Iron Mountain
As a society, how do we choose what to preserve? Who manages our collective memory and our most valuable possessions?
Iron Mountain is a global records and information management company that employees over 40,000 people around the world. Their clients range from government agencies and major entertainment studios to hospital systems and art museums.
As the organization navigated its digital transformation, it sought to honor the humanity at the core of its work.
Since 2020, 1504 has served as Iron Mountain’s narrative partner to tell stories that celebrate the organization’s values lived out through its workforce. Starting with creative strategy and communication planning that involved interviewing over 30 executives around the world, the story initiatives highlighted diverse stories from Brazil, England, India, and everywhere in between.
select works
“Agent of Change”
1504 developed a series called “The Spirit of Mountaineers” that followed employees around the world. These were individuals dedicated to service for their fellow employees as well as their local communities. In São Paulo, Augusta Soto leads the Afro Affinity ERG which actively promotes a safe work environment where people can feel free to truly be themselves — both in the corporate setting and beyond.
“A Flood of Memories”
Appalshop is a community archive based in Whitesburg, Kentucky. For over 50 years, they have helped preserve the memories of an entire region of Appalachia. After a 1,000 year flood put the archive in danger, Iron Mountain led an effort to remediate the assets and save what was nearly lost, which was profiled in the New York Times here.
“The Art of Trust”
One of Iron Mountain’s subsidiaries is Crozier Fine Arts, a global art handling business that serves museums, art fairs, and private collectors. In this story, one of several that profiles the high-stakes world of art handling, we see Lauren Costa and her interdisciplinary team move a Keith Haring sculpture for a private collector in Los Angeles, California.
gallery
Iron Mountain's longest serving employee, Bill Mesick, who was the subject of one of the films in the "Spirit of Mountaineers" series.
Preserving vintage planes with Rolls Royce, one of Iron Mountain's customer success stories.
“I’m always thinking about the customers we're serving. We don't just see them as pieces of paper. We see them as people's lives.” — Alex, Northborough, Massachussets
1504 profiled a rare exhibition of Sherlock Holmes film footage presented by the British Film Institute and Iron Mountain.
Father and son mountaineers inside the underground storage facility in Pennsylvania.
In conversation
The best way we can communicate that gets people excited is through story. Story has more nuance, and it’s important to enable us all to serve our customers better. It’s not purely transactional.
— Bill Meaney, Iron Mountain CEO