Field Notes: Call to Action Video
We in preservation too often fail at getting our message before a national audience of potential supporters. You have to imagine our sense of satisfaction seeing this excellent video courtesy of the Arbor Day Foundation.
Breaking it down a bit – here is what worked well in this video.
1. “We cherish their beauty, we marvel at their majesty, we embrace their heritage.” – Wonderful writing grabs listener attention right away.
2. Establishes value quickly, in this case for the National Forests. Even the title, “Our National Forests Depend On Us” is a call to action.
3. Clearly states how we benefit from our National Forests.
4. Establishes threat – fires, destruction, etc.
5. Returns to the original upbeat theme with inspiring images and the song Simple Gifts playing in the background.
6. Gives people something them to do – guides them to ArborDay.org.
What makes this video even more useful for this particular cause is that it is running on national Cable TV. It would be interesting to the level of giving brought in by this well crafted piece of video. With this post the challenge is thrown – can some of our national, statewide, regional, and local organizations create a video with the same power and ability to generate results as this one? If so, please share with us or via Twitter using the @PlacePromo tag.