Building a Spotlight Series That Showcases Impact
Project Overview
Sage is a global leader whose marketing strategy places customers at the very heart of everything they do. This philosophy deeply resonates with us because we believe the most powerful marketing comes from authentic customer stories, not corporate messaging.
When we began working with Sage years ago on their Spotlight programme, we knew this would be unlike any other project. Sage needed a partner who could navigate extremely strict brand guidelines whilst creating content that would work across multiple global markets. They required a team that could handle everything from initial client calls through to final delivery, ensuring every single touchpoint maintained their exacting standards.
The Sage Spotlight Success Stories serve a specific purpose: to showcase how Sage's software genuinely helps businesses whilst highlighting the vital partnerships that drive success. Sometimes these stories spotlight individual clients, and other times they focus on the three-way relationship between Sage, their customers, and accounting or implementation partners.
The Challenge
Working on the Sage Spotlight programme presented us with several complex challenges that required our entire team working at peak performance:
- Maintaining strict global brand consistency across all deliverables whilst creating content that felt authentic and engaging
- Managing multiple stakeholder relationships including Sage South Africa, Sage Global teams, and their diverse range of clients
- Coordinating intensive logistics from site reconnaissance and drone permissions to model releases and property clearances
- Extracting compelling stories from business owners who might not be comfortable on camera or experienced with interviews
- Creating content that works across multiple formats from primary video content to social media shorts and written stories
- Delivering results that satisfy both local and global teams through multiple rounds of internal and external revisions
The intensity of these projects cannot be overstated. Every element, from lighting setup to final PDF design, had to meet Sage's exacting standards whilst telling genuinely compelling stories about real businesses.
Our Strategic Solution
We developed a comprehensive approach that addresses every aspect of the Spotlight programme, ensuring nothing is left to chance. Our process begins long before the cameras start rolling and continues well after the final deliverables are approved.
Deep Discovery and Relationship Building
We start every Spotlight project by genuinely connecting with Sage's clients. This is an in-depth discovery process where we understand their business challenges, their relationship with Sage, and the specific ways the software has transformed their operations. We need to uncover the most compelling elements of their story, the moments that will resonate with other business owners facing similar challenges.
Technical Excellence with Human Connection
Before conducting interviews, our team meticulously sets up all sound, lighting and camera equipment according to Sage's specific visual guidelines. But technical perfection means nothing if the person on camera isn't comfortable. We spend considerable time with each client, helping them feel at ease and confident before we begin filming. This human touch is crucial – authentic stories only emerge when people feel genuinely comfortable sharing their experiences.
Comprehensive Content Creation
For each Spotlight project, we create an entire suite of deliverables that work together to tell the complete story:
The Primary Spotlight Video serves as the cornerstone piece, carefully crafted to showcase the client's journey whilst adhering to Sage's brand guidelines. These are authentic business stories that demonstrate real challenges and genuine solutions.
Social Media Shorts extract the most compelling moments from the main video, reformatted for different platforms and optimised for social engagement. We understand that different audiences consume content differently, so each piece is tailored for its specific platform.
The Written Story provides depth and context that video sometimes cannot, allowing readers to engage with the content in their preferred format whilst maintaining consistent messaging across all touchpoints.
Digital PDF Design creates professional, branded documents that can be shared widely across Sage's network, ensuring the story reaches decision-makers who prefer detailed, professional presentations.
Photography captures additional moments and details that support the overall narrative, providing assets for various marketing applications beyond the immediate Spotlight programme.
Brand Guideline Refinement Through Real-World Testing
Our partnership with Sage extends beyond individual projects. We've helped them refine their brand guidelines by creating deliverables and testing them across social media platforms. This real-world application helps determine optimal aspect ratios, positioning guidelines, and visual approaches that actually work in practice, not just in theory.
Technical Implementation and Process Management
Our technical approach combines creative excellence with project management rigour. Every Spotlight project involves careful coordination across multiple teams and stakeholders, requiring clear communication and meticulous attention to detail.
We handle all pre-production logistics, from site reconnaissance visits to ensure optimal filming conditions, through to securing all necessary permissions including drone clearances when aerial footage enhances the story. Model releases and property releases are managed systematically, ensuring all legal requirements are met before production begins.
During production, our team works efficiently to capture all necessary footage whilst minimising disruption to the client's business operations. We understand that these business owners are taking valuable time away from running their companies, so every moment must count.
Post-production involves multiple revision cycles, both internally within our team and externally with Sage South Africa, Sage Global teams, and their clients. This collaborative approach ensures every stakeholder is satisfied with the final result, maintaining relationships whilst delivering content that meets everyone's expectations.
Results and Ongoing Impact
The Sage Spotlight programme has been genuinely transformative for Sage's marketing efforts. These customer-focused stories have helped them effectively market their various software products to companies of all sizes, from small businesses to large enterprises.
