The Bachelorette: A Perfect Collaboration
The Bachelorette: A Perfect Collaboration
Project Summary
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The Mission
In a departure from their norm, Diff Eyewear created a unique pair of sunglasses for their collaboration with Becca Kufrin, revealing how significant this relationship was. We wanted this campaign to fit well into our existing stable of collabs and bring us into a new arena with Becca’s genuine, exciting, and bright personality. Above all, we wanted to further our brand reputation and reach new customers who cared more about ethics while still selling plenty of glasses.
The Outcome
To promote Becca’s sunglasses, and generate content, we had an editorial shoot in Rancho Palos Verdes at a beautiful cliff-side private residence overlooking the Pacific. From there, we created a robust digital marketing campaign to pique our customer’s interest.
The Impact
The customer reaction to our collaboration was favorable. Becca is well-liked and respected in the Bachelor world, having since co-hosted a new weekly series called “The Bachelor: Live On Stage.” While total sales weren’t a grand-slam, profits were substantial. Diff was able to continue their trend of wildly successful collaborations with reality TV stars. In the end, this project helped the company transition to more of a genuine, heartfelt vibe and adapt to their customer’s ever-shifting priorities.
My Role
I art directed this campaign from the ground up. Everything from creative direction, mood boards, editorial shot list, and wardrobe, to supervising design execution and retouching.
The Goal
It’s difficult to turn down an opportunity to work with a reality television star of Becca Kufrin’s level. One of the more popular Bachelorette candidates in recent memory, she is at once likable, relaxed, and effortlessly beautiful. Diff Eyewear wanted to continue reaching their existing customer base since past collaborations had been wildly successful. Previous campaign launches to this one included country music star Jessie James Decker, singer Demi Lovato, and beauty vlogger Laura Lee.
The Gap
With all their recent success, Diff saw that customer support for reality TV stars and one scandal-ridden collaboration had waned in past months. They decided to switch gears to a more genuine, heartfelt, inclusive message to better fit with their charity-driven image. This was no easy task since many reality TV stars struggled with modeling appropriate social behavior and lacked the caring human side of personality. Diff knew they needed to find the perfect dance partner who embodied the down-to-earth qualities their fanbase craved. It was also decided that updating the creative visuals to feel less in-your-face was necessary.
The Gamble
At first, it was challenging to find the right candidate because most did not possess the proper demeanor and charisma for the new messaging. After a lengthy brainstorm and search, we finally landed on Becca Kufrin. Her easy-going, charming, and genuine attitude instantly sparked our interest while her effortless beauty and reality TV background with the Bachelor and Bachelorette made her the obvious choice. A second challenge was the fact that the glasses Becca would be wearing would not show her eyes. There’s a saying that the eyes are the windows to the soul—communicating emotion and drawing in the viewer is extraordinarily difficult to accomplish without seeing the subject’s eyes. Using thoughtful photography angles and techniques, we were able to access Becca’s incredible energy and personality without the benefit of seeing her eye contact in every select.
The Gain
We had finally found our genuine personality that fits so well with our charitable focus as an organization. Working with partners who either actively are a caring human being or already partner with philanthropic organizations is the new normal at Diff. Our whole talent-matching process changed due to this mindset. We learned valuable lessons and were able to transition our image from trashy, scandal-ridden reality stars to caring individuals whom we would partner with in the future.
Art Direction
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Credits
Creative & Art Direction
Christopher Hapner
Editorial Photography
Aaron Haxton
Digital Design & Retouching Supervision
Christopher Hapner
Retouching & Design
Jessie Froggatt