As the coronavirus made itself and its effects known to the world, brands were forced to transform marketing plans, adjust operations and pivot strategies on a dime in order to meet current and potential consumers where they were at in a way that felt authentic and timely. And where they were at was in the midst of a pandemic unlike anything anyone had ever seen before.
But during a time of seemingly never-ending obstacles, opportunities to innovate and work with what was available in order to solve unique and unprecedented challenges presented themselves.
As an agency we help our clients meaningfully meet the needs of their customers to the best of their abilities at any given time, no matter the circumstances. One of our clients, Mass Save, is a cooperative of utilities and energy service providers in Massachusetts offering residential and commercial customers energy efficiency programs and services to help them save energy and money.
We were working with Mass Save to launch their yearly campaign just as the pandemic hit. All of the sudden, the messaging and media placements originally intended for the campaign no longer made sense. Even so, the need to keep the lights on, the water running, the house heated and cooled… all of that became even more important as families in Massachusetts tackled the new normal of life at home during a pandemic.
As Mass Save pivoted to help meet the new, unprecedented needs of their customers, KSV looked to help them get a new campaign up and running that better reflected the messaging and solutions for the times that Mass Save customers were living through. We were met with a hurdle that several agencies have come up against in 2020: in-person production had all but ceased.
By now we all know that in spite of, or perhaps because of, the coronavirus pandemic, humans are uniquely resilient and able to adapt. The ability to adapt, while staying true to the work that we believe in, allowed the opportunity for new perspectives to shine. With in-person production paused, we were able to turn an obstacle into an opportunity for innovation. In collaboration with Bindery we came up with the idea to leverage filmmakers stuck at home, waiting for productions to start again, by casting them in the new spot for Mass Save.
Five filmmakers in five different locations were called out from behind their cameras and asked to put their life at home center stage—their kids, their cats, their naps and all the dirty laundry. The snapshots resulting from fathers filming their sons and daughters, husbands turning the camera onto wives and families putting their pets front and center lend a resonant, honest and authentic portrayal of day-to-day life - and the myriad ways that more energy is being used during our time at home - that is humorously, beautifully depicted and easy to relate to.
Check out the full spot below: