From the Nominator

"Each year, Mount Paran Christian School sends an e-greeting Christmas message to its entire community. The aim is to wish the community a Merry Christmas via video message. In recent years, the video Christmas greeting included a musical performance by the preschool nativity. In 2020, the video included a visual spotlight of the inaugural MPCS Family Christmas event (during COVID). 

The idea for the 2021 Christmas message was born from COVID. The marketing team wanted to strategically share a happy, cheerful message that included the head of school. The concern was that too many recent videos from the head of school had been somber in tone, as they relayed serious and important COVID protocols and messages. Marketing wanted to show the lighthearted side of the head of school, while also offering something fun and entertaining to brighten the spirits of the school community. Secondarily, the video spotlighted multiple locations on campus and included multiple departments and all grade levels. 

The video concept was to have the MPCS Head of School Dr. Tim Wiens dress in festive holiday attire, singing and dancing his way across campus. The aim was to achieve a seamless, one-take feel, with upbeat music and a positive, joyful vibe. The feedback from the MPCS community was entirely positive. The email greeting garnered a 34% increase in open rates from the previous year. Across all social media channels, the video has been viewed more than 4,000 times, impressive for a PK-12 independent school of only 1,250 students."

From the Judges

The video successfully portrays the festive and joyful atmosphere of Christmas. Engaged a whole lot of people who clearly were having a good time. Kudos to the head of school for being willing to be silly--and nice job singing! Their results are extremely impressive, and all of it was done with very few resources and time.