Business Objective: Publicize the breadth of innovations and historical achievements at SRI International, an independent, nonprofit research institute with a knack for solving some of the world’s most difficult problems.

Situation: SRI International’s 60th anniversary was fast approaching, and company executives wanted to create publicity buzz, reinforce key brand messages, build enthusiasm and showcase SRI’s innovation among press, clients, employees and the local community.

The Mercury Solution: Mercury captured the essence of SRI and the global impact of its 50,000 projects over the last 60 years. Before the cameras ever rolled, Mercury hosted a focus group to hear directly from SRI employees in every department about how they defined their work and environment. The discussion allowed Mercury to stay true to SRI’s image of itself, despite the challenge of infinite possibilities to highlight in the video. Mercury managed the video from script to screen - from writing narration to gathering significant historical footage, interviewing over twenty company executives and animating a historical timeline. After editing dozens of hours of footage, Mercury prepared the SRI documentary for its primetime debut at the anniversary celebration event.

Timeline: 6 weeks

Results: From the creation of the computer mouse to pioneering against infectious diseases, SRI’s achievements made an impressive splash at their silver screen debut, from significant media interest to boosting company pride. Mercury’s artistic achievement led to an ongoing relationship with one of the country’s top innovators.

Further Accolades: Mercury’s work on this project was recognized as a gold winner in the 2008 Hermes Creative awards, an international competition for creative professionals involved in the concept, writing and design of traditional and emerging media. In addition, the Summit International Awards, an organization honoring creative and communication excellence, awarded this video with a bronze statuette.