Getting The Most Out of Your Government Content Production Budget
Content is a powerful tool in any government agency or public sector’s arsenal, offering a great dynamic way to educate, engage & attract a broad range of different audiences. By leveraging well-crafted content, these entities can effectively communicate their missions, policies, and the benefits of their services.
- Video content has been shown to significantly enhance engagement, with 82% saying watching a video has convinced them to engage with a product or service.
- Video marketing has been credited by 96% of marketers with helping businesses improve service delivery by increasing internet users’ understanding of their product or service.
- The 2023 Government & Public Services Marketing Trends report highlights the importance of leveraging marketing tools to engage and influence audiences.
As an accredited & experienced NSW Government supplier, we take a look at various common content formats that have proven successful within the governmental context, and then delve into a series of case studies that highlight how different types of content have been utilised to achieve specific objectives.
The Different Types of Content
Content can take many forms from the traditional written / test based content to a range of new, rich media formats.
Let’s talk through the top five forms of rich media content.
1. 2D Animation: 2D animated videos which are a great way to inform people on new features, updates or how-to content that relates to new services, policy updates or processes. These can be as simple as an animated powerpoint with a voice over all the way through to animated graphs and custom designed animated characters or text designs to entertain, engage and educate.
2. Video Content: Traditional use cases of video content can showcase a range of critical information in the form of workplace training, safety inductions, live streams of live events through to social media videos and commercial content with a focus to drive specific calls to action e.g. sign up now, click to download or buy now.
3. Podcasts: Podcasting is a very popular rich media channel with the likes iTunes, SoundCloud, Spotify and YouTube delivering a range of audio only content delivered in a traditional radio segment format through to live streamed video podcasts. The likes of Joe Roghan have millions of subscribers who consume his video and audio podcasts. Podcasts are a great way to showcase expert interviews and entertainment in a long form medium.
4. 360 VR Content: A new form of immersive content has come of age the last few years in the form of 360 / VR content. This can range from computer generated 3D worlds, architectural renders and walkthroughs to 360 VR video live streaming of training materials. 360 VR content usually needs specialist VR glasses to be viewed.
The most accessible format at this time would be the 360 VR video where content can be captured in a real location with a specialised camera and shared / streamed to a range of platforms to be consumed from any device. YouTube for example makes 360 VR video live streaming to any device possible from mobile phone, to tablets, laptops, desktops & specialist VR headsets.
5. Photography: Don’t forget the power of photography. A static visual image is still a very valuable tool and assets to have on hand. A photo doesn’t have the overhead of time that a long form podcast or video might have, it’s a powerful asset that can convey a range of information in a quick glance. Photos can also be quickly repurposed for everything from print, to websites, socials, PPT and reports. You can also animate photos into short video snippets as needed.
Tips for High Quality Government Content
Whatever content you decide to invest in, remember that your overall goal should be to develop a rich content library that you can use across a variety of channels and touchpoints so as to drive engagement with your audience.
For example an animated 2D video could go on a specific topics website landing page, could be uploaded natively to LinkedIn, YouTube or Facebook and also be used in a range of internal facing communications materials such as Powerpoint. A long form 60 minute webinar could be cut down into thirty, two minute bite size tips and uploaded to YouTube where it could drive traffic back to your website or training portal. You could even put a little bit of paid media budget behind it to amplify the reach further. The great thing about digital distribution is that by using free tools such as Google Analytics, you can easily measure what content is working and driving users to your desired activity.
Behind the scenes stills or mobile footage from your shoots could be used across Facebook or Instagram to give an insight into the day to day activities, values and experiences of your public facing services as they happen.
A well rounded content library is the best way to get the most return on investment out of your budget. You may not need to shoot from scratch each time, by dipping into your content library there might be a range of assets that can be edited quickly to respond to an urgent brief, thus saving the day!
Next up are a range of government and public sector case studies for further reading including a breakdown of the key project phases. Get in touch today should you need any help on your next project.
