We’re celebrating #Forever45Years – and we want to hear from you

In May 1978, Rex Maughan invited close family and friends to the first Forever Living Products meeting in Tempe, Arizona. In the near forty-five years since, Forever has been dedicated to seeking out nature’s best sources, producing the finest products and sharing them with the world.

Forever is now the largest grower, manufacturer and distributor of aloe vera and is a multi-billion-dollar company trading in 160 countries worldwide.

But at its heart, Forever has always been about its Business Owners. Rex Maughan’s vision was to let the products and the people who try them speak for themselves. And that’s why we want to hear from you.

Your stories. Your Forever.

As part of Forever’s 45th birthday celebrations in 2023, we’re asking FBOs to film a short video and send it to us. You should include:

• When you started working for Forever
• Your experience of working with Forever
• What you enjoy most about being an FBO
• What Forever means to you

Your video should be around 30 seconds long. Videos will be shown from April 2023 and appear across our social media channels.

For instructions on how to send us your video, head to the bottom of this post. But before filming your video, we recommend you read the guidance below.

Filming guidelines for your #Forever45Years video

Please note: If these guidelines aren’t followed, there’s a chance we may not be able to use your video or ask you to film it again.

1. Get your backdrop right

The first thing is to make sure you’re shooting your video in front of a clean backdrop.

We recommend a neutral, minimalist background with a good amount of natural light. We don’t recommend filming at night or when it’s dark. But if you’re only able to film then, use a tool such as an LED ring light to brighten things up.

TOP TIP: Add a few plants to your backdrop. It’s an easy way to make things look cosier and more attractive.

2. Set up your phone camera

We want your videos to look as natural as possible. So, always film them on your smartphone. Don’t worry about proper camera setups!

That said, it is important to set your smartphone up so it’s secure and the video is easy to view. We recommend going for a ‘medium camera shot’. This basically means not a close up, but not too far away either. Aim for at least your head and upper body to be in the shot. If it’s not possible to film a ‘medium camera shot’, then go for ‘selfie style’ (face only).

It’s also a good idea to make sure you leave a couple of metres between you and the backdrop. Sounds a bit strange, but this ensures you don’t blend in too much with what’s behind you.

And when it comes to the orientation of the video, we’re looking for vertical (so holding your smartphone upright). This is because your video will be used on our social channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter).

TOP TIP: Film the video in the highest possible resolution (ideally 4K).

3. Set up your audio

Always film in a quiet location without any distracting background noise. We suggest you film inside and make sure there isn’t any kind of draught or wind that could be picked up by your smartphone’s microphone.

If you do want to film outside (e.g. in the summer when the weather’s good), make sure you opt for a quiet spot where there aren’t going to be any distracting noises.

TOP TIP: If you’ve got one, we highly recommend a clip-on microphone that’s compatible with your smartphone. Don’t worry if you don’t have one of these. Just make sure you speak clearly and can be easily understood.

4. Clothing and appearance

When we post your video to our social channels, it’s crucial that it reflects both you and the Forever brand.

We want you to be free to present yourself in your own way. But we do have a few guidelines to follow when it comes to appearance and clothing. These are mostly for practical reasons:

• Wear clean clothes that aren’t too distracting or have too many patterns
• Make sure not to show off too much skin (a t-shirt / short-sleeved shirt works well)
• Hide any brand tags that might be on your clothing (it’s best if you don’t wear obviously branded clothes at all)
• If you wear makeup, go for a neutral look
• A simple hairstyle that doesn’t cover or distract from your face is a good option
• If you have anything with the Forever logo on it (bags, products, etc.), then include them if you can

TOP TIP: It’s always worth checking how your outfit looks against the backdrop of the video to make sure there isn’t a clash. For example, if you’re filming a video against a plain white wall, don’t wear a plain white t-shirt!

How to send us your video

Once you’ve filmed your video, send it to us using WeTransfer. You don’t need an account and it’s a really easy way to transfer larger files.

If you’ve never used WeTransfer, don’t worry. Just follow the instructions below. And if you have any problems, send an email to marketing-uk@flp.ltd.

1. After filming the video on your smartphone, open your internet application or browser and type in wetransfer.com. If you haven’t got an account, then don’t worry: simply click on ‘I just want to send files’. After that, hit the ‘send a file’ button (shown above).

2. Hit the + button (shown above).

3. Then click on ‘photo library’ (or equivalent on non-Apple devices), select your video and press ‘add’.

4. Be sure to write a short message (see above). Something like ‘Hi Forever, Here’s my video for 45 Years of Forever. Many thanks, [NAME]’. Then hit the ‘Next’ button.

5. Make sure ‘Send an Email’ is selected (this is normally the default) and hit the ‘Transfer’ button.

6. In ‘Email to’, write marketing-uk@flp.ltd. In ‘Your email’, write your own email address. Then hit ‘Transfer’.

7. If you don’t have a WeTransfer account, you’ll be asked to verify your email address. Type the 6-digit code in and hit ‘Verify’.

8. Your file will then start to transfer – this shouldn’t take too long. Once it’s done, you’ll receive an email confirmation to say that it’s been sent to us. You’ll also receive one to say that we’ve downloaded the file – treat this as confirmation we’ve got your video!

Follow us and celebrate #Forever45Years

Follow Forever’s UK, Ireland and Iceland Country Manager, Bob Parker, on Facebook. Visit his page here: https://www.facebook.com/Bob-Parker

And don’t forget to follow us across our social media channels to celebrate Forever’s 45th birthday. Visit our Facebook page here, our Instagram account here and our Twitter feed here.