Directing for the Consumer

Problem Statement

How might we style and edit product videos that are true to our brand while simultaneously appeal to a new audience and our current audience?

01. Identifying the Challenge

What problems are we trying to solve? How did we define the problem?

The real challenge when thinking up these videos was that in the following months, I would have to create up to another 6 videos. 1 to 4 products came out every month at Lug, so how could I design these videos without them being overly repetitive?

Our constraints and requirements were as followed:

Must show all the different colour ways.
Must show the multitude of items one can fit in each bag.
If the bag is convertible, we must show the many ways the bag can be carried.
“Special” qualities of the bag must be featured such as clear pockets, soft-lined pockets, convertibility, etc.
Every video must be 40 seconds or less.

Lug had stuck to one storyboard for their product videos for a few years now.

3 Things I decided were most important to keep in mind:

Purpose is to showcase the bag and it's many and unique features.

Videos attractive to both current and a new demographic

Timeless videos and easy edits for future re-use.

A little research

Our current demographic is:

Ages 28- 60
American, majority Caucasian
Female
Has either stated a new family or are "empty nesters"

Our target audience for the new videos are:

Ages 20 - 30
Are heavy social media users
Have an eye for style
Have a shorter attention span

02. Our ideas and Solutions

We needed eye catching ways to highlight the special features of each bag. For example, for our new Gelly line, we decided to have more animated transitions to showcase the sparkly, waterproof bottoms. We stuffed bags full of props for different scenarios to show people of all ages and all occupations could use our bags! We used a younger model to our usual one to hopefully appeal to a younger audience.

Something to be addressed was that our brand needed to reflect adaptability, as fashion is always moving. Our bags are for the fashion forward, efficient traveler/every day user.

03. Concluding notes

In wanting to induce change and growth, my initial storyboard ideas may have gone a little overboard. Some of the videos were done in haste with too many ideas stuffed in one video. Simple is best! In the end, as a team, we decided to cut back on the new and not stray too far from the original videos, and in the future, keep brainstorming new ways to gradually update our visuals. It was a difficult task as these videos also had to be re-edited for broadcast use on QVC, the American shopping channel, only certain colour ways could appear in these versions of the video as they aren't all released at once. My 2 biggest takeaways.

Don't be afraid to make only minor adjustments to an existing medium in order to ignite growth. Even minor adjustments can be big for a brand and the aesthetics of it's content.

Designing and directing a strong piece of content is an opportunity to be creative but more importantly is to ensure the overall success of the project.

The Avion

Notes from initial brainstorm:

Slow reveal with close ups; glitter bottom, glitter and hardware, basket weave
Slightly propped inside, open -> close on camera
- zoom out = new colour 4x
Cross-body on body, and beauty shot. Fin.

The Punter