Example 01
Client: NSW State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA) | Policy Update
Service offered: Script crafting, 2D animation, editing and voice-over
The NSW State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA) had some new procedures they needed to communicate to a specific sector of allied health professionals to provide a ‘certificate of capacity / fitness for work’.
The new procedures were designed to relieve the pressure from medical practitioners and the health care system during the CV19 pandemic, as well as to assist injured persons to obtain the certification necessary to continue to receive their weekly entitlements.
Bake consulted with the SIRA team to develop and scope a 2D animated explainer video format featuring a professional voice over. This allowed us to show the new process visually & communicate the changes to the documentation in an engaging manner.
The Bake team worked with SIRA to develop an approach, storyboards and approved voice over script from the supplied approved PPT materials. We worked up visual storyboards to showcase the materials visually and also developed a graphic look & feel based on the supplied brand guidelines. Team meetings were held using Zoom with real time collaboration made possible by using the Google Cloud tool set. The collaborative Google tool set allowed for quick and accurate communications thus clearing the decks for this quick turn around project.
This also included researching and recommending a range of three different professional voice artists SIRA to review, approve and choose from. The pre-production documentation was approved prior to moving into the next phase of the project.
Once the pre-production planning was completed & approved. We could move with confidence to creating the explainer video assets & building out the finished videos.
We used a mix of 2D graphics, text, screen shots, voice over & animations to bring the explainer video to life, with a professional voice actor voicing the video for impact. We worked through 2x rounds of document amendments into final formal approval of the videos. The Adobe Creative Suite formed the foundation of the project featuring After Effects, Audition, Premiere Pro and Media Encoder.
The final output was 2x 6 minute explainer videos with closed captions that could be easily shared, discovered & accessed on YouTube. We also used a range of easy to use cloud based tools to allow for efficient review, feedback, quality assurance, approvals & delivery. Our cloud based approach worked well as the project teams were all remotely located due to Covid 19 restrictions.
Being able to communicate effectively & efficiently whilst working closely yet remotely with the SIRA team, meant that we could build & deliver the explainer videos on a compressed timeline, thus delivering key communications & training materials to the health sector in a prompt manner.
Example 02
Client: SafeWork NSW | Inspector Stories Campaign
Service offered: On location campaign filming and editing services
Bake worked closely with the Service NSW and SafeWork NSW teams to respond to an urgent promotional video filming brief.
The brief was to create a range of digital video / online promotional materials to highlights the personal, diverse, rich and inspiring personal stories of the SafeWork NSW Inspectors.
We worked closely with the Service NSW and SafeWork NSW Teams to research and tease out the personal stories of their selected NSW based talent filmed across two regional locations.
We conducted phone interviews of the shortlisted listed talent (7 interviewees) incl. phone interviews & screening prior to filming. The interview insights formed the basis for the on location / in person interviews and defined the personal story arc & question set for each interviewee.
Bake also worked with SafeWork NSW to coordinate the shoot dates for the onsite shooting locations which included filming at the Australian Equine and Livestock Center, Tamworth and the Western Sydney International Airport in Western Sydney. A project plan of key dates was developed & used to guide the project through from kick-off to completion and delivery.
Bake supplied crew and production service to film for a full day in each of the two (2) regional locations. With crew, equipment (cameras / audio / lighting / grip) supplied for each.
Three key interviews were completed in each location including personalised overlay / b roll filming for each participant. Each location was leveraged to give each interview a different look and feel so as to better showcase the scale and diversity of the SafeWork NSW interviewees. This means that three different looking locations were used for filming at each venue.
Two camera coverage was used for each interview along with professional audio capture and lighting setups (lights / reflectors), with b roll captured using gimbal / camera movement and slow motion filming techniques to create visual diversity.
Each day’s shoot was logged and annotated, backed up and wrangled to multiple drives for data redundancy with all footage also added to the Bake RAID6 backup server. Bake liaised and worked closely with SafeWork NSW representatives at each location to oversee, vet and approve the materials being captured. With insurances, permissions and releases were secured for all venues and interview participants.
