Video Vanguardians: How brands are using video to spread social consciousness

As the world becomes more connected, issues like poverty, disease, education and human rights are no longer isolated problems – they are worldwide concerns.


Socially-conscious companies and charities are tackling these matters in exciting and innovative ways and using video content to tell their stories. We call these visionaries Vanguardians – here are some of the standouts:

Raising Awareness

charity: water is an organization that brings clean water to the 748 million people who don’t have access to it. For most of us — who simply have to walk to a sink to get a drink — it’s hard to imagine walking for miles to the nearest water source. charity: water utilizes video to help understand the dangers and implications of contaminated water, as well as what can be done to solve this problem. Their use of graphics provide a fresh take on a serious issue, making their message more relatable and easier to digest.

 

Giving Thanks

For every pair of glasses purchased through Warby Parker, they donate a pair to someone in need. In four short years, they have distributed over one million glasses throughout the world. Founders Neil Blumenthal and Dave Gilboa created a video to personally thank customers for helping them make this amazing difference in people’s lives. Through this video, Warby Parker gets across their message in a positive, upbeat manner while simultaneously putting a face to the company’s owners.

 

Empowerment

The Adventure Project’s mission is to combat poverty by creating jobs in developing countries. They use this video to share the stories of the people they’ve impacted. Hearing straight from the mouths of those who are directly affected by the organization gives the video a sense of authenticity — you can see these people beaming with pride as they speak about their new jobs and how they’ve helped their own communities. This video also acts to empower donors and volunteers by showing the difference their time and money has made.

How to create your own video

Creating powerful video content doesn’t have to cost a fortune, and iStock by Getty Images offers a variety of clips to suit any budget. Just getting started? These tips can help:

• Select a few high impact clips and use a combination of a voice over, graphics and illustrations to communicate the rest of your story.
• If you already have your own video footage, you can use stock clips to supplement as B-roll.
• Still images can be added for more variety. Try using the Ken Burns effect (available in most video editing programs), which zooms and pans across the image to give it some movement.

Need some inspiration? Here’s an example we made using strictly iStock – and our imagination: