Client
U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs
Category
Government / Healthcare
Style
Human-Centered Storytelling
Location
Pittsburgh, PA & Orlando FL
- about the project
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Whole Health Program required a national storytelling campaign to promote a transformative approach to healthcare — shifting the focus from “what’s wrong with you” to “what matters to you.”
Mission Sierra Media was tasked with developing and producing a series of authentic, human-centered stories that could resonate with veterans across diverse backgrounds, health conditions, and life experiences.
The scope required:
- Capturing four individual veteran stories across two cities
- Producing a unified national campaign narrative
- Representing a wide range of demographics, ages, and health journeys
- Aligning storytelling with a complex, values-driven healthcare initiative
All within a compressed four-day production schedule across Pittsburgh and Orlando.
- what we do
Solution
Mission Sierra Media led a full-scale, multi-phase production effort spanning pre-production, production, and post-production.
Pre-Production (Critical Phase):
- Collaborated closely with VA stakeholders to identify and select veterans whose stories represented a diverse and meaningful cross-section of the program’s impact
- Developed narrative direction to ensure each story aligned with the Whole Health philosophy
- Coordinated logistics across two cities with a distributed production team
Production:
- Deployed a coordinated crew capable of operating simultaneously across multiple locations
- Captured four individual documentary-style video stories
- Integrated professional photography alongside video production to create a unified visual asset package
- Maintained consistent quality, tone, and messaging across all shoots despite geographic and scheduling constraints
Post-Production & Campaign Delivery:
- Produced four standalone veteran stories
- Created a national-level highlight film combining key narratives into a cohesive campaign
- Delivered a suite of short-form social media content designed for digital outreach and engagement
- the result
The Outcomes
The final campaign delivered a powerful, multi-layered narrative that demonstrated the real-world impact of the Whole Health program across the veteran community.
The work:
- Helped position Whole Health as a personalized, purpose-driven approach to care
- Highlighted transformational outcomes across a wide range of veteran experiences, including:
- Recovery from addiction and substance abuse
- Significant weight loss and lifestyle change
- Chronic pain management without surgery
- Improved mobility, sleep, and overall well-being
- Provided the VA with a scalable media package for national awareness, recruitment, and education efforts
- Reinforced trust and relatability through authentic, story-driven content
