Revisiting college archives deepens storytelling strategies for El Camino College
Your institution has a huge footprint – on its campus, regional centers, online programs, and on its website. And that is just the current state and doesn’t consider the institution’s history. Colleges and universities are big communities with big stories to tell.
This means community stakeholders often know little about what each other is accomplishing in their own area of expertise. The people that would be most encouraged by supporting a teammate, donating, or just celebrating a much-needed win are often left in the dark, without enough light to see the forest (their work) for the trees (the bigger brand).
That’s where broadcast-style communication in the form of well-planned video can tell the story for a bigger audience in a way that gets people working together toward the bigger strategic vision. We partnered with Stamats to help El Camino College in Los Angeles do just that as they celebrated their 75th anniversary.
Quality storytelling and a consistent message drives video. We were gifted an incredible find when El Camino shared a promotional film documenting the college’s first five to 11 years and narrated by founding President Forrest G. Murdock. We used this footage to set the scene – and to show the ways El Camino has grown and evolved with its South Bay community. We wanted to make sure that as we moved through the decades, we showed how individuals helped bring about Murdock’s original vision.
Refocusing the university community on their larger, shared vision is one of the most important moves you can make to build campus buy-in. Drawing a straight line between the university’s strategic plan and its accomplishments helps fit the individual pieces into the larger puzzle. Sometimes the language around a strategic plan is too big and broad for stakeholders to apply to the day-to-day. That’s why connecting language and visuals is so important. Everything – from the music to image selection – weaves together into a larger idea in the viewer’s mind – and in their heart.
Video is such a powerful tool because it can evoke feelings in ways that text and images cannot alone. To evoke that bigger feeling – that shared idea – you’ll need to grab the audience by their heartstrings. Don’t be afraid to let your stakeholders feel something! Build to a crescendo, quicken the rhythm of the writing, speed up the images. You have people’s attention, now keep it by letting them feel that cumulative community impact again anew.
Video is a powerful tool when it’s used strategically to tell your college or university’s story – it can bring the big picture into focus when your organization is swimming in daily tasks and goals. Don’t be afraid to step back and survey the scene before jumping into your next project.
