Case Study
Hotel Sayaji
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Create a convincing video to showcase the wonderful work culture of the Sayaji Group of Hotels.
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Create a concept that would get them among the Top 50 Great Places to Work in India title.
Industry: Hospitality
The Challenge
Hotel Sayaji approached us with a unique problem - they wanted to be among the best places to work in the Hospitality sector. They also wanted to instill an attitude of pride among the hotel staff. They called us to create a concept from scratch that would appeal to both the awarding agency and the staff. We had to conceptualize, write, film, edit and deliver this video within 10 days.
Results
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Hotel Sayaji made it to the Top 20 Best Places to Work in the Hospitality sector in 2017.
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The video we created was eventually used for marketing purposes and was reshared widely on social media.
I am Sayaji
Our script writer Mukti and our creative head Abhishek realized during the orientation meeting that the hotel staff at Sayaji were well-trained. Both of them had personally tried their services so they knew if they channelized the emotions of the staff members, they will be able to pull this off successfully. They began working on the script whose tagline was conceived first - I am Sayaji!
Client Requirements
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Focus on ‘Inclusion and Diversity’ aspect of the hotel staff
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Talk about pride among the team members
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Create two videos - one in English for the assessment agency, one in Hindi for the staff members
Why they chose us?
The then HR head of Hotel Sayaji found us on Google and watched some of the videos we had created. He held meetings with more than 10 video production agencies. But after meeting Abhishek, he was convinced this was the team who finally caught the sentiment behind the video.
Our Execution Process
Ideation
October 5th, 2017
Our Director and Head of Creatives Abhishek Masih sat with the Head of HR over the requirements. Abhishek watched several Inclusion and Diversity videos available on the Internet. By the time he invited Head of Content Mukti to the table, he already had a concept on his mind. Mukti and Abhishek then proposed that the element of ‘pride’ of working with Hotel Sayaji will bring out the right emotional chord while also showcasing the culture of the place.
Writing the script
October 8th, 2017
This was one of the most challenging scripts because we had to play with words in a way so as to neither offend nor brag. The client wanted a balanced script that wouldn’t sound salesy. Mukti had already conceptualized the title - I am Sayaji - and she took Abhishek’s opinion on the presentation. After much editing and several rounds of sitting, our script was ready.
The shoot
October 10th 2017
The second most challenging part after the script was getting all the 10 members to dress up twice and then make them smile for the camera. A team of eight people including camerapersons, Abhishek, hair and make-up artists reached Hotel Sayaji at 7 am. The toughest part was to make them comfortable before a video camera and making them smile. Our team kept interacting with the staff members about their daily life and helped them overcome hesitation. At the end of the day, Abhishek was almost happy with the shoots (he is never FULLY happy).
Audience Profiles
October 6th 2017
The challenge was we were dealing with two completely different kinds of audience profiles. Our first vital set of viewers consisted of former directors and CEOs of huge companies who were in the Jury of the assessment agency. This is a demographic that likes to see values within a company. Our second set of audience were Sayaji staff members who wanted to feel a sense of belongingness and pride for their work. While we could not personally meet the jury members for obvious reasons, we held interviews with staff members, understood their daily tasks and responsibilities and asked them what they felt about the culture.
Storyboarding
October 9th 2017
Since the script was ready, Abhishek made the storyboard himself where individual portraits of some 10 staff members were to be shot in video format. These portraits had to first shot with members in casual attire and then in their Sayaji uniforms. There were chefs, marketing professionals, reception staff, cleaning staff and so on. The client loved the concept of video portraits and the storyboard was approved in one go.
Editing table
October 12th 2017
Abhishek went over his edits quite a few times and called the rest of the team for opinion. Mukti made a couple of changes and approved the flow. Abhishek then did his final edits where he used slow motion and smart editing techniques to make this 10-minute long video interesting. We also sourced a voice over artist from the USA for English voice over, while Mukti did the VO for the Hindi script. We delivered the project on October 15th 2017.
Watch the Video
Client Testimonial
AVM Pictures has a deep strategy for visualization. They are an end-to-end video production agency so we didn't have to coordinate with various artists. We were stumped at how quickly they grasped the concept of our video and delivered the final product within 10 days. The response we got from the video on social channels was phenomenal.
-Ms.Saba Dhanani, Director Operations
Sayaji Hotels Ltd.
Lessons along the way
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Every Inclusion and Diversity video on the internet talked about human emotions.
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Videos showing work culture should not be salesy.