The brief
In 2019 Mercer asked us to do a video profile of Wendy Fleet, their Global Client Director. A key member of staff, it was a fantastic opportunity to get to know someone who was playing such a critical role in shaping the experiences of clients worldwide.
Rather than a familiar seated interview to camera, it was felt that something more personal would create greater impact and resonance. It was our job to work out what that would be.
The solution
Instead of going straight into scriptwriting we decided to start by speaking to Wendy. This gave us a chance to understand her, her role, and the kind of film she wanted to take part in. Through our conversations we were able to gain a great deal of insights – detailed and nuanced reflections on how she perceived her job, how she grew into it, the goals she had personally and for Mercer, and how she spent her time when she wasn’t working. These internal and honest quotes gave us a lot of material to begin assembling a script, drawing parallels between her professional identity and her personal one.
The main theme we settled on was ‘nurturing growth’. A keen gardener, there was a natural overlap between the time she spent at home in her own garden and the time she spent globally creating the ideal conditions for relationships to flourish. Weaving together Wendy’s own words we built a narrative that Wendy herself voiced, and visited her home to film her enjoying the natural spaces where she lived.
Wendy placed a strong emphasis on the personal connections at the heart of what she does, and we echoed this within the visuals with one of her most personal family connections – her daughter.
The results
The resulting film was a personal, authentic and very different piece of filmmaking for Mercer, giving clients a real window into someone driving their business worldwide. It was received extremely well globally, both internally and externally, and has led to a wide number of further colleague profiles in the same mould – produced by Seveer and local production companies in different regions.
What the client said
“Seveer were really creative in their approach to our brief and captured the essence of our colleague beautifully. Their sensitivity and diplomacy made it possible to film in Wendy’s private space, which made the final video warm and wholesome.” – Inna, Mercer
Posted on the 7th July 2023