In the last 12-months, Snapchat usage has increased dramatically among our target. There are now 10 billion videos watched per day.

But they don’t go to Snapchat for the paid articles they go for the unpaid Stories.

So we decided to create a story of our own.

As a brand, we knew it would need something special to be compelling enough to encourage views.

So, in a world first, we turned Snapchat Stories into fully interactive DIY projects.

But they weren’t just a series of videos showcasing a complete interior refresh.

Our stories allowed users to actually hammer, saw, drill, chisel and paint their way through the whole job with their thumbs.

We designed each shot in a unique way. So if the user tapped in the right place on screen, they could get the feeling that they were hammering a nail, sawing timber or chiseling a tile.

To ensure that they tapped where we wanted them to, we used something really simple: an arrow on a stick. We just positioned the arrow manually in the shot where we wanted them to tap. Then we match-cut the second shot, which showed the effects of the tap. So it appeared as though they were hammering and chiseling with their thumb.

That way, the project became not just interactive but fully immersive.

Each film was shot in the app on an iPhone and instantly uploaded, one snap at a time.

And so that the complete Story could be ready to be consumed in the morning, we had to shoot each one overnight.

This was Lowe’s first foray into Snapchat. So we were starting from a zero follower base.

What’s more, Snapchat Stories are unpaid advertising and cannot be promoted on the platform. To add to the limitations not even influencers were used to buy views. So the only way to generate reach was by placing the Lowe’s Snapchat code across Lowe’s other social channels.

So how did we do? In just three days, we gained 8,700 follows and exceeded 300,000 views.

Drop-off across the 30 or so snaps required to get through each story was virtually nonexistent, with similar tap numbers recorded on the first and last frames.

All this combined with the buzz on Twitter and Facebook confirmed we had a hit on our hands.

Lowe’s intends to produce up to 40 more In-a-Snaps this year.

Our goal was to create Snapchat Stories that go beyond making content solely for entertainment and instead create Stories that combine entertainment, utility and interactivity.

We created a new way to show how home improvement projects could be done and, rather than creating just a passive experience, we made people active contributors to each project’s successful completion.

Viewers would go from “before” to “after” within a Story by seeing the effect of what happened when they actually tapped on the screen to simulate a building action.

If a nail is sticking up, touching it gets it hammered into place. If a wall needs to be painted, touching a paintbrush paints it. Every interaction on the screen moves the project forward.

Without audience participation and interactivity the entire project would not work. What’s more, all of the interactions that bring the experience to life, are measurable.

Social platforms waver in popularity among our demographic.

Snapchat’s current surge has a lot to do with its unique functionality. Its intricacies seem to stave off unwanted members and make it more ownable.

With Snapchat Stories, users tap the screen to move through a series of random videos. This happens quickly and often, as Stories expire in just 24 hours’ time.

Our strategy involved surprising Snapchat users with a tapping technique they had never before experienced on the medium.

And, in doing so, we captured the attention of a new audience, by entertaining and informing them.

Lowe’s is the second largest home improvement retailer in the world.

In recent years, they’ve achieved great success using social videos to help people discover new ways to improve their homes.

Our objective was to turn Millennials (potential future home buyers) into Lowe’s loyalists.

But not all social platforms are interesting to this younger audience.

So we needed to find a new way to inform, entertain and inspire them to take on DIY projects, using emerging social apps.