MYOB, the Australian business services software company, has a challenge that many brands can sympathise with: their product, at face value, actually sounds sort of boring. 

That many business owners don't find much joy in bookkeeping is a reality MYOB recognises ever in their own tag line: "Because you didn't start a business to do the books."

So how exactly do you sell the dream state of a good accounting system? To help get to that answer, the team at MYOB rang us up a while back, inviting us to come on board for their newest social video and print campaign. Thomas Hyland joined in as Director. 

Featuring six well-known faces as brand advocates, from an interior stylist to a fitness guru, magazine publisher to style icon, DIY expert to restauranteur, the campaign is a fresh approach to the "day in the life" formula. Each video gives viewers a glimpse into the advocates businesses - how they started, what drives them each day, and how they deal with the inevitable difficulties that come with growing a small business from the ground up.

We've always been believers in allowing the consumer to be a brand's storyteller. So, the brief was a great fit from the starting line, and we found wonderful collaborators in MYOB while we put into practice our well-honed skills of blending authentic voice with beautiful imagery. 

First impressions are everything, especially in social campaigns. In the first few seconds of a video aren't novel, dynamic, eye-catching, or entertaining, the all-powerful thumb takes a swipe and you've missed your opportunity with that viewer. To take advantage of those first crucial moments, each video opens with a quick cut that immediately brings into focus the authentic charm of the character using an outtake and a punchy teaser. 

With each brand advocate story receiving unique cuts and formats for the various social channels, the number of executions totalled just over 100 across the campaign, making for a busy time in our editing suites. In addition to the video components, which included unique formatting for various social channels, we also produced the still photography for the online component of the campaign.

Credits: 

Director, Thomas Hyland
Sr. Producer, Raylene O'Hare (Commoner)
Cinematographer, Cesar Salmeron
Camera Assist, Austin Haigh
Sound Recordist, Ben Banks
HMU, Margo Orsatti
Editor, Ben Hall
Still Photography, Kit Haselden