C47 Films Associates has been telling Business to Business industrial stories since we were founded. There is something magical and exciting about taking a seemingly boring and maybe poorly understood product and helping it find relevance in the hearts and minds of the video’s viewers. Whether your industrial manufacturing video productions are outward-facing such as Corporate Overview Videos or perhaps internal videos such as HR Videos… We assure that we help your viewer understand and connect with the real value your business and its products and services offer.
What’s Possible in Manufacturing & Industrial Videos?
The short answer is: Oh So Much! To inspire you we want to share a few quality video samples and some annotations the help tell the story of why these videos exist.
Manufacturing in Iowa
The US Department of Labor invested heavily in educating Iowans with middle skills and their investment required reporting. Their standards for reporting included room for both data and anecdotal pieces of evidence and we at C47 were tasked with making their anecdotal evidence have a lasting impact. Our 16 Episode Documentary Series was summarized in this video and used as a hybrid report and vision casting. The partnership of the US DOL, Iowa Schools, and Iowa Manufacturers made a powerful product that promoted a powerful partnership in the state.
Make a Seat
Seating Inc remains one of our favorite companies to work for. The people of Seating Inc captured our hearts and this video captures a mere but wonderful slice of who they are and the grandeur of their products.
Located in Nunda, NY this company manufactures top-quality seating for high traffic (think medical facilities) and office space uses. The Denver Broncos board room has their seating… enough said, right?!?
Get a Job!
A huge pain point in the world of manufacturing is employment. Where do we find employees? And will they have the relevant skills we need? Will they have the soft skills we require?
Employers are taking the matter into their own hands as are organizations that work on employment for both the unemployed and Veterans who are transitioning from their time of service to civilian life. The next two samples are videos that are manufacturing HR minded.
Broad topics such as “you can get a job” and niche topics such as, “this type of work could be for you… take a look” are how we approached storytelling in the NorthWest USA on this important topic of Veteran Employment.
In this video, we show a veteran who is an A&P specialist. It’s a high-demand, top-paying job and many people would not know about – and that means many won’t pursue it unless great content gets to the right hands.
IT Overview
The world of computers isn’t all Call of Duty and EA Sports Games – those are the easy things to get excited about. So much of the most vital elements of the digital world are about diligent technologists who make our world work and be safe. That is what IT experts do for us and the value of these companies to their B-2-B clients is in the quality of the people and the ethos of the company. SMP is one such great example of that. We created many videos for SMP but their most recent company overview video tells a great story.
Tell A BIG STORY
Documentary storytelling can be powerful to inspire others. Manufacturing has myriad tales of success – from innovating against all odds to personal stories of overcoming. The goal of a “Big Story” is to trigger conversation and make lasting impressions. Manufacturing needs these stories. For American Manufacturing to regain its power in the marketplace we must inspire society to revere the power of these careers to build the lives we dream of for our children.
Additionally, sometimes the “Big Story” is not a documentary but a BIG STATEMENT through a Video Press Release or Video Announcement. Your company can tell the world of your new, big news through a power statement.
One such statement is the 2021 Re:Build Manufacturing announcement for Optimation Technologies.
Storytelling to make Industrial Messaging work.
How we at C47 Films find “the story” is to ask real but challenging questions. One example of this might be, “How sexy are hoses?” It’s an honest question a marketer must ask if they just so happen to be the Director of Marketing for a hydraulic hose manufacturer.
While the world is full of products and services that are easy to talk about – such as New Cars, Home Improvement, Food & Beverage, and Leisure – there are arguably far more products and services that are not naturally seen as fun, awesome, intriguing or even important. As you have seen by the many samples above, at C47 Films we see the importance and value of our clients because we know WHY they exist.
WHY?
This 1-word question is arguably the most important question in the history of questions. I the case of marketing “Why?” is a 2-sided coin. Why does our client exist? And, why does their end consumer need them? Both sides of this reality are critical to our ability to create a quality video production. You need your video to resonate with your viewing audience and they resonate best when we speak to WHY your products and services matter to them. We make hoses “sexy” when we discover why hydraulic hoses matter to the end consumer. Are you ready for a true story from our CEO Josh Pies… About Hoses???
Hoses & You.
A long time ago in a time gone by, Josh was a hobbyist filmmaker and entrepreneur who had 35 people plowing snow every snowfall. His company comprised of construction equipment operators, truck drivers, and sidewalk shovelers who all pushed snow or were “SnoFighters” as the term goes. Josh was active plowing snow and managing his crews – he too was a SnoFighter – and for whatever reason, one night he left the office without a “go kit”. Well, it had emergency snacks, glove heaters, extra gloves and hats and socks. It also had tools and HOSES! Snowplows operate with hydraulic rams that move the plow up/down and left/right. Blow a hose and you are toast. And… due to extreme cold and the damaging pressures of snow, pavement, ice, curbs, and 4000 pound trucks ramming the plow through it all they would absolutely blow out hoses. That night the blizzard came. His crews were out working hard and he was pushing powder until… POP! The hose went out and lodged his plow in a snowbank without power. To the go-kit he went and then: NOTHING! No Hose! No TOOLS! No way to drive and get one!
Lucky for him, after some calls, a competitor was able to run by with a spare hose and help Josh out. That hose was a lifesaver! (Honorable mention to the plow-operator ethos of helping each other out. What a cool business!)
That TRUE story is why Hydraulic Hoses matter. His work would have ceased and the church he was plowing would not have opened for the morning. A disaster was averted by installing the right hoses. And, were this a marketing tale we’d assure that the hose brand installed was seen as the premium brand. A great story for a hydraulic hose manufacturer is in the value of their product being the one to never break and always being there to fix situations when someone else’s hose does break. It’s the part the rescues the day. There’s heroics in manufacturing if you do the work to find it.
The lesson for you, a company that may have a boring product or service is to know that a video about your business can be pivoted into a compelling message by focusing on what you can do for the world.
Reach out to C47 Film Associates at 407-990-1200 to discuss your Manufacturing Video and Industrial Video Production needs. Together we can wow your viewers, make the impressions that matter, and drive lasting ROI.