Overview
From 2017 to 2020, in my capacity as the Founder and Creative Director of Fit + Flatter, I worked on numerous campaigns with Ella Jayms Boutique. The goal of each project was to create fun images with diverse models to showcase the fit and style of the boutique's pieces.
My Role
As the Creative Director, I was in charge of the campaign lifecycle of each of these campaigns. I was the Creative Director, Stylist, Casting Director, Photographer, Marketer, and Lead Sales Person on each of these projects. If the photoshoot was larger, I would employ the help of an additional photographer and stylist to help.
Process
My process for each was to define the goals with the Ella Jayms team in relation to their target market, create a concept for each campaign, recruit models, location scout, recruit a photoshoot team, style, shoot, and manage models the day of, interview models about the clothing, edit photos, synthesize the models' reviews, and send all completed content to Ella Jayms.
Defining the Goals
Before proposing a concept to Ella Jayms, I wanted to understand more about the target market, the branding and identity goals, and what Ella Jayms hoped to get out of the campaign. In order to do this, I had them fill out the below questionnaire.
Brainstorming Concepts
After determining the target market and the branding and identity goals, I crafted a creative brief for the initial campaign and for each campaign after. Each campaign brief summarized the mission, goal, styling, ideal models, location, moodboard, and other key details of the campaign concept.
Models, Styling, and Day of Photoshoot
Recruiting models for each campaign began with a social media call out, word of mouth, and recommendations from those in my network. I determined the final model list based on who best fit the target market for the campaign.
Much like the model selection, styling choices the day of each photoshoot were determined largely on the target market. Our goal was to make sure the target customer really saw herself in the photos. To do that we needed not only to select pieces for the shoot from Ella Jayms that were pieces the target market would be drawn to, but to style them in realistic ways that she would wear them. Before the shoot, we would pull outfits from EJ and piece them with other pieces we had sourced to create full looks.
A consistent theme in each campaign was showcasing the same piece on women of different shapes, sizes, and ag
es. The target user stories for Ella Jayms were friends shopping together or multi-generational shopping experiences, and as such we built our campaigns around this.
Interviewing
An integral part of each campaign was to interview the models on the garments they were wearing from Ella Jayms, not only to provide fit details on Fit + Flatter's website, but to provide them on Ella Jayms product info details for the garment to help consumers find the right size for them. Additionally, their feedback was helpful in providing future buying decisions for Ella Jayms.
Interview questions on garments
Reflections
At the end of each campaign, I reviewed the final images, reviews, and results with Ella Jayms and asked for details on how the campaign affected their sales so we would be able to make informed decisions and changes for our next shoot. Time and time again, pieces sold well where we showcased the same piece of clothing on multiple shapes, sizes, and ages and we continued to make that an integral part of every campaign.