conference’ category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

Tech trade association CompTIA’s ChannelCon has long been a can’t-miss conference for anyone in the technology business—vendors, distributors and consultants, as well as students, interns and apprentices. Of course, the pandemic forced a shift away from in-person attendance, so CompTIA set out to deliver a virtual version of ChannelCon.

In 2021, the conference featured sessions on the latest developments and trends in technology on Aug. 3-4, along with in-person networking receptions across the country on Aug. 2-4. Condensing the previously three-day event to two half-days, CompTIA delivered more than 10 hours of content featuring 43 speakers, attracting more than 2,000 views during the live broadcasts and more than 920 attendees participating in the MyChannelCon online community. Viewers consumed more than 334.2 hours of publicly available content, resulting in an average of 270 chats during the broadcast, with viewer duration ranging from 20-24 minutes.

Registration at ChannelCon has always been free for CompTIA’s corporate members, but for the virtual event, registration was offered at no cost to everyone in the tech business, providing an opportunity for people around the world to access all of ChannelCon’s content and networking opportunities from their home office.

CompTIA used its onsite studio, located in its Naperville, Illinois, headquarters, to bring together gated content along with publicly broadcast sessions. It also hosted exclusive content on Zoom for registered attendees, and broadcast open sessions on YouTube live for everyone free.

The event offered a keynote presentation from Theresa Payton, the first woman to serve as White House CIO and a respected authority on cybersecurity, who also led a live Q&A. Attendees could build a personalized agenda, network with fellow participants and engage in discussions throughout the event on the MyChannelCon community, and in-person networking receptions were held at six locations across the U.S. where attendees could reconnect with peers and form new relationships in a safe setting.

In the 30 days around the event, 94 contributors generated 277 tweets with the hashtag #ChannelCon. ChannelCon also earned 71 unique story placements, valued at more than $58,000. –JC

Opportunity International

Virtual Insight Trip To Colombia

Global nonprofit take supporters on a virtual tour of Colombia

For its 50th anniversary, Opportunity International converted its international ‘Insight Trip’ into a virtual experience for potential donors. It’s a winner in the ‘Virtual Customer Engagement Event’ category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

To further its goal of empowering people around the world to work their way out of poverty, Opportunity International traditionally hosts “Insight Trips”—in-person visits to countries it serves. The pandemic called a pause to that, so the organization decided to convert one of those trips into a virtual experience in 2021, the year of its 50th anniversary. Colombia was chosen—the country of Opportunity International’s first microloan in 1971.

Providing a fast-paced, one-hour experience started with sending a crew on a four-day shoot to different locations. Because one element of the typical in-person trip is connecting with staff members leading initiatives in the field, the team created virtual versions of the moments they’d typically experience. A staff expert acted as an on-camera host, and the program simulated the feeling of “sitting next to them” on the bus between destinations as visitors learned about the local culture. Donors could post questions during the trip with a chat feature, with the host answering them at the close of the event.

Pop-up videos after every scene featured short donor testimony from someone who had visited that type of client or location in person. To create a family experience, the event took place on a Sunday afternoon, and offered a Colombian coloring page, a travel journal for kids and family members and a quiz based on the video.

Opportunity International’s virtual tour drew an estimated 920 anticipated viewers and had a 44% conversion rate of registrants to attendees. Special thanks to the host, Brian Olarte, and our video production partners at Boldfish Video Productions or boldfishvideo.com. If you’d like to learn more about what your role can be in ending extreme poverty, visit opportunity.org.

Kudos to Laura DesGranges, Erin Doherty, Nikki Stark, Brian Olarte and Boldfish Video Productions. –JC

ServiceNow

Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DIBs) Summit

Summit seeks to solve problems with inclusive leadership skills

The 2021 ServiceNow DIBs (Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging) Leadership Summit brought together leaders and nonprofit partners to hone skills and seek solutions. It’s a winner in the ‘Virtual Education Event’ category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

Nearly 200 ServiceNow leaders and more than 20 nonprofit partners from around the world participated in the 2021 ServiceNow DIBs (Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging) Leadership Summit, a two-day, digital event designed to hone their inclusive leadership skills and deliver business solutions to partner organizations.

