Month: April 2024

The Power of Partnership

As young children, we’re taught to share. As we grow and participate in team sports or group projects at school, we’re taught to work together. As young adults in high school or college, we finally learn about true collaboration.

Everyone brings unique skills, experiences, strengths and talents to the table, and when we band together, we can accomplish so much more than we ever could alone. Strategic marketing, like many things, should never be a one-person show.

By leaning into each other’s unique expertise and creating project teams that bring the best strategic, tactical and creative minds together, we’re able to exceed our clients’ expectations every single time.

The Power of Partnership | Giant Voices and Story North Productions

Story North Productions

Story North Productions is an outstanding video production company led by husband-and-wife duo, Kevin Jacobson and Annie Harala.

Maybe you’ve heard of Story North Productions, an outstanding video production company led by husband-and-wife duo Kevin Jacobson and Annie Harala. They’re talented and visionary, and they always deliver strategic, stunning visual work that helps elevate powerful stories.

Kevin is an award-winning storyteller with an impressive track record. He’s been a news anchor and a news director, and he has a strong grasp of how to best support written or spoken content with compelling visuals that elevate the story.

Whether he’s telling human-interest stories or showing the inner workings of a manufacturing facility, Kevin’s creative instincts are spot on. He understands light, color, perception and depth, and he uses each to his advantage to create truly beautiful work.

We all know that every creative mind needs a strategic partner to ensure projects stay on track and within scope. Kevin found his counterpart and business partner in Annie Harala, Story North’s President and Director of Strategy.

Annie understands the strategic vision behind every Story North project and leverages her background in policy, strategy and public relations to build strong client relationships and ensure Story North delivers content that drives success.

Giant Projects—Story North

Story North’s videography expertise knows no boundaries. No matter the industry, Kevin and Annie know how to add value to our clients’ brands. Let’s take a look at some of our favorite collaborative projects with Story North.

Visit Cook County

Anyone who’s visited Cook County, MN, can attest to the grandeur each season brings—whether chasing the rolling hills of yellow, orange and red in the fall or exploring the lush greenery that lines the trails in the summer—and just how difficult it can be to capture pictures and videos that do the scenery justice.

When Giant Client Visit Cook County needed a video that encapsulated the raging beauty of spring waterfall season to attract adventurers to experience the naturally unforgettable cascading falls, we knew we could count on Story North to deliver.

West Madison Foods 

Dips, dressings and spreads, oh my! West Madison Foods, the new home to two well-loved brands, Dean’s Dips and Marie’s Salad Dressings, was looking for a fun, creative way to show what goes on behind the scenes in their state-of-the-art food processing and packaging facility.

Their 106,000-square-foot facility has the capacity to produce 115 million pounds of product each year, and they have a secret ingredient that sets them apart from other food processing facilities in the nation: a dedicated team with a strong commitment to quality and operational excellence.

Giant Voices tapped into the talents at Story North to bring to life an in-depth and informational video.

MiningMinnesota

Let’s talk mining. Julie Lucas, Executive Director at MiningMinnesota has been a fierce advocate for responsible nonferrous mining in pursuit of a more sustainable future.

Recently, the United States made an important commitment to reach net zero gas emissions by 2050. Knowing this transition will require extensive collaboration and a secure supply of domestic minerals for renewable energy infrastructure, Julie wanted to create an informative video that cut through the noise to provide clear, important facts and figures—and Story North delivered!

The completed video has been used in various classes to inform students of the key role that responsible nonferrous mining plays in our journey to net-zero emissions.

APT + The Gravel Pit Golf Course

American Peat Technology (APT) puts natural resources to work, utilizing the power of peat to tackle some of the world’s toughest challenges in water treatment, agriculture and beyond.

APT recently worked with The Gravel Pit Golf Course in Brainerd, MN, on a course expansion that added 10 new holes. The Gravel Pit Golf Course was built in—you guessed it—a former gravel pit site, presenting unique challenges for growing and maintaining grass seed.

The owners chose to introduce APT’s eco-friendly peat/biochar media to the soil on the expanded course, which provided a healthy foundation for growth, and within nine weeks, the new course was lush with green turf.

This project provided a special opportunity to educate APT’s audience on the benefits of peat by pairing science with one of the region’s favorite summer pastimes. Story North paid visits to APT and The Gravel Pit, capturing footage of APT’s scientific process and The Gravel Pit’s expansion and grass seed growth to showcase their successful project collaboration.

