How a Documentary Can Deliver ROI for Leaders & Entrepreneurs
When Bruce, the head of the National Wheelchair Softball Association (NWSA), first approached our studio, he had a modest budget and a simple goal: document their annual tournament and create some educational content about the sport. What he didn't expect was how a short documentary would transform the visibility and legitimacy of wheelchair softball, creating ripple effects that continue years later.
"Your pieces created the legitimacy of the sport," Bruce explains. "Not a perception, but that reality... Prior to that, there was really nothing that existed."
The Challenge: Documenting a Niche Sport
Wheelchair softball's rich history dates back to 1947 at the Birmingham Army Hospital in California. The National Wheelchair Softball Association was formally established in 1976, and over the decades, the sport grew from a few teams in the upper Midwest to a nationwide phenomenon. The Nebraska Barons, Bruce's team, emerged as a dominant force in the modern era, claiming 13 titles between 2003 and 2021. (Source)
Despite this impressive legacy and competitive spirit, the sport struggled with visibility. As Bruce explains, "It was always amazing to me that no one over the many years had really even videotaped games... Beyond that, there was nothing. Then the periodic news channel article, you know, they had different teams out in their cities and things."
A Niche Sport with Broad Impact
Today, wheelchair softball encompasses approximately 500 active players in the United States and another 100 internationally. While these numbers might seem modest, Bruce emphasizes the broader impact: "The families of all those 500 people, you know, and the friends and relatives of those families... there's a reach there. The people that play the game are very much involved in it, and those that love them have an interest in it."
The Solution: From Event Coverage to Human Stories
While the original scope was straightforward event coverage, we proposed a different approach: following several key individuals through the tournament to tell the human story of wheelchair softball. This included perspectives from players, coaches, and even an umpire.
Bruce's response to this pivot reveals the power of trust between client and creative team: "What's the downside, you know? The money wasn't enough for what you did, it's all we had. But what was the downside of doing that? So why not?"
The Results: Creating Lasting Impact
We created a short documentary about the tournament featuring profiling a player commonly referred to as MVP, a player who is a spirited leader, a coach looking to take the sports’ impact internationally, and an umpire who first underestimated the sport but quickly fell in love with the game. You can view the trailer for the short film at the bottom of this post.
Years later, the documentary has delivered measurable results and ongoing benefits:
Mainstream Sports Recognition "As a direct result - and no doubt a direct result - several different major companies have included wheelchair softball clips in the promotion of Major League Baseball," Bruce notes. "There was the World Series clip... a five second piece that was put into the promo of the World Series."
Legitimacy and Credibility "Your pieces created the legitimacy of the sport," Bruce explains. "Not a perception, but that reality... Prior to that, there was really nothing that existed."
Evergreen Marketing Asset The documentary continues to serve as a valuable recruitment tool. "All the people that I try to recruit, I definitely send those videos for them to view, to try to get the hook and try to get them interested."
Long-Term Value As Bruce points out, "It's timeless because the sport doesn't change so much. Just like baseball doesn't change... What was created will be applicable now, and it's been 5 or 6 years... It'll be applicable another five years and another five years."
Expanded Awareness and Participation While exact numbers are difficult to track, Bruce notes the documentary's role in growing awareness: "You don't know why new players come to the sport or why there's greater attention drawn to it. But those little five second pieces here or there create maybe looks and hits on the internet and looks and hits on the website."
The Unexpected Benefits
Perhaps most significantly, the documentary has helped fulfill the organization's broader mission of creating opportunities for people with disabilities. As Bruce reflects, "It's more about the opportunity for people that have this special need... the awareness that exists so that they can add that to their life that will help them lifestyle wise and health wise."
Key Takeaways for Leaders
This case study demonstrates several crucial points about documentary investment:
Trust the Creative Process: Being open to creative direction can lead to more impactful results than initially envisioned.
Think Long-Term: A well-crafted documentary can serve as a marketing asset for years, continuing to deliver value long after its initial release.
Human Stories Matter: While event coverage has its place, telling human stories creates deeper connections and more lasting impact.
Multiple Use Cases: A single documentary can serve multiple purposes - from recruitment to legitimacy-building to mainstream media inclusion.
Breaking Down Barriers Through Storytelling
Non-profits and social impact organizations often face a common challenge: the communities they serve are frequently misunderstood or overlooked by the broader public. Traditional marketing materials and statistics, while valuable, can struggle to create genuine understanding and empathy.
Documentary storytelling offers a powerful solution to this challenge. By focusing on individual stories and experiences, documentaries help audiences move beyond stereotypes and statistics to see the human reality of social issues. As Bruce's case demonstrates, when viewers connect with real people sharing their authentic experiences, it creates a deeper understanding that can lead to meaningful change.
"It's the stories of the people that really connect you to the sport," Bruce notes, highlighting how personal narratives created awareness and opportunities that raw information about wheelchair softball never could. This human-centered approach helps break down barriers and misconceptions while building bridges of understanding between communities.
