Starbucks Coffee Japan Instagram Project

When the new era of marketing tools, "Instagram," arrived, it opened a unique opportunity for a photographer. I was involved in creating Starbucks Coffee Japan Instagram content for its first 2 years. Creative thinking, flexibility, communication skills, proactive mindset for collaboration led me to broaden the role of photographer into the creative director, production manager, and stylist all in one.

Overview

Timeline

2015-2017

Tools

My role : Creative Director, Photographer, Stylist, Production Manager

Visuals

Challenges

  • Follow the Starbucks Coffee corporate visual guidelines.

  • Gain the same number of followers as other SNS platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

  • No past brand’s Instagram image examples to determine the visuals

  • Set the brand's tone while implementing Instagram trends and seasonal campaigns.

  • Managing shooting timelines for effective results

Solutions

  • Developed close relationships with clients, communicated effectively, and became responsible for creative direction and photography.

  • Implemented new ideas and changes based on the data analysis.

  • Focused on rapid decision-making.

  • Assumed responsibility for prop styling and managing the photo shoot.

Results

  • Starbucks Coffee Japan gained 1M followers during the first two years.

  • Built the foundation of the account styles and guidelines.

The content was a turning point in my career, allowing me to realize a more comprehensive range of creative visual jobs that utilized new skill sets. On completion, I was interviewed by Commercial Photo Magazine 06/2017 to talk about the future role of photographers in the new era of the SNS world and how we can expand our job opportunities by offering more than just capturing iages.