Content Creation
Dinner Table Stories
As told by the Queer Community
Dinner Table Stories is a collection of comics based on the lived experiences of members of the queer community. The project was created for Swiggy, a popular Indian food and convenience bramd.
For any minority community, visibility and thoughtful representation is extremely important.
Unfortunately, the LGBTQ+ community tends to see very one dimensional portrayals in mainstream media.
‘Dinner Table Stories’ seeks to leverage Swiggy’s wide reach to share lived experiences and real stories from the community.
My Role
I conceptualised Dinner Table Stories and pitched the idea internally.
In addition to playing a role in crafting the first seven stories of the series, I illustrated each of the comics and designed the microsite it is hosted on. I also oversaw promotion of the campaign through Swiggy's significant platform.
The series was continued by the in-house creative team at Swiggy.
The
The Stories
Each story is based on the lived experiences of an external collaborator from the community. While the stories tend to be deeply personal, they revolve around a slice-of-life, food centric moment that is relatable to a wide audience.
I chose to represent the stories as comics. The format is more engaging and, demands that the story be concise while expressing emotion.
The Microsite
The project is hosted on a microsite within the Swiggy app .
The format makes the comics more accessible and easy to share as a collection.
Promotion of the project
The following data was collected on the launch dates of three comics
Page Impressions: 1,59,870
29,981
Scrolled to the end of the comic
3,499
Clicked on other stories
46,304
Browsed other microsite functions
872
Shared the comic via the microsite
Push Notifications and Emailers
The comic is promoted via Swiggy’s owned media.
On the launch date the brand sends out a push notification and email to users across India.
A second push notification is sent out mid month, to users who did not open the first.
Post Order Banner
Another entry point is a banner that appears on the Swiggy app, post placing an order from the brands Food Marketplace vertical.
Food Marketplace is Swiggy’s oldest and most popular offering, and the banner allowed the project a much wider reach.
The project was recognised by artist Alica Souza, and promoted via her Instagram account :)
The project has received an overwhelmingly positive response.
As a content piece, with no business agenda, ‘Dinner Table Stories’ was the first such property by Swiggy, and did not have a standard to be measured against. However, readers wrote in with glowing commendations, and utilised the option to share the comic with friends and family.
This level of engagement and appreciation is not common in the brand’s campaigns, especially considering the property has not been promoted through any paid channels, and all growth has been organic.