Once we had the insight of P&G’s “lost history” of its inclusive EEO policy, it set us on a research and reporting mission to find the answer. With the help of P&G Brand Officer Marc Pritchard, we tracked down former employee Michael Chanak, who gave us the full story.

Fortunately, Chanak and his colleagues were meticulous record keepers, with documents covering every step of the lengthy process to change the EEO policy. After collecting Chanak’s story and analyzing the documents (as well as historical data), we developed the core storyline of the film. We knew that with such an important topic and such a visible company, getting the facts and the story right (while also conveying a powerful human story) was absolutely essential.

The final elements included combing through hours of archival footage and rendering the final product in the tell-tale visual and narrative style of our platform.

As mentioned, P&G is a marketing powerhouse that is well accustomed to airing high-quality 30-second commercials. But the brand had never before ventured into the realm of long-form documentary. The Words Matter was a first for the company. The film brought together our extensive interview footage with Chanak, as well as other key stakeholders at P&G, archival footage, and visual elements that are synonymous with our video platform.

We also coordinated a live event that featured a panel discussion with U.S. Olympic Medalist Gus Kenworthy, P&G's Chief Diversity Officer William P. Gipson, and P&G's Associate Director of Global Beauty Communications Brent Miller. This event was not only a PR push for the film, but it also served as a forum for honest, candid discussion of LGBTQ rights in the workplace, where we’ve been, and where we should be headed.

The Words Matter garnered:

- 3.42% engagement rate amongst viewers with an affinity towards social causes and short films. (+2.5X higher than our average documentary film).

- 32% completion rate on YouTube among first-party audiences and people interested in human rights and liberties (53% higher than our average).

- 1.5% engagement rate on Facebook (26% higher than our average).

- 6.8% completion rate on Facebook (66% higher than our average).