The corporate film and commercial for MediSector doesn’t simply list services – it promises what families really want: that the time they spend with their parents is enjoyable again. For the care provider MediSector, we tell this through an emotional story about a mother and her daughter, and show every service with real employees and clients. This turns a patient transport service into a premium partner for 24-hour care at home.
Many service providers know the problem: customers know them for one service, yet they can do so much more. This case study shows how MediSector changed the way it is perceived with clear positioning and a well-conceived commercial.
| The project at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Client | MediSector, Euskirchen |
| Project | Commercial-style corporate film ‘Care with heart’ |
| Target audience | Relatives, and secondly older people themselves |
| Use | Website and consultations |
| Client’s effort | 2 concept meetings on site; approvals; around 6 employees available for 2 shoot days |
| Project duration | approx. 2 months |
| Agency and production | Pathfinder Studios |
| Director | Tom Wolt |
| Producer and script | Ivy Thomas |
| Camera | Thomas Adolph |
| Casting | FAVorite FACES |
| Hair & make-up | Mely She |
| Voice-over artist | Nadine Schreier |
| Cast | Cornelia B. Anja C. |
Who is MediSector?
MediSector from Euskirchen is far more than a patient transport service: the team offers medical patient transfers in Germany and abroad, 24-hour care in the client’s own home, help with everyday tasks such as shopping, dealing with authorities and doctor’s appointments, and holiday companionship with ‘medifly’. MediSector makes literally anything possible, from holidays to house clearances – and always on a very personal level.
How can a patient transport service improve its image and become a care provider with heart?
A patient transport service improves its image by talking not about its services but about the relief it brings families in everyday life. MediSector was seen purely as a patient transport service, but wanted to win more clients for 24-hour care and position itself as a premium provider. To do this, its communication had to move away from individual services towards a promise.
This starting point is typical of many service providers that have grown over time: the first service shapes the image, and everything added later remains invisible. MediSector had a second goal, too. Good home care has its price, and the commercial is meant to show why it is worth it.
Who chooses a home care provider, and who does the commercial need to convince?
In most cases, it is the relatives who choose a home care provider, which is why they are the commercial’s primary target audience. The older people themselves come second.
In the concept meetings, we therefore defined the target audience clearly: the commercial speaks first and foremost to the adult children making a decision for their parents, and only then to the people in need of care. Health insurers and other payers deliberately play no role in this corporate film. This clarity determines everything else: the story, the images and the tone.
Why should service providers advertise with emotions rather than services?
Service providers should advertise with emotions rather than services because what most providers offer is interchangeable – trust is not. Many companies offer a ride to the doctor. Whether relatives and patients feel they are in good hands, on the other hand, is a gut decision, and that is exactly what a commercial for a care provider has to achieve.
‘Besides the question of trust, choosing a care provider also involves negative feelings such as guilt and shame – when you can no longer care for your parents yourself, or feel you are increasingly becoming a burden to your children. That is exactly what we address with an emotional framing story, to meet clients where their worries are most pressing.’ – Tom Wolt, Marketing Consultant & Director
How does a commercial for a care provider tell an emotional story?
The commercial for MediSector tells the story of a mother and her adult daughter whose relationship suffers under the strain of care, and how they find their way back to each other. It is told entirely through images and forms the emotional frame around corporate film scenes featuring real employees and clients.
At the beginning, mother and daughter sit at the table, estranged. The daughter is ashamed because she can no longer cope with the caring. The mother feels neglected and at the same time guilty for being a burden.
This is exactly what many families experience: when children can no longer manage to care for their parents, the relationship suffers. Everything they do together feels like duty and work instead of joy and family life. MediSector’s promise starts right there: ‘We take on all the difficult tasks, from caring and washing to driving, so that your time together is enjoyable again.’ At the end of the corporate film, mother and daughter enjoy their time together once more.
The voice-over complements the images with the central theme of ‘freedom’: a self-determined life in old age, in your own home.
