Stories About Helpful People
A brand storytelling series about people that embody the core of Zendesk – being helpful.
Role: Creative Lead
In-House: Zendesk
Awards: Winner at Tribeca X Awards; 2x Winner at Shorty Awards; 2x Nominee & 1x Honoree at Webby Awards; Vimeo ‘Best of the Year’ & 2x Staff Picks; 1x Winner, 1x Honorable Mention & 1x Finalist at Brand Film Awards; Shortlist at The One Show Awards
Film Festivals: Tribeca Film Festival, AFI Docs, LA Shorts, Walla Walla Movie Crush, Indy Shorts International Film Festival, Mountainfilm Festival, Provincetown Film Festival, Rhode Island International Film Festival
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Helping is in our connective tissue – and it’s what brings the Zendesk community together – so we launched a project to share inspiring stories about people who heed the call to help in surprising ways.
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The series tells these stories through short films and photo essays, embedded natively to engage Zendesk’s audience where they are, and collectively on a campaign microsite that emphasises our brand values and mission.
We produced two short documentary films, the first telling the story of Eric Grandon, a veteran who teaches beekeeping as a lifesaving form of therapy for PTSD. ‘Eric and the Bees’ had an in-person premiere at Mountainfilm Festival in Telluride.
Our second short film is about a high school student who helps a group of senior citizens get active and combat loneliness – by teaching them karate. ‘Golden Age Karate’ was featured as a Vimeo Staff Picks Premiere and has been watched over 175k times.
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The website was inspired by magazine and editorial design, and I created a system of dynamic content blocks that can be pieced together to create each longform story.
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Read more stories at:
helpers.zendesk.com
VP Creative: Erin Pinkley
Creative Leads: Sam Bathe, Olivia Kingsley, Elyse Kanagaratnam
Brand Producer: Ariana Blair
Film Directed by: Erin Brethauer & Tim Hussin
Films Produced by: Malcolm Pullinger & Rachel Barth
A co-production by: Even/Odd & Zendesk
Sam Bathe, Creative Director & Interactive Designer