A Mammoth of a Creative Data Project
Strategy, Digital Content, Video, and Promotion for the WayBase 2022 National Survey Report
The Backstory
WayBase was a Canadian data and tech startup with a mission to organize the data of the Christian sector and connect churches and ministries to work together for greater impact.
One of its flagship offerings was the largest annual national survey of Canadian Christian leaders—representing 33,000+ organizations.
Starting in 2020, WayBase was empirically gathering, organizing, and documenting the impact of the COVID-19 on the Christian sector.
In late 2021 I was brought into this project in my capacity as Director, to lead the strategy, comms, creative, and promo for the 2022 national survey.
Much like for everyone else, COVID-19 was the greatest disruptor to the Christian sector since World War II.
The Approach
A problem we identified was that while our target audience valued in-depth research and needed proof to feel confident in this report, they didn’t really have time and felt overwhelmed by the mountain of information.
Sure a detailed appendix and citations offered security, but what they needed was that one pie chart and bullet point, or that 15 second video clip.
This was my inspiration in creating a library of content that turned this massive report into many bite-sized pieces our audience could snack on for months.
My idea was to turn the report into six one-minutes videos, reduce the summary report by 50%, design each page to work as a solo slide, and create short content for social.
The full report and summary report dropped in April 2022, but the posts, slides, and videos would surface for weeks to come.
“Strategy is not a long planning document; it is a set of interrelated and powerful choices that positions the organization to win.”
Roger Martin
Summary of Contributions
Strategy and Leadership
In-depth review of the 2021 national survey and report to identify wins, losses, and opportunities for growth.
Created the strategy and communications plan for the 2022 report, identifying the winning aspiration, primary objectives, measurable goals, tactics, and KPIs.
Worked with stakeholders from Senior, Data, and Dev teams, as well as external researchers and national partners to ensure everyone is aligned with our shared primary objectives.
Wrote the creative brief for all report deliverables (video, PDF, social).
Created a six month critical path that set every key milestone and deadline for gathering, production, and distribution.
Content and Design
Worked with Data Team and Researchers to review results and uncover the story the data was telling.
Crafted key message, talking points, and storylines for the report.
Brought Marcelo Hong (Leo Burnett) as Design Director to collaborate on creating the design system, and Designer Kezia Widjanarko to create the report deliverables in French and English.
Deadlines were tight, so I jumped on InDesign for edits and revisions to wrap this project.
Worked with a Senior UI Designer to create the updated report page for the WayBase website.
Creative direction and content for the fun social media assets that Talia Creative designed.
All copywriting and editing: both reports, web content, social, email, and video scripts.
Production and Promotion
Storyboarding, script writing, and creative for the six one-minute report highlight videos.
Produced and directed the videos, shot by Chris Van Dijk (Solid Films), edited by Alex Brier, with motion by Jonah Fortin, and audio by Christian Nikodemus.
Created email campaign to distribute the report and wrote copy for all emails.
Directed our Social Media Coordinator in creating a content schedule and writing copy for social.
Coordinated partnerships with well known organizations and people in the Canadian Christian and leadership space.
Worked with Graf-Martin to craft the approach for the press release, and coordinated media requests for interviews or content.
“The work David did with the 2022 National Report took us to a new stratosphere. Our report looked more professional and inviting than before and our audience talked about it for months!”
Sandra Nicholas, COO WayBase
