CASE STUDY

EMPLOYER BRANDING LIDL PORTUGAL

"We reached out to João for this project and, from the outset, were very impressed by the recommendations we had (network, portfolio, etc.). The care he took to understand the project’s scope and to present a solution aligned with what we wanted gave us confidence to move forward with João. João’s professionalism and positive attitude throughout the project were a very pleasant surprise. Not that we weren’t expecting it, but we saw up close his attention to every detail—repeating takes as many times as necessary—and always with a smile. The whole experience of working with João and his team was excellent, especially after discovering they’re true Lidl fans! We were very satisfied with the outcome of this project! The quality of the photographs speaks for itself—both in the capture and in the editing. The result was so good that we already have a second project lined up to develop in partnership with João."

CAIO MACIEL @ LIDL Portugal

  • 4 Locations

  • 4 Production Days

  • 200+ Images

  • Employer Branding

The Challenge

LIDL wanted to strengthen its employer brand in Portugal through authentic portraits and lifestyle images of its employees. The objective was clear: to reveal the human side of LIDL across stores, offices, and logistic platforms, while maintaining full alignment with the brand’s global visual identity.

At first, the request focused on producing photography. However, early in the process, it became clear that what LIDL truly needed was not individual images, but a structured library of visual assets. A body of work designed to perform consistently across multiple formats and platforms — from digital campaigns and social media to recruitment materials and print.

The challenge was significant: tight deadlines, multiple locations, and the requirement for studio portraits adaptable to LIDL’s brand colors. Delivering more than 200 final images with consistent quality and visual coherence demanded careful planning, precise execution, and a production workflow built for scalability rather than one-off outputs.

OUR APPROACH

We started by proposing a new way to capture studio portraits that would simplify post-production while keeping quality intact. After providing a proof of concept, the client quickly approved.

For lifestyle images, we scouted LIDL’s stores, offices, and logistic platforms in advance to identify the most relevant scenarios. This allowed us to plan each production day down to the detail—maximizing efficiency and avoiding guesswork on set.

OUR VISION: to align the images with LIDL’s international standards while creating an authentic, local representation of the people behind the brand.

EXECUTION

EXECUTION

  • Day 1 – Santo Tirso

    We built a fully functional studio inside the logistic platform to photograph employees from local stores.

  • Day 2 – Loures Logistic Platform

    Lifestyle photography documenting employees at work inside the platform.

  • Day 3 – Grândola Store & Palmela Logistic Platform

    In Grândola, we photographed in-store employees. Later the same day, we built another studio setup inside the Palmela logistic platform to create portraits of logistics and warehouse staff.

  • Day 4 – LIDL Headquarters, Lisbon

    We closed at LIDL’s main offices, producing a mix of lifestyle images and studio portraits of corporate teams.

POST PRODUCTION

One of the most critical but often unseen parts of the project was post-production. Every capture decision was made to ensure the files contained enough information for flawless editing. The client required that each portrait could be adapted with three different branded backgrounds in LIDL colors. This demanded extremely precise background replacement so transitions looked natural in every color variation, as if photographed on-location. All adjustments were executed while rigorously following LIDL’s global guidelines, ensuring visual consistency and credibility.

RESULTS