Sometimes we start client projects with a blank slate – there’s a specific activity like a product launch or service offering, but no associated messaging or pre-determined deliverable.
Other times, our clients have already done a lot of thinking about what they want to say, how they want to say it, and to whom they want it to be said.
Samples of our first treatment mockups over stock footage stills.
Background
When HTLF — a financial services organization (formerly Heartland Financial) with banks serving ten states — wanted to create awareness for their home equity line of credit offering, they knew they weren’t going to use the traditional HELOC hook — using a home’s equity to add-on or renovate.
Instead, they came to us with the tagline “Fund Your Passion.” They wanted to specifically target two of their Mosaic Segments — Promising Families and Flourishing Families — with 15 second broadcast and Over-The-Top (OTT) commercial spots, encouraging them to use a HELOC to pursue hobbies or experiences that require a little more money.
The Challenge
Because of COVID and time restrictions we weren’t able to shoot new footage, so we knew we’d need to go the stock footage route — not our ideal, but a reality of the situation. For us, the challenge was this: how to evoke that passion using stock footage (and find enough of it to represent a variety of people and activities).
Our original treatment mockups for a painter-themed spot.
Our Approach
We started, as we usually do, by asking what universal truth applied to this theme. What is it about our passions that make them so appealing?
Our answer was that we pursue our passions in order to see things differently…to find fulfillment and capture a feeling.
In order to recreate that feeling, we sourced stock footage that featured pursuits that require a more significant investment, showcased activities and landscapes associated with the banks’ various regions, and were part of a series of clips that could be edited together to tell a cohesive story.
Our friends at Dissolve provided lots of high-quality options, ranging from woodworking to snowmobiling to motorcycle repair, that were part of a larger collection of related shots.
Then, we created multiple illustration treatments that, when overlaid, enhanced the stock footage, added a playfulness, and provided a hand-crafted feel for the spots.
Once Heartland landed on a style and scenarios, we added inspirational narratives and ethereal soundscapes to engage the viewer’s imagination and senses, while adding motion to our illustrations.
Here are five of the final spots!
Reach out so we can help create commercial videos for your marketing campaign!
