How the Martin Moran Foundation used an Organisational Explainer Video to increase awareness and donations.

A case study in clarity, compassion and connection from Hazel Moran - Director of Communications at the Martin Moran Foundation.

Our work at the Martin Moran Foundation is not easy to summarise. In it's simplest form, it is about helping young people who are facing barriers gain access to experiences in the mountains, but it's also about confidence, trust and personal transformation through adventure and connection with others. We take young people into the mountains and give them space to grow.

Martin Moran Foundation participants and instructor climbing in Scotland.

The impact of our work is difficult to describe and even harder to show. We run yearly programmes in the Cairngorms and each year we require social proof, ongoing content and a way to communicate who we are and what we do.

At the beginning, we relied on 'homemade' videos and pictures to communicate what we do. But the impact of our work was always bigger than the bits of content we had to represent it. We needed something more focused, more thoughtful and more complete.

So in 2022, we decided to work with JHP Visuals to create an Organisational Explainer Video with one clear message. A true reflection of who we are and what we stand for, we asked JHP Visuals to help us create it, and we have been working with them to produce Organisational Explainers, Photographs, Social Media Content and Impact Studies every year since.

Why we chose JHP Visuals

From the start JHP felt like the right fit. They aligned with our values and understood our mission. They did not come in with a script or a fixed idea. They listened.

Filming took place in the mountains with the young people fully involved. JHP made the process feel safe, calm, supportive and genuine. They captured honest moments that reflected the experience without staging anything.

They brought care professionalism and a clear respect for the space we work in. Their experience with storytelling and their ability to work with young people stood out straight away. We knew we were in safe hands.

What we created

Before each project, we were invited to a creative planning session with JHP which we found invaluable in helping us discover how to tell our story in a way that felt true to us.

Over the course of 3 years working together, we produced:

The team at JHP helped us create:

2 x three minute promotional film that sits at the centre of our communications
A yearly collection of stills to use across our social media and funding materials
A series of short reels for ongoing outreach and visibility

The impact of our Organisational Explainer Video

Since releasing the explainer film we have seen a real shift in how we communicate.

Engagement and interaction across all our channels has grown by 500% over 3 years
More supporters now understand what we do clearly and emotionally connect to it
Donations and Funding have increased exponentially
The film has become a go to tool for funders, events, social media and outreach

The content has been repurposed in presentations, reports, campaigns and event material. And we are still discovering new ways to use it.

We are still collecting exact stats, but the feedback has been loud and clear, the explainer is doing its job, and then some.

“JHP Visuals distilled our mission and call to action into one powerful three minute film. It has given us a way to explain who we are, what we do and the impact of our work with absolute clarity. It has also shown people how they can get involved and support us in a way that truly resonates.

More than just a film, it gave our team and the young people featured in it a sense of confidence and pride. It helped us see our story from the outside and recognise its value.

JHP created a genuine connection with our audience and brought insight compassion and professionalism to every step of the process. The final film reflects the ethos, energy and heart of our charity. They were not just a production team, they were our creative partners who helped us find our voice.”