Shortly after joining Kargo, I was tasked with update our Sizzle Reel, which had been produced in 2017. The old sizzle featured clunky animations, outdated phone shells, and references to old branding. Since the release of the last sizzle, our offerings had grown significantly after several ad design innovation cycles resulted in new, exciting ad formats. It was time to bring our brand hype video into the modern age to differentiate ourselves from our competitors!!
Above are screenshots from the original video. The text appeared without even a simple flair, and fell short of visually depicting how creative Kargo as a company really is.
Knowing that I didn't have bandwidth (or the refined skillset) to create the new video on my own, I asked for a budget ($3k all-in) and worked within it to produce the video in a single month. Here's how I approached the project:
1: Mood boards
I created a vision and a brief for the freelancer, and worked with the various internal stakeholders (CMO, VP of marketing, COO, and more) to get that approved
I created a vision and a brief for the freelancer, and worked with the various internal stakeholders (CMO, VP of marketing, COO, and more) to get that approved
2: Copywriting
I worked closely with marketing to create a rough storyboard complete with finalized copy
3: Select Ad Units to Feature
I coordinated with the Director of Ad Design to select creatives, and got those approved by all stakeholders involved
4: Finding a Freelancer
While points 1-3 were happening, I had been in communication with talented motion graphic artists from my network. There was one in particular I had in mind for this; we locked her down and got her set up as a contractor.
5: Production and Art Direction
With 2 weeks left in our 4 week timeline, our freelancer made magic happen! I art directed, consolidated additional feedback, and ultimately honed in on a fantastic final product.
Above are screenshots from the new video. The text appears thoughtfully and elegantly, and the ads appear larger than life with sophisticated motion graphics illustrating how the consumer can interact with the advertisements depicted.
With a refreshed sizzle reel, our sellers are armed with a tool reflective of the creative ability of our company. The elevated look, seamless animations and subtle sound effects provide the ability to hype up potential clients in sales meetings and conferences alike. This was also a morale boost to current employees that reinvigorated them about the Kargo brand and gave them visibility into the direction the brand was going.