The Summit was attended by ServiceNow leaders at the director level and above, participating in two 2.5-hour sessions across consecutive days. ServiceNow’s CEO opened and closed both days, and comments from other top-level executives and program sponsors underscored the importance of the DIBs.

In virtual breakout sessions on the first day, nonprofit partners presented the ServiceNow leaders with a problem from their organization. The leaders, facilitated by a coach, used action learning techniques and inclusive leadership skills like openness, active listening and assumption testing to explore the problem. After the breakout session, the groups reconvened for a general session led by ServiceNow’s chief marketing and communications officer to debrief them on the techniques they’d used.

On Day Two, after an opening video and a review of the first day’s experience, leaders returned to their breakout groups to continue practicing techniques and skills aimed at solving the nonprofit partner’s problems and collect feedback from the coach. Again, a general session followed to close out the summit, with the chief strategy officer leading the team through reflections on their solutions and encouraging leaders to commit to working with accountability partners after the summit.

After the summit, 100% of the ServiceNow attendees said they would continue to use the skills they’d focused on, and 95% of the nonprofit partners expressed confidence that they would be able to achieve positive progress on the issues they’d presented to the ServiceNow leaders in their sessions.

Congrats to Emily Gaviria, Desiree Elsharif, Liana Viselli and Megan Koller-Dwyer. –JC

Optus

TGIF

‘TGIF’ means something different at Aussie telecom company Optus

This weekly virtual broadcast updates employees on everything going on in the organization. It scored a win in the ‘Virtual Employee Engagement Event’ category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

Everyone looks forward to Friday, but at Optus, an Australian telecommunications company, TGIF doesn’t just mean the weekend is near. TGIF is a weekly virtual event for Optus’s 7,500 employees, designed to keep them engaged, informed, connected and optimistic, especially during the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Optus corporate communications team produced 46 episodes of TGIF in 2021, livestreaming it across Australia every Friday (recorded for on-demand viewing). Optus credits TGIF with contributing to an 11% increase in engagement in 2021, a record high. Its audience grew by 11% as well, and live engagement in the event, as measured by feedback and questions during Q&A, is up 68% from 2020.

Each episode of TGIF is 30 minutes long—15 minutes devoted to news and business updates, followed by 15 minutes of Q&A from employees, with questions submitted through a live portal. Hosted by Optus’s CEO and other executive leaders, it’s livestreamed for viewing on desktops or mobile devices.

During 2021, the corporate communications team established a fixed time for TGIF– 9:30-10.00 a.m. Fridays—so employees could listen on a consistent schedule. Push notifications were added to the employee app to notify employees before the show went live. Themed episodes were introduced—when TGIF fell on Valentine’s Day, the team created an episode from “The Bachelor” to share Optus’s strategy on creating “Customer Love.”

TGIF is hosted in the Optus Sport studio, but it also can be broadcast live on location from other areas, engaging local employees to present segments and hiring a local camera operator and any equipment necessary to connect with the broadcast operations room virtually. It’s also been broadcast live from the CEO’s backyard, with a single camera operator set up outside in a COVID-safe way.

The corporate communications team constantly experiments with new video content: pieces to camera, marketing campaign inserts, hype reels, etc. The executive team has been equipped with DIY video kits, including tripods and ring lights, to produce higher quality video content at their homes. –JC

Prudential Financial, Inc.

Black Leadership Forum Symposium. Our Movement: Rising to the Occasion

Going virtual, symposium exceeds attendance record

Prudential’s Black Leadership Forum annual symposium drew 1,600 attendees, the most in its 20-year history, making it a winner in the ‘Virtual Employee Engagement Event’ category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

The turmoil of the past few years has driven awareness of issues and challenges confronting Black Americans. It’s also turned attention to the core values of financial services company Prudential and its Black Leadership Forum business resource group for employees.

To mark the 17^th annual BLF Symposium in November 2020, a team of more than 90 employee volunteers organized a day of virtual experiences. Past symposium conferences saw as many as 700 attendees, which was often the maximum capacity required at local onsite venues. Due to its virtual format, the symposium was BLF’s most-attended conference in its nearly two-decade long history.

