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Translating Research for the Social Age.
Client Brief:
RAND is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization that equips decision-makers and the public with rigorously vetted, evidence-based insights. With a reputation for academic excellence, RAND works at the forefront of today’s most pressing social, political, and economic issues.
RAND produces world-class research, but their voice wasn’t reaching modern, digital-native audiences. They needed to surface relevant work and elevate the experts behind it, without compromising the credibility and scholarly tone that defines their legacy. The challenge was to make serious research social without dumbing it down.
Agency Process:
The goal was to blend the upbeat energy of social media with the professionalism and trust associated with RAND. We found unique locations across the RAND campus and staged the rooms to be academic, but inviting. Scripts were paired with custom animations and graphics to make complex ideas both informative and digestible for social platforms. Production included scripting, storyboarding, location staging, and monthly half-day shoots with the featured talent.
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Project Execution:
We built a short-form video strategy from scratch designing a style that merged digital fluency with academic integrity. dpgw handled creative direction, scripting, and production for a series optimized for Instagram Reels and other emerging platforms. The framework we created was clear, direct, and repeatable making complex topics digestible while respecting the subject matter.
Impact:
The videos helped RAND successfully step into the world of social storytelling, earning hundreds of thousands of views and drawing in new, younger audiences. Our creative model became a blueprint not just for RAND, but for other institutions navigating how to communicate serious ideas in modern formats.
