Watch Party Recap: Non-Profit
Watch Party Recap: Non-Profit
Check out the videos that made our list for our Non-Profit Watch Party! Each of these videos stood out and really left an impression with our team. Whether through unique storytelling, captivating visuals or a strong, clear message - each of these videos created special moments that tell inspired us.
Follow the Frog
Client: Rainforest Alliance
Watch It Here
Why We Love It: We love this spot for many reasons. Its over-the-top humor is fun and engaging - which means it doesn't feel even close to the 3:00 run time. It also does a great job of making non-profit work and giving back feel like an approachable and accomplishable task. Sure you COULD do all those crazy things, but why not keep it simple and just follow the frog? And speaking of keeping it simple - for local non-profits - yes, you could go out and film things in the rainforest, but this could easily be translated into a funny, local spot that is filmed right in your own backyard.
One Number Different
Client: YMCA
Watch It Here
Why We Love It: This spot does a great job of using a unique frame to tell what could be a pretty basic story. Highlighting areas by their zip codes (or their neighborhoods or whatever) is an interesting way of shows people that we all aren't so different. Even within one city there are many zip codes and many different people with different stories.
Get It
Client: Goodwill
Watch It Here
Why We Love It: This video does a great job of highlighting how one small gesture can make a bigger impact on an organization and a community. In this spot, Goodwill is showing that while you might only think of them as a place to get cute thrift finds, they do so much more. This video is also a great look at how casting can make or break a video. While it might sound easy to use someone from your organization on camera, sometimes it's worth the effort to get the right talent to make the spot really shine.
Live United
Client: United Way
Watch It Here
Why We Love It: This video certainly doesn't shy away from some really hard-hitting problems. It's a really powerful black and white opening that moves into a more upbeat, colorful second act. It does a great job of telling the organization's story and its brand mission, which is something many non-profits struggle with. And while scenes could have been shot custom for this video, most of this video could have also been put together via stock images as well, which can sometimes save time and money for an organization. 
In Someone Else’s Shoes
Client: Santander
Watch It Here
Why We Love It: This spot was actually done by a business, in this case a bank, partnering with non-profits to tell a powerful story of financial domestic abuse. Along with great sound design and color work, we love that this piece never actually shows the person's face. It alludes to the fact that it really could be anyone going through this situation. And this close up shots and lack of reveals creates a suspense and tension that is almost reminiscent of a horror film. This piece is also one of the more cost effective ones in this grouping as well. One person in a car with a neighborhood scene. It would not take much to accomplish something like this. (And would be more likely fall into a non-profit budget.) 
Everything is NOT awesome
Client: Greenpeace International
Watch It Here
Why We Love It: Wow. This one is something else. Between the slowed-down version of the Lego Movie hit "Everything is awesome" and slowly watching crying Lego figures get covered up by oil.... it certainly leaves an impression. This is the second Watch Party to feature a Lego-style video in it, which isn't on purpose. They just have a way of making us stop - regardless of the topic. The nice thing about working with a set like Legos is that in theory, it's pretty small. You can set is up in a studio space and play around with the technique, style and overall content of the video and not really need to necessarily go out of your way. 
Equality Can't Wait, No Joke
Client: Equality Can't Wait
Watch It Here
Why We Love It: Ok. So this one isn't our favorite overall video - BUT there are a lot of things we like about it! It can be replicated very easily on a stage or on a studio set with either local celebrities or influencers. Between the simple set and the simple graphics used, it would be easy to do something in this style on a budget. However, we would recommend something shorter than the 5+ minute length of this video. The message gets a little muddied in the middle and might be served much better with a shorter, more direct video instead. 
1 Second A Day
Client: N/A
Watch It Here
Why We Love It: Speaking of budget, this video style might be the most budget conscious on this list. With this technique, an organization can collect a second of footage a day (or cheat and just collect several seconds from a space of time) and put them together to a fun track and tell a pretty cool story through the eyes of a specific place or person or organization. "A year at the food bank" or "A year downtown." This video example wasn't specifically shot for a non-profit but we like the upbeat, fun nature of it and it could easily translate far beyond a single person. 
Mean Tweets (Homeless)
Client: Raising The Roof
Watch It Here
Why We Love It: Everyone knows this style of video from shows like Jimmy Kimmel. But what if you take it into a place that isn't as funny? It creates a very real, very human moment. It is one of the few examples on this list that has the affected group speaking for themselves, even if its not actually their own words. 
Tougher than Tough
Client: AARP Caregiver Assistance
Watch It Here
Why We Love It: This is another example of how over-the-top humor can be used to grab attention and really make an impact. In this piece, they flip the script on things that aren't necessarily seen as glamorous or tough. While we all don't have access to Danny Trejo, the concept of funny and unexpected humor is universal. 
Every Girl Counts
Client: #GirlsCount
Watch It Here
Why We Love It: This video is a really fun combination of produced/animated content and crowd-sourced content. And the transition between the animated opening to the girl is really well done. It can be tricky to use crowd-sourced content in pieces, but this spot does a great job of incorporating it without letting it take over or confuse the messaging. It stays focused throughout and maintains a clear call-to-action.
Want More?
Want to know more about why we loved these videos or how they can be used for your city? Reach out and let's discuss! We love taking about all things video ideas and inspiration. We also have a full series of blogs called "Five Things We've Been Watching" where we recap our favorite things we have shared on our Video Inspiration Slack channel. It comes out the end of every month and is a great place to see the videos that got our team excited and talking around the office.
