Marketing · Small business growth
Meta x The Drum
Two small businesses, one camera, a real digital transformation.
A four-part documentary series that took two small businesses hit hard by the pandemic and rebuilt their digital presence on camera.
The business problem
Show, don't tell, what digital transformation looks like
Meta and The Drum wanted to show, not tell, how small businesses could transform digitally. They needed a real, credible story arc: actual businesses, actual challenges, actual results, captured in a documentary format that would resonate with a wider small-business audience.
The user problem
Two owners knocked sideways by the pandemic
Where they started
Limited digital presence, limited know-how, no clear route forward.
Two small business owners, knocked sideways by the pandemic, needed to reach new markets and recover revenue. They had limited digital presence, limited know-how, and no clear route from where they were to where they needed to be.
The approach
A four-part series, end to end on camera
The Digital Makeover ran as a four-part series. We took each business through an end-to-end transformation: refreshing brand identity, building out their online presence, and equipping them with the platforms and skills to reach new customers and lift their return on investment.
The work had to do two jobs at once. Solve the real digital problems of the businesses on camera, and turn that process into something watchable and genuinely useful for any small business owner watching at home.
The process
Discovery, planning and craft, captured live
Every workshop, board and decision point happened in front of the lens. Research, brand work and digital strategy mapped out alongside the business owners, then turned into shippable work between episodes.
Brand and digital presence
From workshop bench to storefront
Each business needed a brand and a digital storefront that matched the craft already happening behind the scenes. New identity, new photography, new product surfaces, all built to carry the business forward long after filming wrapped.
On set
Strategy work, captured as it happened
The makeover wasn't staged after the fact. Strategy sessions, product shoots and creative reviews were all filmed live as part of the series.
The hard part
Real strategy, real results, nowhere to hide
Designing under documentary conditions means the strategy has to be real and the results have to hold up to a camera. There was nowhere to hide. The digital makeover wasn't a mock-up for a pitch, it was a working transformation that the businesses would carry forward after filming wrapped.
The final episode had to leave both the featured companies and the watching audience with something practical: how to sustain growth, not just kick-start it.
The outcomes
Two businesses revitalised, lessons for many more
A four-part series delivered with Meta and The Drum, revitalising two pandemic-hit businesses with custom digital strategies spanning brand, online presence, and the skills to keep going. The closing episode turned the specific work into transferable lessons for any small business looking to strengthen its digital footprint.
“Designing under documentary conditions means the strategy has to be real and the results have to hold up to a camera.”
- Client
- Meta
- Partner
- The Drum
- My role
- UX & e-commerce strategy lead, on-screen guide
- Format
- Four-part documentary series
