Video for Your Gala Fundraiser is a Great Investment

All video is marketing, and effective marketing is an investment that you should see a return on!

I say it all the time, but it bears repeating: humans are storytellers. More than anything, we give our lives meaning by the stories we tell ourselves, the characters we become, and the places we are in. Nowhere is this more apparent in the work I do than in the non-profit sector. People want to connect to the values and the causes that they believe in.

It’s an unfortunate truth that non-profits often don’t have the funding they need to effectively share their stories with the world. Marketing costs money, and everyone needs to pay their bills. All too often the success stories and triumphs of the organization get lost in the day-to-day activities of just keeping things running, and having a full time marketing department is sometimes a luxury that these groups can’t afford.

In the last six months, however, we were fortunate enough work with two non-profit organizations to create videos for their annual gala fundraisers. Today’s blog is about one of them - Citizens for a Healthy Bay.

Executive Director Melissa Malott asked Unified Cinematic to create two videos for Citizens for a Healthy Bay in the spring of 2019. The first was used at the live auction to create support and enthusiasm for the organization. The second was a highlight video of the gala itself to promote the event afterwards online and also get people excited for next year. This two-pronged approach is important from a marketing perspective and here’s why:

• The first video generates interest and enthusiasm at the gala itself. It’s vital for raising money and showing the attendees what they are contributing to in concrete ways. It can also be repurposed after the event for further marketing goals.
  
• The second video protects the investment. You want to be able to build on the success of this year’s gala so that next year will bring in even more attendees. A well-produced video will do that better than photography.

Marketing is an investment. Gala events are a unique opportunity to see an immediate return on your investment because the video reaches people on an emotional level and motivates them right then and there to contribute to your organization. In effect, it pays for itself.

More than that, however, the video is also a way to showcase the work of your organization and its accomplishments throughout the year. When the project is completed, you now have a video that you can continue to use online to promote your mission through your website, social media, and other ways you connect with your followers.

At Unified Cinematic, we often say that we help people create and share meaningful stories. Working with non-profits allows us the opportunity to work on some of the most meaningful stories there are. We take this responsibility seriously and encourage you to contact us to learn more about how we can help you!