By placing authentic customer experiences at the centre of their marketing strategy, Sage has been able to demonstrate real-world value rather than simply listing software features. Potential customers can see themselves in these stories, understanding not just what the software does, but how it transforms actual business operations.
The programme has also strengthened Sage's relationships with existing customers, who appreciate being recognised and having their success stories shared with the broader business community. This recognition often leads to stronger partnerships and increased loyalty.
Looking Forward
Our ongoing partnership with Sage on the Spotlight programme represents everything we value about client relationships: transparency, collaboration, and mutual respect for excellence. The intensive nature of these projects pushes our entire team to deliver their absolute best work, whilst Sage's commitment to customer-centric marketing aligns perfectly with our belief that authentic stories drive genuine business growth.
This programme continues to evolve as we work together to refine processes, enhance deliverables, and find new ways to tell compelling business stories that resonate with diverse audiences across multiple markets. The success of the Sage Spotlight programme demonstrates what's possible when a global company commits to authentic customer storytelling and partners with a team dedicated to bringing those stories to life with professional excellence.
Your success is our success.
We've been blessed to build some incredible relationships with our clients over the past few years.
"Working with ThinkStory has been a truly collaborative and strategic experience. From developing our Sage Spotlight Success Stories—across video, written, and design formats—to crafting compelling presentations and speechwriting support, they’ve consistently delivered high-quality, impactful work.
Their ability to respond quickly to feedback and implement changes with speed and accuracy made the process seamless. We especially valued their proactive guidance and creative input, which strengthened the final outcomes.
Their work is always on-brand, timely, and effective. It’s been a pleasure partnering with a team that genuinely understands our goals and consistently adds value at every stage."
"Please can I take a few minutes of your time to thank you for the professional service we received from you and your team.
As you know, Sage is very specific about our suppliers, and many don’t make it onto our supplier list. We have 3 agencies listed, and ThinkStory is Customer Experiences’ preferred supplier. Having worked with you and your team to coordinate the South African Success Story winners photo shoots, I can recommend your services to anyone needing the same kind of assistance. The Success Story photo shoot is very prestigious, and the winners receive their books and prizes in a global ceremony which includes our senior management. Therefore, the quality of the shoot is of utmost importance.
You kept us in the loop with the arrangements, arrived on time and were fully prepared for everything we needed. I was grateful for your flexibility, as things tend to go wrong when groups of people are concerned, but you handled our speedbumps with professionalism and efficiency.
The final results were faultless and delivered on time.
I am so grateful to you and your team and will not hesitate to utilise your services again."
“I really enjoyed working with ThinkStory on our eBooks and customer video testimonials. They were a strategic and collaborative partner from the start. They are always well-prepared, proactive, and clear in their communication. I appreciated how quickly they responded to feedback and how easy it was to work with them, even under tight timelines.
They regularly shared helpful guidance and insights that strengthened our campaigns and helped us stay aligned with our goals. The final deliverables were consistently high quality, on-brand, and impactful. Overall, it felt like working with a true extension of our internal team.”
"Sage South Africa has been working with ThinkStory on a number of big projects and have been incredibly impressed with their professionalism, high standard of work produced and the effort put in to build relationships and deliver on-time. I would highly recommend ThinkStory to tell your business story so that it resonates with your customers in a unique, dynamic and professional way."
"Our collaboration with ThinkStory has become an indispensable part of how we approach content strategy and creative execution at Sage. It’s more than just delivering projects—it’s a deeply strategic relationship grounded in thoughtful conversations, shared goals, and a genuine drive to elevate our work for our HR & Payroll, Accounting & Finance and Small product portfolios.
From impactful video testimonials and polished written content to compelling presentations and tailored advert development, ThinkStory has consistently delivered with excellence across multiple formats and campaigns. Their agility in implementing stakeholder feedback – often within hours – is a game-changer, and their dedication to quality never comes with friction or unnecessary costs.
What sets ThinkStory apart is not just their creative expertise, but their commitment to guiding us with valuable insights and improvements that enhance every project. Their counsel is as trusted as their craftsmanship, and the outcome is always something we’re proud to showcase.
Working with the ThinkStory team is effortless and energising. There’s a human warmth behind the professionalism that makes them our go-to partner – not just for the work, but for the trust, reliability, and shared pride in every deliverable.
I have found ThinkStory to be very knowledgeable in different fields regarding video, written and thought leadership content. They are always providing valuable insights and improvements to the different projects we run with them which makes our job easier.
I absolutely love working with ThinkStory, not just for the work they do but also the human and connection aspect they bring when working with us as a client. ThinkStory will always be my go-to agency for video and written content and their final outcome.
We look forward to many more standout collaborations ahead."
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