We’re celebrating at T60 this week after finding out we won our 12th Telly Award. The honor got us thinking back to some of our past winning entries and the lessons they can provide. We blog a lot about marketing, but today’s post is all about public relations videos.

One of the issues I face with prospects and clients is the notion… we don’t do anything interesting… why would anyone watch a video about us? I don’t blame people for feeling that way. It’s hard to look past what you do everyday and see it with a fresh set of eyes… a different perspective… but that’s why business leaders need professional storytellers.

One of our clients recently retired, Illinois State Senator John Millner. I never used to blog about him because I didn’t want to invite any political discussions. None of the videos we produced for him were political in nature. They were straight-up public relations videos highlighting work he was doing for his constituents.

We had a contract to do a series of videos and it had run down to the last video. Through his lens, he couldn’t really think of anything else he was doing that would be “worth” highlighting. I asked him if he had any events he’d be attending in the coming weeks, and it turned out he’d be walking in a Labor Day parade.

I said, “That’s your video.” He didn’t get it. He said all he does is shake hands. I assured him we’d find a story in that, and we did.

What I noticed on the shoot was that all the characteristics that make him shine came through during that parade. Sen. Millner is a genuinely nice guy. He’s humble. He’s upbeat. He wanted to connect with the people he served. Why not a video highlighting those things?

The Telly Award judges apparently agreed with me because they awarded us for that story (VIDEO BELOW).

Businesses go about their day-to-day work not realizing there are stories all around them. Stories other people would be interested in if they were shared. A good storyteller can look at your company and help you find those stories.

–Tony Gnau

Tony Gnau is a three-time Emmy-winning journalist. He is also the founder and chief storytelling officer at T60 Productions. T60 has won 11 Telly Awards for its work over the last eight years.

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