The Watford BID Ballot Campaign Film
This Watford BID campaign video is a major film for Watford Business Improvement District, bringing together an archive of previous projects and interviews with local businesses and stakeholders to make the case for renewal ahead of a crucial BID ballot.

CLIENT
Watford Business Improvement District
SECTOR
Public sector · Business membership · Town centre regeneration
SERVICES
Campaign strategy input · Archive research · Stakeholder interviews · Filming · Editing · Final delivery
The brief
Watford BID needed to make the case for renewing its mandate ahead of a formal ballot, with the future of the organisation dependent on securing enough support from local businesses.
This was far more than a straightforward promotional film. The project needed to demonstrate what the BID had actually achieved, why its work mattered to businesses and why continued investment in Watford town centre was worth supporting.
The scale of the brief meant drawing on an extensive archive of previous BID projects, alongside new interviews with around a dozen local businesses and stakeholders who could speak first-hand about the difference the organisation had made.
The finished film needed to bring all of that evidence together into a compelling campaign message, distributed to businesses ahead of the ballot and designed to help secure a successful renewal.
The approach
The priority was building a convincing case from real evidence and real voices, rather than producing a conventional corporate film about the BID.
The project combined footage from an archive of previous work with newly filmed interviews, creating a visual record of what the BID had delivered over its existing term.
The film needed to help businesses understand:
- What Watford BID had actually delivered for the town centre
- How BID-funded projects had benefited local businesses and the wider community
- What local businesses and stakeholders thought about its work
- Why renewal mattered to the future of Watford town centre
- What could be achieved through continued investment and collaboration
Around a dozen local businesses and stakeholders were interviewed, giving the campaign a broad range of genuine voices and perspectives.
The Watford BID campaign video
The project was a substantial production combining archive research, new filming and a significant amount of editorial work. This included:
- Reviewing and selecting relevant footage from an archive of previous Watford BID projects
- Interviewing around a dozen local businesses and key stakeholders
- Filming across Watford town centre to connect the interviews with recognisable local places
- Identifying the strongest stories and examples of BID activity from previous years
- Structuring a large amount of material into one clear and persuasive campaign film
- Editing the film around the formal ballot deadline
- Balancing archive footage, new interviews and campaign messaging into a coherent story
The scale of the archive and number of contributors meant the project required careful editorial judgement, ensuring the finished film remained focused rather than becoming simply a catalogue of previous BID activity.
The result
The finished film became a central piece of Watford BID’s renewal campaign, giving local businesses a clear and human explanation of what the organisation had delivered and why its continued work mattered.
With the future of the BID effectively resting on a successful ballot, the film had a genuine purpose beyond raising awareness. It needed to help businesses make an informed decision and demonstrate the value of another term through evidence and the experiences of those who had worked with or benefited from the BID.
The combination of archive footage and interviews with around a dozen local businesses and stakeholders gave the campaign credibility that a purely promotional film could not have achieved.
The campaign was ultimately successful, securing another term for Watford BID and allowing its work in the town centre to continue.
Why this project worked
This was a project where the film genuinely mattered. The future of Watford BID depended on a successful renewal ballot, so the content needed to do more than look good. It needed to make a convincing case.
By combining years of archived project footage with first-hand accounts from local businesses and stakeholders, the film turned a substantial amount of evidence into a clear, human campaign message.
It is a strong example of how video can play a meaningful role in a high-stakes communications campaign, particularly when the outcome genuinely matters to the organisation and the community it represents.

