Agency work produced through Interact Communications
Branded Documentary | Manufacturing | HeritageWNY Manufacturing Initiative
Workforce storytelling that replaces assumptions with access.
The Challenge
Seventy-seven percent of western New York manufacturers couldn’t find skilled workers. The jobs existed. The training existed. The connection didn’t. They needed films that could make someone look at a factory floor and see a future rather than a fallback.
The approach
We went inside Liberty Pumps and Cutco Knives. Real companies with real history, facilities far larger and more orderly than most people imagine, and workforces where everyone on the floor knew everyone else by name. We worked with each company ahead of time to select the right employees and understand what we could and couldn't show. When we arrived we got full tours, asked real questions, and spent a day learning how these places actually work before a single interview rolled.
The films followed graduates doing their jobs. Overseeing manufacturing on the floor. Working in CAD. Contributing to products that have carried these brands for decades. Twenty-minute conversations distilled into thirty-second stories that felt like portraits rather than marketing ads.
The proof
The films required no revisions. They were placed on the WNY Works site and built for versatility across social and paid placements. More importantly they became the proof of concept that landed the next contract, a California campaign that took the same approach into new industries including hospitality and manufacturing on the West Coast.
Inside facilities built on decades of American craft, we found the same thing every time. People proud of what they make and how they make it.
Still working
The approach continues to inform workforce education storytelling across industries. When you tell the truth well, it scales.
Your story is next.
The best brand stories are already happening, they just haven't been told yet. Every project begins with a conversation.