Case Study
Seeing is Believing
Clients: Education
Services: School Communications, Digital Communications, Video Production
Videos Showcase Modern Career and Technical Education
THE SITUATION
The NJ Council of County Vocational-Technical Schools annually submits a presentation proposal to the New Jersey School Boards Association’s Fall Workshop, with the goal to raise awareness of new and unique career-focused learning opportunities available to students at county vocational-technical schools. To fully convey what is happening inside the schools and programs, the Council sought to show as well as tell its stories to NJSBA audiences.
THE STRATEGY
Laura Bishop Communications and NJCCVTS partnered to add videos to the NJSBA presentations. Each annual presentation focuses on a theme, with past themes ranging from work-based learning incorporated into student instruction and expansion projects to meet evolving workforce needs. At the start of presentation planning, LBC and NJCCVTS identify 3-4 schools to feature in the videos and set goals and key messages to convey in each one. Together, the teams sketch an outline of questions for interview subjects and needs for footage at each location and then coordinate with each featured school to identify subjects and plan the shoot. LBC films and edits the videos, which are incorporated into the NJSBA presentations and then added to the NJCCVTS video library on the Council’s website, as well as on the YouTube channel and featured regularly on social.
THE WIN
LBC has helped NJCCVTS create videos that capture student, instructor and administrator voices and, most importantly, provide a glimpse inside the county vocational-technical schools. The videos not only create more engaging and eye-opening annual presentations for NJSBA, but they contain visuals and key takeaways that capture some of the most unique and compelling aspects of career and technical education. They accurately showcase what students can expect from a county vocational-technical school education, from classrooms with equipment used by professionals to work-based learning placements in settings such as hospitals and early childhood education classrooms. The videos also include soundbites of how such experiences directly prepare students for college and career success. The videos are produced to be evergreen and are a resource for anyone looking to learn more about NJ’s county vocational-technical schools. Beyond including them on its website, NJCCVTS works with LBC to regularly repurpose them on social media and in Constant Contact newsletters.