SUNI LEE Case Study:
How to Turn One Shoot Into Three Distinct Videos
THE CLIENT
As one of the leading kidney advocacy organizations in the U.S., the American Kidney Fund (AKF) works to educate the public, empower patients, and drive awareness around kidney disease.
In March, for Kidney Awareness Month, AKF wanted to spotlight a powerful story of resilience and advocacy—one that could inspire both patients and broader audiences. Their spotlight? Olympic gold medalist Sunisa Lee, whose return to elite gymnastics after a kidney disease diagnosis defied expectations.
THE OPPORTUNITY
AKF’s initial brief combined three important goals:
Share Suni’s personal journey in a short documentary.
Showcase the “Know Your Kidneys, Know Your Cause” portal.
Create social-first cutdowns to reach younger audiences.
Because each goal addressed a different stage of audience engagement, we recommended approaching them as a coordinated suite rather than a single catch-all video. This would let every message shine while still maximizing the impact—and budget—of one production day.
Our Approach: A Three-Part Funnel Strategy
To achieve this goal, we proposed a funnel-driven structure, where each piece had a clear purpose and audience:
1. Connection Video
A 3-minute, 16:9 documentary-style piece that dives deep into Suni’s kidney diagnosis, her fears about whether she could ever compete again, and her triumphant return to the sport. We let her story breathe—avoiding messaging overload to focus on emotion and relatability.
2. Consideration Video
A 60-second, vertical (9:16) cutdown of the long-form video, built for social platforms like Instagram Reels and TikTok. The goal: pull in younger audiences and drive awareness with visually compelling, high-energy storytelling.
3. Conversion Video
A separate 60-second piece designed specifically to walk viewers through AKF’s “Know Your Cause” web portal. This was used on their campaign landing page and in email outreach—built to guide users toward taking action.
How We Made It Happen:
With just one 5-hour shoot, we captured everything we needed across three formats—without sacrificing quality.
We started with an in-depth interview to build trust and an emotional foundation.
Then we filmed Suni using the AKF portal on a phone in natural light—capturing the conversion piece early.
For the short doc, we built tension and release using lighting changes: early slow-motion shots in moody tones, followed by brighter, more hopeful visuals as we reached her Olympic comeback.
A wardrobe change helped shift the emotional tone and visual language across each asset.
All three pieces were planned in pre-production to reduce redundancies and maximize output.
Results
Three purpose-built videos from a single shoot, each mapped to a specific stage of AKF’s March campaign.
1M+ views across platforms within weeks, elevating national conversation about kidney health.
Suni’s story significantly expanded AKF’s visibility, introducing the brand to audiences well beyond its core patient community.
Ongoing partnership. Positive response led AKF to re-engage us for new projects.
Most important, Suni’s story offered a fresh, human lens on kidney disease—energizing the awareness movement and inspiring patients everywhere.
THE Takeaway
If you're trying to make one video do it all, you're probably leaving impact on the table. By planning with purpose and aligning content to where your audience is in their journey, one shoot can become three times more effective.
🎯 One shoot. Three formats. Three distinct points of connection.
Want to turn one production day into multiple audience touchpoints?
Start a conversation with us.
