Storygram - Empik | Clapboard Ad Archive

Storygram, the digital campaign launched by Empik in Poland and conceived by Change in 2015, takes an innovative approach to positioning the brand as a cultural and entertainment nexus within the retail services market, drawing on the brand’s deep association with books and cultural products to craft a distinct engagement strategy rooted in narrative. Storygram fuses compelling, locally resonant content with an interactive digital format designed for a Polish-speaking audience, where the product benefit — Empik’s diverse offering of books, music, films, and creative materials — becomes the direct catalyst for sharing and experiencing stories. Rather than following the well-worn track of posing a problem and resolving it, or enlisting celebrity faces, the campaign constructs its creative arc around the idea that Empik’s world of culture is itself the wellspring of personal storytelling, inviting real individuals and communities to shape and share their narratives inspired by the products they discover and the experiences Empik facilitates. This thematic construct embodies what Clapboard’s taxonomy defines as FORMAT#6—Benefit Causes Story: the brand’s core offering is not just featured but is the reason narrative moments unfold. Empik’s digitally focused execution reinforces its evolving role from traditional bookseller to multifaceted cultural curator, deepening emotional connections and inviting consumers to translate the brand’s offerings into meaningful, lived moments. Although tailored for a niche audience, the campaign generated authentic conversation and engagement online, demonstrating Empik’s ability to foster genuine cultural participation rather than fleeting transactional attention. Visually and structurally, Storygram’s primary media asset showcases the eclectic richness of Empik’s product catalogue, inviting viewers to see themselves not as passive customers but as storytellers empowered by the brand’s resources. In adopting this benefit-driven narrative structure, Change highlights Empik’s broader promise to Polish consumers: to be the place where stories, learning, and creative expression become everyday realities, rekindling the value of culture in a retail context that is often dominated by price and convenience. The campaign earns 60/100 in Clapboard's global creative archive. Storygram signals a future for retail category marketing in which product benefit is no longer an endpoint but the active spark for ongoing customer narratives, challenging the industry to find richer intersections between brand utility and personal meaning.