ATK
Business Challenge:
ATK’s challenge was to communicate the drastically improved performance, utility, and capability of its Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM). ATK’s presentations of the product upgrade were clear and articulate, but they lacked the stimulation and emotional appeal that a visual medium could offer. How could ATK display the new advantages and functionality of AARGM to its acquisition chain in an effective way?
The Digital Story Solution:
Heartwood Studios created a digital story using animation and visual effects to illustrate how the product would be implemented and how it fit into the current system of existing components. ATK presented the business problem and Heartwood Studios provided the visual solution. ATK executives now had a way to quickly tell the story of their product’s development and highlight its key components in much greater clarity and depth than a PowerPoint presentation could offer. As an added benefit, executives could provide a copy of the digital story as a ‘leave-behind’.
Results:
ATK used the digital story to educate its entire acquisition chain about the advantages of the new system, from the operator to the eventual developer and procurement officer, ensuring purchase and keeping this $150 million program alive in the military and in congress. This success gave ATK a leading edge in engaging the Italian Air Force and Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division for a successful test firing from an F/A-18 aircraft on May 25, 2007. “The entire international AARGM team is very pleased with the results of today's successful test,” says Capt. Larry Egbert, the Department of Defense program manager for HARM and AARGM programs. “This event marks a major milestone in the AARGM SD&D program and demonstrates the positive results that true international cooperation can yield. This successful test demonstrates the viability of an affordable Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses (DEAD) capability for U.S., Italian, and other Allied Air Forces through the upgrade of legacy AGM-88 weapons.” Moving forward with the success of the AARGM program, other vertical groups inside ATK, as well as other companies, have began to use digital storytelling to educate their client bases and maintain sales.