Problem

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs, or in this case Pertamina EP’s Tanggung Jawab Sosial dan Lingkungan (TJSL), are designed to reflect real care for communities. However, communicating sustainability messages to the public is not always easy. Many digital audiences, especially on YouTube, are highly critical and often dismiss CSR videos as nothing more than corporate formalities.

At the same time, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) topics are increasingly being highlighted by companies across industries. With so much similar content, messages can easily get lost. Pertamina EP needed a different approach to ensure their program stood out and earned genuine trust from the public.

Objective

Pertamina EP aimed to prove that their TJSL program creates real and measurable impact. The goal was to produce a documentary style video that not only presented facts but also placed people at the center of the story.

The video was expected to:

• Strengthen public trust in TJSL programs.
• Show social impact that feels authentic and measurable.
• Reinforce Pertamina EP’s image as a company that genuinely cares about sustainability and the community.

Action

To achieve these goals, Pertamina EP partnered with Solutive and Olahkarsa to design a semi-documentary approach rooted in human-centered storytelling. The focus was not on the company itself, but on the communities who truly benefited from the program.

Key strategies included:

• Highlighting real stories from the community and presenting daily life as it truly is.
• Using natural ambient sound to create an authentic viewing experience, as if the audience were truly present in the moment.
• Presenting emotions in a genuine and understated way, ensuring the message felt honest and heartfelt.
• Centering the story on the social impact for communities rather than overemphasizing the company brand.

With this approach, the video evolved into a living narrative. The community became the main character, while the company appeared as the enabler that made meaningful change possible.

Results

The semi documentary video successfully changed the way audiences perceived social programs. Content that is usually seen as monotonous became warm, relatable, and full of meaning. Viewers appreciated how the story was told with honesty and simplicity, which encouraged them to watch until the very end.

Some of the key outcomes included:

• Strong audience engagement with viewers watching the video from start to finish.
• More than 50 positive comments on YouTube, most highlighting the authenticity of the story and how it felt different from typical CSR campaigns.
• Internal teams at Pertamina EP reused the video in stakeholder forums, making it a strategic communication tool that highlighted measurable impact.

This success shows how a TJSL documentary video, when produced with educational storytelling and a focus on impact, can achieve more than sharing information. It builds public trust, strengthens credibility, and demonstrates a company’s genuine commitment to people and sustainability.