Interview With Katharina Gröller From Germany

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Katharina Gröller

Silgan Closures GmbH and Katharina Gröller created Glame to get people to use reusable glass and metal containers instead!



Interview with the 2022 NYX Video Awards Winner - Doug Fidler

1Please give us a brief bio of yourself and your background.

Hello, my name is Katharina Gröller and I am the project leader of the GLAME campaign. I live in Munich now, but I am originally from Vienna. I graduated from the Austrian Marketing University of Applied Sciences in 2019 with a Masters's Degree in marketing and consumer research. Now, I am an accomplished strategist and writer of creative concepts, and I enjoy using my skills to contribute to the exciting corporate movie projects that are realized at the film agency Al Dente Entertainment.

2What led you to become a videography professional?

Stories, but especially the psychology behind them, have always fascinated me. Why do stories cast such a spell on us? What is the magic formula behind them and how can we use it? Why do fairy tales always work in the same way? What is the secret behind the different genres in blockbusters? How do characters become heroes, enemies, lovers? How can we use the mechanics behind stories for corporate movies and for advertising? This may sound nerdy, but these are the questions that keep me busy every day. My job gives me the opportunity to write stories myself and bring them to life with probably the best media ever invented. After finishing a project, I usually scream with joy something like: It's alive! I guess that makes me the Doctor Frankenstein of stories.

3What is your role in the agency, and what traits should a videography professional possess to be successful in their role?

My job title is Digital Strategist.I don't think that says much about what I do, especially since I'm involved in so many aspects of our film agency: I do analyses, write concepts and strategies, present ideas to clients and coordinate the realization of projects all the way until distribution and beyond. I'm also involved in our storytelling and strategy workshops, which are a lot of fun. In addition, I take care of the content on our website and our social media channels.

In my opinion, an aspiring videographer should be open to all kinds of stories. You can learn an incredible amount from them. Even from stories that friends tell you, that you secretly listen to on the subway (...oops), that you see on streaming services and that you read in books. Be open and curious.

4Tell us more about your agency / company.

The film agency I work for - Al Dente Entertainment - is a mix between a communications consultancy, a film production and a digital agency. We consult our clients in detail, we look at their communication strategy, their mission, their vision and their values. We produce films and create entire campaigns around them. We help with the distribution of the content, because after all, it would be sad not to send it out into the world when it has already learned to fly ... That's what Al Dente Entertainment is all about.

5What is your own definition of great videography?

Great videography goes hand in hand with emotions. Even shots without people can be emotional. You have to be able to carry the viewer away and put them in a certain mood. If you can do that, you're a great videographer.

6Describe your videography style/flair and its main characteristics

My film concepts always focus on a clear theme, a hook, a header. Around this theme there is a clear story and a clear tonality. On the one hand, it's important that the story is credible and that it really fits to the company. On the other hand, it is necessary that the story is relevant and entertaining for the target audience. In the end, it's about the people and the feelings behind them. It's about stories.

7Tell us more about your ideation process.

My ideas usually come out of nowhere. When there's a new project, it's actually constantly buzzing around in the back of my head. Most of the time, ideas come to me spontaneously or also when some object, circumstance or something else in my environment - that can also be a movie I'm watching - happens to inspire me. I also have a lot of brainstorming sessions with my great colleagues. Here I can really fire up my creativity and good ideas will spring to mind.

8Congratulations! As the winner of the NYX Video Awards, what does it mean for you and your team to receive this distinction?

We are very happy about this award! Especially because the project is very close to our hearts with the big topic of sustainability. It clearly deserves an acknowledgement, and now it has received it.

9 How has winning an international award help to promote your agency and works?

We present our awards on our website and they are as well always part of our customer presentations. Of course, it is a special honor to win international awards. That's what our customers think, too.

10 What are the challenges of your winning entry(ies)?

A big challenge was that this project was so complex. So many content pieces, channels and communication measures had to be aligned and coordinated. Another challenge was that our client is a B2B company with B2B products. This means that the consumer is not familiar with it at all. However, this campaign was not supposed to be about the product, but about sustainability. It was important to our client and to us to give this topic even more attention. In order to do so, we created a completely new brand for the company: GLAME. Therefore, all social media channels had to be set up as well. In addition, many different communication measures were chosen, including an influencer campaign, which made the whole project even more complex despite few resources. In the end, however, a campaign was created that reached 1.5 million people. In other words, it was totally worth it.

11How has the country, you are based in, helped during your ideation process?

I can't really say anything about that.

12What are the current trends in the videography industry that you are most excited about?

I'm hyped about the trend of interactive videos. Interactive videos allow viewers to directly interact with the content they're viewing. For example, they can click on a product in a certain video and the web store opens in a new tab, or they can click on characters and a profile opens where they can read more about the character. The most exciting videos, however, are those where the viewer can influence the course of the action. Just like in video games. I think that the videography industry can learn a lot from the gaming industry.

13What are the top three (3) favorite things about the videography industry?
  • the sheer power of unleashed creativity
  • the openness for new ideas
  • the hands-on mentality
14What resources would you recommend to someone who is searching to improve their videography ideas and skills?

I would recommend watching as many YouTube tutorials as possible that revolve around the topic. I know this sounds pretty obvious, but there are so many great YouTube channels that can teach you an enormous amount. "Every frame a painting" for example, or "Now you see it", but also "Lessons from the screenplay" or "Just write" are great examples.

15Where do you see the evolution of the videography in the next 5-10 years?

I think everything will become much more interactive than it is today and the viewer will be able to influence the course of the narrative. That's already possible today. But I think there's more to come.

16Who inspired you in your life, and why?

My sister has always inspired me. She has a true talent for drawing and does it every day with so much passion. She can draw any scene without a template incredibly lifelike. Her pictures have always inspired me. Even for some of my stories.

17What is your key to success? Any parting words of wisdom?

The key to success is to be persistent. Even if someone tells you something is not good enough, you shouldn't give up. It doesn't matter what others think of your ideas. It matters that they matter to you. That's what makes them so valuable. Even J.K. Rowling didn't give up when her books were initially rejected everywhere. Now the whole world is reading her stories.

18Do you have anything else you would like to add for the interview?

If you have something good to tell, you should do it. The world needs stories.



Winning Entries

GLAME by Silgan Closures | 2021

GLAME-by-Silgan-Closures

INITIAL SITUATION: Silgan Closures is an international manufacturer of closures for food and beverage containers. The company is committed to greater sustainability and a greener future. Their goal: to convince consumers to choose the sustainable materials glass and metal. IMPLEMENTATION: We took this mission and formed the word ,,GLAME" from it, a compound of the words glass and metal. Our task: to develop a digital content campaign. And not only that: we were allowed to create and manage the entire social media presence as well as the landing page for the GLAME brand. RESULT: The campaign reached a total of 1.4 million users.
(read more at NYX Video Awards)

Katharina Gröller

Silgan Closures GmbH and Katharina Gröller created Glame to get people to use reusable glass and metal containers instead!


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