Ricky Houston

Copywriter

Strategic Creative

Creative brief for a video series

EDELMAN CREATIVE BRIEF

Client: (Regional Insurance Company)

Date Issued: 5.13.19

Project: Wildfire Video

Author: Carter + Houston

IN SHORT:

Get (The client)’s employees

To take pride in the innovative work (they do) to protect NW communities from the increased risk of wildfires

By creating a video series that positions (the client) as regional wildfire experts taking proactive steps to reduce the financial and environmental impacts of longer and more dangerous wildfire seasons.

Task: Develop two strong concepts that include owned/earned/paid distribution recommendations and success criteria for videos – ideally three – in support of their ‘proactive efforts on wildfire prevention and education.’

They should include:

  • Title

  • Video treatment

  • Supporting write-up

  • Sample visuals demonstrating flow of story*

Edelman will include a distribution and measurement recommendation for the video(s). This includes:

  • Proposed mediums and channels for publishing

  • Specific KPIs to measure success

  • Owned, earned and paid components

The two concepts will be shared with the client via PowerPoint (PPT) deck. They will have two rounds of review and input before final approval.**

* If the visuals need to be purchased or will need license for use, additional budget will be required which will be outlined in an Amendment to this SOW or new SOW.

** In the second round of review, the final distribution recommendation, KPIs, initial execution budget and production approach will be shared.

Background: In early 2017, (the client) made the difficult decision to drop coverage of several (Removed) County customers due to increased risks of wildfire in the area. (An) Insurance Commissioner (name removed) pointed out at the time, such decisions are not out of the ordinary for insurance companies. The commissioner added that he’d like to see companies forced to make these choices work with those customers to help prevent the risk of fire damage to their properties.

That’s exactly what (the client) has done (and had actually started in 2015). They’ve become regional experts on wildfire prevention through partnerships with firefighters from the (Removed) County fire district, the (local university’s) School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, and (a private wildfire defense company). (The client) has gone to great lengths to spread the word, from generating blog and video content to making appearances on local news stations and hosting community panels. Our work should draw on these partnerships to inspire internal audiences, instilling pride for the work (they have) done to ‘defend your Northwest.’

Objective:

  1. Explore the proactive measures (the client) has taken to understand and address the increased risk of wildfires through partnerships and community engagement.

  2. Increase employee pride by drawing attention to the abovementioned measures.

  3. Raise executive visibility of (name removed) for internal and external audiences by positioning him as a key driver in (the client’s) wildfire prevention efforts. 

Audience:

Primary Audience: employees and potential employees

Secondary Audience: Concerned Americans – more than regional, not just (the client’s) customers or potential customers – this subject has nationwide visibility and this larger audience is just as important as employees (especially as our general awareness influences pride for employees)

Category Truth: Americans are anxious about the increased risk of wildfires. They feel at the mercy of longer and more volatile wildfire seasons. They are desperate for solutions to safeguard their properties and surrounding community and may not recognize the efficacy of preventative behaviors.

While preparing a property for wildfire season may seem overwhelming and futile, (the client’s) proactive efforts to encourage policyholders to think “lean, clean and green” (hyperlink removed) to reduce fire fuel and structural flammability have gone a long way to alleviate anxiety and empower communities to feel in control of their safety.

Cultural Tension: In a highly politicized space (e.g., climate change, privatized fire services, etc.), (the client) has focused efforts on protecting properties and communities while advocating for members.

Guiding Insight: Home owner / resident anxiety around the increased risk of wildfire stems from a perceived lack of control over the safety of their properties and communities. Preventative behaviors help alleviate that anxiety by putting them in control with proven methods to limit their vulnerability.

Strategy: We will create compelling concepts with strong earned, owned and paid components to help (the client) foment pride in internal audiences by demonstrating (their) wildfire expertise. We will need to refrain from being overly self-serving to ensure authentic traction with external audiences. (The client will also communicate via internal channels.)

Reasons to Believe: (The client) has already produced a (name and link removed) video series that includes a short doc with interviews from the very community in which they had to drop coverage. They’ve partnered with the aforementioned groups to become a regional resource for wildfire prevention and education.

What We Need: Two strong concepts for owned video content that will instill pride in internal audiences and improve external brand sentiment – ideally three videos – with distribution strategies inclusive of measurement and a channel recommendation with owned, earned and paid components.

Metrics: Lift in awareness of (the client’s) wildfire prevention initiatives among customers and (their) employees (video views, social engagement, Pulse survey results). Edelman should be concerned with metrics around customer awareness, but (the client) will own anything employee related.

Thought starters:

  1. The best ideas will inspire internal audiences and instill pride in (the client) as a ‘Defender of your Northwest.’ Ideally, our concepts will be equal parts employee motivation and boon to external reputation.

  2. We should explore what merits a true docuseries v. an educational video/series.

  3. We can also explore the intersection of (the client’s) wildfire prevention efforts and scientifically backed, ecological best practices. Preventative behaviors aimed at protecting properties and communities are equally effective at maintaining forest ecosystems. Furthermore, they have a far less negative impact on the environment than logging / thinning forests as advocated by the timber industry. 

 Research:

UX copy experiment

Creative brief for an experiential activation