William Elliot
Hybrid Creative
Representing Meta in partnership with major retailers since 2017.
01 — The Challenge
How do you hand a paradigm-shifting technology like virtual reality to someone who has never tried it, in the middle of a loud, fast-moving retail floor, and make them feel wonder instead of intimidation? The work was never about the spec sheet. It was about closing the distance between an unfamiliar product and an ordinary shopper, replacing hesitation with curiosity and turning that first gasp into a moment of genuine, tangible value they would remember and talk about.
02 — The solution
Representing Meta alongside major retailers since 2017, I built a role that blended creative production with on-the-ground intelligence. I reframed the demo from a feature pitch into a curated experience built around immersion and human connection, then documented those authentic interactions in professional-grade photography that gave Meta's teams a real window into how the public met the product. Frontline feedback became a structured channel back to strategy, and I trained retail staff so the experience held up long after I left the floor.
Frontline Photography
Field Intelligence
Engagement Capture
Brand Representation
Immersive Curation
Feedback-to-Strategy
I shifted the discovery process from feature-led presentations into curated experiences centered on immersion and human connection.
Professional-grade photography capturing authentic customer interactions, shared internally with Meta teams as a window into how the public engaged with the products.
A key source of field intelligence — detailed feedback on demo firmware, UX, technical issues, and customer sentiment — directly shaping the in-store program.
Trained Best Buy and other retail staff on Meta's evolving product line, empowering them as brand advocates and ensuring a consistent customer experience.
03 — The results
The approach turned empathy into measurable performance. Pairing genuine, human-first engagement with disciplined feedback produced a number two national ranking for in-store performance and a result that ran seven hundred and seventy-three percent past sales goals. Beyond the metrics, the frontline insight I gathered fed directly into global retail strategy, shaping how the product was deployed and demonstrated at scale. Across more than five years representing the brand, the work proved that the most quantifiable results often start with the most personal moments.
NATIONAL RANKING
OVER SALES GOAL
BRAND REPRESENTATION
Images Shared
Achieved a #2 national ranking for in-store performance, surpassing sales goals by an incredible 773%.
Delivered crucial frontline insights used to shape global retail strategy, directly influencing deployment and improving engagement metrics.
Produced a library of professional-grade photography showcasing dynamic customer engagement, used to enhance the brand in-store strategy.
Represented the brand evolution from the early days of Oculus through its rebranding by Meta — over five years of deep product mastery.
04 — project media
Whether it's introducing new technology, shaping how an audience meets a brand, or turning frontline reaction into strategy, I work where creative and on-the-ground insight meet. Let's find the angle that makes it land.
