Imagination Technologies - Building a Brand Story With Cinematic Scale

Challenge

During the height of the pandemic, Imagination Technologies faced a complex communications challenge. They needed to rally employees behind a clear vision and set of values, reassure and inspire customers, and attract world-class talent in an intensely competitive recruitment market - all at a moment when uncertainty was high and attention was fragmented.

The brief wasn’t simply to explain what Imagination does, but to articulate who they are, what they believe in, and why that matters - emotionally as well as rationally - across multiple audiences and channels.

Solution

The answer was an ambitious, cinematic brand film that treated Imagination’s story with the scale, confidence, and emotional weight of a feature film. Shot in the dramatic landscapes of Snowdonia with legendary cinematographer Keith Partridge (Touching the Void), the film uses the metaphor of extreme exploration and human endeavour to bring the company’s vision, values, and ambition to life.

Rather than relying on corporate language or product detail, the film focuses on human drive, ingenuity, and belief - creating a story that resonates equally with employees, customers and future recruits.

I wrote, directed, edited and voiced the film under lockdown conditions, shaping it to work seamlessly across internal communications, external brand channels, and recruitment - ensuring consistency of message without compromising emotional impact.

Impact

The film delivered exceptional results across every audience it was designed to reach:

- Record-breaking internal engagement

- A cinema release, screening in UK cinemas with top Universies ahead of major blockbusters including Bond, Venom, and The Batman

- Over 1.4 million online views, significantly extending the brand’s reach during a period of global disruption

- Winner of Best Brand Film at the EMEA Brand Film Awards, alongside Gold and Bronze Stevies and an EVCOM Award

More importantly, the film helped crystallise Imagination’s identity at a critical moment -aligning people around a shared sense of purpose and ambition, and demonstrating that even in the most challenging circumstances, the brand was thinking and acting on a global stage.

Watch the behind-the-scenes film here.