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CATEGORIES: TECHNOLOGY, SALES The Client Squirrel Business Hub The Problem Squirrel is a fast-growing technology consulting firm that specialises in the installation, configuration, and integration of business systems—in particular Customer Relationship Management systems (CRMs).  Every business reaches a point at which they need a CRM to handle incoming leads and customer conversations. Unfortunately most small businesses owners don’t even know what a CRM does. Our Approach We believe that education is the most powerful sales strategy. The goal of this video was to build authority and trust with the audience by explaining what a CRM is and how it helps a business function more effectively. The Squirrel brand is one that is very approachable and friendly. Much like the mascot at the heart of the brand, there is an element of fun and cute in the way that “Squirrelies” portray themselves to the world. As a result, we knew that it would be important that the video reinforce the fact that, while technology can be intimidating and scary, your technology partner need not be.  Our Solution We opted for a first-person view of the customer, so that the target audience would see themselves in the story, and the pain relayed by the narrator would resonate. The client was so happy with the video script that the final line: “for all the things you didn’t get into business to do” would go on to become the marketing tagline adopted by the business. To present the solutions that the Squirrel team offers its clients as non-scary, we peppered the technical explanations with squirrels and fluffy, friendly “cloud” creatures throughout the video.  A hand-drawn explainer video is an effective tool for educating without being patronising. While it was necessary for us to introduce some terminology, we:
Client Testimonials
“We have that video on the home page of our website for a reason—it beautifully communicates everything that we want potential customers to know about what we do before we start a conversation with them. It’s perfect!” —Kylie Harker, Founder More Information For more details on this project, or to learn how Sketch Group can help you make an impact by sketching your story, contact our friendly team:
CATEGORIES: NOT-FOR-PROFIT, VISUAL FACILITATION, ILLUSTRATION The Client Victorian Department of Health & Human Services The Challenge We feel extraordinarily lucky on a regular basis that we get to partner with clients doing work that matters, so we were humbled when the Department of Health & Human Services approached us to map the journey of foster carers from initial interest to multiple children and beyond.. One of the biggest challenges in this space is there is a higher demand for foster carers than are available, so there is a real need for efforts in educating and inspiring others to take this journey. Getting people together with a lived experience, and enabling them to feel safe enough to share their story was a huge part of this exercise. Once we elicited their stories, we were able to illustrate the journey in a way that made sense as a poster to raise awareness and validate the important role that existing carers play. Our Approach We worked with folks from DHHS and the Foster Carer's Association of Victoria to:
 Our Solution Because of the sensitive nature of the subject matter, we decided collectively that there was value in creating two versions of the poster—one that would be useful for recruiting, retaining, and raising awareness of foster carers, and another version that was more suitable for internal use. This internal version was more focussed on helping members of DHHS and agencies to identify opportunities where the overall system could be improved. We were faced with the challenge of walking a fine line between wanting to shout from the rooftops about what amazing work foster carers do for our community, with painting a realistic picture that accurately portrays the fact that being a foster carer is hard. Some of the stories that came out on the day were heartbreaking, and the weight of responsibility to capture and visualise those emotions was enormous. 
