Produce a suite of three social videos for a Gen-Z target audience about the potential frustrations that arise when you make higher education a reality by taking out student loans.
It’s no secret that a college education has an increasing price tag, with the average cost of college in the United States upwards of $38k per year, including books, supplies, and daily living expenses. As these costs continue to rise, and as higher education remains a priority for many, future students are faced with some decisions about how they'll fund their college journey. From savings plans to federal loans, and from graduation day and beyond, there are lots of things to know about paying for college. To help out, Navy Federal Credit Union offers private student loans, as well as refinancing options for current student loan holders, and they have a host of valuable online college planning resources on their resource hub, MakingCents. Navy Federal is now looking to collaborate with a filmmaker to help get the word out about these resources, and create a fun set of social first videos that would focus on the college journey and the debt that may come with it.
The goal of this project is to create a suite of three :15 videos that encourage positive sentiment around private student loans and loan refinancing options. Navy Federal is looking to lean into a current social trend that shows people in different "eras" of their life. The three "eras" that Navy Federal's looking to target are the "Saving" era, the "Student" era, and the "Repayment" era, which essentially correspond to before, during, and after college. For more specifics and information on the "eras" please see the Background. We're picturing these to be selfie-style, with someone sharing their story and their feelings while discussing how they're handling this "era" in their life. Critically, they should also talk about specific resources from the Education Hub that they’ve used to help get through it.
Navy Federal is hoping to see different clever and unexpected ways to spotlight these "eras," but they're also open to ideas that don't focus on this "eras" trend completely, and that instead covers the topic of student loans in a different way - whether it's applying for, repaying one, or refinancing - but it should still have some sort of compelling hook or creative framework, as that's the upside to the "eras" approach.
In terms of format and execution, Navy Federal is primarily looking for live-action executions with VO or someone talking to camera, but if you have a particularly interesting idea, they are also open to animation, motion graphics, and even stop motion, so long as the proposed idea does not come across as too "youthful." Knowing that the brand is looking for particularly savvy social content, "live-action" can include selfie-style content or even green-screen formats that blend some live action with other visuals that provide an individuals perspective on the available resources. This can be smartphone-shot content with more limited lighting and production design, or it can be (a little) more polished and professional, as long as the core focus remains on the topics being broken down. It is not necessary for you to have a large team or extensive production capacities to execute this project.
At their heart, these videos are brand awareness pieces that share information that can be further expanded upon through the resource hub for College Planning on MakingCents. They're not looking for overly elaborate "commercial" executions and the brand is most interested in having these videos feel native to social platforms. They do not want these videos to come off as generic, obvious advertisements. If casting live-action, the brand is open to reusing the same cast, locations, and even music across all videos. Captions will need to burned into the final videos for any spoken word or VO. Please consider how this might impact your visuals keeping the text safe zones for the respective social platforms in mind.
Your pitch treatment should include at least one era video and one original Student Loan concept. We want to know how you would execute an original concept as well as your idea on how to tackle the "eras" trend to fit into Navy Federal's style/voice. Navy Federal will then work with the greenlit filmmaker to hone the concepts as well as deciding whether to stick to the three "eras" concepts or creating two videos around the "eras" trend and the third video with your honed in original concept. Feel free to include links to any existing TikTok videos (they don't have to be your own) that represent the style you'd be aiming for. Check out more information in the Background, and for any questions or other project updates, check out the Project Forum.
DELIVERABLES: There are 3 total videos assets.
EXPECTED TIMELINE: HERE
RELEVANT ASSETS: HERE
EXPOSURE: We expect content will be used on the platforms below, but if casting talent, be sure they review our required Talent Release before they're cast, as it is NOT limited to these platforms. You should also review our Music providers in the Project Requirements, as well as the platform best practices.
TARGET AUDIENCE: Keep in mind these are for a gen Z/millennial audience, so should be someone they can relate to. For early career active duty/military-themed, or any tie to military look, it should look like someone in the military or young veteran. Generally that means:
TONE/FEEL: Thoughtful, Earnest, Genuine, lighthearted, humorous but not overly silly, informative, inspiring.
