Lowe’s launched an Instagram Stories campaign showing DIYers how to redecorate a vertical room through the confines of a mobile-friendly, full-screen video. On Sept. 7, the retailer unveiled the first “story” of the campaign, which includes 64 microvideos that total a combined 35 seconds.
Lowe’s partnered with the ad agency BBDO New York to create the Instagram campaign. The campaign was born out of the annual Facebook Creative Hackathon, and is designed to take an engaging, light-hearted approach to project videos, while showing how consumers can quickly change a small space into a more functional area.
“There is great opportunity to get creative when reaching DIYers about projects,” said Derrick Wood, VP of Brand, Content and Advertising at Lowe’s in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “This campaign taps the narrow spaces of Instagram Stories as a platform to show transformations in micro spaces — using the exact ratios of Instagram Stories to flip an alcove to a kid’s nook, a pantry to a coffee bar, and a closet to a bike storage.”
Advertisement
Stories For Skippers Create ‘Flip Book’ Effect
When filming the microvideos, Lowe’s considered that many Instagram users are prone to skipping through stories. The teams decided to upload multiple still frames as microvideo clips to do the skipping for them.
“These clips are short, and each will immediately skip to the next, creating a flip book effect of the room being transformed,” said Wood. “The simplicity of each project is matched by a quick swipe to more detailed instructions and to easily purchase the supplies needed to complete it.”
On the final frame of the stories, there are prompts for users to swipe up, which directs them to a mobile-optimized experience with how-to instructions and all the items from the project the user has just seen.
“This campaign highlights the creative potential that Instagram Stories can hold for brands,” said Kay Hsu, Global Instagram Lead at Facebook Creative Shop in commentary provided to Retail TouchPoints. “Lowe’s cleverly leverages the full screen vertical format to demonstrate how narrow spaces can be easily transformed with a smart hack. The brand shows a deep understanding of Instagram Stories and how audiences interact with the format — automatically skipping ahead before the viewer even had a chance to do it themselves. The result? Lowe’s transforms boring, tight spaces into beautiful rooms that are Instagram-worthy.”
Lowe’s has plans to continue this campaign throughout the 2017 Fall season, according to Wood.
Lowe’s Takes Notes From Previous Social Campaigns
Lowe’s in-house social media and customer care teams have collaborated with BBDO in the past to build out social campaigns and create content. For example, the companies used Snapchat to create a series of videos called “In a Snap” in May 2016, where viewers could hammer, drill or chisel to complete a DIY project by tapping the right place.
When Instagram released its Stories feature, Lowe’s and BBDO immediately converted the “In a Snap” videos into Instagram Stories, showing how to refresh a bathroom through a few simple steps like removing tired shower doors and replacing an old mirror with a mirrored medicine cabinet.
Later in the year, the companies released a 360-degree how-to video series titled “Made in a Minute,” with the first video teaching mobile users how to make a teepee in eight continuously looped steps. The BBDO team shot each step separately, then stitched them together in 360 degrees, so viewers could use their mobile device to see the same person demonstrating the entire build.
