The Visualists are to take care of the following major issues:
Which visual storytelling formats are most effective in raising awareness and participation?
It was quickly concluded that videos and photos would be the formats favoured. Videos may raise awareness, interest and cause involvement or action of those who watch them. Photos would be a good thing to support the campaign on the Facebook page.
What role should followers and audiences have in creating visuals for your campaign?
It was decided to try to motivate people, keep them interested and show their daily routines of water consumption to get them to become aware or active.
Which channels do you propose to use to disseminate the visual elements of your campaign?
The Facebook page was the main forum for videos and photos to be posted. Instagram and Tumblr were discussed, but dropped. Videos were also uploaded to YouTube.
These were the Visualists’ first ideas of what they would be doing:
During the campaign, the Visualists’ main task was to make our cause visible and experiencable. To achieve this, they created memes (the Missoula students) and videos (Berlin and Missoula students) making a point of “Why not drink tap water?” The footage was shared on both Facebook pages, the videos of the Berlin students were also uploaded to our YouTube channel. The Visualists further covered the flash mob in Missoula and the taste test and bottle decoration events in Berlin with videos, photos and small interviews.
These are some of the Visualists’ conclusions as to the campaign:
- Collaboration within each group worked well, there was, however, not much communication between the Berlin and the Missoula groups as different approaches were followed. Nevertheless, each group benefited from the other’s output as the videos were shared and could inspire further ideas.
- The ideas for the videos were developed as a team and executed individually which gave them an even more personal note.
- Time management and editing proved challenging for the creation process.
Finally these are the Visualists’ recommendations for people who want to create their own social media campaign:
- Never forget PERSONALIZATION. If someone cannot connect to your campaign on a personal level, they are likely not to connect at all.
- Additionally, realize that a lot of work is involved when it comes to video-making. Be prepared to take the time if you want to create something original. Video-making is very time consuming but it is always worth it!