Premium corporate films and commercials work through their images, not through claims in the voice-over. The MediSector corporate film is set in an upmarket home, with a well-groomed older woman and her daughter. This positions MediSector through the images alone, without a single word about price or quality.
How can a corporate film show care without putting patients on display?
A corporate film can show care with dignity through a clear division: actors play the emotional key story, while everything else is shown by employees and real clients who have given their consent beforehand.
For the mother-and-daughter story, we deliberately cast actors. This is the only way to capture guilt, fear and estrangement ‘without MediSector’ as precisely as the relaxed joy ‘with MediSector’ – without showing real families in a vulnerable situation.
All other scenes show the real team at work and real clients: doctor’s appointments with a wheelchair, shopping together, planning in the team meeting and the initial consultation at home.
‘The most exciting projects are always the ones where we film with both actors and real employees, because each requires a different approach and different planning. For MediSector, we combined both and spread the shoot days efficiently across the locations and situations.’ – Yvonne Schwalowski, Marketing Consultant & Film Producer
Commercial or corporate film: what does a care provider need?
The ideal choice for care providers and service companies is a commercial-style corporate film: staged with the emotion and positivity of a commercial, but as authentic as a corporate film. The classic TV commercial hardly plays a role for most companies today.
Where should a care provider use its corporate film?
The best places to show a corporate film are your website and personal consultations. Especially where relatives face a difficult decision, the corporate film shows in under two minutes what care with MediSector feels like.
What does a corporate film do for a care provider?
A corporate film gives a care provider like MediSector visibility for what sets it apart. The corporate film shows its ‘care with heart’ approach exactly as the team lives it: gently, emotionally and personally. And for the first time, it shows that MediSector is far more than a transport service.
MediSector was delighted with how precisely the commercial captures this way of working. Incidentally, MediSector found its own way to us: the team approached us specifically after seeing another of our corporate films.
Because what sets Pathfinder Studios’ corporate films apart is exactly this important combination of information and emotion – in this case, the authentic employees and services, plus the emotional framing story that meets clients exactly where they need help.
How much effort does a corporate film involve for a service provider?
For the MediSector corporate film, the company itself had very little effort: two in-depth briefing and concept meetings with the marketing experts at our film agency – we took care of everything else. From the first conversation to the finished corporate film, the project took around two months.
Concept and script, casting, coordination with employees and clients including all consents, shoot planning and organisation were all handled by us. That way, the MediSector team could carry on caring for its patients while the corporate film was being made.
Which companies benefit from an emotional corporate film?
An emotional corporate film is worthwhile for any company whose customers make a decision based on trust, often on behalf of someone else, and that wants to stand out through quality rather than price. Typical examples:
- Care services, support and companionship services
- Retirement homes and assisted living
- Hospitals, rehabilitation centres and medical practices
- Service providers who come into their customers’ homes
- Family businesses whose customers only know them for one of their services
What makes a good commercial for a care provider?
- Know the decision-makers and address them directly. For MediSector, these are the relatives, not just the people in need of care. The commercial speaks to them first.
- Make a promise instead of listing services. MediSector promises freedom, self-determination and happy family moments – not patient transport, doctor’s appointments and service catalogues.
- Images, sound and story go hand in hand. A good corporate film works on all three levels: images, sound and story – not just the voice-over.
- Actors for the key emotion, real people for credibility. Combining both protects vulnerable situations and makes the corporate film authentic and still emotional.
Find out more about our corporate films and commercials here:
Our services in this project
- Positioning advice and target audience analysis
- Creative concept, script and voice-over script
- Casting of actors
- Coordination with employees and clients, including consent forms
- Shoot planning and organisation
- Direction and camera
- Post-production: editing, colour grading, sound design, voice-over recording
- Music
Frequently asked questions
Let’s talk about your corporate film
Are you only perceived for part of what you offer, or do you want to position yourself as a premium provider? In a free initial consultation, we clarify goals, target audience and budget – with no obligation and as equal partners.
Or contact Yvonne Schwalowski directly: +49 2251 773 99 66, office@pathfinder-studios.de
