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

National Rail

To raise awareness of its Railcard options and opportunities, National Rail has worked with creative agency the Community on a series of social media films that communicate the benefits of Railcards. The campaign also features an updated visual identity that taps into a summertime feeling and uses a colloquial tone of voice and cheerful graphics.

Focusing on summer travel, the campaign targets different audience groups, depicting scenarios that appeal to their specific needs. The film for the 26-30 year-old Railcard features a festival weekend while the Family & Friends Railcard video showcases a young family at a funfair. The social-ready videos are primed for use across National Rail’s channels.

Nike

On the heels of the Women’s World Cup, Nike has released a documentary alongside online community Girls Talk about the power of football in women’s lives. The 42-minute production – developed by Somesuch – looks at the ways in which football has empowered women around the world, from Moscow to Turkey to south Africa to Paris. Girls in each location talk about their educations, their teams, their families and the ways in which football has allowed them to achieve their goals and develop confidence and capabilities in their lives.

The resulting film is a positive force that showcases the impact sport can have on girls lives while also highlighting the journeys of professional footballers. It tackles issues related to culture, traditional views of femininity, balancing sport and school, and community development within the sport. Nike sponsored 14 of the 24 teams in the World Cup and has put a prominent focus on women’s football this year through its ‘Dream further’ campaign.

Papa John’s

Working in partnership with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Papa John’s has unveiled a new ‘bee sting pizza’ as well as a social campaign and film communicating about the partnership and the importance of bees in the pollinating process for tomatoes. To support the launch of the new pie – a spicy, pepperoni pizza topped with wildflower honey – Papa John’s worked with W Communications on short film unveiling the world’s first ‘beezza,’ or pizza for bees.

The tiny pizza was made with bee pollen and wildflowers, allowing Papa John’s to communicate its key message related to the partnership, “Papa John’s is supporting the work of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust by allowing customers to donate when they place an order on www.papajohns.co.uk." it is also running a competition, giving away packs of wildflower seeds to allow customers to create bee-friendly environments in their backyards.

Redrow

Following research that unveiled common myths and misperceptions about the new homes market, homebuilder Redrow released a campaign designed to reposition itself while tackling these myths. It worked with DRPG on an external campaign designed to showcase its homes while repositioning itself as a premium builder of luxury houses.

The advert was filmed in a Redrow home using straightforward language juxtaposed against real spaces. This strategy helped Redrow contradict the common misperceptions plaguing the category while repositioning its own brand as the premier builder of new homes.

Royal Air Force

Recruitment into the armed forces has typically relied on an emotional appeal, seeking individuals who want a specific kind of lifestyle and feel a sense of duty. But, with a changing mindset among young people, the approach to recruitment within the armed forces needs to change. The Royal Air Force (RAF) has worked with communications consultancy Engine on a psychologically supported campaign called Find Your Force. The research found that young people desire fulfilment in their working lives, as well as the opportunities to develop their skills and expand their educations.

The RAF’s new recruitment film focuses on those aspects of life in the armed forces. The film uses a single actor positioned in different scenarios, depicting transferrable skills and talents prospective recruits might have and opportunities for career advancement through the RAF. It’s a far cry from the high-impact, emotion-driven tone often seen in military employer branding efforts. Billy Faithfull, chief creative officer at Engine, says, “Talent isn’t something reserved for the few, everyone has something they were born to do. If you can find it, life is more meaningful and rewarding. What we discovered is how deeply this truth runs through the RAF, who as well as keeping our country safe and delivering humanitarian aid, are one of the world’s finest training organisations, designed to find the force in every recruit and build a career out of it.”

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.