The ask:

Make VSCO relevant again.

The insight:

People want to stay relevant online without losing themselves in the noise.

The strategy:

Separate VSCO from Instagram by repositioning VSCO as the judgment-free home for creativity.

Why I believe in this:

This project got me and my friends back on VSCO and viewing our relationships with Instagram differently.
I learned about the severity of the damage social media has on Gen Z and now believe wholeheartedly in trying to fix it.

Background

VSCO is a photo-sharing platform with no likes, comments, or follower counts, unlike Instagram, which revolves around visible metrics and performance. This makes VSCO uniquely positioned to offer a space to create and share without the anxiety of performing.

TL;DR:

VSCO is the opposite of Instagram - no likes, comments, or follower count.

Research

Gen Z knows social media is bad for them

70%

of respondents want to or have deleted Instagram in the last 6 months.

"Insta destroys my productivity and my mental health.” -F, 24

"It’s toxic and addicting.” -M, 22

81%

of respondents feel pressure to look perfect before posting on Instagram.

Gen Z wants a safe space to create

"I love taking pictures but I never post them because I don't like the thought of my work being valued by how many likes it got." - M, 25

From our survey, interviews, and online research, it was clear...

Instagram was the enemy.

What does this mean for VSCO?

Once we found our enemy, we needed to figure out the direct comparisons that highlight VSCO while pointing out the negatives of Instagram for viewers to fully understand why VSCO is relevant again and more important than ever.

From our research, we gathered the top four complaints users had about their mental health experiences on Instagram.

"Instagram judges me"

VSCO has no public likes, no follower count, no comments, no turning posts into a score.

"Instagram makes me feel pressured"

VSCO has no trending content or streaks, there’s nothing pushing you to perform.

"Instagram makes me second guess myself"

On VSCO, you’re not editing for approval.

You’re sharing to create.

"Instagram makes me feel isolated and alone"

On VSCO, there's no algorithm pushing strangers between you and your friends.

But it's important to note that people weren't saying they didn't want to post. They were saying they didn't want to post because they were afraid of being judged.

Insight:

People want to stay relevant online without losing themselves in the noise.

Strategy:

Separate VSCO from Instagram by repositioning VSCO as the judgment-free home for creativity.

Using this strategy, my team decided to make Instagram "your toxic ex." This gave us an easy in to highlight the negatives of Instagram in an easy to understand way while also directing people to the healthy new "relationship" they deserve - VSCO.