Blacklock
blacklock
We helped national chop house Blacklock with their visual direction that put their audience amongst it.
The Challenge
After a brand refresh by the pros over at &Smith, Blacklock needed to take a new approach to their photography and have visuals which represented their brand values.
Blacklock is about togetherness, of being in the moment with one another eating great food in a cool place. They needed their audience to instantly connect this feeling to a Blacklock shot - whether that’s in press, on social, a website or beyond.
What’s more, we needed to find unity across the brand whilst bringing-through the individuality of each venue. Creating consistency in presenting personality.
Finally, we had an overarching appreciation of Blacklock being a busy set of restaurants. Staff are time-poor and will always focus on the next service and the customer experience - any new production would need to create work whilst causing minimal disruption.
How We Made it Work
After the initial shoot working with &Smith, we took the learnings and started evolving a photographic approach that worked across the Blacklock group. We established some key principles:-
Put togetherness at the heart - Lean into making scenes exude moments of being together, enjoying amazing food in venues with cool atmospheres. We used clever setups, talent, composition and lighting to bring everything together
Prioritise Production - Work closely with the Blacklock team to ensure the kitchens, FOH and our crew are totally in-sync, getting the most from our time and being sensitive of the pressures of the restaurants on the ground
Use smart setups - We used agile ways of working when timings were tight, quick up, quick down and careful Production that always looked after the creative process and the needs of the restaurant
Set Blacklock apart - Show the faces behind the brand, live by the B-Corp standards and find human elements in everything we shoot
Bake-in evolution - Review, reflect and experiment. Find new ways to test creative, make shoots happier and position Blacklock as it grows and changes
The Impact
“Working with the team has been fantastic. The whole team has this real natural ability to respect the restaurants and the kitchens - they always know where to be or not be, and capture those important moments.”
Julie-Anne Pugh
These are mockups to show the work and don’t represent true activations.