The brand28 Process: A Peek From The Client’s Point of View
Written by: Jessy Smulski, Chief Storyteller
Client: Livingston County
Contact: Jennifer Slater
Deliverable: Open Enrollment Benefits Video
The Star
As one of the fastest growing districts in the state of Michigan — Livingston County employees work tirelessly to enhance the quality of life for those who work and reside in the area. Their effort and dedication do not go unnoticed by the county’s leadership team, who cares as much about the employee experience as they do about the community.
Every happy ending begins with a problem.
To keep a pulse on employee satisfaction, Livingston County periodically distributes an employee survey. Their most recent survey turned up some unfavorable results. Despite offering one of the most competitive, low-cost benefits programs in the Nation, employees rated the program poorly.
Jennifer Slater, a member of Livingston County’s HR leadership team, explained that, because benefits talk is incredibly confusing (not to mention boring), employees either avoided the information or didn’t understand it well enough to see the value.
“We needed to show them just how low our healthcare costs are compared to the national average,” she said. “We hoped that the insight would help them see things differently.”
The Plot Thickens…
Open Enrollment was fast approaching, and Livingston County had an exciting new plan option to unveil; a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) designed to help drive healthcare costs even lower. The Livingston County leadership team was determined not to let their message or efforts fall flat. If they were going to get employees excited about their benefits, they needed to make insurance easier to understand and engaging.
“We wanted to communicate in a completely different way,” said Slater. “We also wanted to create a consistent message that we could use as a response to questions about open enrollment.”
Already aware that video is the most powerful form of communication, the team set out in search of a production company with the creative flair to catch and keep their employees’ attention.
The Mission:
Simplify benefits information and create a consistent message
Clearly introduce the new HDHP plan
Deliver information in a highly engaging way
Improve perceptions regarding the value of the benefits program
Enter — The Subject Matter Experts
brand28’s unique placement in the market stood out to Livingston County. Their team specializes in effective, engaging internal communications videos but, more than that, the founder of brand28 came from the insurance brokerage world. Her observations as a professional in that space prompted the creation of brand28.
It was clear to Livingston County that brand28 understood benefits on a deeper level than most. The company’s portfolio of vibrant and energetic benefits videos provided all the evidence Livingston County needed to seal the deal.
“I’ve watched other benefits videos before, and I absolutely loved how simplified brand28 videos were,” said Slater. “We wanted to bring more fun and energy to our internal communications, and we felt that brand28 had plenty to share.”
Lights, Camera, Action!
As marketing-minded creatives, brand28 knew that the only way to reach their intended audience was to know as much about them as possible. They worked closely with Livingston County leaders to gain insight. Who were these hard-working individuals? How did they communicate with one another? Why should they care about this? The answers to these questions would become the thread that brand28 used to weave a compelling benefits tale.
“Before this, we had never made a video and weren’t exactly sure what to expect,” explained Slater. “The process was longer than we anticipated but incredibly thorough. brand28 asked a lot of questions and spared no detail.”
1. Simplify benefits information and create a consistent message
With succinct storytelling skills and a dash of scriptwriting sorcery, professional writers developed a narrative that felt more like a conversation between friends instead of a lecture. This casual, humanistic approach would help employees open up to receiving important information.
By breaking insurance terms down into bite-size blocks and using them to rebuild a clearer explanation of the available plan options, brand28 successfully created an effortless learning experience (absent of all that insurance talk).
2. Clearly introduce the new HDHP plan
brand28 used animated visuals and characters to illustrate a basic breakdown of each plan option while the narrator explained what each option meant in real-life terms. To help employees truly understand the value of an HDHP plan and how it differs from other options, brand28 also designed a side-by-side visual comparison to show how the cost of an outpatient surgery would look with each plan.
“There was a lot of interaction throughout the entire project to make sure that every detail was perfect. Their effort to understand our employees and leadership goals definitely showed in the final product.”
3. Deliver information in a highly engaging way
Colorful animation, lively music, and visual effects came together in perfect harmony, resulting in an open enrollment video that was captivating, energetic, and anything but boring.
Livingston County’s benefits program is so robust, proper explanation required a lengthier video, which increased the risk of employees losing interest. To encourage engagement from start to finish, brand28 embedded links and additional videos within the open enrollment video that allowed employees to click and control the viewing experience. The video also included an “attachments” panel that enabled employees to easily access specific information related to open enrollment.
“The video moved our employees to different sections of the video so they could quickly get to the chapters that interested them. Every feature or idea that we wanted to incorporate into the video — brand28 made it happen.”
4. Improve perceptions regarding the value of the benefits program
When you use video and audio to deliver important information, employees are compelled to use multiple senses to receive and process the information. This creates a powerful psychological reaction that enhances the brain’s ability to interpret, retain, and recall the information. Visual and audio support also conveys emotion, adding another dimension to the message that connects employees to a deeper meaning. In Livingston County’s case, they wanted employees to walk away with the sense that the company cares about them and their families. To drive home the value point, brand28 conducted market research and incorporated statistics to showcase how Livingston County’s benefits program was far more affordable than the national averages.
Livingston County used flyers and email to promote the video. They also made the video accessible via their employee portal (where employees went to enroll) and multiple pages of the website.
“The end-product was 100% customized for us, and the viewer experience was seamless,” concluded Slater. “The brand28 team felt like a true partner in this. They did a great job with the entire process, and with walking us through it. We are proud of the outcome, and we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend their services.”
Note from brand28’s CEO, Monirah Bacnik: Thank you, Livingston County! We’re blushing. We are so honored to have worked with you through three open enrollment seasons now. The way you care for your employees and your attention to innovative employee communications makes you stand out as a remarkable employer!