The final phase was to ingest, assemble and compile all of the captured assets which were then edited down into rough cuts with music and graphics for the client to review (incl. following the SafeWork NSW brand guides). Each edit featured its own unique, visual look and feel, story and accompanying backing music.
Each of the seven finished clips also underwent colour correction to match each shot, audio mastering to sweeten & boost the dynamic range of the audio as part of the post production process and some motion tracking / masking to blur some logos and text from the public. During this phase we also added approved branding elements and closed captions.
Bake delivered six (6) short 30 – 60 second 1920×0180 hi-res MP4 videos with closed captions and one (1) full length cut that ran 3 minutes 16 seconds which featured all the interviewees. Seven clips in total were delivered / handed over as part of the brief.
Each of the seven clips also went through an approval process which saw the clips formally get approved and signed off prior to delivery & publication by SafeWork NSW to close the project out.
Example 03
Client: VIC Gov & FinTech Australia | The Finnies 2021 Livestream
Service offered: Remote Awards Event Livestream
Bake has worked closely with FinTech Australia for a number of years whose key sponsor is the VIC Gov. The challenge in 2021 was that due to Covid 19 restrictions, an in person event was not possible.
So we kicked off a plan to design & deliver an ‘as-live’ awards stream using a mix of real life presenters and a range of pre-recorded materials.
Working with the Fintech Australia (FTA) team Bake performed a range of activities from the strategic planning of how best to achieve FTA and their stakeholder goals, to developing a creative look & feel of the live format, through to planning / rehearsals / technical testing, working with the presenting talent, sponsors and awards nominees.
Below is a breakdown of the key project phases.
We worked closely with the FinTech Australia (FTA) senior leadership team to discover the key requirements for the project which would best define success for their live stream awards event and key sponsors.
FTA is a Melbourne based organisation but with CV19 keeping Victoria in lockdown, so we needed to come up with a creative solution to allow the awards to proceed.
We pitched in a live ‘late show’ style awards night that would break up the diet of boring Zoom style / pre-recorded events BUT also tick the boxes of their major sponsors (incl. VIC Govt, Vocus & Swyftx), members and key industry stakeholders.
We identified which streaming channel would be most suitable for their audience, developed a creative look & feel, run sheets & scripting, through to technical testing and recommendation of some comedic presenters for the MC role of the YouTube live stream and helped them secure a safe studio location for filming.
A key part of the event was how to best access the winners who were located in different states across Australia due to CV19 travel restrictions, so we developed a graphic look and feel for a range of Zoom submitted winner interviews as cross border travel was severely restricted.
Our detailed planning was a key foundation for the success of the event with a detailed script / run sheet developed that scheduled exactly what element was due to play out live, down to the minute and also allow for the accurate planning of the live presenter crosses during the live stream.
Another critical part of the solution was detailed technical planning and testing.
Bake completed a range of detailed technical tests prior from internet speed tests of the streaming location to technical rehearsals weeks prior to live stream testing with the presenters prior to the event date.
We also had a range of backup solutions incl. duplicate PCs with duplicate projects on them to back up & redundant audio, video & internet hardware. 80% of the work was done in the initial strategy and planning stage, this up front work formed a solid foundation for the project’s success.
All work was completed in a remote and CV19 safe way using a range of cloud based / digital collaboration tools incl. a detailed production plan, mock ups, scripted run sheet and weekly work-in-progress meetings.
The ‘as-live’ filming took place over one day. We bumped all the equipment into the studio location incl. a stylised main / live MC studio location with props & a secondary live set with media wall which also featured a live guest awards presenter.
The run sheet was planned down to the minute with a range of bump in, set-up & test activities scheduled, a rehearsal with each of the two presenters. We had a small four (4) person crew on set with all filming being conducted per the mandated safe COVID19 restrictions.
