REAL PEOPLE. INCREDIBLE STORIES. CAPTIVATING VIDEO
King Toledo is a full service production company specializing in must-see Employer Brand, HR, and Internal Communications video content.
We're documentary filmmakers by trade and we came to this space to elevate the substance, style and effectiveness of Employer Brand and HR videos. We create films that help companies Show Their Character.
In addition, have a long track record of producing of original series, documentary shorts, TV commercials and branded films that have amassed well over 100,000,000 views. Our clients include some of the world's most recognizable and forward-thinking brands: Chase, Cadillac, GE, Stoli, GMC, sweetgreen, Living Spaces, Amgen, Intel and more.
Focus
Portfolio
Amgen Living Spaces Mashable GE Intel Time Inc Cadillac Stoli sweetgreen Coors Light GMC Adobe CapitalOne Chase
The Possible (GE)
Jetpacks. Robots. Space Travel. 500 Mile Per Hour Driving. Black Holes. Yes, please.
The Possible is an original series that examines the future we've all been dreaming of - and it discovers that future is here today.
Each of the five episodes of this mini-documentary series has a virtual reality component on the same five topics. It was produced in collaboration with GE, With.In and Mashable.
Amgen: In My Code
We partnered with Amgen for this Employer Branding initiative designed to attract talented technologists. We quickly found that the best way to do that would be to share authentic stories of the work experience there, direct from the people living it.
We worked with Amgen to ID three Amgen employees and turned their stories into short videos that connect on an emotional level. The result is content that tells potential job seekers what Amgen stands for and demonstrates Amgen’s industry-leading focus on technology.
The project was a huge success. Amgen’s CIO said it best: “Promoting diversity and a culture of inclusion and belonging (at Amgen) continues to be a key component of our technology strategy. We strive to not only make our function an attractive place for technologists to work, but a place where staff can be their whole self. The “In My Code” videos represent the authentic and inspiring stories of Sope, Liz, and Anthony and I couldn’t be happier to share these with the world.”
How She Works (Mashable, Volvo, Coors Light)
This video is part of a long running series of work profiles called How She Works. We started this project to bring more attention to women at work and create a library of evergreen videos that highlight different careers. This episode features a lead designer at Volvo. It was sponsored by Coors Light and distributed by Mashable.
You can see more videos from this series here: http://www.kingtoledo.com/work/howsheworks
Professional Grade: Jimmy Chin (GMC)
This day-in-the-life original series was produced for GMC and published with Mashable. We profiled four men who are achieving success by forging their own paths. It’s a series that celebrates originality, creativity, entrepreneurship and the power of doing things your own way. Each of the subjects in Professional Grade – including Joshua Bingaman, the founder of HELM Boots and National Geographic adventure photographer Jimmy Chin– let us spend a day in their shoes, learning what it takes to truly be professional grade.
Nancy X Sweetgreen
We partnered with Sweetgreen to produce a series of social and online spots announcing their collaboration with world-renowned chef and icon Nancy Silverton. These beautiful, mouthwatering videos drove tons of awareness and traffic for a big time Sweetgreen initiative.
Living Spaces: Black Friday
We’ve been working for Living Spaces, a major furniture retailer across the south and west coasts, to produce commercial content since 2017. In that time, we’ve created dozens of :30 second TV spots. Here's one we really loved.
More of our favorites can be found here:
Reviews
the project
Video Production for Biotechnology Company
"They were willing to work with us and help us achieve each and every goal we set out to deliver."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
I am a strategist in Amgen's Global Employer Brand and Recruitment Marketing organization. I oversee all of the content, on a global scale, around Amgen's brand as it relates to talent attract and recruitment marketing. Amgen is one of the world's largest global Biotechnology company with more than 20,000 employees.
For what projects/services did your company hire King Toledo?
Diversity and inclusion is at the heart of all that we do at Amgen. Within our Information Systems organization we realized that there were challenges in attracting diverse talent to the organization. We wanted to work with King Toledo to bring to life some of the diverse and talent staff members we have within the organization.
What were your goals for this project?
We hoped by engaging with King Toledo we could authentically bring to life what makes Amgen so special and how we embrace diversity through the eyes of our staff members. Through this groundbreaking and innovative film project, we wanted to create assets that could be leveraged to further brand Amgen as a diverse employer of choice ultimately driving more traffic to our career site, engaging with more diverse talent and increasing applicant flow and ultimately the diverse makeup of our organization.
How did you select this vendor?
We searched far and wide for a vendor that had a similar vision as ours. we knew documentary style was the direction we wanted to take our vision toward. We researched quite a number of companies both locally and across the country but King Toledo quickly rose to the top. They really thought "outside of the box" for us, bringing some of the most creative and innovative ideas to the table. We interviewed them and they interviewed us. We really felt like we knew them when we ultimately made our decision to work with them on this exciting project.
Describe the video(s) and the process in detail.
King Toledo, right out of the gate, did everything they could to get to know us. They interviewed our featured staff members and got to know them all well. This was key as we invited them into our homes, our workplaces and even to some of our extracurricular activities, we engage in outside of work (i.e. one of our feature staff members invited King Toledo into her jujitsu studio to watch her practice).
Their storyboards were extremely detailed - they left nothing out but were flexible and willing to work with us on our vision as well. They were a true partner and it showed in the final product. They were extremely mindful of understanding our limits and our regulations as it impacted our business. We truly felt like they were partners and part of our team.
What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?
Their crew was magnificent! They arrived bright and early on the morning of filming and were so organized they made the day absolutely seamless! We had a team of approximately 8 so we never without support. They managed the script but worked very openly with each and everyone one of our stars and staff members who participated.
