• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, October 1, 2021

Shutterfly is looking to make some noise heading into the holiday season, introducing its largest marketing campaign to date.

Called “Make It A Thing,” the multimedia effort is part of its new brand positioning. It wants people to see it not just as an ecommerce platform for photo mugs but as a place to get the emotional benefits of creation and self-expression. 

That twist, it believes, may help it win new fans among its existing customer base, as well as more expressive, younger customers.

Ads zero in on the reality that many of life’s best moments involve big laughs at our own expense.

Brian, for example, needed an “Island of Alaska” mug for his birthday. Alaska, of course, is not an island. But it is always next to Hawaii on maps, so we can’t blame him for being confused.

Other spots focus on photo tiles from some of life’s memorable moments, like panic attacks in the ER, photobooks about people who shouldn’t wear fedoras, and anniversary blankets to celebrate the first day of sharing a toothbrush.

Based in Redwood City, California, Shutterfly cooked up the new campaign with Mischief @ No Fixed Address. Shutterfly  hopes the multichannel effort crystallizes the power of personalization for high-impact gifts.

“Many consumers know Shutterfly as the pioneer in online photo sharing and personalization,” says Craig Rowley, the company’s chief marketing officer, in this announcement. “Now we've unearthed an even more powerful way to enable self-expression and help people create things with a deeper sense of meaning.”

Ads are running online, on linear TV, streaming video and across social media platforms, including Snap and TikTok.

Shutterfly recently scooped up Spoonflower, a company that creates personalized textiles and wallpaper. Based in Durham, North Carolina, the company has some 1 million designs by independent artists, with an estimated 4,000 new designs uploaded each day.

Bloomberg reports that Shutterfly, backed by Apollo Global Management, paid $225 million. And it will allow Shutterfly’s 21 million active users more access to the fast-growing home décor market.