In collaboration with the Glebe Community Op Shop, I have created short promotional videos to be posted on the shop’s social media account to attract more customers. My project blends creative audio-visual tools and methods of storytelling like text overlays, transitions, and voiceovers with ‘traditional’ historical sources like photographs from archives and oral history interviews for a more novel and interesting way of presenting the history of the op shop beyond text-based mediums. This campaign serves a dual purpose; it is an easily accessible, audiovisual archive of the shop’s oral histories and also promotional material for the store to a new audience of Gen Z shoppers.
This project will benefit the Glebe Community Op Shop by addressing their need for more customers and storage space. Heather, the manager of the shop, shared that some residents have lived here for decades without knowing about the store as there is no signage directing customers patronising the popular Glebe Markets to this corner shop off the main road. This compounds a secondary problem; the store is so small that Heather often gives excess stock to other opportunity shops, but the frequent donations she receives mean more footfall is needed to drive sales and free up space. While a physical sign placed strategically on Glebe Point Road would be a more direct solution, Heather’s appeals for this have gone unheard since 2018.
Pictured: Susie, Heather and Dawn (left to right), photos from @glebeopshop on Instagram
Instead, a more feasible solution is creating short videos highlighting the shop’s key selling point —its community, past and present— to enhance its social media presence with coverage of engaging human stories for a more personal touch. The videos feature stories shared by Heather, the current store manager, Marla who has volunteered at the shop for 20 years, and Martin, a regular customer for 3 years. The slogan of this social media campaign is, “A Shop Full of Stories and Spirit”. The tight-knit community that has grown through the shop is the key element that sets the Oppy apart from a regular Vinnies or Salvation Army. The shop presents a rare opportunity for the community to both give and receive at the same time, by donating items or volunteering their time in exchange for affordably priced goods and funding for community initiatives. Heather has made it the Oppy’s mission to fulfill the needs of its community by fundraising and supporting other local organisations, like ADF NSW-Kathleen York House and the Rainbow Lodge Program. Hence, these promotional videos will hopefully help expand the shop’s already loyal customer base, attracting new visitors who may help to boost sales —and in turn free up space in the store for new donations— and spread the word to potential volunteers.
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE VIDEOS
*the videos have not been posted on social media at the time of writing