We’re always on the look-out for well-produced, creative videos to share and we’re loving Visa’s #KeepItLocalThisChristmas advert. Why?

This year Visa is encouraging people to shop at independent high street stores with the hashtag #KeepItLocalThisChristmas. Their advert features real small business owners like Danni, a local book shop owner in West Hampstead and Phil of James Elliott Butchers (just across the road from us on Essex Road, Islington).

If you haven’t seen the advert, watch it here:

Here’s why Sequel rates it, and what IC can learn:

It tells a story (of real people)

Whether you’re producing an advert for consumers or an internal campaign for employees, the principles are the same; speak to the heart and tell a story the audience can relate to.

Julie Sander, Sequel’s Senior Producer, asked bookstore owner Danni about her role in the film: “I really wanted to do it,” she said, “But I thought I’d sit quietly in the corner and let the younger ones have the glory.”

As it turned out, the ad agency didn’t want someone younger and trendier. They liked Danni’s vintage skirt and thought she ‘looked like a bookshop lady’. She’s authentic. Danni, who read to Julie’s children when they were younger and asks authors to speak at local events, giving 10 per cent of book sales to the local primary school, therefore came to be singing like Maria Carey on Visa’s Christmas campaign.

Visa has taken the cross-channel campaign a little further by creating a short video of interviews with the local business owners – perfect for sharing on social media.

Keeping it real

In our client work, we prefer employees to tell a story or to get a message across. Featuring a colleague results in better engagement because your audience can relate to them. If that person has their own social media following, so much the better as they will share the content with their own networks which builds more leads and engagement. Our sustainability films for Virgin Atlantic featured real people in different roles within the organisation. When they started sharing the content, including Sir Richard Branson, we ended up with thousands of views:

Are you looking to engage employees with video? To find out how we can help you, contact our film team by emailing Julie.Sander@sequelgroup.co.uk for more details.