Case study
Reframing consumer finance storytelling with Unreal Engine
The Opportunity
Instilling Hollywood tradecraft with a future-ready, scalable edge
The client, a new consumer-finance brand, had a simple goal with profound implications for its growth. It aimed to launch a national-quality campaign using virtual production and AI to improve outcomes at every step, from first impression on a cold audience to final conversion on site.
It’s clear why the team focused on film. The hero video is the most important interaction a fintech brand has with a prospect, often occurring during moments of stress, sometimes acute, including financial fear. The stakes are high, and the customer may be in distress. Meanwhile, the cost of producing premium video has carried sustained double-digit cost pressure since COVID—from safety protocols (often +5–20%+) to inflation in sets, labor, and materials—even as media CPMs have inflated (~+31% vs. 2019). By 2023, the combined effect risked pricing new entrants out of traditional, high-overhead production models.
Despite this, the category has been slow to apply deep tech engines to production, focusing instead on copy testing and bid strategies. Finding a better way to serve customers during these critical moments could have enormous impact.
The client saw an opportunity.
The Solution
Transforming the end-to-end process
Producing a national-caliber spot, such as a :30 hero for fintech, is a complex process involving numerous steps and decisions. What story should we tell? Which environments build trust? How do we visualize relief without shame? Should we prioritize broadcast or social first? Do we lead with data overlays or human moments? Even choosing deliverables depends on factors like platform specs, attention, and recall. Addressing only a few elements would have minimal impact, but equipping the team to make faster, more accurate decisions at every step could drive significant results.
The client realized there was no single lever to achieve the change it aspired to achieve. Deploying advanced real-time technology was necessary but insufficient on its own. The team also needed an operating-model shift to introduce new ways of working and deciding. Using a rewired production framework, the team worked across six dimensions—strategy, talent, agile operating model, technology, data, and scaling—to embed Unreal Engine and AI tools across creative and media.
Partnering with Deimos-One, the client assembled a team of cinematographers, technologists, creatives, analysts, change leaders, and translators. Translators bridged the gap between engineers and marketers, so the pipeline reflected both brand and performance needs. The stack included previs, 3D human mesh, autonomous cameras, Unreal Engine, and deep analytics to inform both shots and downstream spend.
We only shipped tools that delivered measurable gains (speed, accuracy, image quality). Our “double-helix” model intertwines automation and human craft: real-time engines handle precision and reuse at scale, while human performance carries trust and emotion. To make cinematic the default, we worked in agile sprints, treated telemetry as a product (setup latency, retakes, QC pass rates), and trained the crew to self-serve. The result is a team that makes faster, safer decisions on set and in post—with better outcomes for the viewer and the business.
The Impact
National campaign delivered under a sub-$25K all-in budget
Weeks script-to-air; p95 7.2 weeks across variants
CTR, -18% CPA vs control; time-to-first-learning: 9 days
Cost/finished-minute: $8,333; Asset Reuse Index: 4.6x
The client focused on real improvements for the company, the customer, employees and whenever possible, for society, and was rigorous in measuring results. For example, by enabling the team to make faster, smarter decisions, the brand cut typical production timelines by weeks and improved routing accuracy for creative cutdowns across platforms.
This in turn helped the campaign reduce media waste materially. In fact, customer sentiment by brand-lift measures climbed significantly. Armed with tools that allowed them to do their jobs more effectively, staff are also happier, with engagement scores rising to an all-time high. With improvements such 5.7 pt as greater accuracy in matching story to audience and better selection of formats, the team was also able to expand reusable assets, resulting in lower costs and lower environmental impact.
The client also achieved better business outcomes by improving the way it designs, produces, and scales creative; and by achieving greater accuracy in creative management.
Lessons Learned
Strategic Roadmap
Take a domain wide approach
Transform end-to-end: concept → previs/techvis → virtual art → ICVFX/plates → editorial/VFX → color/conform → mastering/delivery. Standardize asset IDs and versioning; lock ACES/LUTs; unify metadata so shots travel cleanly across vendors.
Operating Model
Make the end filmmakers co-designers
Put directors, DPs, VFX, and virtual art into the pipeline design from day one; capture intent, lenses, and look in shared specs that drive tools and on-set UI. Pipeline translators ensure engineers encode how departments actually shoot and cut. Leads own the workflow before the first call sheet, and production moves as one team.
Talent
Aim for improvement in all dimensions
Lift effectiveness (story, look), efficiency (setups/retakes), audience experience (recall, completion), and crew experience. Operate production as a system so fixes propagate downstream compounding gains across editorial, color, mastering, and delivery.
Adoption & Scaling
The job isn’t done until there is measurable impact
Engineers ship systems and a KPI tree, not tools alone. Dashboards link previs, set, post, and delivery to outcomes, letting teams track quality, speed, and reuse across the full creative pipeline on every campaign.
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