Kyōyū - Canon Australia

Intent

Canon Australia wanted to proactively connect photographers to each other to inspire collaboration between users and promote upcoming events, meetups and Canon products. 

The challenge

This app wasn’t intended to be a copy of Facebook, Instagram or X. It was intended to be something new, catering to the unique needs of people interested in photography. It needed to cater for every kind of Canon users from “Newbie’s” through to serious professional users.

Users needed an incentive to sign up and use the app on a regular basis to build a long lasting positive impression of the Canon brand, and occasionally make a product purchase! We had to gamify the way people used the app to collect points and badges which would be redeemable towards Canon experiences and in some cases, Canon products. 

Delivery

We launched Kyōyū, a sharing community to help users get more value from their Canon products. Users can list and borrow gear between themselves or rent gear from Canon itself all through the network.

It minimises the entry point to what can be an expensive hobby and gives users the opportunity to access expertise from other members within the network. Users imply signup, locate a community member in their area, send a booking request, collect and shoot.

Canon’s Kyōyū exists to provide inspiration to photographers by way of hosting events, exhibitions and supplying lots of online content to keep their customers happy. It’s also a place to borrow and rent gear.

In 2019, I was briefed to bring to life an app with the aim of connecting like minded photographers in a fun and safe way. Photographers can connect via the app through mutual interests and they can share photography tips and tricks via chat.

The app will inform users of new photography challenges and events in their area. The app is game-ified so that users can collect points and badges after completing challenges and also rewards for being active.

Sadly, in 2020 due to its collaborative nature, the app closed down due to the COVID pandemic which restricted in-person meet ups and sharing of equipment.