How Gentry Ewing Approaches Using Video to Build Stakeholder Trust
Gentry Ewing leads strategic affairs at Rayburn Electric Cooperative in North Texas. His remit includes communications, public relations, and stakeholder engagement for a generation and transmission cooperative that spends most of its time out of the spotlight.
The conversation mattered because Ewing explained how video helps an essential service earn and maintain trust. He did not frame video as a volume game. He treated it like a clarity tool.
Ewing grounded his points in two concrete projects: a groundbreaking video for a new power station in Sherman and an overnight operations piece that showed lineworkers serving while most people slept. He also outlined mistakes he sees often, especially slow starts and unfocused edits, and he shared five practices his team uses to make video useful inside and outside the organization.
The throughline of the interview was plain: shorten the path to understanding, put real people on screen, explain the why behind complex work, and show progress over time. He added that internal videos, partner spotlights, and milestone updates all help keep stakeholders aligned on the long road from plan to delivery.
Start fast, cut the filler
Ewing’s advice on structure was blunt. “Be quick. Be clear. And make every component count.” He argued that many corporate videos wait too long to reach the point. Viewers lose interest before they know why the piece matters.
For production teams, this means writing the core message first, then opening with it. If a sentence, shot, or graphic does not move the viewer closer to that message, it goes. He also noted that people can spot a script. That does not mean turning the camera on without preparation. It suggests tighter edits, fewer qualifiers, and early context so the audience knows what they are watching and why.
Put people behind the message
Ewing emphasized that people trust other people more than institutions. He favors interviews with leaders, employees, and partners to humanize decisions and to make responsibility visible. In his words elsewhere in the interview, tone and facial expression help make complex topics clearer without oversimplifying them.
For business videos, this means picking speakers who do the work, not only spokespeople. A lineworker explaining an overnight job reads differently than a narrator over stock footage. Leaders should be specific about their role in the decision at hand. Short, focused answers on-camera often beat long statements loaded with jargon.
Make complex topics understandable through place and purpose
The Rayburn Energy Station II groundbreaking video was not just an announcement about megawatts and timelines. Ewing described how showing the place, the people, and the purpose shifted the story from infrastructure news to something local and understandable. The message was reliability, planning, and responsibility, not simply that a plant was being built.
This applies directly to sectors with technical products or regulated work. Show the site. Name who benefits. Use plain language to link the project to a tangible outcome viewers recognize in daily life. One or two graphics can support the explanation, but the spine should be on-camera voices and real locations that anchor the concept.
Show progress, not only outcomes
Ewing argued for documenting the steps between planning and delivery. He pointed to milestone updates on long infrastructure projects as a way to demonstrate progress, explain what has been accomplished, and keep timelines credible over months or years.
A related lesson for brand production is to think in series. Record short updates at key moments with a consistent format and clear labels. Archive the clips where stakeholders can find them again. This approach builds a record of work, reduces speculation, and turns a single ribbon-cutting video into a set of touchpoints that sustain trust during the wait.
Reinforce partnerships with shared-purpose stories
Ewing’s fifth point focused on collaboration. He recommended using video to show how joint work improves reliability, affordability, and flexibility for the people served. Partner-focused pieces can feature interviews with Members and project partners, on-site footage of collaborative activities, and simple explanations of roles and benefits.
For teams managing alliances or supplier relationships, this means getting both sides on camera and being explicit about who does what. Clear role descriptions, shared wins, and defined next steps help viewers understand the partnership beyond a logo slide. Done well, these videos reinforce mutual accountability.
Practical applications for video marketing today
Shorten the hook. Write one sentence that states the why of the video in plain language. Put that sentence, or its direct answer, in the first 5 to 10 seconds. On platforms with autoplay, use the first shot to signal context fast, for example a plant exterior with the project name on screen rather than an abstract opener.
Prioritize real locations and practitioners. For announcements and case pieces, film on-site when possible and include the people doing the work. Keep interviews tight. Ask specific prompts that elicit one idea per answer, then edit for meaning. If a viewer can point to a face and a place tied to the claim, the message lands cleaner.
Plan for series when timelines are long. Map 3 to 5 milestones you can show on camera. Use a repeatable template for each update so viewers recognize the thread. Keep each piece short, label progress plainly, and link back to the stated why. This approach supports external audiences and builds useful internal comms at the same time.
Team Beverly Boy's Takeaway
We heard a communicator in a complex industry treat video as a tool for clarity. The strongest lines in the interview were about speed to meaning and editorial discipline. We agree. The first 10 seconds decide whether the next minute gets watched, and every second needs a job.
We also appreciated the focus on unseen work. Filming overnight operations is not about drama. It is about showing real conditions and responsible people. When projects take months or years, a simple milestone series can hold trust better than one polished recap. That is a practical, sustainable way to use video.
Conclusion
Ewing’s experience at a utility puts a practical frame around trust and video. Start with what matters, show the people and places doing the work, and keep stakeholders close with visible progress. That approach travels well across sectors that handle complex, long-horizon work.
In complex, long-horizon work, consistent, human-centered updates earn trust and keep stakeholders aligned.
This article is based on an interview originally published by Authority Magazine. Read the full interview here.
