When approached by the Broadband Association of North Dakota to create a written piece that continued to raise awareness for who BAND is and to illustrate how North Dakotans are benefitting from broadband in rural communities, we did so by highlighting two customers testimonials interwoven with two BAND representatives. Broadband provided by the member companies that make up BAND has made it possible for diverse industries, from manufacturing to music, to thrive in rural North Dakota–hence the “Welcome to the New Rural” campaign began to take shape.
Connecting Rural North Dakota
The Project
This campaign focused on the impact that broadband has had on rural North Dakota and the steady, guiding hand that BAND has played since 1953.
The primary focus of the campaign was a Mini Film featuring two member organizations: WRT’s relationship with GS Publishing and MLGC’s relationship with musician and guitar instructor Steve Stine. We also created a shorter stand-alone feature film for both member organizations, as well as a 30-second spot for BAND to tie the whole campaign together. By combining captivating b-roll with beautifully captured interviews, we felt that we, not only told the story but captured the spirit of the culture of these two organizations.
The Stories
Steve Stine’s story was a creative highlight for our team. He’s known as the world’s most sought-after guitar instructor. Famous for his ability to help students improve their playing while having fun, he also holds a bachelor’s degree in music education and toured as an artist throughout the U.S. and U.K. He’s helped millions of guitarists all over the world.
We filmed the Jill portion of the story shortly after the world began to shut down. Our team was limited to a two-man crew and managed to complete BAND’s vision through the difficulties of COVID securities as well as limited access and schedules.
Even though we started filming the project as the world was shutting down due to COVID 19, we managed to express how diverse (from machinery to guitar lessons) the broadband industry’s impact on rural North Dakota is.
