You Have the Power To Attract and Inspire New Learners: Find Out How
The education industry covers a span of institutions that provide learning and instruction, including schools, universities, and training centers. The landscape is competitive, and institutions are vying for new learners. So, how can you capture the attention of and engage your target audience? The answer is video storytelling. And stand-out storytelling is all about the details: 94% of viewers say good video content tells a good story, while 92% say good content requires thought and effort, according to Think Google. Take a look at how companies ranging from Udemy to KIPP public charter schools use video to connect with prospective students.
University of Plymouth
The University of Plymouth in England wanted to come up with a campaign and content suite for their Arts and Humanities department that resonated with their target audience of high school students — to encourage them to choose Plymouth University as the next step in their education. Adam Howard, who runs a small two-person studio, executed the university’s vision from beginning to end.
“We pitched and developed the original ideas, produced, directed and animated the animations, edited existing material for other social video content, and offered general creative direction to the client,” Adam, who’s based in London, told us.
Adam delivered 200 pieces of video content for both web and social media platforms. “We created two types of content, firstly a top-line campaign of 25 super short animations that asked questions of the viewer and linked them back to relevant subjects or courses. These were playful and fun using illustration and copy and sought to connect young people’s interests and lives to University subjects,” he explained. “The second was a series of course guides using existing material and motion graphics to give a quick informative snapshot of courses to be used across social media.”
Plymouth University used video to peak the curiosity of and connect with an audience of learners.
KIPP Public Charter Schools
KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) is a non-profit network of college preparatory schools across the United States. They tapped into the power of video to “showcase the impact KIPP Bay Area had on the lives of students and teachers at the schools,” Joshua Izenberg, who co-directed and co-produced the project with his creative partner Brett Marty, told us.
The team spent three days filming, one day at each of KIPP Bay Area’s locations. “We wanted to show a breadth of activity — classroom, extra-curricular, etc. It was a bit of a whirlwind but we got a lot of great content in a short amount of time.”
The film titled “Be The Change” tells an emotionally compelling story about overcoming obstacles and finding purpose. “At KIPP, it was actually what I expected of teachers. They cared about you as a person, college was a part of the everyday expectation — something that was named as achievable for every student,” one former KIPP student-turned-teacher shares in the video, which the school system also used as an effective fundraising tool.
Udemy
Udemy is an online learning and teaching platform that uses Storyhunter to create videos showcasing their unique learning tools. They’ve made three student testimonials and 30 video promo ads to sell their online courses to local audiences in Brazil, India, and Japan.
Udemy hired Storyhunter freelancer Hardik Contractor to create a student testimonial video with a native-speaking Indian actor. The student from Bangalore shares his professional journey and how Udemy courses changed his life. “I was told at some point that you cannot do anything in life,” he says. “In spite of limited resources and not having a great education, Udemy enabled me at every critical point in my career.”
Hardik and his team cast, directed and offered multiple cut downs of the full-length video, including 30 and 60-second versions.
By Shivan Sarna, Head of Stories
