When you think of first responders, you might imagine disaster relief services like police, firefighters, medical personnel or the National Guard. But there’s another breed of first responders that’s largely invisible, and whose contributions are easy to take for granted: the coders whose skill and creativity power the tools that bring relief to those affected by disaster.

In collaboration with IBM Originals, Media.Monks produced a feature-length documentary film, Code & Response, that examines the ambition that drives several members of the global coding community to develop new, first-responder solutions amidst a backdrop of natural disasters that have grown in strength and number—and stand to become even worse in the future.

The film features four projects around the world, each tackling disasters that may have seemed far away and abstract to viewers before watching, but that are all too real for the coders and their communities. “We wanted to raise their profile in the culture’s discourse,” says Elisa Thomas, Content Strategist at IBM Originals. “To do that meant going deeper into their motivations and allowing their stories to unfold in a way that couldn’t be done in a two-minute clip. We wanted high-production value and time to do it right.”

And it looks like those stories have resonated with viewers; running the film festival circuit, Code & Response has taken home a few awards, like Best Documentary at International New York Film Festival and a Gold Award for Best Feature at the Southeast Regional Film Festival. A writer from The Next Web called it “the single most touching, inspiring documentary I’ve seen this year.”

Bringing Ideas to Life

The documentary’s acclaim offers a great lesson on what brands can achieve when they marry creativity with authenticity; despite its being made by IBM Originals, the brand doesn’t insert itself into the narrative. Instead, it focuses on the everyday people bringing their innovative (and important) ideas to life: for example, an offline mesh network that lets people communicate when normal connections are down, or drone scouts that identify SOS signals with image recognition technology.

“The point isn’t about the brand in the story, but telling a good story,” says Heather Hosey, VP Client Engagement at Media.Monks, who worked on the project. “IBM was pushing to tell a good story without promoting themselves, which is so different among what others do.”

Celebrating coders and letting them tell their own stories does more than demystify tech to a general audience. For developers, the stories can be inspiring. For those with the motivation to make something, too, IBM’s larger Code & Response initiative—including its “Call for Code” contest, local events and a resource platform for self-learning—is there to support them.

“When we titled the film, we didn’t expect it to become the title for a greater IBM initiative,” says Joe Esposito, Creative Director at IBM Originals. “Code & Response is now a $25 million, four-year IBM initiative to help bring these new open source technologies and solutions into the world. We hope the movie bolsters that commitment.”

An Authentic Connection to Community

The film owes much of its power to distilling complicated technology into relatable, human stories. “We didn’t want to typecast, so we featured normal people who are very passionate about their work,” said Hosey. The secret to surfacing up such powerful stories lies in embedding the creative team directly within the community: “We went to them, rather than ask that they come to us, and that yielded a better output,” says Hosey.

This meant digging deep and building contacts at IBM’s hackathons on a local level—easy enough if you’re profiling a single one, but requiring a bit of dedication when your focus extends across the globe. This led the team to meet with Pedro Cruz, one of the film’s subjects, who won first place at IBM’s Call for Code in Puerto Rico for DroneAid, his drone scouting project. Subalekha Udayasankar, also portrayed in the film, was a finalist in the global Call for Code with Project Lantern. But the team wasn’t interested in just the winners. Their drive to unearth the most compelling stories brought them in touch with Kenji Kato, who participated in Fremont, CA with a wildfire tracking system; and WOTA, a team of Tokyo-based engineers who developed a water circulation system that provides access to clean, running water to disaster victims.

Keeping Goals Aligned

This investigative style of digging into the trenches ensures the story doesn’t get lost in the tech. Instead, the process authentically weaves in the impact that the coders have made on their communities through their work, aligning well with the film’s goals of challenging the way audiences look at developers and inspire its community of developers.

“There are so many archetypes for developers in the media—mostly, they’re wearing hoodies in basements, hacking companies for some sort of monetary gain,” says Thomas. “In reality, many are incredibly thoughtful and passionate people who use their skills to help people. And they do so with such humility and sincerity.”

Hosey emphasizes the importance of ensuring everyone is on the same page early in the process. Film is a big endeavor, incorporating several players: brand leadership, the creative team, the production team and more. “Assessing all company priorities—creative and business—ahead of time is key to building a better story.” she says. “There will always be many players, and it helps creative and production to understand all those angles to set up a successful story.”

For IBM, the film not only brings to light the impact that coders have on their communities—it serves as example of how we can work together to build a better future. “IBM has always taken a progressive stand about building a smarter planet and we have thrived for more than 100 years because we focus on the shared success of business and society,” says Christopher Schifando, Creative Director at IBM. “By putting smart technologies to work in the hands of coders, we can invent new ways to help first responders save lives and create lasting and sustainable change.”

It takes close trust and partnership to align the narrative with what the creative team wants to convey and the results that leadership wants to achieve. The Media.Monks team worked alongside IBM throughout the film and production process, and the shared vision of the project kept the team focused and energized. “Our tagline was ‘One team, one dream,’” says Hosey. “What kept us all going was that it was a really cool project.”

