ASHLAND UNIVERSITY: Alumni testimonial series

Every college and university struggles with getting its story into the hands of its audiences. Whether they need help to determine their message, value proposition, key audience, channels, or vehicles, they often turn to a video partner. Video Story Studio has a unique process that provides proven results in the higher education space and understands how to work within its system and hierarchy. 

The Master of Arts in American History and Government (MAHG)program is the premier graduate program for history and government teachers. To drive awareness of the program and nurture leads, MAHG alumni and faculty members were invited to share their experience on camera. Multiple camera and story angles were used to capture the interactive, discussion-based nature of the program. The outcome produced a series of targeted value-focused videos for the top-of-the-funnel lead generation and a library of source material that can be repurposed and edited into new videos for the next few years.

 Challenges 

The MAHG marketing team knows how impactful their program is, but communicating the student experience in a clear and concise way is not an easy task. Once prospective students visit the campus, they instantly understand the unique approach and value the program provides.  But flying prospective students across the country is not a sustainable practice. Through the discovery process, VSS worked with the MAHG marketing team to understand the program’s unique differentiators, harness their vision, and communicate their message more effectively.

Another challenge the MAHG team faced was a lack of industry knowledge when it came to video marketing and production. VSS was the first external video resource the MAHG team has hired, which adds pressure to the creative process.

 Services 

• Message development
• Dual crew onsite video recording
• 7 camera recording
• Video editing

 Distribution 

• University webpages
• Email communication flow 
• Social media advertising

 Messaging and Recording Strategy 

Six different storylines were developed to highlight the program’s immersive approach to learning and the positive impact the program has on each graduate’s career. To make sure we captured the right message, we collaborated on multiple pre-production meetings to develop each script’s messaging, identify the right talent to share their story, and coordinate logistical details for ten interviewees.

We utilized two interview crews and captured a mock class with a professor and eight students gathered in a U-table configuration with seven different camera angles.

 Videos That Work Harder 

The VSS recording process captures more source content than needed to edit the first campaign. This provides story options in the editing process and could easily produce three times the original output. To multiply the department’s investment and take advantage of the onsite talent and crew, a seventh video was captured for a separate fundraising campaign.