The 2020 conference, “Our Movement: Rising to the Occasion,” brought together more than 1,600 employees, external partners and guests in conversations to focus on Prudential’s nine commitments to advance racial equity for people, its businesses and society.

The symposium’s theme was conceptualized as a phoenix, symbolizing the BLF’s 2020 experience rising from the ashes and emerging stronger as an organization. The keynote was delivered by Trevor Noah, comedian, author and host of “The Daily Show.” Noah shared details about his experiences growing up in South Africa and drew parallels to the current state of racial unrest around the United States without creating a sense of division. In his closing, he urged employees to speak up about things that could have a positive impact on the lives of others.

More than 10 development workshops, some offered in multiple sessions, provided opportunities for employees to hone new skills both personally and professionally, focus on their financial future and heal and rebuild as a community in a time of crisis. These virtual sessions received an average 82% satisfaction rate.

Networking activities in the evening featured a virtual DJ performance and comedy sessions. Attendees were able to engage and connect just as they would during an in-person event.

Kudos to Michelle Riley, Nya Dark, Cymon Wesley, Shané Harris and Maurice Kuykendoll. –JC

Iron Mountain

Global Kickoff: Dare to go beyond

Global Kickoff event reaches thousands of employees around the world

Iron Mountain’s event had a broad agenda that prompted feedback and discussion over two days in January 2021. It’s a winner in the ‘Virtual Employee Meeting’ category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

With the world changing all around, Iron Mountain wanted its first-ever Global Kickoff event for employees to prompt discussions about the future of the company. A global business that stores, protects and manages information and assets, Iron Mountain aimed to reach all its 26,000 employees in 53 countries—more than 75% frontline, deskless employees in a two-day event in January 2021.

Day One of the event attracted 4,400 unique users from 53 countries, and the second day attracted 3,320 unique users from 44 countries. Most people joined all or some of both days. A feedback survey to all employees after the event received nearly 500 responses.

To maximize the event’s engagement and impact, the Global Kickoff was broadcast live over two half-days. The theme, “Dare to Go Beyond,” reflected the changes Iron Mountain hoped to achieve in 2021. Understanding the importance of content in a virtual setting, the event committee focused on tailored storytelling and powerful keynotes.

Teams across the organization developed an agenda with themed segments based on “Mountaineer imperatives”—growth, innovation, transformation, inclusion & diversity, safety and wellness and culture. To increase audience engagement, the online platform included such features as Q&A, polling, quizzes and more.

The meeting was broadcast live from a custom-built, COVID-secure studio at Iron Mountain’s Boston headquarters to employees around the world with live translations available. Recordings of each day’s segments were rebroadcast for employees in the Asia-Pacific region.

In total, the Global Kickoff involved 21 live sessions, eight pre-recorded videos and five audience engagement sessions. It featured more than 70 speakers, including an external guest speaker and customers, along with representatives from each business unit and region.

Polls, word clouds and a Q&A were used to prompt feedback and discussion from employees. In addition, a session for mindfulness and stretching was scheduled to reinvigorate employees after a couple hours into the event.

Feedback after the event showed that participants found all segments useful, especially those focused on growth, innovation and inclusion & diversity. Many attendees said the best parts of the Global Kickoff were the keynote speeches, segments that reinforced their understanding of the company’s direction and 2021 plans, and the opportunity to learn more about different parts of the company.

As a result, Iron Mountain committed to another Global Kickoff event in January 2022.

Congratulations to Katie Scott, Neil Jenkins, Kaitlin Baratta, Hilary Skibinski, Valeria de Souza Pinto and Liliana Biro. –JC

Masonite

Unlock Masonite

Masonite opens the door to an immersive experience at trade show

‘Unlock Masonite’ offered a virtual, interactive experience for potential customers even after the trade show’s own platform failed. It’s a winner in the ‘Virtual Immersive Experience’ category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

Masonite has exhibited its interior and exterior doors at the International Builders Show (IBS) for 30 years. When IBS went fully digital in 2020, Masonite decided to go beyond the typical digital trade show booth and create something new—an immersive virtual world called “Unlock Masonite” that would connect with, inspire and educate customers in a creative, intuitive experience.

