When the 2020 Global Pandemic struck, small businesses everywhere were faced with hard decisions. The owners of these businesses had to be agile in order to survive and yours truly was among them. To further complicate matters, I was expecting our first child.
It was a scary time to be alive, let alone trying to schedule in-person sessions with minimal to no contact. Instead of cancelling everything on the books, I creatively worked with each client to meet their needs and goals. As more and more of my bookings were rescheduled for 2021, I revisited my brand to see where I could fill revenue gaps.
Right away I knew that I had the acumen to pick-up my camera to record footage alongside capturing photos. I knew how to technically maneuver most aspects of the craft and I possessed the greatest assets of all - a book of business and solid people skills. That is how Miss Cara Photography +video was created.
It also helped that I was coerced by a connection of mine to take on a film project for their collegiate department. He shared the scope of the project (okay, I could do that), their budget (it worked with my cost of doing business (CODB), and it would allow me to be distanced (thanks, COVID) during filming. Homerun!
One film quickly snowballed into 10. I learned more and more video skills on the fly and pretty soon I was able to advertise to my clients that these services were now part of my portfolio. If you've paused to think,
"Cara, this is a cute redemption story for your business but how does this actually help my marketing?"
Purdue University is not only a launchpad for famous astronauts and politicians. Their agricultural departments rival few and are well known locally and nationally for their Ag programs on and off campus. Within the School of Agricultural and Biological Engineering is a department called IN-PREPared (or Indiana Prepared).
This department is tasked with preparing Hoosiers to be better equipped for life threatening or emergency situations. For years they have created and distributed printed collateral (PREP Notes) to support these efforts, though in a now digital world, they wanted to adapt their messaging to be more widespread. They worked on their brand first and created https://extension.purdue.edu/INPREPared/ where all of their digital content could live.
I was tasked to collaborate with their team and industry experts to create compelling video content (PREP Clips) that would support their printed materials to better serve their customers. To validate their idea, they had their students take a go first as part of their coursework. Then with some planning and collaboration, we further refined PREP Clips.
So here we are... 10 videos later (and counting). Not only have I created content that they can use to further their goals, I've learned a thing or two along the way such as: how to size and purchase a power generator, what to do following a severe weather experience, how to winterize engines, and so much more.
As marketers, we spend so much time creating material to educate our audiences that we sometimes forget that content has multiple uses. Material that was built to be read can now be heard and seen. Content can be made with accessibility for all audiences and placed on multiple channels to reach them quickly. As brands discover this they are seeking the use of film, much like the team within Purdue University, to better educate their audience.
P.S. - If this post seems marketing savvy, it's because alongside photography, I have built a professional career on marketing and communications. Learn more about my corporate experience on LinkedIn.