Internal communications animation

We developed an internal communications animation that helped bring global teams together working towards a common goal.

Background

As part of AstraZeneca’s 2020 vision, our client needed to provide an engaging way to inform employees of progress made on key team initiatives across global AstraZeneca sites. A playful animation, which included user-generated videos, was the chosen vehicle to inform global employees on the journey stage they were at, and what part they had played so far in making this ambitious vision a reality.

Challenge

One of the advantages of this approach was also one of the main challenges: the inclusion of user-generated videos in the internal communications animation would encourage engagement from teams in front of the camera, as well as the global audience. At the same time, we had to ensure the video was consistent and that the quality of the final product wasn’t compromised. Also, this solution would be used every quarter, delivered via a link embedded in a newsletter, so it had to be easy to update regularly by the team at AstraZeneca.

Solution

The internal communications animation* we created focuses on four key areas of focus for employees, as they worked towards the 2020 vision goals: Reliability, Agility, Performance and People. The animation successfully covers all objectives and focus areas through a successful combination of animation, flat graphics, colour-coding, and user-generated content.

To achieve and manage our client’s expectations we first storyboarded the entire project. This involved drawing each scene of the internal communications animation as a thumbnail with actual graphics and text that would be used in the final film. Once the storyboard was signed off, we set to work on producing the film using 4D Cinema Max, Adobe After Effects and Lightroom.

We produced an internal communications animation that really engaged the diverse audience, a really immersive experience for all involved. We created a 4k CGI globe and animated it on an infinite loop, which we annotated with locations. The rotating and zoom effects to pinpoint the different locations of each piece of footage add impact and encourage engagement.

We chose a soundtrack which, while encouraging and upbeat, perfectly communicates the importance of everyone’s efforts as they work towards the corporate goal. The internal communications animation also includes accompanying commentary for sections of the video without vox pop.

*An edited version has been included here to maintain client confidentiality