Unlock Masonite generated 32% more leads than the previous year’s traditional in-person event. Despite not physically connecting with customers, the virtual experience has helped build relationships as the company continues to evolve the Unlock Masonite platform.

Unlock Masonite drew inspiration from the marketing team’s 2021-22 trend research. The team worked closely with a digital exhibition vendor to bring its concepts to life and highlight its advances for making homes brighter, quieter, more stylish and more secure. Cross-functional marketing teams met multiple times a week to craft the look, feel, messaging, and user experience. The project was conceptualized, designed, built, tested and launched in less than six months.

Ensuring that the final product would live on beyond the show was crucial, so the team built Unlock Masonite as its own domain. This provided flexibility for users to access the experience via a direct link, through the IBS site (after registering for the show) or on the event landing page at Masonite.com.

That came in handy when the IBS exhibition hall platform—the portal for visitors to access event vendors’ virtual booths—suffered technical difficulties and was not available for the entire duration of the show. Because Unlock Masonite was built outside of this platform, the sales team was still able to invite attendees and perform walk-through meetings seamlessly. –JC

The Kroger Co.

2021 Kroger Investor Relations Day

Hybrid event drives stock price up for Kroger

Kroger’s Investment Day combined prerecorded presentations with a live Q&A seamlessly. It’s a winner in the ‘Virtual Presentation’ category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

Kroger Investor Day is an opportunity for Kroger to tell its story directly to the investor community. The 2021 event, held on March 31, had to abandon its traditional in-person format because of the pandemic, and instead created a three-hour virtual show combining live and pre-recorded elements to offer the best of both worlds—two hours of broadcast-quality content plus an hour of live Q&A with the investment community.

The event reached a diversified mix of Kroger stakeholders, including sell-side investors, buy-side investors, associates, media partners and more, drawing more than 800 virtual attendees and more than 100 questions submitted for the Q&A.

Members of Kroger’s investor relations team, corporate affairs and the Kroger Studios/Content team began meeting in the fall of 2020 to work through the concepts and details of the event. The team recorded eight senior executives giving their presentations over a week while the Kroger Studios team created high-polish roll-in videos that supported the overall presentations. Then the Kroger Stories team edited the segments day and night to create the finished, two-hour pre-recorded roll-in/presentation for the day of the event.

The event was streamed from Cincinnati’s Music Hall. After the two hours of pre-recorded presentations, the show switched seamlessly to the live portion of the meeting: an hour of Q&A from the virtual audience with Kroger’s in-person, socially distanced senior executives, facilitated by Director of Investor Relations Rebekah Manis.

Kroger’s stock price rose 26.3% following Investor Day, resulting in a market-cap increase of more than $7 billion. Kroger also saw a total shareholder return increase over the same period of 27.5%.

Kudos to John Addino, Andy Brown, Sayer Compton, Keith Dailey, Samantha Gossett, Rebekah Manis, Jonathan Marasco, Gary Millerchip, Pat Lawler, Dan Roark, Chris Willig, Chris King, Wayne Carli and Vince Salzarudo. –JC

G&S Business Communications

Syngenta Media Summit Adapts – and Thrives – in Virtual Environment

The show must go on with custom-built media summit microsite

COVID scuttled the in-person event, so Syngenta and G&S Business Communications built their own platform for the media. It’s a winner for Virtual Press Event in Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

When COVID-19 made the in-person Syngenta Media Summit in 2020 impossible, agriculture company Syngenta and G&S Business Communications considered several options for maximizing coverage in the U.S. agricultural trade media.

Instead of simply converting the three-day event into a virtual shell of its in-person self, Syngenta and G&S crafted a simple single-page microsite that supported live presentations, registration and attendance.

