Marketing

Lights, camera, action!

New England agency sponsors contest for budding video producers

By Phil Zinkewicz

A year ago, Connor Cassidy was one of many students at Wellesley High School in Massachusetts. Today, he is on his way towards building an exciting career for himself in the motion picture business. “My goal is to go to Hollywood, make motion pictures and travel the world,” says Cassidy.

Of course that is not going to happen overnight. He is graduating this year from Wellesley High and then he will have his college years to get through. However, in the meantime, the well-spoken Connor will be earning a living doing what he loves best—producing videos. In doing so, Cassidy will hone his craft to prepare for greater things later on. Provider Insurance Group, an insurance agency in Needham, Massachusetts, is giving Cassidy his first break.

It all started early in 2009, according to Ruby Chan, director of marketing at Provider. “We wanted to have a commercial describing what Provider is and what it does,” she says. “We went to several advertising agencies and found that they were out of our price range. Then we remembered that Wellesley High School had a TV/video production class.

“We approached Julie Spilka, the teacher of that class, to ask if we could run a contest with her students’ voluntary participation,” Chan continues. “The winner of that contest would receive $1,000 in scholarship money. Moreover, the winner would have the opportunity to contract with Provider to film and produce marketing videos on a project-by-project basis. Julie agreed. The challenge in the initial contest was to use creative video techniques to promote our agency in a humorous way on YouTube, the world’s most popular online video community.”

Cut to Connor Cassidy. “When I began my first year at Wellesley, I was immediately attracted to Ms. Spilka’s TV/video class,” says Cassidy. “To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect. However, under Ms. Spilka’s guidance, within a couple of months I was editing videos. I began looking at films and videos differently, more from the view of a camera person than as a normal viewer.”

When Provider broached the idea of a video contest to the class, Cassidy jumped at the chance. “I was interested in the contest and what winning would mean to me the minute I heard about it.”

Cassidy spent about 25 hours making the video—during class as well as before, between and after classes. He had to rush through homework and lunchtimes to work on the project. “When I found I’d won, I was extremely excited and relieved to know that my hard work paid off,” says Cassidy.

His winning video, “Racetrack,” communicates the comfort of knowing that Provider supports its customers, even in New England’s risky driving environment. It uses footage filmed by Cassidy at the F1 indoor kart racing track in Braintree (Massachusetts) to show the challenges of driving on New England’s precarious roads. Since Provider posted the video on YouTube in June, “Racetrack” has been racking up the views and been an effective marketing vehicle for the insurance agency.

Says Provider’s Chan: “Provider is ahead of most agencies in the use of social media as a marketing tool. Cassidy’s work on “Racetrack” and other videos gives us a powerful new image for today’s changing marketing environment.”

William Darcey, chief operating officer at Provider, says he finds working with Cassidy to be a definite advantage for connecting with customers that increasingly rely on social media for information. “Connor’s talent, energy and youthful perspective are just what we need to reach our tech-savvy customers,” says Darcey.

Cassidy credits a big part of his success to the support and encouragement of Spilka, whom he considers his mentor. “In addition to teaching me everything I know, she’s been so inspirational,” says Cassidy. “She also provided me with access to the camera equipment I used to shoot the video.”

He also credits his mother: “The idea to build a storyline around indoor kart racing was the result of a brainstorming session with my mother, Pam.”

Since winning the video contest in June, Cassidy has been spending time after school earning a paycheck and gaining valuable experiences as a part-time freelance video producer at Provider. Some of his responsibilities include creating short video clips that are embedded in agency e-mail communications. These projects have given Cassidy one-on-one access to the agency’s CEO, Rick Davis.

Recently, Cassidy traveled to Boston to film the co-founder of Harpoon Brewery, Dan Kenary. The session included a private brewery tour with the Provider marketing team and Davis and Darcey. (See photo on page 44.) Cassidy was also treated to working with a real-world media professional, “Dirty Water TV” reporter, Julie Wetherbee. (“Dirty Water TV” is an entertainment and lifestyle television show in New England.)

Cassidy says that all of this practical experience is an investment in his future. “I feel like I’m ahead of the game,” he says. “Provider gives me a lot of freedom to be creative and work with my own ideas. My parents (Dad, Peter and Mom, Pam) have always encouraged me to grab opportunities and run with them.”

As for Provider, both Chan and Darcey say that the company is definitely committed to social media. “Fully 75% of my job is in the area of social media,” says Chan. “In addition to our videos, we are on Twitter, Facebook as well as other means of communication.”

Adds Darcey: “There are other agencies out there that are involved in social media. We believe those agencies will be our competitors several years down the line.”