smartwater photo shoot
Here’s the quick background on smartwater: we got our “foot in the door “ with some small but innovative Shopper projects, delivered consistently over expectations, and had a great time along the way. As a result, our role and project scale increased with each new opportunity. When the launch of “sparkling” came our way, we had a solid understanding of how to move an idea through the various client groups and knew that using stock photography would be exciting to no one. With that in mind, we were able to leverage three upcoming projects to make the case for a custom photo shoot creating program assets for all.
I created the pre-shoot style guide, selecting every detail from talent casting, wardrobe, photo style, set, props, recipe pairings, and food styling.
The shoot schedule was ambitious, with talent, food, and pour shots all taking place in one day. A healthy mix of thorough pre-shoot planning and in-the-moment flexibility made it not only go smoothly, but was seriously fun!
smartwater and wine
This is an exciting opportunity. Of course, space within the wine department at grocery is at a premium – but we had strong data to support our target’s affinity for wine occasions and worked to position smartwater as a natural companion on any table. The scene depicts our target, who we term the “neversettlers” in a vibrant rooftop environment with drinks and appetizers. The resulting in-store ads would be placed adjacent the wine category.
smartwater and food
It’s a rare treat to work with a target segmentation to which you belong – that made the smartwater and healthy food pairings align effortlessly! The in-store strategy was to create unique messaging specific to categories like produce, deli, and seafood and channels like grocery, club, convenience, and drug.
My style when directing a photo shoot is finding a mix of “assignment” vs. “extra credit.” Having a love for photography, I am hands-on during the pre-lighting phase and happy to work through the details to ensure shot framing, lensing, and prop styling are aligned with the approved sketches. Once the core shot has been captured, I’ll shift to a phase of experimentation to see how far the team can push in the time available until the next scene set-up. This is where the unexpected magic happens!
Photographer: Clayton Hauck Illustrator: Rex Peacock CW: M. Lee + Momentum Production: Momentum