EXECUTIONAL MANDATORIES:
By participating in this project, creators acknowledge that the Sponsor is under no obligation to greenlight a submission. Though most projects do move forward, we'll notify you in the event the Sponsor decides not to fund any submissions via the Project Forum. Regardless of the result, all submissions will be reviewed and evaluated by the Sponsor and project team.
MORE DETAIL ABOUT THE STUDENT LOAN ERAS:
NAVY FEDERAL SOCIAL CHANNELS:
HELPFUL REFERENCE VIDEOS THAT NAVY FEDERAL LIKES FOR INSPIRATION:
In order to be considered, include the below materials in your submission. For examples of effective pitches, check out this gallery. All Pitches remain private, even after a Pitch is selected, and Tongal strives to have Pitch selections made by the end of the Evaluation period, but additional time may be required by the Sponsor, depending on any number of factors.
The most compelling pitch will be greenlit by the Sponsor, and the responsible creator will then receive an email from Tongal producers detailing next steps. All submitters will also receive an automated email notification that a selection has been announced. To ensure you’re receiving project updates, review your email settings to check that you haven’t unsubscribed.
Creators who’ve been selected will receive funding upon completing the Winner Affidavit and the IP Assignment. Payment of the pitch funds is subject to a payment schedule determined by Tongal, typically included with the project timeline.
PRE-PRODUCTION REQUIREMENTS: Prior to the commencement of actual production, creators MUST receive final approval from the Sponsor on the elements below. There may be multiple rounds of feedback until an element is approved.
If you begin production before you have received final approval, you may need to reshoot or reanimate at your own expense.
For convenience, we've provided some helpful templates that you can consider using for pre-production materials, and they can all be accessed here.
BUILDING YOUR TEAM: Looking for help? Post crew and production opportunities connected to Tongal projects on Backlot. Backlot includes search tools to help you find collaborators and crew by role, skill set, location, and more, for productions of any size and type. Tongal also supports inclusivity in all productions, and strongly encourages you to hire diverse talent for your team. To find additional options for staff & crew in your area, check out these resources and partners.
REVISION REQUIREMENTS & RESOURCES: Once Content has been submitted and the initial Production Phase completed, greenlit creators will enter into Revisions. Creators will perform reasonable edits on their videos according to the Sponsor's feedback. Check out our Filmmaker Resource Portal to access helpful post-production resources like Text-Safe Guides for different platforms, Project File Organization Tutorial, Export Presets, and Captioning services.
MUSIC: If you use music from a library for your content, you MUST use one of Tongal's music providers: Jingle Punks and Universal Production Music. Music from these providers is available to registered Tongal members at no charge solely for their incorporation into submissions to this project, and will not require a Music Release Form. To learn more, click on any of the providers' names above.
If you choose to use original music, you must fill out and submit our Music Release Form. Please ensure your composer reviews and signs this form BEFORE beginning their work.
STOCK FOOTAGE: Tongal has partnered with the stock footage library STORYBLOCKS, which can be used to source video clips, photography, and After Effects templates for your video submission to this project. Video or photo content from Storyblocks is available at no charge, solely for incorporation into submissions on this project, and will not require a separate Release Form. If identifiable people or intellectual property appears in a video clip or photo, you may only utilize assets that are clearly marked “Model released: Yes” or “Property release: Yes” on the clip description pages. You may not use any audio.
If you intend to use Storyblocks, inform your Tongal producer, and an account will be created for you to access the library. Once assets are approved for delivery, you must provide a complete list of all Storyblocks content that you used via our template HERE.
ASSET DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS & RESOURCES: You must also provide all project files, editing sequences and a 1080p .mov master file, using a ProRes, Animation, or Uncompressed Codec in order to submit final payment. You are responsible for any costs associated with the hard drive and shipping. Tongal also reserves the right to request all raw files associated with the project.
To ensure a smoother delivery, please review the Export Presets, Specifications, and Project File Organization Tutorial in our Filmmaker Resource Portal.