Based on the feedback from media members who’d planned to attend the summit in person, G&S identified four important needs for the virtual event:

Hosting of both live and on-demand presentations
Providing access to a wide range of downloadable assets
Offering a simple process for booking interviews with Syngenta executives
Maintaining content accessibility after the event

G&S and Syngenta were unable to find a platform on the market that offered the kind of expertise it wanted, so they built their own online event experience hub. The microsite enabled users to register for a series of five webinars across several weeks, view dozens of on-demand presentations, download more than 100 assets (including fact sheets, slides decks and more) and book time directly on Syngenta leaders’ calendars for one-on-one interviews.

Fifty-two U.S. media outlets registered for the summit. These outlets represented a combined 25,402 print subscribers, 2 million unique monthly online visitors and 839 radio stations. During the event’s three weeks, reporters conducted 27 one-on-one interviews with Syngenta leadership.

The company tracked more than 318 site sessions, with an average time on page of 8:52. Coverage of the 2020 event generated 78 articles in 53 unique outlets—up from 65 articles in 40 unique outlets in 2018.

Kudos go to Emily DeCamillis, Heather Manhardt and Cristof Traudes. –JC

Scientific Games

Virtual Town Hall - June 3: 2021

It’s no game: Town halls connect a global workforce during the pandemic

Scientific Games’ town hall meetings require weeks of advance work, paying off in positive results. It’s a winner in the ‘Virtual Town Hall’ category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

As the majority of its global workforce shifted to working from home during the pandemic, Scientific Games, serving the casino, lottery, social gaming and other industries, knew it had to establish a channel that would connect the entire team on a worldwide scale. The solution? Virtual town halls.

Results have been encouraging, with live attendance steadily increasing to a record high in June 2021. Post-event survey responses have been overwhelmingly positive, with the most recent event earning an overall experience rating of 86% favorable.

The town halls are planned weeks in advance during weekly meetings of the corporate communications team. The team determines the run of the show, identifies spokespeople and finalizes projects. Scripts are written for prerecorded segments; for live segments, the team works with key stakeholders to finalize messaging and prepare speakers with a dress rehearsal. The team also puts together an extensive document containing key information and hot topics to help senior leadership during the live Q&A.

The June 2021 Town Hall was a celebration of company values: fun, integrity, team spirit and creativity. The team sent a “Save the Date” email with an interactive poll that asked employees, “If you were an SG value, which value would you be?” In celebration of Pride month, the event presenters wore a Scientific Games Pride T-shirt designed by an employee. A video spotlighted employees and big wins, and the team presented an update on the company’s strategic initiatives using the format of a sports halftime report, featuring a referee, sideline reporters, sports puns and animated graphics.

Because not every team member can attend the live event, the team distributes a post-event recap with a recording, Q&A transcript and resources. The team also sends a survey following each town hall using the feedback to shape communications and event strategy and address topics that are top of mind for the company’s global teams.

Credit goes to Steven Stamstad, Christina Karas, Brandee Taeubel, Jim Briare, Judy Sandgren, Janell Pratt, Alicia Holmes, Kristal Atkins and Maren Fritz –JC

Urban Resource Institute

Urban Resource Institute presents – “Domestic Violence and Pets: Breaking Barriers to Safety and Healing” (the PALS Event) in partnership with the National Domestic Violence Hotline

Urban Resource Institute’s live ‘PALS Event’ draws 800+ registrants from seven countries

Nonprofit domestic violence residential service provider Urban Resource Institute (URI) debuted the results of a national survey on pets and domestic violence during a live virtual event. The “PALS Event” won first prize in the Live Stream Event category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

URI’s People and Animals Living Safely (PALS) Report & Survey found that nearly half of domestic violence victims who own pets list concern for their pet as a barrier to seeking safety.

This statistic and many other survey findings were debuted during URI’s PALS Event, a live virtual event about the intersection of pets and domestic violence that included an introductory statement from Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York. In partnership with the National Domestic Violence Hotline, URI convened a panel of experts from organizations including the Animal Welfare Institute, PetSmart Charities, the New York State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Banfield Foundation.

At the outset of the nearly two-hour event, URI premiered “When I Close My Eyes,” a short film about domestic violence from the perspective of a child with a dog.

