Lowe's Explores Native Tools on Vine, Instagram

Lowe's is again experimenting with new digital marketing strategies as it gears up for its prime spring selling season, rolling out two social initiatives today that play with native tools on Vine and Instagram. The creative breaks down home improvement projects, showing them from inspiration to completion in an effort to make projects seem more possible. Short-form content has been at the forefront of Lowe's digital strategy this year with the "Fix in Six" Vine series that offers simple tips like using walnuts to remove scratches from wood. The campaign helped land Lowe's on Ad Age's 2014 Marketer A-List. The new Vine series, called "How-To Tap Thru," builds on those six-second videos with the platform's tap-to-stop technology. It's used to break projects into steps viewers can pause, turning a quick video into a tutorial. It also allows Lowe's to tackle more complex projects and expand its content base. "We're moving away from simple tips and we're showing more complex projects that are still easy to do," said Brad Walters, director of social media at Lowe's. "We're telling an even greater story on how to complete a project." He gave an example of building a fire pit in six steps. "We dug deeper into a core technology of Vine," said David Rolfe, director of integrated production at BBDO New York, the agency that led the push. "This idea was sprung from how easy it is to tap within the Vine app, and we created a very unique how-to experience surrounding that." While the creative on Vine offers practical tips and tutorials, Lowe's is working to inspire people through Instagram. Using the platform's HyperLapse feature, which speeds up videos, Lowe's shows the journey of a project from inspiration through completion. Dubbed "HyperMade," the push focuses on the end result -- a decorated home or a photo board filled with memories. "It's a really unique approach to see how you can be inspired by something and what that end product would look like," said Mr. Walters. If reaction to the two campaigns is positive, the initiatives will be built out in the spring, he added.

Lowe's Explores Native Tools on Vine, Instagram

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