From Olympic heritage to electric vehicles, here is the latest in video communications. For more from #CommunicateLens, follow @Communicatemag on Twitter.

Central Intelligence Agency

To support its employer brand, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) launched a new visual identity, website and employer positioning this year. Supporting the rollout of the drastically updated brand are a series of videos in the #DiscoverCIA campaign. Three of the films that have already been released in 2021 are titled ‘Humans of CIA.’ These emotive first-person stories showcase the stories of individuals who work at the CIA, including discussions of disability, communications and the call to serve.

The films are supported by a new careers portal that is designed to broaden the pool of prospective talent and encourage diverse candidates to apply. “We’ve come a long way since I applied by simply mailing a letter marked ‘CIA, Washington, D.C.,’” says, CIA director Gina Haspel. “I’m proud to share our new website and hope it piques the interest of talented Americans, giving them a sense of the dynamic environment that awaits them here.”

Legal & General

‘Retiring That’ is a new campaign from Legal & General that turns communications about retirement on their heads. Seeking to retire the clichés and complexities of pension management and leaving work, the financial services brand has introduced a new visual concept. Rendered in film and static imagery, traditional notions of retirement – the gold clock, knitting needles, jokey gifts – are literally smashed into pieces and rendered into colourful plumes of powder. The film provides stills for use across the retirement microsite, which offers updated tools and services for a new type of retirement.

Carried out alongside BBD Perfect Storm, the campaign includes advertising as well as a comprehensive PR strategy designed to change the conversation around retirement. Meg Dickens, marketing director at Legal & General Retail Retirement says, “Carriage clock retirement is over, replaced by more colourful and varied journeys, full of potential and possibility. Our new TV ad aims to bring this to life, retiring the clichés and outdated stereotypes often associated with over 50s in later life. The ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach is yesterday’s solution to yesterday’s problem. A new age of retirement needs financial services to match, a provider that can help people shape their retirement effectively. We want to deliver the best and broadest service offering, whilst remaining relevant to current retirees, and the next generation in their daily lives.”

Renault

It’s no secret that auto racing inspires and creates technological developments in automobile design and engine manufacture. Car companies with racing roots have been linking their R&D departments with racing teams for decades. For Renault, though, the connection between its Formula One racing team and its consumer automobiles has been explored in a new campaign. Supporting the launch of its E-Tech range of hybrid vehicles is a film communicating the message, ‘We work hard not just to make one man drive better, but to drive everyone further.’

The film, developed by Publicis, shows a woman who has had to travel away from her family in order to research and design a new hybrid racing engine. Her story and her young son’s are told in tandem. Ultimately, the engine is put into place in the Formula One setting and she is reunited with her son. It’s heartwarming, but also indicates the future-facing motivations for the development of electric and hybrid vehicles. “With this campaign, we have the ambition to sustainably install E-Tech as the powerful brand that brings together our electric, hybrid and plug-in technology,” says Arnuad Belloni, Renault’s CMO. The campaign will be deployed across comms and marketing touchpoints.

Team GB

Despite the challenges posed by the postponing of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo to 2021, the date change has provided Team GB with a positive story to tell. 2021 marks the 125th anniversary of British athletes attending the Olympic Games. Team GB will communicate throughout the year about its current athletes ahead of Tokyo, but it will also connect its current communications with the athletes of the past. “Athletes across the first three Olympic Games (Athens 1896, Paris 1900 and St. Louis 1904) were undoubtedly the British trailblazers, going into uncharted sporting territory to represent their country,” Team GB says. It will be celebrating the heritage and history of the team and documenting some of Britain’s greatest sporting moments along the way.

To launch the 125th anniversary, Team GB released the ‘History Is What Makes Us’ video, highlighting some of the memorable moments of the past in chronological order. The film is edited in similar fashion to last year’s Tokyo communications campaign launch, with quick cuts and overlaying images. It’s energetic and pacy, while also offering a new approach to storytelling ahead of the Tokyo Games this summer.