Involta

Involta, a nationwide enterprise-class data center, cloud solutions and security services provider, and long-standing Giant Client, is passionate about expanding access to STEM opportunities for students. STEM industries continue to evolve at a fast pace, creating an ongoing critical need for new, diverse talent and ideas in the workforce.

For National STEM Day this year, Involta wanted to create a short social media video to share their words of wisdom for young techies interested in STEM. Story North turned the snippets of inspiration captured on the Involta team’s phones into a snappy, energetic montage.

Partnering for Success

From concept to campaign execution, Giant Voices specializes in helping our clients define and accomplish their business ambitions.

Giant Clients are shaping the future of technology, tourism, manufacturing, economic development, construction and many other industries, and with the talents of partners like Story North, we work to elevate brands in unique ways that set them apart from the competition.

If you’re in the market for an expertly-produced video to promote your business, reach out

Freedom Warriors: A Giant Client With an Important Cause

Recently, a Giant Client with an important cause needed a fresh, new website. Freedom Warriors, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering and liberating survivors from the chains of exploitation and human trafficking, was looking for a website that would educate visitors, encourage involvement in the fight against human trafficking and drive donations.

Recognizing the importance of the Freedom Warriors mission, Giant Voices dove headfirst into this project. We collaborated closely with Freedom Warriors to evaluate powerful website designs, content, visual elements and calls to action.

With their goals at the front of our minds, Giant Voices designed and developed a new Freedom Warriors website that would make a Giant impact.

“I met Keir Cochran, founder of Freedom Warriors, at a conference 12 years ago, and we have been close friends and mentors for one another ever since. I have deep respect for Keir and his inspirational leadership style—we need more leaders and trailblazers who are focused on driving positive change. When Keir needed a new website for the Freedom Warriors organization, Giant Voices jumped at the opportunity to help.”

Pascha Apter, Giant Voices Founder & CEO

The Freedom Warriors team wanted an educational, impactful and visually intriguing site. We chose an attractive layered layout that incorporates bold statistics, interactive components and strong CTAs to drive donations.

We also used powerful imagery and thoughtfully written content to evoke emotion and inspire involvement. With the hard work of our graphic designers and web development team, we brought Freedom Warriors’ vision to life; their new and improved website boasts a unique, crisp design to support their important mission.

Unmasking the Global Epidemic

For many, human trafficking is viewed as a distant threat—strangers in far-away countries exploiting only vulnerable populations. The reality is much more daunting.

One of the most common myths surrounding human trafficking is that perpetrators target victims they don’t know. But most victims are trafficked by someone they share a close connection with, such as a friend, family member or romantic partner, through deception, coercion, isolation and even physical force.

The United States leads the world in human trafficking, with an estimated 199,000 incidents occurring each year—though the number of reported cases is much lower.

From 2008 to 2019, human trafficking victims worldwide nearly quadrupled, going from 30,000 to 120,000 identified victims. The pervasive reach of this heinous act surpasses even the trade of illicit drugs, arms, human smuggling and wildlife crimes.

Freedom Warriors recognizes that the time for mere words has passed. It is imperative to rise above rhetoric and take decisive action—against human trafficking and in support of survivors.

The Warrior Way

Freedom Warriors came to life after a transformative tour of the Underground Railroad Museum’s human trafficking and modern-day slavery exhibit. 

Overwhelmed by the emotional weight of the magnitude of human trafficking, this pivotal moment ignited a deep sense of purpose within the co-founders. Freedom Warriors is a testament to the determination to fight against the injustice of human trafficking and restore freedom to all those affected.

“To be a Warrior within Freedom Warriors is to embody unwavering strength, unwavering courage, and unwavering compassion,” explained Keir Cochran, Freedom Warriors’ Founder.

It means standing on the front lines, facing the darkest corners of humanity with an unyielding determination to bring light. It means being a beacon of hope for the oppressed, a fierce advocate for justice, and a relentless force against the pervasive crime of human trafficking.”

Healing Through Equine Therapy

With a strong focus on healing, Freedom Warriors partners with organizations that utilize equine therapy to empower survivors on their journeys to recovery and restoration. They believe in the profound impact of equine therapy as a healing tool and are dedicated to supporting organizations that leverage this transformative power in survivor rehabilitation.

Freedom Warriors covers the annual cost of the horses, helping provide survivors with a safe and nurturing environment where they can form connections with horses to foster emotional healing, build trust, and develop essential life skills. 

Giant Voices is proud to support Freedom Warriors’ mission, and we were grateful for the opportunity to bring their website vision to life.