Imagine: you’ve been given the green light to have a production company (like us at Launch!) develop a brand anthem or company profile that speaks to your company’s identity and mission. It’s bold, innovative, and visually showcases your message. Then, time passes, and the company changes.
In 2018, Amy Wold, director of communications at The Water Institute of the Gulf (TWIG), reached out to the team at Launch to create a video to explain the organization and bring awareness to their work. Their previous video didn’t reflect the company’s identity and left plenty of room for improvement. Our team developed a company profile that showcased their work, with sweeping aerial shots and informative interviews from their leadership team. Then, change happened and The Water Institute’s visual profile needed an update.
Perhaps team members transition to new opportunities, as they did at TWIG, or the company moves to a new building. Instead of tossing that investment into the digital trash, consider upcycling that content. And if you watch TWIG’s new company profile, you won’t be able to tell what’s old and what’s updated: everything flows seamlessly together.
When a budget may not be flush enough for a full day of production, it’s a great opportunity to get creative. Here are three tips for upcycling existing content to match your company’s changing identity.
See the Existing Project in Parts
It’s easy to see an entire project as an investment that needs to stay together. However, that mindset will lead to throwing everything away. Instead, focus on the parts that need to be included. If the b-roll is still exceptional or only one interview needs to change, focus on that. There is sure to be plenty that is salvageable, which leads to the next tip.
Create a Lean “Needs” List
Figure out what actually needs to be updated. When team members transitioned and TWIG’s profile needed to be updated, Amy created a very specific list of needs when she reached out to us again in 2020. The overall message was still relevant and the visuals were appealing. Amy went through the existing version and found that only about 45 seconds of the original video needed to be replaced. That was less than 25% of the entire project. While it can be tempting to refresh everything, it’s important to decide upfront exactly what has to happen.
Consider a Cut Down
What happens when the original needs a refresh, but there’s no time or budget for production? That’s when a cut-down comes in: our post-production team can turn your original video into a shorter version. This allows the potential for other uses (think social media content!), plus a new, fresh spin on the existing content.
We understand that video production is an investment in marketing and branding. Lack of resources for a full-scale production event doesn’t have to equal a lack of relevant content. If your company has worked with Launch Media in the past, it may be time to refresh your video.