Every invited panelist accepted the opportunity to be a part of the event, which drew more than 800 attendees from seven countries and 40 U.S. states. This far exceeded URI’s upper goal of 500 attendees. While the event was not a direct fundraiser, URI received more than $300,000 in donations from PetSmart Charities and $2,000 individual donations during the event.

URI’s social media channels saw increased engagement as compared to the prior period, including increases of 243% on Facebook and 115% on Twitter, while URI webpages had more than 8,000 pageviews in a two-month period.

A write-up in Psychology Today sums up the positive impact of the study’s release:

“At the very least, these new results point out the need for more pet-friendly shelters for people currently living in abusive relationships. It is obvious that a significant proportion of abused people will not seek refuge from their current dangerous situation for fear that a well-loved pet might be harmed. Holding their pet’s well-being hostage gives the abuser power over the victim, and unfortunately, that may ultimately place the abused person in grave personal jeopardy.”

Congratulations to Stephanie Rivera and the Urban Resource Institute team. –EA

NMAAHC

#HiddenHerstory

Digging into the archives: Social media campaign celebrates Black women’s achievements

For Women’s History Month, this museum sifted through its records to put together a four-week campaign. It’s a winner in the ‘Visual Storytelling: Editing” category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

Women’s History Month celebrates the contributions of women throughout the years. In March 2021, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) relaunched its #HiddenHerstory social media campaign to highlight the achievements of trailblazing Black women as journalists, photographers, film directors and other roles in media.

Across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, the #HiddenHerstory campaign earned more than 64,000 engagements and nearly 2 million impressions. A post published during the campaign on the NMAAHC blog, “Five You Should Know: Black Actresses Who Refused to Be Typecast,” received 6,058 unique page views.

The monthlong initiative was composed of four one-week campaigns across social media. After the editorial plan was drafted, the museum’s social media team explored the museum’s archives in search of little-known narratives to be shared and celebrated.

Next, the team researched the selected women, wrote sample posts and worked with the graphic design team to create an array of still and motion graphics pairing the archival images with animation and the campaign’s color palette.

Online activities, resources and engagement used content from the social media campaign. For example, on March 16, 2021, the museum hosted an online public program in association with the #HiddenHerstory campaign titled, “Historically Speaking: A Women’s History with Ruth E. Carter.”

The event celebrated renowned costume designer Ruth E. Carter’s groundbreaking career on films such as “Do the Right Thing,” “Black Panther” and “Coming 2 America.” The event was promoted on social media and received more than 2,000 views.

Credit to Shrita Hernandez, Michael Duncan, Taylor Breanna Washington, Jessica Johnson, Deirdre Cross, Robert Stewart, Thomas Mobley and Ryan Hunter. –JC

AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics)

AAP Your Superhero Moment campaign

‘Superhero Moment’ video PSA advises parents to get their kids’ shots

Harris & Co. created videos in English and Spanish to persuade parents not to skip routine childhood vaccinations. It’s a winner in the ‘Illustration or Animated Design’ category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

Getting a shot from the doctor used to be a part of growing up. These days, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread during the summer of 2020, many parents stopped bringing their children in for checkups and vaccinations. Parents were unsure whether their doctors’ offices were even open, while others were concerned about catching the virus.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), which represents some 67,000 pediatricians, went to M. Harris & Co. to create and distribute a digital marketing campaign, “Call Your Pediatrician,” to persuade parents to keep their kids current on immunizations.

The AAP “Superhero Moment” PSA video created for the campaign was a big part of the effort—it was viewed more than 3.5 million times nationwide on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Google ads.

The Superhero Moment videos were targeted at U.S. parents of children from birth to age 12. Two videos were produced, one in English and one in Spanish. One video features a mom superhero and the other stars a dad, because AAP felt strongly that both parents had to be featured.

Harris created 15-second versions of the video so they’d be unskippable on YouTube. The videos also were distributed through Google Ad Network, Facebook and Instagram. The response to the shorter version was so positive that AAP distributed 30-second versions in English and Spanish through a national TV PSA network.

The 3.5 million people who viewed the video doesn’t count all those who watched just part of it, nor the number of views from the AAP’s organic social media channels. Additionally, 7,200 people clicked on the “For more information” link included with the video, leading them to a page on AAP’s healthychildren.org website that answered common questions about childhood immunizations.

