Case study content
Most brand films suffer from an identity crisis. They want to be absolute cinema but end up as PowerPoint in motion. When Refyne approached us, the challenge was refreshingly blunt: make a brand film that looks and feels like an ad. A contradiction, yes. Also, exactly the kind of problem worth solving.
The objective was not vanity. It was precision. Refyne needed to intrigue two difficult audiences at once: investors who speak in metrics and prospective clients who speak in trust. The film had to signal credibility without being stiff, be ambitious without being arrogant, and be innovative without disappearing into jargon. In short, it had to perform in boardrooms and browsers alike.
The strategic insight lay at the heart of Refyne’s business model itself. This was not a simple B2C story. Refyne operates in the nuanced territory of B2B2C, a consumer-first product delivered through HR teams inside organisations. The real user is the employee, but the first handshake happens with the company. That tension shaped everything. The film couldn’t speak at corporations, nor could it ignore them. It had to talk through them to the people they serve.
Instead of glorifying the product outright, we chose a more dangerous route: satire. We held up a mirror to traditional lending systems, which are slow, bloated, intimidating, and gently mocked the rituals people have learned to tolerate and succumb to. Long forms. Longer waits. And even longer silences. Against this backdrop, Refyne emerged not as a loud disruptor, but as a quiet correction. Modern. Human. Built for how people actually live and work.
The execution leaned unapologetically into storytelling. Actors brought the world to life. Humour softened the critique. Timing carried the message. Every frame was treated with the polish of a commercial, yet paced with the restraint of a brand narrative. The result was a film that didn’t beg for attention but earned it, a piece that entertained first, explained second, and sold the services by design.
Refyne’s response? Immediate and downright generous. “Brilliant execution!” they said. High praise in a world where feedback is usually either a thumbs‑up emoji or a calendar invite titled “quick discussion.”
Our biggest takeaway was simple and convincing: when you respect your audience’s intelligence, they reward you with attention. When you dare to make finance humorous, structure flexible, and brands human, people don’t just watch, they listen. And they even remember!