Robertson and Co. Promotional and Training Films

It’s obviously getting busier here at Video Artisan as I’ve not found time to tell you about the completion of the promotional and training films I produced for Robertson and Co – the UK’s leading investigation and surveillance specialists.

This was one of those video production commissions with a long lead time.  My first meeting with them was early 2012 where we talked about the benefits and likely costs of producing both promotional and training films.  There were various internal reasons why it took nearly a year to get started but they kept me informed all along and were obviously keen to get the project under way.  Once we got the green light script writing commenced and both corporate and training films were completed in little over a month.

Shooting training films on location
Shooting training films on location

The need for both Promotional and Training Films

Robertson and Co provides a wide range of award-winning investigation, surveillance, claim validation, intelligence and fraud investigation services to a large number corporate clients, insurance companies and public sector bodies. Originally they wanted one film that would showcase their services and corporate values to potential clients – as well as demonstrating the level of expertise and commitment required by those wanting to be employed as Robertson and Co. agents.

The goal for the corporate audience was relatively straight forward – to set out the range of services offered by the company and to inspire new customers to use Robertson and Co. The training film’s goal was a little more subtle, in that it had to help reduce the costs of engaging agents by deterring those who would not be able to deliver the standards of service the company demands. Prior to the video, every year around 1,000 people enquired about becoming one of their agents – from which only around 10 ended up being employed by them for a period of 6-months or more.  Whilst most of these applicants failed to proceed to supplying CVs or progressed to an interview stage, this initial filtering was obviously costing the company a lot of time and resources.

Following our consultation they agreed that trying to produce one film to fit both purposes might have been possible but wouldn’t be as effective as producing two separate films. We were able to keep costs to an absolute minimum by using the same b-roll footage on both films – as well as gearing the interviews with key personnel in such a way that sections of them could be used in both versions.  This has resulted in the two films being not that dissimilar at first glance – but the emphasis on the narration is quite different.  Having said that, knowing that Robertson and Co.’s agents operate to a strict code of ethics and role specific training manuals will be something that potential clients want to hear.  Conversely, applicants watching the promotional film will understand the very important role they will play in delivering customer satisfaction.  This resulted in quite a few passages within each script having very similar wording but with a slightly different emphasis.

The Promotional Film

The promotional film is already being put to use – and will feature heavily on the company’s new website which is presently being developed.  The video is also being used as part of their general search engine optimisation efforts and is already creeping up the search results within Google and YouTube searches for their key words.

The Training Film

The training film is being presented to all of their current agents and will be shared with those enquiring after employment.  Whilst the initial thinking is to keep this for agent enquiries only and not to include it on their new website, this might change once it has been in restricted circulation for a period of time.

Thanks

A really big thanks goes out to my old school chums (Karen Clitheroe, Debbie Snook & Richard Haynes) and not forgetting my good wife (Tiffany) for playing the role of investigation and surveillance operatives/targets.