Powerful video inspires donors

You’ve done an amazing job of crafting a strong, compelling story for us to use. Thank you all again for your incredible work. Everybody here absolutely loves it!
— Teresa Virani, VP Marketing and Communications, Science World

CHALLENGE: Inspire donor and partner support for Symbiosis, a new educational project from Science World

Vancouver’s Science World is passionately committed to fostering learning across British Columbia. In May 2017, they implemented a visionary project called Symbiosis that pairs kids with mentors outside their regular schooling to encourage their interests in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art & design, and math). The program was well received by those in the know, but Science World needed a simpler way to articulate the impact to bring in more funding and engage more partners.

SOLUTION: A two-minute emotionally powerful video showcasing the positive impact on kids

Sitting down with a diverse group of Science World stakeholders, we did some deep discovery and learned about the burgeoning Symbiosis program. The more we heard, the more inspired we became — the passion from the Science World crew was astounding, and ideas flowed. It quickly emerged that Symbiosis could be especially powerful for kids in remote and underserved areas of the province, and so our video team honed in on that story, which shaped everything from script to casting to location shoot.

Over the course of a few short weeks we completed a two-minute video about a young girl whose life is altered by her Symbiosis mentorship. The video did its job – not only did it tug at the heartstrings of potential donors and partners but it resulted in meaningful donations and participation. The feedback we got was that the video was authentic, relatable and spoke to Science World’s deeply held values of sparking curiosity and a love of science, inclusivity, and collaboration.

RESULT: A cross-sector campaign with big ambitions gained a storytelling edge

As the Science World team set out on their mission to build the Symbiosis ecosystem, the video we created has served as a powerful tool for engagement. Here is the former CEO of Science World explaining what Symbiosis was built to achieve. It’s fair to say that it is a lofty and ambitious goal, and one that will take time to achieve. In the shorter term, Symbiosis was selected by the U.S. non-profit STEM Learning Ecosystems to formally join a growing (and increasingly global) movement.