Why Having a Longterm Video Production Partner Pays Dividends

Our first videos for MANNA date back to 2016. A 10+ year partnership has allowed us to push creative boundaries, bring the community closer to the mission, and ultimately help raise millions of dollars for life-saving services.

The value of a long-term partner in video production is immeasurable.

We've had so many clients at 20/20 Visual Media that we've been fortunate to work with for many years. Some of them for ten or more, which is both humbling and gratifying at the same time.

One of those clients is MANNA (Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance), who we started working with back in 2016. If you don't know, MANNA does incredible work providing medically tailored meals to those fighting life-threatening illnesses. Their work is life saving, and we've had the privilege of documenting these success stories for a decade.

Anytime we start working with a new organization, the first thing we tell them is, "Our team is going to work very hard to learn the ins and outs of your organization, but you are the experts in your brand.”

It's our way to reinforce our philosophy that the best results come from a vendor who's willing to listen to and learn from the people most steeped in the values.

But when a working relationship is able to evolve over the course of many years, that's where real returns happen. Here’s why:

1. Real Trust Has Been Built

Over a period of time, we become experts in how you communicate, in who your audience is, and what storytelling strategies would be most effective. It’s important no matter what industry you’re in, but it’s especially critical in non-profit video production, because every dollar spent truly matters. And when trust is established, you have a partner who understands the value of your dollars and helps you to maximize your spend for the best possible returns.

2. You Can Take More Risks

In video, it often pays to try something new. There’s a lot of “noise” online, and the best way to cut through that is to be original, authentic, and different. But if you’re constantly changing production companies, the instinct might be to play it safe since you’re still getting to know each other. The downside of playing it safe is you’re most likely making the same video over and over again, which is going to lead to lower impact, and less return on your investment.

That’s what I love about these two videos we did for MANNA in 2025. 10 years after our first project together. Much more risk, much more impact. You can see the evolution in the work.

For years, we’ve highlighted the volunteers who make meaningful differences every day. But these came with a new approach. The first was a day-in-the-life story told through the perspective of one volunteer in his own words - a poem that summed up his feelings about the impact volunteering can make.

The second was a cinematic anthem that shows the many faces and places MANNA impacts each day. It can be used as a powerful glimpse into the mission, vision, and values of the organization.

Videos like these only happen with trust. Not just in a video production company and our ability to tell a story, but in the fact that we have the best interest of the client at heart.

3. You Build a Content Library

If you work with your production partner for a long time, that allows you to build a content library, which is invaluable. A library of footage allows you to react quickly to immediate needs, without necessarily having to film something new. It’s an underrated time and money saver. It’s not just a folder of old clips. It’s a living history of the work you’ve done.

So many of our longterm partners come back to us and say, “hey remember that video we filmed back in 2018? We’d love to edit that footage into something new for social media.”

It’s an opportunity to continue to reach your audience in new ways, even if marketing budgets are getting squeezed.

You’re making the investment, so get the most out of it. Campaigns evolve. Marketing teams evolve. So can your video assets.

4. But Mostly, it’s Comfortable

When you have a partner that knows you as well as you know yourself, the onboarding process for the next project becomes so much faster and easier. The time spent on set feels so comfortable. It’s efficient. It’s effective. Taking risks seem less scary.

And each conversation is rooted in the tight knit teamwork that’s needed to get projects done well.

Longterm client relationships like this one with MANNA reminds me that you can hire any vendor for a one-off project, but you can build out a vision with a partner.