The Outcome  We were extremely proud of the final result, which was a truly collaborative effort from the department, agencies, carers, advocates, and several members of the Sketch Group team. With this journey map, the Victorian Government and the Foster Carer’s Association are better equipped to explain what is involved, manage people’s expectations, and encourage more Victorians to volunteer to foster a child. Client Testimonials “I love it. I think it is perfect.” — Katie Hooper Chief Executive Officer, Foster Care Association of Victoria More Information For more details on this project, or to learn how Sketch Group can help you make an impact by sketching your story, contact our friendly team:
 CATEGORIES: EDUCATION, LIVE SKETCHING, LOCAL GOVERNMENT The Client Mount Alexander Shire The Problem Educating children about how to stay safe outdoors—for example, when cycling, camping, interacting with animals, or during a natural disasters like bushfire or flood—can be a tough sell. For it to be received effectively, educational content needs to be experiential, delivered using variety, interactivity, and novelty. Our Approach The team from Mount Alexander Shire did a great job of creating a range of outdoor stalls for school groups to visit on the day. We complemented these efforts by providing a graphic recorder to visualise the content on a large canvas.   The Outcome
The canvas was attached to a portable GraphicWall, which meant it could be easily moved between stalls and was therefore visible when it added the most value. The final canvas captured some of the highlights, and served as a record of “safety tips” for teaching staff, to remind students how to stay safe in a colourful and fun way. Photographs of the canvas served as useful marketing assets to celebrate the success of the event via official communication channels, such as the local council’s email newsletters and social media accounts. Client Testimonials “[The graphic recorder provided] Another dimension to the day by providing excitement and fun to participants (kids) and facilitators while sketching the main points of each presentation. Matthew communicated extremely well with participants and organisers and showed a genuine interest in the project and objectives we were delivering to assist with keeping children and their families safe and prepared for emergency. Credit to Matthew.” -- Luke Ryan, SAFE organiser More Information For more details on this project, or to learn how Sketch Group can help you make an impact by sketching your story, contact our friendly team:
CATEGORIES: FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, TRAINING Our Solution Sketch video is a powerful medium when the subject matter relates to topics that are either sensitive or cross-cultural boundaries. Illustrating scenarios, rather than filming them, is a cost-effective way to capture the nuances of interactions that have the potential to be emotionally charged. Using illustration also allows for sophisticated concepts to be effectively presented—and received—by an audience who may or may not understand every word in the voiced script. Watch the video on YouTube.  The Outcome The video has been viewed nearly 5,000 times. We also assisted in translating the video into other languages, including Mandarin, Hindi, Vietnamese, Malay, Indonesian, and Korean.  Client Testimonials
“Wow, it looks great! Thanks so much Kerstin. And thank you for getting it done so quickly. We’re very happy with it.” “Just wanted to let you know the video was very well received at the student conference last week, so we were really happy [with] the response.” —Melita Hoskin More Information For more details on this project, or to learn how Sketch Group can help you make an impact by sketching your story, contact our friendly team: Telephone: 1300 SKETCH Email: hello@sketchgroup.com Web: www.sketchgroup.com CATEGORIES: NOT-FOR-PROFIT, ILLUSTRATION The Client The Big Issue The Problem The Big Issue is a not-for-profit social enterprise dedicated to supporting and creating work opportunities for homeless, marginalised and disadvantaged people. They are best known for their fortnightly, independent magazine, which is sold on the streets by vendors. These vendors are not asking for charity. By selling the magazines, they are running a microbusiness, and The Big Issue is helping them to help themselves. Unfortunately, this concept is not well understood by the general public. Our Approach We met with the client and workshopped ways that the concept could be communicated. Our empathy forecast activity helped to elicit some of the assumptions made by members of the public, and the internal conversations that vendors have. This helped to extract multiple layers to the message, including:
  We explored the possibility of communicating this message, and the unique business model, as a comic strip. After several iterations, we hit upon the concept of a single diagram depicting what is a virtuous cycle: make -> buy -> sell  Our Solution The final image combined scenes from the original comic strip with the diagram depicting the cycle, with the vendor pictured at the centre of the process. We delivered portrait and landscape versions of the diagram, so that the magazine publishing team could fill half- or full-page slots when there were advertising slots that had not been sold.  The Outcome The image was an absolute stand-out success, and led to additional work with The Big Issue for us to evolve the concept into an animated video. What began as a simple diagram to fill pages in the magazine in lieu of advertising slots evolved into a multi-media campaign that was screened nationally on free-to-air television, cinemas, and large outdoor displays in Melbourne’s CBD, as well as continued reach via The Big Issue’s various social media channels. But the real impact was a growth in confidence in vendors, which came from them having a tool to clearly explain that they were not seeking charity, but were in fact running a microbusiness.
