Case Study: Evenflo PivotExplore

Client Description and Objective:

Evenflo is leading infant and toddler product developer and manufacturer based in Boston, MA with an international presence and an ever evolving line. In late 2018 their marketing team contacted our studio to produce photography for the roll out of their latest product, a convertible wagon called the PivotExplore, in early 2019. Excited by the creative vision, dynamic imagery Evenflo was interested in, and the opportunity to fly drones, we quickly got to work.

Objective

Desired final deliverables were 20 images for packaging, a library of images for social media posts, static product shots, as well as a 2-3 min and a 30 second video for online use.

Creative:

Tone of Voice:

Confident

Calm and collected

Ready for whatever life brings

Visual Language:

Features a wide variety of locations, because the wagon can be used almost anywhere. The parents are cool and confident in a

natural way, and encourage adventure, exploration, and curiosity in their children. The imagery is dynamic, colorful, and realistic.

Visual Style:

Soft, natural-looking light with muted colors. Talent to express imaginative wonder, joy, and sometimes excitement - depending on

the setting and mood of the shot.

Composition:

Wide, medium and detail shots will be captured in both stills and motion shots.

Wide shots will be used to set the scene for each location and activity.

Medium shots will highlight the product.

Detail shots will show specific product features and round out

the excitement families experience when using the Pivot

Explore on their adventures.

Production:

Locations - Need a wooded trail with a fall feel, an aquarium, a jungle, a beach, a mural, in January? Come to Houston. Galveston beach on a windy gray day, Moody Gardens supplied a humid jungle boardwalk and vibrant blue aquarium backdrop. The Houston arboretum has miles of natural wooded trails (and some mud, more on that later). We even used the parking lot of our studio, taking advantage of some great murals on the exterior.

Crew - Our A list crew options were all amazingly available for the shoot dates and all eagerly jumped on board for this one, including a videographer and drone pilot from Austin, the best stylist in Houston, a prop master, a location manager who knows everyone, and the hardest working group of photography assistants and production assistants you could want. Our crew was 20 experts strong.

Talent - Our ideal models were real families, with 2 small (but not too small) children. With our resourceful (and very patient) talent agent we found 2 hero families with adorable kids. But all kids, no matter how cute and photogenic, can be a huge variable on set and when they are the stars of the shoot it’s good to have backups in case there is a spontaneous loss of patience. For each location we had a comparable set of kids on standby, and we used all of them

Challenges

Kids, Kids, Kids - When they are smiling and happy they help make amazing photographs and are essential for an Evenflo shoot. When they aren’t feeling it they can be a show stopper. Going off our hard earned experience working with children, we hired extra kids to be on standby as needed. A fresh group for each location waited for an inevitable meltdown and we were able to plug in a backup without missing a beat on set. This did make casting a challenge as the hero kids had to be distinct in appearance yet similar enough to be interchangeable the back ups. Also invaluable was the PA/Child-wrangler we hired. Part assistant, part babysitter, she was indispensable.

Mud and a large truck - Grip trucks are big, heavy, and not meant for off roading. While setting up the last location of the shoot at the Arboretum this statement was on display as one of the assistants tried to move the truck closer to set and got the front wheels stuck. Very stuck. Quickly losing light and the patience of our young talent, we unpacked and went on foot and golf cart into the woods. Our locations manager stayed behind to coordinate the tow truck, and by the time we got the shot and came out of the woods, the truck was back on solid ground.

Results

At the end of 2 crazy shoot days and 2 weeks of back and forth on post we delivered 20 bright, vibrant final images of families utilizing and enjoying the Evenflo PivotExplore Wagon in 6 distinct scenarios. The final images are used on the EvenFlo homepage, product page, social media, and in-store packaging and POS advertising. The video, after much back and forth over music licensing and final editing, was used on the website and social media. We delivered images valuable for the life of the product.