Life Happens | A Promise Kept
Life Happens is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping consumers make smart insurance decisions to safeguard their loved ones.
The Challenge
For Life Happens 25th Anniversary they needed a video that communicated the importance of life insurance in an emotionally moving way.
The Approach
After the success of our last video with Life Happens, we knew we wanted to change things up. So we began to explore what their brand would look like in a fully animated execution. And in doing so, it opened up our minds to unlimited narratives. Because you see, with animation, we weren’t limited in our creativity by the number of location shoots, or access to talent, etc… if we could draw it, we could do it.
The Execution
From the beginning, we knew that we wanted this video to have a classic animated feel. But it wasn’t until after the script was finished that we began to envision exactly how that would take form. Since the aim of the narrative had always been to feel authentic to its core, we felt the animation style should follow suit. And so we decided on a cel animated approach to give this a timeless, engaging, and almost Disney-like quality.
Early Design Frame
Bringing the Baby to Life
Before we were even halfway through, Life Happens was so on fire for this video that they asked us to create two more “Life Moment” animations that they could use in their drip marketing campaign.
A Positive Surprise
When you’ve got a growing family…
Klacci | Fair Warning
Klacci is a global leader in manufacturing a wide range of custom and standard door lock systems for today’s modern world.
The Challenge
Klacci needed to make their audience FEEL the benefit of their products.
The Approach
We knew that if our goal was to make Klacci’s audience FEEL something, then we needed to come up with two different ideas that best put the audience in a place to EXPERIENCE that feeling. The idea of a school shooting was a major risk, for sure, but if handled with care, it also delivered the biggest payoff. As for the hotel idea, we were inspired by the current trend of “skipping the counter” to get to your room. But for us, the real magic of these videos is what happens during “bullet time.” You see, we’re often tasked with delivering both emotion AND information. Placing the “bullet time” scenes in the middle of the narratives not only created a cliffhanger approach that ensured audiences would stick around to see what happened, but it communicated the technical information in a way that only added to the confidence of the product being able to do it’s job.
The Result
Klacci. Was. Stoked! No seriously, they loved it so much they not only came back for more work, but they asked us to both NAME and LOGO DESIGN their product seen below, and showcased in the hotel video above.
Name + Logo Design
Kii: [kee]
An alternate spelling of “key” that communicates intelligent internet capabilities.
Used in a sentence: “So, why not skip the wait by putting the control in the hands of your guests with Kii...by Klacci.”
100XR | A Rising Tide
100XR is an open community of entrepreneurs, storytellers, creatives, and more that come together to create and invest in projects that promote a better world.
The Challenge
Ultimately, 100XR was looking to create a teaser with a hint of company overview that they could use on their homepage. And since 100XR is a first of its kind, it was on us to help them say what they needed to say in a way that creatives and entrepreneurs alike would be inspired to join.
The Approach
A rising tide raises all ships. That was the foundational idea when crafting this video. And with the help of our good friends at Process Creative, we were able to bring that idea to life with a bold cinematic touch. Countless hours of story development, exploration, modeling, animation and rendering were poured into the execution of a rich and tactile look. Because here’s the thing, if you’re gonna speak to storytellers and creative entrepreneurs, then you gotta craft your message to fit the language they speak.
Intuit | ONE
In short, Intuit is the one-stop-shop for the best financial SaaS platforms for both business and personal.
The Challenge
A lot of people know the name TurboTax. A lot of people know the name Quickbooks. And a lot of people know the names Mint and ProConnect. But not a lot of people know that all of those brands fit under the umbrella of Intuit. That was their problem…and they needed us to fix it.
The Approach
Intuit had already been working on their rebrand to help people see the design similarities between their brands, so it was on us to bring those to life and reveal the connective tissue between each one. That being the case, it only made sense to dive back into the draft designs and show the transformation of each logo in the same style. This project was a true delight from start to finish and Intuit was equally delighted with the result!
Aisin | Product Features
Aisin is a global supplier of automotive components.
The Challenge
Aisin recently created a futuristic car navigation platform and they needed a fresh and relatable way to showcase all of its features so that both OEMs and individuals would take interest. No biggie, right? But then you start thinking, “wait a minute, car commercials require driving shots, with lots of locations, and hired traffic cops, permitting, blocking off streets, and money, money, and more money.” If this video were just focusing on one feature, some of those things might be doable, but five features?! Not to mention the fact that we needed to come up with a cohesive story that could clearly connect all the dots into one fluid narrative.
The Approach
First things first, we needed a futuristic concept. The problem with futuristic concepts however is that they often feel so detached from reality that people don’t actually believe them. The solution? Showcase the futuristic features solving the most mundane problems in life. We found that this approach helped balance out the believability and use of their product really well. Okay, but how do we solve for showcasing all 5 features? Well, since the biggest costs associated with producing a car commercial are all the driving shots, we needed to find a way to tell a story with little to no driving. At first this seemed impossible, but then we realized that people don’t actually use their navigation systems WHILE they’re en route, they use them to FIND the route. And THAT is when the possibilities started to open up for us on how to bring this video to life.
Also, as a part of our contract, Aisin requested 25 print and web-ready stills for their marketing purposes.
And of course, a few BTS!
The Result
Aisin will be the first to admit that this was a big and scary leap for them. They had never done anything to this level before, so we were very thankful for the trust they placed in us. And the great news is, they told us that we absolutely blew them away, and are already considering a few more videos in the future!
Modern Intelligence | Cutlass - The Future of Defense
Modern Intelligence is the the new standard for Artificial Intelligence in Defense.
The Challenge
The folks at Modern Intelligence came to us with a problem. They had just created an amazing new product and wanted to present it to the DoD. But they knew that Intelligence Officers are required to watch hundreds of videos and presentations every year with the latest Defense Tech, and they’re always the same…boring.
The Approach
There can be many concoctions that cure the typical “boring” video, but for this specific scenario, we decided upon three crucial elements, story, credibility, and cool-factor.
The Result
We received this email shortly after sending them the final cut…
”Team, this is fantastic” -
Life Happens | Dream On
Life Happens is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping consumers make smart insurance decisions to safeguard their loved ones.
The Challenge
Can we do it again? That pretty much sums up the challenge we were faced with when Life Happens came back to us after our first and second campaign with them.
The Approach
Without giving too much away, this time we decided to focus on the importance of the long term benefits of Life Insurance. Watch for yourself and see if we did the job ;). And while you’re at it, check out the 60 TV spot below!
The Result
We received this email shortly after sending them final files…
”We’ve been hearing phenomenal things from board members, company partners and agents as we share Dream On. Our board chair cried on Zoom when she saw it.”