Client Testimonials “The sketch clearly articulated The Big Issue model. It was really helpful to distil the transaction simply as ‘Buy, Make, Sell’—it showed that the ‘Make’ component was central to the enterprise. Without the creation of a magazine, there is nothing for vendors to sell! The central element of the sketch clearly conveyed the sustainability of the model and the central role that the vendor plays. It packed a lot of information into one infographic.” —Louise Gray More Information For more details on this project, or to learn how Sketch Group can help you make an impact by sketching your story, contact our friendly team:
CATEGORIES: INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS, MOTION GRAPHICS The Client AustralianSuper The Problem Making superannuation fun is a tough ask. And communicating the principles of measured risk within the superannuation world is even more difficult. But that was the challenge that AustralianSuper set us. How to educate the investment team on when to take risks, what parameters to adhere to, and how and when to report incidents are all important—but boring—messages to get across to the entire team. Our Approach We worked with AustralianSuper to create a series of animated videos that illustrated these concepts in a way that was light-hearted, but still accurate and carried the gravitas required for these big topics. Our first step was to establish a character that could be used across multiple stories. Having a recognisable face would provide for continuity and create anticipation with each new story released. The character we created was “Wriskers”, a mouse. This choice of animal came from the popular “cheese model” that is prevalent throughout the world of risk. The concept stems from the holes that occur in Swiss cheese, and when we proposed the idea during the proposal stage, the client fell in love with it immediately.  Given the client had well established brand guidelines, it was important that Wriskers—and every other element created for the video series—fit in with the rest of the existing brand colour palette, style, tone, and choice of language. Our Solution  The videos that we created for the Risk team at AustralianSuper are those of which we are most proud. The combination of challenges made for an extremely rewarding project, namely:
The Outcome The “Risk Matters” internal campaign was a huge success. After the first video in the series was published to the staff intranet, inquiries began about when the next in the series would be released. Pageviews of each video reflected a high degree of engagement, and the team capitalised on “Wriskers” becoming the local office mascot by extending his presence to other marketing collateral. Client Testimonials “The Risk Matters animated videos from Sketch Group were such a hit, and the team were wonderful to work with. We had too many cooks in the kitchen, but they were incredibly patient and delivered something that we are really proud of. I can’t wait to partner with them on another project soon!” —Julianne Dowse, Change Manager More Information For more details on this project, or to learn how Sketch Group can help you make an impact by sketching your story, contact our friendly team:
CATEGORIES: BRANDING, TRAINING The Client VELCRO® Australia The Problem VELCRO® is a known and respected brand around the world. But the trademark is often misused, and the language used by suppliers and customers when describing the range of products can be inconsistent and wrong. The VELCRO® team wanted to educate people in the correct way to use the brand, and do so in an engaging and understandable way. Our Approach We opted to use a carrot rather than a stick when it came to educating users on how to refer to the VELCRO® Brand trademark. We knew that creating a fun, light-hearted and engaging video would illuminate problems and solutions with a smile. We facilitated an empathy forecast session to gain clarity on the VELCRO® brand and the message. The exercise also shed some light on how distributors and partners feel about the brand, and some assumptions that they make. We used the outcomes of this activity to distil the language and key points that needed to be in the video, to ensure the desired message would be heard, supported and remembered. Our Solution Because we shoot our sketch videos in a studio, rather than utilising a software tool to mimic a hand bouncing around on screen, we are able to bring additional items onto the canvas other than just a pen and paper. In this case, it made perfect sense for us to use some of the much loved and instantly recognisable VELCRO® brand products, and combine them with sketching to bring the messages to life in a unique, memorable, and colourful way.  The Outcome The video was well received by the client, and anecdotally was a success with distribution partners as well—anecdotally, the client has seen a decrease in the number of partners that discuss, promote, or request VELCRO® brand products incorrectly after watching the video. And the client now has a video resource that will be used for many years to come to protect their brand, image, and trust in their products. Client Testimonial
“The problem that faced Velcro Australia was trying to educate our distributors that we are a brand and that we should not be referred to as a noun or adjective. We wanted to ensure that our trademark was protected and displayed in the correct manner at all times, when referring to our genuine hook and loop fasteners. The sketch video created was ideal for conveying our message. It put across the message of trademark hygiene in a fun and engaging way which we thought may not be possible. The video is used regularly to help protect and train our stakeholders of the importance of our beloved trademark.” —Xavier Poynton, Marketing Manager More Information For more details on this project, or to learn how Sketch Group can help you make an impact by sketching your story, contact our friendly team:
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AuthorMatt is Chief Doodler at Sketch Group. He has contributed to several books on visual thinking, most recently The World of Visual Facilitation. 
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