Every week, Communicate will examine the highlights in film communications and content. For more from #CommunicateLens, follow @Communicatemag

Anthony Nolan

Three years ago Anthony Nolan – the blood cancer charity – worked with Good Agency on a rebrand that reinforced its message of finding donors and potentially lifesaving solutions for people affected by blood cancer. Now, the agency has supported its most recent campaign designed to encourage donations.

The film focuses on a mum and her daughter discussing the challenges the woman faced in her fight against blood cancer. The stirringly emotional storyline avoids becoming overly tearjerking while still communicating the difficulties the family faced. They share the impact Anthony Nolan’s bone marrow and stem cell registry service had on their lives, effectively building awareness for one of the the non-profit’s key areas of operation. “Without Anthony Nolan, I wouldn’t be here,” the woman says, “that’s as simple as it is.”

BBC

The BBC has long stood up for environmental issues, highlighting the strain under which humans are putting the planet Earth. Through documentaries and special reports, the BBC unveils the impact companies and people have on the environment. With its new ‘War on Plastic’ programme hosted by chef and environmental campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and BBC presenter Anita Rani, the three-part documentary series travels the world to highlight issues in plastic production, consumption and recycling.

Inspired by series such as ‘Blue Planet,’ the ‘War on Plastic’ is part of the broadcaster’s ongoing commitment to raising environmental issues through its global platform. The documentary series also helps offer calls to action to inspire people who were engaged by ‘Blue Planet’ and its kin. “We must focus on reducing, not just recycling. We must keep asking when it's right to use it, and when it can be avoided. And we must act on the answers fast. That's where you come in. Everyone can play a part in reducing plastics on the planet. But we need to get government and big business to lead the way, recognise the things we want to change, and make it easier for us all to do the right thing,” Fearnley-Whittingstall writes.

Jaguar Land Rover

For Jaguar Land Rover, it is crucial to the business that young people are inspired to become engineers. As part of its work with young STEM students and aspiring engineers, it is working to encourage more girls to study STEM subjects and take up roles in science and technology. For International Women in Engineering Day, the manufacturer released a film produced by W Communications highlighting preconceptions about the engineering profession.

Featuring a female Jaguar Land Rover engineer and a group of young children, the film underscores the unconscious bias inherent in engineering, showing that engineers are expected to be old men. When the engineer reveals herself and her profession, the children are stunned. Though it’s not necessarily a scientific study of gender bias preconceptions, the film is enjoyable and depicts the problems tied to the invisibility of women in STEM jobs.

PSPA

Highlighting the crucial work carried out by medical charities can prove challenging. When those charities support people affected by lesser-known conditions, that challenge is ever greater. For PSPA – the charity supporting those affected by progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and corticobasal degeneration (CBD) – worked with brand consultancy Brandpie on a campaign for PSP & CBD Awareness Week.

The #Unmute campaign focused on ‘ending the silence’ around the effects of living with PSP and CBD. The degenerative brain condition typically affects older people and often affects people’s voices. Through the #Unmute launch video and campaign, the PSPA sought to encourage those affected by the condition to speak out on social media and share their stories. Chief executive of the PSPA, Andrew Symons says, “PSP and CBD rob affected people of their voice. Through this campaign, we want to give those voices back. We need to focus more attention on these ignored, but devastating, conditions. Due to the lack of awareness and information surrounding them, people are deprived of a timely diagnosis and then, once diagnosed, have to contend with the fact that most professionals involved in their care have no knowledge about their condition. This needs to change and why we need to be loud about PSP and CBD.”

Spar

Communities nationwide rely on the convenience and service of their local stores. Convenience chain Spar is one of those that caters to local needs across the UK. Supporting that ethos, it worked with We Are Social on a competition, called the ‘People’s Podium’ that supports sporting events across the UK. To announce the launch of the campaign this year, Spar introduced a film featuring the 2018 recipient of its annual award, the Dumfries Y gymnastics gym.

The film featured the gym’s athletes and coaches commenting on the impact Spar’s support has had on their club and on its ability to succeed. The campaign is designed to encourage people to nominate local sporting clubs, venues or heroes for the chance to win a top prize of £10,000. Laura Hernando, account director at We Are Social, says, “Spar is a trusted brand and a cornerstone of local communities. This campaign seeks out sporting heroes who aren’t usually in the limelight but do so much good within their communities, demonstrating Spar’s support for its most important audience – its customers.”

Submit your work to #CommunicateLens by emailing Brittany. To see more coverage of corporate video communications, see our Storyboard series.

Enter your video communications into the 2020 Corporate Content Awards.