Strategize

Cut from a Different Cloth: The creative marketing team at Whole Foods wanted to do something fun to announce the opening of their new Lynnwood, WA store. They didn’t want just a boring old commercial but a visual that exemplified their mission to promote healthy eating and sustainable living for all ages. They requested a playful story instead of a blatantly branded experience; something that would inspire while informing. The Whole Foods brand has always been a mission-driven company so making the final product align with their core values was super important.

Conceptualize

Laying out the Pieces: Working collaboratively with the client, we discussed ideas that would meet their needs while using available resources wisely. We all shared stories about our experiences with organic products and the importance of people, especially children, reconnecting with the source of their food. Creating a fully developed story in under 60 seconds presents a bit of a challenge, but using iconic imagery and relying on the context of the brand we concepted a series of scenes that followed the client’s desired narrative. It was also important to Whole Foods that the animation speak to kids and empower them to make changes in their families and communities. With the clock ticking on the store opening, it was time to get to work.

Execute

A Stitch in Time: Fueling Adobe Flash and After Effects with the talents of our animation and design team, we began to storyboard like crazy. There was a tight deadline to get the animation completed in order to spread via social media channels and prepare for screening in nearby movie theatres well before the opening. We used both bright and muted color palettes to illustrate the vibrancy that positive changes make in a community and encouraged young people to facilitate these changes by using a little girl as the main character. The engaging and playful soundtrack was crafted in-house by our very own musical genius, Tim Jacobson. After applying subtle branding assets provided by the company, we wrapped up the animation and delivered it to the client in time to share in their new neighborhood.

Maintain

Crafting a Reusable Resource: The animation was designed so that the specific branded assets could be replaced by others for reuse in other store openings. The mission and the message remains the same for all Whole Foods Market store across the country and can speak to all sorts of communities. How’s that for sustainable?