How The Gift of Giving Was Born
As a TV News reporter, I relished the opportunity to let human emotion and real life characters tell a story for me. The best reporters in the world are masters of this art…they step aside, limit their commentary, and tell the story through the voice of the true hero, the subject at the heart of the story.
Fast-forward to my current marketing role at a major retailer. The job is different in title, and the audience and medium are certainly different - but the root of my job remains the same: tell compelling stories. Sometimes it's a product story. Sometimes it's a sale story.
But, on very rare occasions, we get to highlight those most important: the shopper. While some brands may spend their ad dollars celebrating themselves and how chic or clever they are, I was given the opportunity to celebrate the sometimes least-celebrated - the customer.
But it didn't start out that way. It actually started as a social experiment. See, the essence of the holidays is the connection we make with friends and family members, often manifested in the exchanging of gifts. The moment you give or get that wrapped box: there's anticipation - and then the look of appreciation, surprise, delight in the receiver - and, of course, the joy felt by the giver. That moment - that "Just got jingled" moment is an amazing thing. So we asked "what part of that "Just Got Jingled" moment is the best part? Giving or receiving?"
What I thought was going to be a fun, laughter filled project turned into one of the most emotional stories I ever worked on. Strangers, giving gifts to strangers - smiling, hugging and sharing a moment - was heart warming. The genuine emotion was profound - and profoundly unexpected.
A lot of the people I talked to likely had to make the decision between a new pair of shoes or a tank of gas. And to offer them the gift of a new purse or jacket that might have been on the "want" list and not necessarily the "need" list - was a special thing to watch. And it paid back the giver ten-fold.
Just watch the emotion. I've seen this video a hundred times - and it still gets me.
The agencies I had the opportunity to work with - all the production crews and editing teams - were amazing. We knew when we set out to do this that it would be special. But the inspiration each of us felt from watching the gift of giving in action far exceeded our wildest expectations.
So my one hope for this video is that each person that watches is it compelled to do a little something for someone else. It might be a friend, or even a stranger.
Because, as woman in the video so eloquently put it: When you give, you grow. And hopefully we can all help each other grow a little bit this holiday season.
@SeanWRyan
