Every year, McGill celebrates National Philanthropy Day, and leverages it as an opportunity to recognize the generosity of our donors, and solicit non-donors. This year, we created a “Day in the Life of a McGill Student” video for an email and social media campaign. Beyond the goal of increasing dollars raised over previous years, this was also an opportunity to experiment with video. We wanted find a creative way to educate our audience on the impact of philanthropy on a McGill student’s daily life. Stepping outside of our typical video style ("talking heads"), we pushed the boundaries and created a selfie-style video shot mostly from an iPhone—complete with some more polished footage of students and campus.
From the Judges
This entry really stood out. The "day in the life" theme felt authentic, underscored by the mobile phone recordings. We appreciated all the details that enabled this video to share a true student voice. We felt that pointing out all the things on campus that donors make possible was particularly effective stewardship. We also very much liked the student point of view, and seeing inside a dental school. We were truly impressed by the outcomes and impact relative to costs and goals.
Day in the life of a McGill student. Made possible by you.
