Welcoming Week Videos
Cultivating a culture of welcome takes many forms. This promotional and documentary series helped to tell local stories around immigrants and entrepreneurship in Cedar Rapids Iowa.
In 2020 and 2021, the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance aimed to showcase Welcoming Week through engaging, shareable videos.
They partnered with Murdock Media Production to script and film a series of short videos promoting diversity and inclusivity in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
The videos highlight the program’s core messages, emphasizing the economic, workforce, and cultural contributions that immigrants and newcomers bring to building and sustaining the United States.
Laying the Groundwork: Framing the Creative Challenge
Ambiance and Tone
Development began with several planning meetings to determine who should be featured in the videos. As a member-driven organization, the Metro Economic Alliance initially sought to highlight its own members. However, many diverse, immigrant business owners have not joined the organization.
Cultural organizations—such as Latino Fest, Asian Fest, Inclusive ICR, and the African American Museum—are well connected and active members of the Economic Alliance.
By expanding our reach to include these organizations, we were able to bring in a wider range of voices, creating a more inclusive and welcoming story.
To build early awareness and generate excitement for the campaign, we released a teaser video titled “Voices of Welcome.” In it, each participant shared the phrase “You belong here” in their own language.
Launch
The main video featured a scripted voiceover and included remarks from various community leaders, including representatives from the Catherine McAuley Center, where immigrants access support such as language classes, citizenship assistance, and entrepreneurial training.
On Facebook, this video received 31 shares, 11 comments and 271 reacts, reaching more than 7,000 viewers organically.
Welcoming Wings
Welcoming Wings was designed to celebrate the many cultures that have shaped and continue to influence Cedar Rapids. In partnership with the Catherine McAuley Center, we collaborated with their youth program to film dances that showcase the city’s diversity.
On Facebook, this video received 97 shares, 17 comments and 320 reacts, resulting in thousands of organic views.
Conducting Immigrant Interviews
In 2020, we conducted three interviews with immigrants, capturing their personal journeys and experiences. These interviews were edited and released in 2021, with a revised script and the addition of EA employee Caleb Woods to provide context and describe the program.
Results
The primary Welcoming Week video of 2021 reached more than 28,000 viewers in a city with a population of 136,000. Organically, each video reached more than 7000 people.
Ready to celebrate the value of diversity and to impact communities, economies, and those who make up our community?
Contact Murdock Media Production today. We’ll help you develop your video from concept through implementation, and document the work for your website and social media along the way.
