Blog Post

Case Study: Harborstone Credit Union Brand Video Campaign

Spin Creative • Mar 27, 2020

Washington-based Harborstone Credit Union approached Spin Creative about creating a collection of lifestyle brand spots. This video campaign was part of a new brand identity and story for Harborstone, helping them to make a significant debut in the marketplace. You can also find multiple success stories of our creative production agency that drew desired results to the clients. 

Man plays guitar in bedroom as girlfriend listens and looks at him playing
Because the spots were to serve as a (re)introduction, the content is focused more on the brand than on specific spots. Harborstone asked for spots that speak to who they are, why they do what they do and what their values are. In doing so, the spots also lightly feature the products Harborstone has without a direct sales approach.

Spin Creative’s approach
We started by listening to Harborstone’s story and their goals for the campaign. From there, we created documents to get all stakeholders on the same page about message, voice and strategy. 

To help Harborstone differentiate their brand, we wove a theme of “building prosperity” throughout the creative. Harborstone offers many banking products that customers recognize, but they emphasize that their bank has heart. Their brand values include simplicity, empathy, advocacy, prosperity, equity and trust.

We wanted to place an emphasis on relationships rather than transactions. The creative approach was that being around loved ones and people in the community is inherently important. “Union” is a strong theme within Harborstone’s brand and goes back to their differentiator that their business has heart.
Harborstone Brand Spot 1
What Spin Creative did for Harborstone
For this project, we delivered four 30-second spots and four 15-second spots. The spots were designed for a digital campaign. We shot the spots over two days. The shoot captured the client’s needs while remaining within their budget. 

All four spots intermixed the reoccurring locations and talent. The spots were filmed throughout the Queen Anne and West Seattle neighborhoods in Seattle. Harborstone wanted a “real” feel to the spots, so we chose actors with a broad representation of diversity and individualism. The actors are shown in various lifestyle moments, such as running a business, moving into a home, running errands and having coffee.

Director Matthew Billings created a style that was slightly elevated above documentary footage. He wanted the visuals to feel discovered, unrehearsed and unpolished. The majority of the shots were smooth handheld which offered a natural feeling and immediacy to the footage. This helped to achieve the feeling of real people moving through life.

Additionally, we also had a Spin still photographer on set to capture images. These images are being used in additional marketing materials such as social, billboard, bus, digital banners, etc.
Harborstone Brand Spot 2
Results
Harborstone is still in the early stages of launching their campaign, but the client has been thrilled with what they’ve seen to date. Internal feedback at Harborstone from management, staff and members has been positive.

Our client at Harborstone had this to say about working with Spin Creative:

“Most impressive what how it 'felt' to work with Matt and the Spin Creative team. They made us feel like collaborators and that our input had value to their creative process. We felt like the project was always managed, as it was. And finally, we felt like they simply cared – not just about the business, but about us and our story. We felt this from everyone on their team.”

Are you looking to create a brand video campaign? Spin Creative can help. Say hello!
Harborstone Brand Spot 3
Harborstone Brand Spot 4

About Us
Spin Creative is a video production company and creative agency helping marketers create winning video and creative strategies that engage, inspire and activate targeted audiences. Spin is headquartered in Seattle with offices in San Francisco and London, serving brands around the globe.

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