Upon completion of production (which took place across multiple days, multiple locations and multiple states) we were regularly looped in on progress. We were given access to all footage and edits and were very much involved in the feedback process so our vision for the films could be perfectly executed.
Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?
Again, as a reminder, this was a "first of its kind" type of project for Amgen. Never have we let our viewers in so closely to what goes on "behind the scenes" - what an incredible experience!! We had a red carpet premiere and viewing event for our staff members and King Toledo even came to the event to help introduce the films, discuss their vision and execution and take questions from the audience.
This project was a HUGE success! It brought incredible traffic to our careers site and provided such genuine authenticity as to who Amgen is as an organization. This far surpassed our expectations with engagement data: more than 40K views of the video with a CTR of 3%. Our impressions were more than 55K.
How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?
King Toledo's delivery was ALWAYS on time and eloquent in its delivery. From the original treatment to our project plans, communication strategy and production schedule everything was perfectly timed and delivered. I would say just about everything we wish for, we got. They were so incredibly easy and flexible to work with and their vision was tremendous.
What did you find most impressive about this company?
Given this was our first experience executing on a project of this scale, we were so impressed with how creative, innovative and organized the team at King Toledo was. I felt like no vision was too large. They were willing to work with us and help us achieve each and every goal we set out to deliver. They were all so professional and easy to work with. They really seemed to "get" us!
Are there any areas for improvement?
Honestly, I consider myself very fortunate that this was my first experience working with a production company like King Toledo. Areas of improvement? Honestly, I do not have any. Our experience was quite seamless.
the project
Video Production for Furniture Company
"They can address any questions, concerns, or suggestions that come up on our end."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the director of studio operations and production at an e-commerce and big-box furniture company. I oversee all studio content output, working with my production team to produce TV spots, web content, and social media activity.
What challenge were you trying to address with King Toledo?
We brought them on as a production crew to shoot one of our TV spots. Our partnership ended up growing, and they’ve handled much more production.
What was the scope of their involvement?
We provide their team with copy, but they’ve also enlisted an editor to work with our creative team. After drafting a shot list and schedule, their crew shot both in our studio and on location. We collaborated in sourcing talent and music.
What is the team composition?
We worked primarily with Jay (Founder & Executive Producer, King Toledo), Jason (Executive Producer, King Toledo), and their production crew.
How did you come to work with King Toledo?
Our social media manager worked with Jay previously and recommended him. He had also shot a behind-the-scenes video of one of our catalog photo shoots. We met him originally in that capacity and thought of him when we were looking for production crews. After finding that Jay was part of King Toledo, we chose to work with them.
How much have you invested with them?
We’ve spent approximately $750,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We've started with them in December 2016, and our work is ongoing.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We use Ace Metrix to ensure that we get feedback from various people on the relevance and quality of our TV spots, taking recommendations into account in sharing them with the crew. However, we’ve been very satisfied with their work. They never miss shots, and all final deliverables have been high-quality.
How did King Toledo perform from a project management standpoint?
Everything was managed effectively under Jason, who took care of developing the shot list, schedule, and progress during production. Their work has always been to our standards and, because of the seamless project management, they’ve been very easy to work with.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Jay and Jason are a great duo. Jay brings a calm, collected demeanor to his directorship, which is helpful in a crazy production environment. Jason brings a high level of organization to the table. I’m confident in his grasp of managing the production and schedule. They can address any questions, concerns, or suggestions that come up on our end.
Are there any areas they could improve?
We often felt like we could be more efficient without as many bodies on set. They’ve since honed in on that, and we’re in a good place now. So, I actually don’t have any suggestions for improvement at the moment.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
After providing a concept and storyboards, give them the creative freedom to offer their thoughts and feedback on how they would approach the project. They’re very experienced, so I’d recommend being open to their suggestions. We learned over time that it was very beneficial to open that door a bit more for them. At that point, we saw what they were made of, and found more success with them.
the project
30-Second Social Videos for Salad Chain
"I was impressed with Jason's ability to translate a fuzzy vision into a handful of very clear stories."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
I've worked with Jason and King Toledo for several projects — some when I ran branded content at Mashable and one when I ran content and creative at sweetgreen.
For what projects/services did your company hire King Toledo?
I've worked with Jason and King Toledo for several projects, ranging from an episodic series and a series of entrepreneur profiles for Mashable to a product spotlight for sweetgreen's first national collaboration with Chef Nancy Silverton.
Jason is super creative, cool and calm, and has a great vision for bringing stories to life. He was always prompt, prepared and professional, and I highly recommend working with him. He's also very good at managing all the stakeholders involved, from client and talent to brand sponsors, which is much appreciated in my world.
What were your goals for this project?
We needed a splashy launch video to communicate our new collaboration with Nancy — we needed to explain who she was, capture her personality and cooking style, get people amped, and show why this was such a big deal. We succeeded.
How did you select this vendor?
I had worked with Jason several times over the years, and when this campaign came about, I knew he would do great. He had traveled all over the US for previous projects we worked on, but this was especially a no-brainer, as it was in LA, where he's based.
Describe the scope of their work in detail.
He produced a launch video and a handful of 30-second videos for use on social media, both organic and paid.
What was the team composition?
Jason had DP, a light guy, 2 cameramen and a sound guy — lean team, got the job done.
Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?
We loved the energy captured in the video and felt that it totally did the collaboration justice. They performed well on social channels, both paid and organic.
How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?
Excellent — Jason was highly communicative and met every deadline.
What did you find most impressive about this company?
I was impressed with Jason's ability to translate a fuzzy vision into a handful of very clear stories that fit really nicely together.
Are there any areas for improvement?
Nope, would work together again in a heartbeat!
The video has more than 40,000 views and 55,000 impressions. King Toledo delivers quality products on time as a result of their innovative style and technical expertise. Their team is creative, organized, and flexible.