Brand Storytelling & Scriptwriting
Creating brands with an emotional difference helps people get a deeper sense about your company and what makes it so special. One of the most powerful ways to tell great brand stories is through video. A combination of inspiring music and captivating visuals engages people on a deeper level than audio or text alone.
“A Great Marketing Executive has a passion for what they do! They have old school values, classic storytelling skills, and have their fingers on the pulse of new technology. Enter Maria Grimardi. Her body of work speaks for itself, her integrity is unsurpassed, and her ethics rock solid.”
~ Will Harper, Emmy-award winning Director and CEO, The GTC Group
Video Production Management
From big-picture thinking to tiny details, I aim to create impactful brand narratives using strategic storytelling and inspiring visuals from ideation through execution. I oversee every stage of a video production, which entails:
Planning Stage
Scheduled all video shoots
Wrote Request for Proposals to secure resources
Hired cinematographers, stylists, and assistants
Casted for models and talent
Arranged all flights and transportation
Managed the budget
Created briefs and mood-boards for inspiration and reference, along with wardrobe and prop lists for stylist
Wrote preliminary scripts to ensure visual assets were captured for corporate and brand videos
Execution Stage
Managed day-to-day logistics onboard and onshore, including working with European Director of Product on location shots
Developed detailed daily schedules and shot lists
Oversaw creative direction collaborating with cinematographers, stylists, and talent to ensure the visuals communicated showcased the brand’s tone, voice, vision, values, and story
Worked with onboard staff to incorporate crew members into service shots, as well as captain on ship maneuvering to capture exterior ship shots in iconic destinations
Post-Production Stage
Collaborated with cinematographers on asset selection and management
Worked with in-house design team on the cataloging of video assets
Finalized all scripts
Worked with cinematographers on voiceovers and music
Worked with graphic designers on final packaging
Managed video distribution strategy
“A New Way To See The Old World”
By 2010, the successful rebranding of Uniworld from “Grand River Cruises” to the “World’s Only Authentic Boutique Cruise Line,” was achieved. While this was a milestone for the company, river cruising was still somewhat elusive as people didn’t fully understand what river cruising was all about, and they didn’t understand why traveling with Uniworld would be their best choice.
The Brief: Develop a story about a couple who stayed at Uniworld’s sister company, The Red Carnation Hotels. They decided to take a river cruise with Uniworld because of the wonderful experience they had with Red Carnation. Not only did this story reflect the beauty of river cruising and its many benefits, it continued to help reinforce the “boutique” uniqueness of the Uniworld brand and the synergistic relationship with their sister company, Red Carnation Hotels. In addition, this couple represented Uniworld’s core demographic, which helps the audience better relate to the story.
“Through The Guests’ Eyes”
One of the best ways to communicate to your audience is through the guests’ eyes. Real guests can share their experience, which often builds a deeper connection with the audience. Since Uniworld’s primary demographic comes from North America, Australia, and the UK, we asked guests from these regions to share their stories and experiences.
The Brief: Interview real guests onboard, sharing their experience.
“Our World Begins With You”
Of all the videos I developed storylines around, this was one of the most meaningful for me. One of Uniworld’s strategic brand pillars focuses on service, the crew, and their motto of “No request too large, no detail too small.” When listening to Uniworld’s crew share their experiences and why they work for the company, you can feel their genuine commitment to Uniworld and their desire to provide the guests with the absolute best experience.
The Brief: Bring members of the crew together to share their insight on what makes Uniworld the absolute best river cruise line, and they did just that.
“All-Inclusive Luxury Travel”
In 2005, the river cruising was not a particularly popular way to travel. At that time, there were only a handful of competitors; however, by 2015, the competition doubled. Every river cruise line clamored to communicate they were the best, most luxurious, and most all-inclusive that it was becoming hard to differentiate who really provided the most included value.
The Brief: Create a video clearly illustrating what was included in a Uniworld cruise as well as showcasing a truly luxury experience.
“Fresh. Local. Brilliant.”
Uniworld was the first river cruise line to introduce the “farm-to-table” philosophy on the rivers. As such, one of Uniworld’s strategic brand pillars focuses on their incredible culinary program and using the freshest ingredients, locally sourced from the destinations visited.
The Brief: Uniworld’s Global Master Chef along with two of his key chefs share Uniworld’s culinary philosophy and why it stands out from their competition.
“You Deserve The Best”
Uniworld’s goal is to always provide the best and most memorable vacation experience possible. The all-inclusive nature of a Uniworld river cruise, along with the variety of choices, allows guests to relax, enjoy, and have their own unique experience.
The Brief: Design a video around a fast moving, entertaining, and playful song, showing people having fun and'“writing their own story” while traveling with Uniworld.
“Wellness On The Water”
Uniworld was the first river cruise company to focus on wellness in river cruising, and it became one of their differentiating brand pillars.
The Brief: Create a video illustrating Uniworld’s 360-degree approach to wellness.
“Pushing Boundaries”
AmaWaterways’ AmaMagna represented a new concept specifically designed to elevate the modern luxury river cruise market. Twice the width of traditional European river ships, AmaMagna welcomes only 196 guests and affords luxurious living spaces, multiple dining options including an al fresco glass-enclosed restaurant, and more onboard activities.
The Brief: To help AmaWaterways Sales team sell the AmaMagna, I pioneered the company’s first 3D-animation video, art directing creative content to strategically enhance Sales’ efforts to grow customer engagement with this revolutionary new ship.