The case study video

Last night I finished final round judging of the One Show's Automotive competition.

Last week I participated in the first round of Effie judging. 

Boy does context matter. 

It's easy to judge print or :30 TV. The relative greatness of ideas in those mediums is typically self-evident. 

But evaluating experiences, social media instances and standalone applications usually require judges to understand timing, cultural placement and relevant technologies before we can evaluate the core idea. 

Judges need some level of fluency before the brilliance of an idea becomes obvious.

And isn't this the same challenge we face in pitching those core ideas to clients and customers in the first place?

It's not enough to have a great digital/experience/technology idea. You need to be able to sell the story of that idea. 

Here are a few challenges in developing a case study video idea:

1. SPEED

How quickly can we establish the setting -- the necessary cultural insight(s) or technical constraint(s)? How quickly can we define the hurdle(s) to be overcome?

If there's a great sin of all case study videos its lack of setup speed and a far too liberal spreading of contextual frosting. 

2. BENEFIT

My definition of an idea is that an idea causes the reaction, "I hadn't thought of it that way before." Consumers of an idea benefit by realization. 

So, what unique realization occurred as the result of your digital/experience/technology idea? 

This is the trickiest bit.

Increased happiness isn't a realization. Saving money or time isn't a realization. 

Surprise isn't a realization -- it's just surprise. 

Seeing the world in an entirely new way is a form of realization. 

The trouble is, most digital/experience/technology ideas just don't deliver a unique realization. 

And most case study videos never convey true realization. 

3. RESULT

A case study video isn't one without a result. 

So of course your idea won the day.

Of course you got a billion impressions. 

Of course every publication known to humankind touted your idea.

Happy sentiment is table stakes -- and totally not unique to the point of being boring. 

Go back to context. What truly was at stake, that your core idea brought into sharp focus and helped foment a change in behavior?

The best case study video ideas tell that truth.

The end.