The introduction

We were asked to produce an animated video on the results of new research into how top executives across the globe saw the outlook for corporate boardroom structures.

The client

Our client is US-based Heidrick & Struggles, a leading global executive search and consulting firm with a widely respected thought leadership strategy combined with a vast knowledge centre. Their headquarters is in Chicago and they have principal business centres in North America, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific.

The approach

Our approach was to be creative, fast, accurate and brand-sensitive, building on what we had already put in place for word-based content and adapting it to moving image-based media. Given the amount of data we had to include, we had to keep the momentum of the video upbeat so we chose a pace and layout that we knew would engage the knowledgeable audience.

This was not the first time that we had worked on a research-led thought leadership project and so we knew immediately how we would set up our in-house structure and processes.
However, what was different - and exciting - was that we had never created an animated video from storyboard to going live in such a short space of time. We had one week.

It was also a cool project because although the client already had some animated content on their website, this was the first time we were using the new visual style that we ourselves had been developing for reports, infographics and other material. As well as the video, we also produced four short animated social videos for use by the client’s partners.

The project

Our task was to create an engaging animated video communicating to a knowledgeable global audience the key findings of our client’s interviews and surveys with chief executive officers about the look and feel of boardrooms in the next few years, their corporate priorities and what the necessary executive skills and experience might be.

The research, called Board of the Future, was significant for our client as it formed part of their strategic stakeholder engagement activity, the purpose of which was to strengthen their global reputation in thought leadership. The findings would be showcased by the video and by a report, infographics and presentations.

The outcome

We had a buzz at NWC Design about this project when it went live and the reaction from the client was a reflection of our own excitement. Behind the scenes, this was a bit of a departure for them; a new content type for their editorial output and a step away from their previous animated videos.

We were told later that there had been a great reaction to the video, both internally and externally. For us, we were able to embed into our design business a really great, smooth, simple process that we can use time and time again.

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