TOPICS, KEY MESSAGING, AND HELPFUL REFERENCE VIDESO FOR INSPIRATION/TONE:
*This project must film within the United States.*
In a time when every dollar counts, Navy Federal Credit Union is helping members make smart money moves with low fees, great rates, and a full lineup of financial services. As the nation’s largest credit union, they proudly serve the military community with accessible banking, financial education, and top-notch support. For the upcoming holiday and winter season, Navy Federal is looking to create some clever content that hits their members - and eligible potential members - right in the feels, while also inspiring them to learn more about the services Navy Federal offers.
The goal of this project is to create a suite of 6 social-savvy :15 videos that can speak to both Navy Federal's current members as well as new prospective members. To do this, Navy Federal wants 3 different fun, relatable, maybe slightly offbeat, and bite-sized social-first video concepts that can lean into the holiday or winter season theme, while still being flexible enough to be repurposed as evergreen content. The expectation is that the underlying approach that you take to those 3 videos should be able to drive the alternate evergreen versions with a just few tactical changes, like using alternate dialogue, a little change in set dressing or wardrobe, or some new on-screen text. We'd expect each video to retain the same format, setups and messaging, but to strip away specific holiday elements so that they can continue to be used once the winter season has passed. Having said all that, if you feel that you can execute 6 totally unique concepts, both creatively and from a budgetary standpoint, Navy Federal is open to it.
Messaging will be key here, and there are three specific topics that Navy Federal wants these videos to cover. Those topics are below, but you'll find an overview of the important information that we'll need to touch upon in the the Background, along with some other key messaging points and video references. Ultimately it will be up to you to distill everything down, and craft it into a cohesive script. These are primarily brand-awareness pieces, so while the tone can be light-hearted and humorous we still want the main focus to be the brand.
In terms of the creative format and approach, Navy Federal is primarily looking for live-action videos, and you must use live action for the cashRewards & cashRewards Plus video, but they're open to other formats for the other videos, if you wanted to change it up, and go with a completely different medium, like stop motion, motion graphics, miniatures, 2D animation, etc. Regardless of the execution, some thought should be given to just how you are going to communicate the overarching message, which could be through voiceover, direct-to-camera dialogue, or even dialogue between talent. Knowing that the brand is looking for particularly savvy social content, "live-action" can include everything from selfie-style content to green-screen explainer formats with real talent and key visuals, or even more social-specific approaches like Vlogs, testimonials, skits, or some other recent trend as long as it fits, and makes sense, within the specific theme for that video. This is a chance to have fun - think gift giving for the Membership/Eligibility video or a movie inspired execution where the payoff is learning that you don't need to booby trap your home for protection against scammers when you have Navy Federal's 24/7 Fraud monitoring - as long as the messaging and tone are still explicitly Navy Federal.
In terms of execution, this can either be smartphone-shot content with more limited lighting and production design, or it can be (a little) more polished and professional. It is not necessary for you to have a large team or extensive production capacities to execute this project. As previously mentioned at their heart, these videos are brand awareness pieces that will prompt viewers to visit Navy Federal's website. The messaging to check out the Navy Federal website will be handled in the post copy so there's no need to include that CTA in the videos themselves. They're not looking for overly elaborate "commercial" executions and the brand is most interested in having these videos feel native to social platforms. They do not want these videos to come off as generic, obvious advertisements.
In terms of the seasonal element, this is all about a thematic connection, so we'd obviously want to avoid anything that hinges on Santa Claus, for example, but how you make that connection is up to you. It could be very explicit, albeit without naming any particular secular or non-secular holiday, or it could be looser and more metaphorical, leaning into the overall vibe of the winter season. Not every video needs to take the exact same approach, so you have a lot of flexibility and latitude, as long the creative approach helps drive the messaging.
Captions (burned-in, per provided style guide) are required for all spoken content, so please plan your visuals accordingly keeping in mind safe zone placement on social channels, specifically adhering to Reels safe zones. Each video will be delivered in 9x16 and 1x1 so please plan your shoots keeping in mind both the vertical and square formats.
For any questions or other project updates, check out the Project Forum.
FOR YOUR PITCH: Your pitch treatment should include at least one approach, both winter/holiday & its alternate take, to one of the three topics. We want to know how you would execute the video(s), making it feel bespoke to the specific topic and theming while still fitting into Navy Federal's style/voice. Navy Federal will then work with the greenlit filmmaker to hone the creative approach. Feel free to include links to any existing TikTok videos (they don't have to be your own) that represent the style you'd be aiming for, if applicable.
DELIVERABLES: There are 12 total video assets.
EXPECTED TIMELINE: HERE
RELEVANT ASSETS: HERE
EXPOSURE: We expect content will be used on the platforms below, but if casting talent, be sure they review our required Talent Release before they're cast, as it is NOT limited to these platforms. You should also review our Music providers in the Project Requirements, as well as the platform best practices.
TARGET AUDIENCE:
TONE/FEEL: Engaging, informational, entertaining, relatable, clever, fun, lighthearted.
EXECUTIONAL MANDATORIES:
By participating in this project, creators acknowledge that the Sponsor is under no obligation to greenlight a submission. Though most projects do move forward, we'll notify you in the event the Sponsor decides not to fund any submissions via the Project Forum. Regardless of the result, all submissions will be reviewed and evaluated by the Sponsor and project team.
In order to be considered, include the below materials in your submission. For examples of effective pitches, check out this gallery. All Pitches remain private, even after a Pitch is selected, and Tongal strives to have Pitch selections made by the end of the Evaluation period, but additional time may be required by the Sponsor, depending on any number of factors. Unless specifically requested, there's no need to include a budget with your submission.