Homecoming at Clemson is a simple concept made magnificent when 80,000 Tigers take part. Clemson alumni, students and fans would never experience the happiness of Homecoming without the vision, determination and grit of the students who make it happen every year. To honor our students and to show future Tigers why Homecoming matters, we set out to capture the Homecoming float build through the experiences of our student leaders.
We had three goals with this series, and three videos to achieve them. We aimed to show the hard work our students put in to plan Homecoming for eight months, to build excitement around this beloved tradition, and to capture the interest of future students. We were driven to reveal the magic of Homecoming by telling this story as honestly as possible.
Hurricane Helene changed the nature of the float build, but we remained steadfast in our mission to capture the student Homecoming experience as it really happens. Committing to our goals led us to engage with more students during the storm, and it unveiled the essence of Homecoming at Clemson in an unexpected way. We saw the heart of our students displayed through their dedication to the tradition and the Clemson Family. They focused on the service aspect of Homecoming more than winning the competition and brought supplies to community members who sustained damage during the hurricane. In the end, Homecoming's essence was unveiled as the Clemson community came together on campus.
To bring the Homecoming video series to life, we needed a leader with a vision. Ellee Mikell led production of this series, Aaron Johnson led video development, and Izzy McGrane led the student experience.
First, we spent time with Izzy. We recorded an initial interview to uncover her motivation as Homecoming director and get a sense of what this tradition means to current students. Then, we created a manifesto to guide creative for the series. This set the tone, defined the magnitude, and showcased the spirit we were aiming to reveal through the videos.
Next, we began creative planning -- eight months ahead of Homecoming. Ellee created a shot list for each episode and worked closely with Izzy, videographers, social strategists and numerous student leaders to capture content at their meetings and outings leading up to Homecoming week. She scheduled interviews with Izzy and student leaders ahead of time, and we filmed all the moments leading up to the build as planned. Meanwhile, designers developed thumbnail schemes for the series and prepped organic social deliverables to share the work.
But on Monday, Hurricane Helene came to the southeast. Students had already put 36 hours of building into their floats when they got word that the whole thing might be canceled. It was either finish the floats before the storm touched down on Wednesday, or call it off immediately. The students advocated for a fast finish. Required rest hours were abandoned - for the students and for our production team. We were committed to the students, and they were committed to the build.
Ellee, Aaron and the rest of the video and social team stayed on Bowman with the students as the rain poured down in Clemson. We captured students gluing their pomp into chicken wire, building through the night, and dancing in the rain. Ellee was on Bowman filming at 3am. Aaron edited videos 2 and 3 through the night. The students pulled off the fastest float build in University history, and our crew stayed by their side for it all.
The floats were judged before the hurricane touched down. Homecoming float winners were announced at the football game as usual. On Sunday, the students distributed food and water to the Clemson Family on campus. On Monday, they met our crew for interviews beside their destroyed floats. They were honest, open and considerate. They revealed something new about Clemson by showing us themselves, and they captured the attention of alumni, current students and future Tigers in the process.
The honest portrayal of deeply personal experiences in the midst of a shared tradition, interrupted by a natural disaster, makes this series unique. The production value is second to none, but the experience is raw and real. The planning was precise, but the agility to shift production plans while maintaining the creative vision is the key that enabled this series to unlock a new level of video content in the higher education industry.
We set out to show the hard work our students put in to plan Homecoming for eight months, to build excitement around this beloved tradition, and to capture the interest of future students. The passion for Clemson and our student's experiences we were able to capture was unlike anything any of us could have dreamed of.
The video series and related content led our Homecoming storytelling resulting in over 300,000 video views between 19 different pieces of video content. Additionally, the impressions engagement rate was above average at 5.26%. In addition to sharing across our social media channels, we were also able to collaborate with our peers in Athletics to share this series on Clemson+ our membership-subscription platform for Clemson fans that allows fans to access premium content, merch, experiences, and interact with each other.
