"The Startup Visa videos that Micro-Documentaries did for our GeeksOnaPlane trip to Washington DC were brilliant -- and they were game-changers for innovation and job creation in America. In less than 48 hours, we were able to shoot, produce, and deliver a high-quality video documentaries on how citizen-led, grassroots legislation can empower startup entrepreneurs to change the world, create jobs, and make our lives better."
Dave McClure, Co-Founder/Organizer at StartupVisa.com
Dave McClure, Co-Founder/Organizer at StartupVisa.com
Background:
To support continued innovation and job growth in the US, a major shortcoming in American visa policies must be overcome. If you are not a citizen and would like to work in the US, there’s an employee visa. If you’d like to come invest, there’s an investor visa. But if you are a foreigner and would like to come to the US to start a company, like the founders of Yahoo, Google, eBay, and many other global innovators, there’s no startup visa. Startup Visa is working to change this.
To support continued innovation and job growth in the US, a major shortcoming in American visa policies must be overcome. If you are not a citizen and would like to work in the US, there’s an employee visa. If you’d like to come invest, there’s an investor visa. But if you are a foreigner and would like to come to the US to start a company, like the founders of Yahoo, Google, eBay, and many other global innovators, there’s no startup visa. Startup Visa is working to change this.
Goals:
What We Did:
Within weeks of production:
- Appeal to Senators of the US Congress to make the case for a new law
- Provide specific details and perspective through the voice of the investor and the entrepreneur on the importance of a Startup Visa
- To inspire Congress and their constituents to take action
What We Did:
- To maximize the relevance for Congress, the individuals’ personal stories were presented within the context of the benefit to the Senators’ stakeholders
- In order to increase the chances that the 50-page report outlining the proposal was reviewed, we produced 1-2 minute micro-documentaries that would help the proposal stand out while quickly educating the audience on the topic at hand
- To drive rapid response and immediate action the micro-documentaries were distributed directly to Senators
Within weeks of production:
- The bill was introduced by Senator John Kerry (D-MA) and Richard Lugar (R-IN).
- The micro-documentaries were described as being “critical” in helping them understand the issue and gain support from other Senators
- The micro-documentaries were screened at the White House
- StartUp Visa received 2,000 letters of support and 150 top VC signatures
- Generated 2,800 tweets.
- What does your audience care about most? How can you present each story in the most relevant way for them?
- What information does your audience usually reveiw before making a decision? Is there an opportunity to increase their likelihood of considering the material by complementing it with a well-produced micro-documentary?
- In this case the largest impact was not from the number of views but instead from who saw the videos. Startup Visa achieved significant results by showing these videos to a targeted audience rather than just trying to get them out to as many people as possible. How can you best target your audience for greater results?
RSS Feed