From the judges: The video’s provocative opening line, “What is making? Yeah, that’s a dangerous question,” sets up the audience perfectly for a bold dive into the maker spaces at MIT—and the community created and supported by them. The first flashes of different maker spaces brings the audience into this world; the brief maker shots and soundbites captivate; and the narration from the opening speaker carries throughout the video, returning to the speaker mid-video to provide the hook for the fundraising effort—that MIT is striving to create a new makerspace that fosters community. Seeing the students in action and hearing why the maker spaces are so important to them and to MIT are critical to showcasing the potential impact fundraising can have on an already eager community. The editing of the wide variety of shots and clips of makers in action is exciting; the edgy music track enhances this feel. That this video was created with the intention of being leveraged widely in communications and fundraising conversations is critical to its potential success—especially given the high production value and cost for this effort. Creating a toolkit of individual-student focused videos and other content to complement and expand on this video was a strong strategy. We were hoping to learn more about the quantitative impact of this maker video specifically—whether regarding its reach, use by staff, or any ties to fundraising amounts (though we understand the choice to not include a giving link at the end of the video was intentional).
Maker Videos/Marketing Collateral
Category
Video > Videos: Fundraising
Description
Award: Silver
Institution: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Title of Entry: Maker Videos/Marketing Collateral
About this Entry: The MIT Campaign Office identified supporting MIT’s makerspaces (collaborative works spaces for making, learning, exploring and sharing that use high-tech to no-tech tools) as a priority fundraising focus area through the end of the Campaign and beyond as an enduring core priority for the Institute. The specific capital fundraising project driving this original request is a new first-of-its kind makerspace being created on campus
Throughout much of FY19, FY20, and now into FY21 (with a rollout extended due to Covid-19), the Resource Development Communications, Events, Donor Relations and Stewardship team (CEDRS) developed a suite of print and digital collateral to support MIT’s makerspaces (including Project Manus and the Met Warehouse makerspaces). The suite included “nuts and bolts” materials for use by fundraisers such as a messaging grid and one-pager as well as supporting storytelling assets in the form of videos, photos, illustrations, and written stories to introduce student makers to MIT’s friends and supporters, illustrating MIT’s maker culture and the critical role it plays in the MIT ecosystem.
These assets continue to provide fundraisers (and ultimately prospects) with a steady stream of easily accessible and shareable content that supplements fundraising collateral and conversations. We have been able to draw on these assets not just for this particular fundraising priority but for other critical areas as well (e.g., scholarships and a new music building). At the same time, the multichannel, integrated marketing campaign increases the likelihood of the target audience seeing the content multiple times (amplification).