To supplement a feature story and podcast story we were doing about bats, we wanted to create a fun social media video that could also serve as a Halloween and spooky season "present" to our followers. The bat researcher we were highlighting had provided us with photos from the field of various bats and we hit upon the idea that we should "brand" each of the bats to correspond with a different school in the University of California system as well as a different bat-pun singer and song that shared bat facts. The resulting video broke all our previous records for engagement and was shared across all UCLA and UC systemwide social media. In addition to sparking interest in the accompanying podcast and story, this social media video increased viewers' knowledge of and interest in bats.
From the Judges
Bat Wingsteen and Fleetwood Bat! We loved the creative approach this team took that was truly original. The song was hilarious and well thought out. The fun they had coming up with the concept came through in the final product. The link with a research program was genius. Great work, team!
