“Solstice deeply understands engineering and construction. With their background, they’re able to easily translate Engineering into English” — Emily Martin, COO, Guarantee Electrical
Before you can communicate any message to an audience, it’s vital that you understand that message yourself. For the past decade Solstice has stayed focused on working with clients who have an engineering component to their business, and if you’ve ever struggled to explain your business to a firm that you’ve hired to, ahem, explain your business, give us a call.
“We find we end up being on the same page” — Amanda Ferencz, Marketing, Ardmore Roderick
We first had an opportunity to work with Ardmore Roderick several years ago under a crunched timeline to meet a bid date. Our team sprung into action, and their team proved an excellent partner in providing the access and information that we would need to complete an excellent video on schedule. Video is always a collaborative process, and works best when everyone is moving towards a single goal.
We’re delighted to still count them among our regular client list today, and are grateful to be able to tell their amazing stories.
“One of the things that was really important to me is having someone that truly understands industrial”
Thank you, Mike!
Here at Solstice, we love industrial. We love complex. We love engineering. And we’d love to help you tell compelling and effective video stories.
Want to learn more about what it’s like to work with us? Click the video above and then let’s schedule a call.
In our over 20 years of producing videos, we’ve often traveled back in time to get to the root of a story. To create this video for The American National Standards Institute we had to go wa-a-ay back. 2.6 Million years back, to be precise.
And we think that what we learned is pretty cool. Hope that you do, too!
Harnessing the Power . . .
It can start with a simple question – “how can we harness the natural power of wind to increase MPG and decrease fuel usage for the trucking industry?” But it takes an innovative team of engineers like the ones at Feldhake Consulting to design a working solution like their new product line, AirTurbine.
And a video project can start with a simple request -“let’s create an explainer video to help promote our new product.” But it takes an innovative and curious team of creatives to produce an explainer video that works.
When selecting a production team, ask yourself:
- Do I like the work samples that I see? (and if they don’t have video work samples, run away. No matter what they say, they do not produce video)
- Are they asking me smart questions?
- Do they understand my product?
- Do they understand the impact that my product will have on my desired customer base?
- Do I feel comfortable around them? Will we enjoy working together?
When you’re working with the right team, your explainer video should harness the power of light and sound to create an explainer video that is just as impactful as your innovative solution.
Delivering the Future . . . Today
It’s more than a tagline, it’s a recap of this entire project.
When inventor and designer Jeremy High first approached us about creating a sequence of videos about his innovative new smart home product, he had a clear business concept, a plan, some great engineering files, and was prepping for his brand launch at CES 2022. What he didn’t have? A working prototype of the Fresh Portal. (He does now. Follow his story here to learn more.)
Enter the magic world of video and animation. We worked with Jeremy’s team to define strong messaging for each of the 8 distinct audiences he had identified as early adopters, created scripts and storyboards that could maximize a start-up budget while appealing to sophisticated investors and decision makers, and managed a production schedule of location filming, green-screen studio footage, 3D animation, and stock footage to meet his CES launch deadline. He reported back to us:
“Several times throughout the trade show I would approach people while they were watching the videos. They would ‘shush’ me, finish watching, then we could jump right into a ‘what’s next’ conversation since they really understood the product and the company already.”
We love the great feedback, Jeremy!
Video and animation is an extremely effective tool for demonstrating products, explaining the features and benefits, and, in cases like this, for delivering the experience of a future product . . . today.
What’s next for your business? And how can we help you bring it life? Tell us here.
Three heads can be better than one . . .
When it comes to creating a marketing communications piece, video should absolutely be at the top of your HOW list. If you want to include multiple locations, characters, and scenes, animation can be a great way to a) create challenging scenes, and b) control your budget.
And when it comes to the WHAT of your marketing communications video, it’s important to remember the value of collaboration.
Today’s easy access to video tools (you can carry everything you need in your pocket!) gives a single individual the ability to do what it used to take a full film crew to accomplish. And that’s great – for certain applications. But when you want to convey a complex idea, product, or service in a simple, visual, and engaging way, putting heads together is the best way to go.
Our long time collaborators Spoke Marketing teamed up with their client Spartech to lay out a storyboard for this animation. The Solstice team then created a graphic look that played off of the Spartech logo and branding (also created by Spoke) and could handle the story demands of the storyboard on time and on budget. The result?
Watch the video and tell us what you think . . .
“An Engineer looks like me”
When you spend a lot of time, like we do, in the A/E/C industry you notice the trends, the challenges, and the aspirations not only of the individuals and companies whose stories you help to tell, but also of the industry as a whole.
Over the past decade, we’ve heard “diversity” in every project launch meeting. More than buzzwords, diversity and inclusion have become the handholds for innovating your company, for attracting the best and brightest of the new pool of talent, and for setting up your firm for growth and future success. And, as it rightly should, diversity and inclusion comes in a wide variety of colors, and itself is only one of values that makes a company great to work with (and great to work for).
One of the greatest pleasures is when we get a chance to work with a growing company that has D+I at its core and share that story on the small screen. Thank you, the team at Ardmore Roderick, for trusting us to tell the story of all your core values, and for celebrating the beautiful variety of what an engineer can look like.
This is some groundbreaking information . . .
As in, information that you should have when you plan to break ground.
Whether it’s a new building, foundation work, a tunnel, a bridge, or really any other complex construction project, the data that the team at GEO-Instruments provides to their clients around the world is essential to a safe and effective work flow. And it’s not just “what” GEO provides that sets them apart, but also “how” they partner with clients throughout the life of a job. When we first met with the GEO team to plan a sequence of videos, it was clear that a demonstration of that “how” would play a key role in their video marketing strategy.
Enter the Process Video. By breaking a complex topic like Geotechnical instrumentation down into a sequence of smaller steps, we’re able to:
- Speak to a buyer base with varying degrees of technical knowledge
- Demonstrate the expertise of the GEO-Instruments team
- Create a feeling of comfort and familiarity with the people at GEO
And best of all, unlike even your very best, most dedicated business development person, a process video is at work 24-7, accessible to your potential buyer exactly when he, she, or they needs to know – “Hey, how will this work?” And that, my friend, is a groundbreaking approach to sales.
Born on Saturday . . .
Sound familiar?
Like a lot of entrepreneurs, Tony Thompson of KWAME Building Group first started his now 30 year old construction management firm by working on the weekends before leaving his previous employer. The origin story is such a vital part of his company that he named it KWAME, which means “Born on Saturday”.
We are often asked to help companies celebrate milestones with a legacy video. We love crafting these stories! While we create legacy videos in many styles, we always keep these goals in mind:
- RELATABILITY – Focusing on elements of the story that other business owners can relate to helps to create a feeling of familiarity. Stories are most effective when other people can see themselves in the “hero”.
- INDIVIDUALITY – While many business owners share a number of traits, challenges, and inspirations, every business has a story that makes them uniquely them. These are those things that help your story, and your company, memorable, and the things that your clients love about you.
- LONGEVITY – Ideally, a legacy video remains a viable part of your marketing toolbox for years to come (until you’re ready to make your next milestone video, at least). Focusing on how this amazing foundation sets you up for future success is a great way to structure a story that will continue to be relevant as you move forward.
When you’re ready to celebrate your next milestone, let us know! We’re here to help.
