As an in-house copywriter for Lidl I was often tasked to kickstart this "special projects" that go beyond the daily marketing routine. That meant coming up with the blueprint, preparing the content, and taking the thing live. This was during a time when apps were just introducing themselves to marketing and when supporting websites were all the hype in terms of customer interaction and retention. Bucǎtǎria Lidl (the Lidl Kicthen) was independent website, which is now integrate in the main site, was meant to be this interactive portal, featuring star cooks and national celebrities, where the content was in the spotlight and the products were mentioned only briefly or by product placement.
Being Martha Stewart
How do you peel an onion without bursting into tears? How do you make your pizza extra crispy? And what pairs great with that red wine? Daily kitchen tips, nutrition facts, and many more fresh ideas were posted daily until I managed to build a small kitchen encyclopedia online.
Being Jamie Oliver
I traveled the entire (online) world searching for the most delicious, diverse, and healthy recipes, a real "melting pot", if you please. The section of the page also has its interactive aspect, as users could upload their own dishes (and I edited them).
Being Don Draper
Let’s not forget why we’re doing this: to promote the Lidl merchandise. So, aside from coming up with catchy slogans for special theme weeks (like Mexican, Asian or vegetarian) and writing smart texts to make everything look like a magazine article, I also had to skillfully integrate specific products into the content.
Being Mark Zuckerberg
Remember, this was a time before apps were the rulers of marketing, so I am very excited to be an "app ancestor" that tried to integrate interactive features, like shopping lists, cookbooks, and mini-games, in the website. My favorite one: WineTunes, a feature we launched during Wine Week, where you could paste a YouTube link, upload a .mp3 or just write a song by an artist and our algorithm would recommend you what wine goes best with your tune (you never forget you music roots).
Being Anna Wintour
For special occasions, we uploaded this special e-magazines which you could download and enjoy just like any physical magazine you buy at the newsstand. I came up with the concept for each one of them and also wrote the content. Here's three quick examples so you get a clearer picture. •For the fasting period before Easter, I decided to go beyond the religios aspect and came up with a modern approach, concentrated on nutrition, receipts, and information about a vegan life style. •For Wine Week we changed the layout so the magazine looked like a wine menu and added a lot of information from sommeliers and celebrities about the types of wine, food pairings, and wine related anecdotes. •For Valentine's Day, we sad a sugary-sweet booklet with seven receipts based on chocolate, which were not written in a classical way, but as love stories.
Being Alex Sitea
I will always take things out of context and find new meanings and purposes for words, concepts, and ideas. So these is simple "fashion copy" and has nothing to do with the Lidl kitchen. But, same as music, fashion was always one of the central points of my work and I just wanted to feature these magazine/brochure covers I worked at for Lidl. That's it. No food, but fabric.