Kudos to Jane Hirt, Melissa Harris, Scott Kleinberg, Peter Noback, Deborah Shelton and Brent Schoonover. –JC

Protective Solutions - a Division of Hillman

Dura-Knit Work Gloves - Launch Video

Hillman Solutions’ Dura-Knit sizzle video, campaign generates millions of impressions

Hillman’s Protective Solutions division provides personal protective equipment and work gear products to home, automotive and hardware retailers. The company’s video campaign to promote the Firm Grip Dura-Knit work gloves won first prize in the Motion Graphics category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

Superheroes are known for their costumes—form-fitting, protective gear that allows them to bound across cityscapes and jump from airplanes with ease.

Hillman’s sizzle video for the Dura-Knit work gloves could convincingly sell the product to a modern superhero. The 59-second spot, plus accompanying micro-campaign videos, have garnered about 225,000 views. It heavily features the gloves’ 3D knitting technology—a main selling point of the product—with detailed animation reminiscent of a Marvel character’s “super suit.”

With this campaign, the Hillman team set out to create awareness about the usefulness of using work gloves for professional and everyday tasks. They found that most people avoid wearing work gloves due to a poor fit on the hand—a problem remedied by the “second-skin” fit of the gloves, as displayed in the sizzle video.

To promote the gloves ahead of the product launch, Hillman deployed a combination of influencer marketing, in-store teams in Home Depots around the country, digital marketing and more. More than 150 influencers participated, providing reviews and content generation.

Hillman’s marketing efforts more than paid off, with more than 16 million campaign impressions and about 82,000 clicks driven to the Home Depot website. Additionally, Home Depot requested to use the sizzle video as “a benchmark throughout the industry for vendors and all future product videos.”

Currently, Dura-Knit has a 4.7/5 review score on the Home Depot website.

Congratulations to the Hillman team, including Jarrod Streng, Mark Butts, Chris Weed, Kyle LeBlanc, Megan Licursi, Blake Fievet, Peter Castellino and Jim Smith. –EA

The Grossman Group

Heart First: Lasting Leader Lessons from a Year that Changed Everything

The Grossman Group’s ‘Heart First’ book compiles tales of leadership from 30+ industry experts

The Grossman Group (TGG), led by David Grossman, is a Chicago-based thought leadership firm with a global rolodex of clients. TGG’s marketing strategy for Grossman’s visually compelling book about leadership in the time of the coronavirus and civil unrest won first prize in the Print Design category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

Grossman’s decision to write “Heart First: Lasting Leader Lessons from a Year that Changed Everything,” was just one of several actions he took to aid leaders challenged by the unprecedented health crisis and civil unrest of 2020. The book was preceded by free employee engagement webinars and a free e-book based on those webinars that was downloaded more than 1,000 times.

With the goal of including conversations with roughly 20 leaders in the book, the TGG team sent more than 100 interview requests to potential contributors. The team was able to conduct interviews with more than 30 respondents, including high-level leaders from influential organizations like Walgreens, SC Johnson, Visa Singapore, Baxter and more. Nearly all of the 30+ contributors to the book have since shared its messaging and related campaign materials with their global audiences.

Ahead of the book’s launch, the team developed a website for the book and released a “sneak peek” download of key content. Additionally, the team prepped for a guest blogging campaign about what TGG calls “not your typical business book.”

And it isn’t your typical business book: Most pages in “Heart First” are splashed with color and eye-catching illustrations, like an image of an iceberg representing the context that employees actually have versus what leaders think they have.

A month post-launch, Grossman’s digital content related to Heart First—including marketing emails, blogs, websites and social media posts— saw engagement numbers around 6,000. This exceeded the team’s goal of 5,000 engagements in the book’s first month.

