by Ron Hess

It was a flash mob of sorts, creating a sea of blue. Adorned in blue T-shirts, 100 employees at SAS headquarters, near Raleigh, North Carolina, gathered for a quick, impromptu video shoot.

The goal: to visually show employee pride for the launch of the company’s innovative new Visual Analytics software package. The method: direct employees to form a human “V” and “A” and, on cue, flash colorful posters while shouting, “We are Visual Analytics.” Then the crowd morphed into the letters S-A-S and shouted, “We are SAS!”

The technology: a handheld camera operated by a member of the corporate employee communication team. The result: a simple, one-minute, rapidly edited video posted on the company intranet that generated lots of buzz, thousands of hits, and feelings of pride and belonging among SAS employees worldwide.

SAS, widely recognized as one of the best global companies to work for, is one of a growing number of organizations that strategically use video to engage and involve employees. “Video has the power to reach beyond the screen to connect with people,” says Lisa Arney, internal communications manager at SAS, and a former TV news producer for local stations in South Carolina and Florida. “An effective video can convey feeling, emotion, and tell a powerful story that persuades, informs, builds pride or creates a sense of belonging—all factors that contribute to employee engagement.”

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