We’ve recently been talking a lot about the corporate documentary: a piece typically commissioned by the company it features, it is designed to show the true character of the business and it’s values. This can be a great video to produce for your company for a number of reasons, but today we will be focusing on the benefits it has to your corporate social responsibility.
Here are several reasons making a corporate documentary may be advantageous to your business, and what types of content you may wish to feature.
Benefits
Improving Brand Value/Transparency
By showing behind-the-scenes and the human stories behind your corporation, you are effectively showing the world your ‘true face’. This is the goal of a documentary—to ‘document’ reality. By showing the everyday consumer how you operate, you are increasing transparency. There are several ways to do this, which is discussed below. By knowing what your company values and invests in, people feel better about buying from you.
Coca Cola Water Scarcity in Gozo Documentary
Increasing Employee Morale
By documenting various aspects of your business, you will likely be featuring some employees. This can be an incredibly rewarding experience for them in discovering they come across well on camera. It’s a confidence-boost for those involved, and for the employees as a whole in that you are taking the time to focus on them in your film. In showing how you take care of your employees, this can also bring to light any issues that may need resolved and help you improve your HR.
Delving into your Roots
There is something very valuable about knowing where your company has come from: how it was founded, who founded it—the sacrifices they made to help the
business succeed. This can be an interesting andrewarding experience for those involved. The process can help discover strengths and weaknesses and how to improve from the inside-out. It can help you better take care of your employees and possibly improve your production, and highlight ways you can make your company more ‘green’ (if that is, in fact, a part of your CSR).
Initiatives
Highlight company culture
With your documentary, you want to highlight what makes your company unique. One of the best ways to do this is to show how your employees go about their day: how they interact with each other; what they enjoy. Why do they like to work here? You could also show how you initiate new employees if they are trained in an interesting way. Ongoing training days could also be a good thing to show, in terms of employee investment.
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Volunteerism
Giving back to your community is a great way to improve public relations. If your business engages in this, consider including it in your documentary. Highlight the good your employees do for the surrounding area, and the impact they make on the population. This can include any charity events, fundraising, or initiatives you participate in.
Charity Conferences and Seminars
This is a great thing to include in your corporate documentary. If you have representatives speaking at one of these, it can be a great example of how your business is a leader in the respective non-for-profit. Even if you are only attending the event, it shows that your company is engaged in helping a wider community and that you are invested in continual involvement for your employees/executives.
Milestones
Any landmark celebrations you put on show that you take pride in your company’s accomplishments. You commemorate and reward success, and spread the celebration among your employees. This is another great way to show the world that you invest in your employees.
Your Supply Chain
You may wish to show where you get your commodities. This assists with transparency, as it is explaining exactly where you get the materials to make your product and other companies that you associate with. The viewer learns that when they buy your product, they are purchasing something they don’t have to feel guilty about: they may even be supporting a cause they were unaware of (such as purchasing raw ingredients from local farmers). The consumer will also know that your company took the time to invest in something that is either environmentally friendly, supports the local economy, or is labor-responsible.
In conclusion, there are many benefits to creating your own corporate documentary, especially when it comes to your CSR. It can improve the value of your brand and consumer trust. It could also assist in your employee’s morale and identifying company strengths and weaknesses. And these aren’t the only benefits—check out our other articles featuring the corporate documentary to learn more.