Members of the winning team include David Grossman, Chad Winters, Kayla Ellsworth, Meg Breslin, Peg Wander and Lana Dewit. Kudos! –EA

Getty Images

Visual GPS

Getty Images’ Visual GPS campaign prompts a 700% increase in total global coverage

Visual content company Getty Images’ Visual GPS is a digital guide to understanding customers’ behavior, wants and needs. The release and ongoing promotion of the guide won first prize in the ‘Visual Storytelling: Other’ category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

With Visual GPS, Getty Images set out to establish itself as a thought leader in the visual communications field—and with a reach of more than 786 million, it succeeded.

The tool combines Getty Images’ 25-plus years of creative and editorial experience, along with data insights from a large-scale survey of more than 10,000 professionals and consumers by Getty Images’ Creative Insights team.

In the 2019 survey, the Getty Images team evaluated participants’ passion about four “Forces”: sustainability, realness, technology and wellness. Getty Images structured Visual GPS around these Forces, identifying and sharing key insights related to people’s opinions about things like body image, artificial intelligence, buying from “green” businesses and the enduring “otherness” that comes with being a unique human.

Getty Images deployed an internal collaboration to get Visual GPS off the ground and onto the screens of visual communicators. The team included workers from PR, marketing, creative insights and regional marketing and sales departments, and the joint effort resulted in 830 pieces of coverage with a reach of more than 786.3 million. Additionally, Visual GPS content accounts for more than 40% of the Getty Creative Insights website’s pageviews in 2020.

The Visual GPS page on the Creative Insights website is visually stunning, with examples of photos, vectors and illustrations for each of the four Forces. An excerpt from the “Wellness” segment invites readers to think holistically about how wellness can be applied to visual comms:

“Yes, we’re talking body image—but it’s also about emotional, mental, spiritual, family, and relationship fitness. It’s about taking care of ourselves and those we love, aligning lifestyles and leisure pursuits accordingly. Find out more on how to apply this concept to your campaign.”

Congratulations to the winning team, including Gene Foca, Meredith McCracken, Anna Flanagan, Dr. Rebecca Swift, Thomas Vincent, Josh Goldowsky, Adam Poplawski, Emily Lyon and Caryn Klein.–EA

Intel's Global Communications Group

Year in Review

Annual company roundup ‘Intel Yearbook’ draws 15,000 internal views

Intel Corporation’s employee engagement strategy includes an annual “yearbook” that highlights the company’s successes. The 17-page digital document won first prize in the ‘Visual Storytelling: Other’ category of Ragan’s Video, Visual & Virtual Awards.

The Intel team’s yearly round-up of news and company wins is meant to be a point of pride for employees, with the hope that workers can share the interactive document with family and friends: “This is what your mom/dad does at work!”

The Intel Yearbook allows workers to look back at a year’s work with fresh eyes. “We design and create the Yearbook to be inspirational — while remaining true to Intel’s cultural values, which include open, honest, direct communication,” according to Intel. The Yearbook includes not only highlights but challenges the company and its 114,000 global employees faced over 12 months as well.

Intel’s StoryLab team designed the Yearbook to be visually arresting and easy to access—it’s hosted on Adobe Spark, which allows employees to easily save and share each year’s edition. Varying combinations of photos, text and reactive graphics greet readers with each scroll of the mouse. Many of the Yearbook’s segments include external links to other pages in Intel’s intranet, providing context but also not over-encumbering the document with heavy sections of copy. A great deal of the links connect to pages about Intel’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) policies.

The 2020 version of the Yearbook addressed the COVID-19 pandemic head-on, summarizing Intel’s role in providing technology for remote learning, donations of personal protective gear and how employees personally stepped up to support their communities.

“When Medtronic needs to rapidly manufacture 80,000 ventilators to help critically ill patients breathe, an Intel team pulls out all stops to help,” a section of The Pandemic portion of the Yearbook reads. The CEO of Medtronic writes in a personal note to the Intel team, ‘you helped us save lives.’

Intel shared the Yearbook both internally and on its public-facing social media platforms. The internal iteration was viewed about 15,000 times, while the external version—hosted on the Intel Newsroom website—drew more than 2,400 views. Tweets about the Intel Yearbook received more than 28,000 impressions and 500-plus engagements.

Winning team members include Ana Petrovic, Walden Kirsch and Geyner Bermudez-Monge. Congratulations! –EA

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