NAVIGATING PR APPROVAL MINEFIELDS: HOW TO GET STELLAR VISUAL CONTENT OUT QUICKLY 4/7/16 Charlene Sarmiento @CharleneSar
NAVIGATING PR APPROVAL MINEFIELDS: HOW TO GET
STELLAR VISUAL CONTENT OUT QUICKLY
4 / 7 / 1 6C h a r l e n e S a r m i e n t o @ C h a r l e n e S a r
PEOPLE DONATE TO GOODWILL…
A PAIR OF JEANS A CHILD’S BIKE A BOX OF BOOKS
SPORTS EQUIPMENT HANDBAGS OLD COOKWARE
GOODWILL PROVIDES
89 million
services annually
Career counseling and development services
Computer courses
Resume review
Interview training
Financial education
Specialized job training in healthcare, culinary,
landscaping, banking, retail and many more.
Paid transitional and community service jobs
Free tax preparation
Mentoring for youth and adults
GOODWILL HELPED
26.4 million
people
Youth
Older Workers
Veterans and military families
Underemployed and unemployed men and women
People who need education and training
People with disabilities
WHY VISUAL CONTENT IS IMPORTANT
Visual content and video puts a human face to Goodwill’s mission, highlight our success
stories
Expands the brand beyond what the public already knows of Goodwill.
Help people emotionally connect with our mission and inspire them to support Goodwill.
Demonstrates social impact.
VISUAL COMMUNICATION AND VIDEO
APPROVAL CHALLENGES
Be inclusive during the creative process. We want to foster innovation and creative
thinking within our peers.
Everyone thinks they are an expert.
Higher budget means more approvals needed from different leaders and departments.
Risk of too many opinions watering down the final product
EARLY ENGAGEMENT AND EXPECTATION
MANAGEMENT IS KEY
Bring everyone to the table early to agree on goals, objectives and audiences. Write them
down and bring with you to all review sessions, in case someone forgets.
Agree on budget.
Lay out concepts that you want to integrate.
Manage expectations early and continue to do this throughout the approval process.
Over communicate as needed.
STRUCTURED TWO-TIERED REVIEW PROCESS
1. Group one includes all stakeholders to provide feedback.
2. Group two includes small group of stakeholders to evaluate initial feedback, provide
edits and approve edits.
Goal is to separate the actionable feedback from the tips we don’t want to integrate.
Proactively ask for feedback from quieter reviewers.
BUILD TRUST AND RESPECT
Create a safe space for sharing and providing feedback. “We will listen and evaluate all
feedback related to the video, graphic etc.”
But remind everyone that with many people reviewing, not all edits shared will make it
into the final project.
Ask that all edits suggested include a possible solution. Instead of “I don’t like the music
in the video” how about “I don’t like the music in the video. I would prefer more upbeat
music, to match the tone of the narrator.”
Expect disagreements and difficult conversations. Separate the feedback from the
person.
GOODSTOCK
Preapproved images that can be used by 164 local Goodwill members organizations.
Sharepoint database of photos tagged for convenience, easy to download and integrate
into communications
We save money and time by having these pre-approved photos available. Our member
organizations can use these photos for free.
New photos are added once a year.
LETTERS CAMPAIGN
Created evergreen and customizable tool for
Goodwill promotion.
Visualize Goodwill’s mission differently using
donations.
Fashioned entire alphabet, numbers and
punctuation out of donations
CANDICE
Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhigtwZH0Io
TRENDS FOR VIDEO STORYTELLING
Choose the right subject, someone who can really connect with the audience.
The right subject is not always the loudest or most outgoing person. Look for someone
sincere and honest.
Consider a documentary approach that highlights the personal story. Think visually.
Only include additional interviews when needed. No CEO in a suit interviews, if you can
help it.
PRODUCING IN-HOUSE VS VENDOR
•Produce in-house if:
Short and sweet
Limited use (short shelf life)
Limited budget
Time
•Consider calling a vendor if:
The video will be longer than the usual one to two minutes
Shown at an important event like a gala or banquet
Budget
Time is limited
GETTING THE MOST OUT OF VENDORS AND A
VIDEO BUDGET
Producing in-house saves money but not time.
Learn as much as you can about the video production process from a production company, ask questions. Do
this so you can work with freelancers the next time.
Consider a hybrid approach. If you can film video, it’s cheaper to hire an video editor than to hire a crew to
shoot your video.
Repurpose your videos, create long and short versions, such as :30, :60, 1:20 versions. Consider making
versions for Vine, Instagram etc.
Create an iron-clad contract for pro-bono services, spell out what services are free and not.
Consider hiring film students but expect to supervise them closely. Only use students for certain smaller
projects, not your organization’s big mission/brand video. If they prove themselves to be trustworthy and
competent, scale up to bigger projects.
TAKEAWAYS
Agree to goals and objectives early on with stakeholders to have clear direction.
Build trust and respect for people's creative feedback.
Consider a two-tiered review process.
Develop preapproved collateral that can be used to make evergreen and customizable pieces to get
content out quicker. Examples are preapproved stock photos, letters etc.
Find the right subject for video, someone open, sincere and can take viewers on the journey and
story you want to tell.
Producing videos in house will save you money but not time. Weigh which resource
(time versus money) you can spare. Make the most out of vendor relationships.
THANK YOU
Charlene Sarmiento
Goodwill Industries International
@CharleneSar
(240) 333-5590