The 50th meeting of the World Economic Forum took place in Davos, Switzerland this week, where leaders across industries met to discuss the pressing matters of our time and engage with big ideas that are driving agendas across every sector.

At the conference, S⁴Capital Executive Chairman Sir Martin discussed the growth of markets around the world where he finds great potential. “I met with both the president and prime minister of Ukraine [Volodymyr Zelensky and Oleksiy Honcharuk], which was really interesting because they’re trying to build a Singapore on steroids and offer incentives for people,” he said. “They have their youngest prime minister, who’s very keen to reform and invest.”

He also touched upon developments around the world, including India, where MediaMonks recently merged with content house WhiteBalance. “We’re very bullish on Asia, in China and India despite the trade wars and tariffs. It’s amazing what some Chinese companies have done despite the trade wars.”

Elsewhere at this year’s conference, the theme focused on stakeholder capitalism, or the idea that a business must focus its efforts on the needs of not only shareholders or employees, but every stakeholder—including its customers, the communities it impacts and society as a whole. It’s a theme that demands change and asks that brands put plans into action for tangible effect. 

In line with this need, MediaMonks aided two businesses whose technologies power initiatives around the world —IBM and Microsoft—by designing and building experiential activations that bring the impacts of their services to life. Both installations demonstrate the role of creative content in making sense of tough-to-grasp concepts, and how to effectively utilize a space to build lasting connections.

Build Value with Creative Content

IBM has called for a new business model built for the 21st century: the cognitive enterprise. While many brands may still feel a need to catch up to their peers in digital transformation, the cognitive enterprise is built around the idea that in today’s world, everyone is digital—and companies must evolve and reinvent themselves to remain competitive.

But what actually is a cognitive enterprise, how does one actually work, and what tools are available to help it function? These are the questions MediaMonks aimed to answer in a short, friendly and digestible way, translating IBM’s report on the model into an engaging and interactive exhibition. 

At the IBM space, our installation invited attendees to explore each part of the cognitive enterprise across different industries: industrial, government, consumer and banking. Once attendees walk into the space, they see a series of LED walls and smart tables; placing a token on the table activates a demonstration featuring beautifully rendered, interactive animations that bring the cognitive enterprise to life through real-world context and application. After attendees get an overview of the Cognitive Enterprise, they are prompted to dive deeper into specific workflows which are activated by the tokens.

Giving meaning to the cognitive enterprise was key: “As enterprises continue on their transformation journey, the Cognitive Enterprise is IBM’s proprietary framework for businesses to solve their toughest business challenges and gain competitive advantage,” said Stephen Leps, Global Content Lead & Editor-in-Chief at IBM Services. “This activation showcases the latest ideas and examples of the Cognitive Enterprise brought to life, and more importantly goes deeper into ‘how’ organizations can derive maximum value through technology and become a smarter business.”

Encapsulating the many connections across a business ecosystem into a concise narrative was one of the most difficult parts of the process, as the cognitive enterprise can operate differently across different industries. “We wanted to offer an engaging, personalized experience for anyone interacting with the experience so they can tailor it to their specific business needs,” say Heather Hosey, VP of Client Engagement at MediaMonks. 

Focus on Form and Function to Drive Impact

Such installations have become increasingly important at a time when our sense of connection has changed. Culture is defined by an intersection of physical and digital ecosystems, and experiential enables brands to tell their stories within a live experience—an important opportunity at a future-focused conference like Davos where so many leaders lay out their vision of the future.

On that note, Paige Kenmore, Senior Experiential Producer at MediaMonks, notes how critical it is to pay attention to the space you have at your disposal at an event or on the floor to ensure an enjoyable user experience. “From the beginning of the project, we were challenged with how to make a big impact experience in a small space meant to serve many purposes throughout the event,” says Kenmore. “Our team delivered on multiple aspects of the project to bring the space to life. This included the architectural design of the activation, content creation, lighting and sound design, software development and signage.”

In addition to IBM, we worked with Microsoft to deliver human stories to attendees. Our mosaic wall installation—composed of a Microsoft Surface Hub 2S surrounded by smaller devices from partners like Samsung, HP, Lenovo and Panasonic—shared stories on 20 different initiatives for social good made possible through Microsoft technology. It has a bit of an artsy, gallery-wall vibe, and invites viewers to stop and engage through the tactile element of touch.

Showcasing the tech giant’s dedication to making an impact, the mosaic wall is quite versatile: it offers three different modes depending on the style of the event (for example, allowing viewers to interact by choosing a story to play on a showroom floor, or functioning as an aesthetically unique backdrop for keynote events). 

These capabilities showcase the value of a multidisciplinary partner that understands both the physical and digital interactions that make a tech-driven experience. In a live experiential exhibition, these multiple components combine into a single coherent experience or interaction that delivers lasting impact to consumers or potential partners. This way, brands not only tell their stories, but immerse viewers in a way that substantiates their values and makes them more tangible and actionable—bringing the future a little bit closer to the present.