Once filming was completed the ‘as-live’ format was edited down ready to be played out as a ‘live’ YouTube stream. The completed show format consisted of over 130+ pieces of content, each reviewed and approved prior to the live broadcast.
We sent up a video village where the video was broadcast from which included ‘live chat’ support from the FTA team.
The ‘as-live’ format was played out to YouTube as a livestream and was a complete success with over 11,700 people viewing the stream and with 25x cut down winners videos also being delivered to help hype the awards post event. That’s an 8.4x YOY viewership increase for the client and their valued sponsors.
Many of the nominees held their own satellite events at their office where they could safely watch and view the awards night livestream in their own unique way. We also developed several interactive elements to keep the format engaging including a best dressed photo competition which featured viewer submitted photos from Twitter.
By optimising the live streams keywords, running a live hashtag photo competition and encouraging over 430+ live chat comments the stream has been picked up by the YouTube algorithm leading to a massive increase in the streams global reach totalling 334,000+ impressions
Example 04
Overview
Client: Fire + Rescue NSW | KFS Training Video
Service offered: On location filming of training materials
Fire and Rescue NSW was in need of some assistance to update and filming some new training internal materials to update the legacy DVDs which they were using.
The brief was to re-shoot the Kitchen Fire Simulator Training DVD which is a critical community education demonstration that explains the dangers of kitchen fires. The new materials were also to be used as an online asset which would free their staff to access the material on any device & train from anywhere in the state.
Below is a breakdown of the key project phases.
The project kicked off by developing a detailed brief for FRNSW to approve (detailed scope of works) – which included a transcription of the old training materials for review / refresh purposes.
We worked up a new look and feel for the new training materials and turned the script into a storyboard sequence for approval and worked with the FRNSW team to do a recce of the film location to confirm it was suitable and safe for filming.
Once the key project dependencies location, script and storyboards were approved – we worked with FRNSW to develop a detailed production schedule and shot list that would have filming take place over one (1) day on location in a working fire station. The development and approval of the pre-production materials were critical factors to the project’s success.
These documents outlined what was to be filmed, who was to be filmed, what equipment was needed, were and at what time, key dates, risks, details of the location through to weather, lighting conditions through to detailed scripts for the voice over talent to be recorded on the day. All approved prior to principal filming.
Our detailed pre-production planning also included a backup plan for the day as filming was limited to 1x day only. The backup plan included the deployment of a multi-skilled crew that could be split up if needed to work through the shot list in parallel.
The pre-production planning approval process formed a crucial foundation for the post production finishing and delivery. All materials were created and checked back against the approval production, planning blueprints which greatly de-risked the production.
On-location filming was rolled out based on the approved pre-production blueprint. The blended team knew who and what to shoot with detailed / approved shot lists and scripts to work from.
All wide shots, overlay footage, slow motion, gimbal shots, instructional close ups and key voice over audio were all captured as planned.
The team did need to break into three (3) units as filming was running over time after lunch. The three (3) discreet teams were able to split up to film the b roll / overlay sequences and record the voice over in parallel allowing the crew to wrap on time. The rushes from the day were backed up to our 100TB RAIDz6 server for robust data security.
Post production was a breeze as it was delivered based on the approved script, storyboards and production blueprint which were developed & approved at the beginning of the project.
Some script changes were needed based on revised client instruction and we were able to record the short voice over pickups with minimal delays and cost.
Video and audio editing was incorporated with 2D text, titles, backing music and the voice over track into a 1920×1080 resolution master project with two (2) rounds of review delivered to take the project through to formal approval. Delivery was as simple as sharing a Google Drive link to the exported hi-res MP4 file.
Conclusion
No matter what type of content you’re looking to commission, it pays to think and plan ahead so as to get the most out of your content budget, the sky’s the limit. Quality content is a real force multiplier in your communications tool kit.
As an accredited Government supplier who has successfully been through the NSW Government panel selection process, we have worked with a range of different Government agencies over the years and helped bring a broad range of content to life.
