A purposeful shift away from corporate storytelling to create relatable human moments • The film format has drama, comedy and the obligatory plot twist
Some people don’t fully know what Siemens does. In reality, Siemens plays a big a part in our everyday life – from the light you switch on, to a train trip for millions of commuters.
As a diversified engineering company working on technology from turbines and trains, smart grids to digital factories, Siemens does some amazing things.
“It transforms industries, it harnesses energy resources to improve power generation, it connects machines to machines to manufacture things, it moves people and goods via road and rail and it even gets the water to your shower,” says Keshin Govender, Head of Communications at Siemens Southern and Eastern Africa. “Quite simply, our technology makes things work but it is hard for you or I to imagine exactly how this happens every minute, every hour and how it is improving our life.”
The brief to the King James Group of agencies in Johannesburg was to humanize the brand, build on the launch of the brand campaign – Ingenuity for Life – and make it relevant to all South Africans.
The concept was a short film. Says Govender:
“This was a purposeful shift away from corporate storytelling to create relatable human moments.”
“We used a ‘day in the life of’ story format of a man and a woman, and a narrator. The narrator – the voice of Siemens – is a third character in the story that the couple hear at certain points in the story,” explains Graeme Jenner, ECD at King James II. “The trick was getting that fine balance right, letting people know exactly how Siemens plays a role in their lives, but doing it in such a way that it adds to the story and doesn’t detract.”
The short film has drama, comedy and an obligatory plot twist and is a piece of work that goes beyond a simple TVC to demystify the Siemens brand for people who mostly takes technology that enables infrastructure for granted.
“Working on a longer format was a real treat,” says Kim Geldenhuys, Director of 0307 Films. “We don’t get to do that very often and it required a slightly different headspace and focus. The luxury of holding on shots for more than two seconds is addictive and I’m not sure we are going to ever be able to go back to a shorter format.”
The short film formed part of an integrated cross platform programme aimed at telling the “story of Siemens” in a meaningful and impactful way.
“Our technology is more than bits and bytes or nuts and bolts – it’s about creating value for society,” concludes Govender.
Siemens has had a presence in South Africa for 157 years and been involved with some of the most notable landmark energy, manufacturing and transportation projects across the country.
ABOUT SIEMENS
Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global technology powerhouse that has stood for engineering excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality for more than 165 years. The company is active in more than 200 countries, focusing on the areas of electrification, automation and digitalization. One of the world’s largest producers of energy-efficient, resource-saving technologies, Siemens is No. 1 in offshore wind turbine construction, a leading supplier of gas and steam turbines for power generation, a major provider of power transmission solutions and a pioneer in infrastructure solutions as well as automation, drive and software solutions for industry. The company is also a leading provider of medical imaging equipment – such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging systems – and a leader in laboratory diagnostics as well as clinical IT. In fiscal 2015, which ended on September 30, 2015, Siemens generated revenue of €75.6 billion and net income of €7.4 billion. At the end of September 2015, the company had around 348,000 employees worldwide. Further information is available on the Internet at www.siemens.com.
