The vendor was only part of the problem. The store itself felt generic and template-driven. Product quality was poor, the apparel was dated, and employees simply weren't excited to shop it. Meanwhile, our new CEO was pushing for stronger internal engagement and more social visibility from our own people.

Done right, a swag store was a brand activation hiding in plain sight.

I started by documenting the full scope of what wasn't working, building a formal brief that captured vendor performance gaps, unmet team needs, and a clear picture of what success would look like. Working alongside our Head of Events, I researched, interviewed, and vetted promotional vendors against a demanding set of requirements:

We had $35K to cover everything from setup and hosting fees to launch inventory. There was no room for error.

Once we selected a vendor, I spent hours combing their catalogs and talking with Alight stakeholders across Growth Marketing, Events, and our C-suite admin team. I wanted to know what people actually wanted to wear and use, and just as importantly, what had been failing them. That listening shaped every product decision.

When the vendor's initial store mockups came back safe and uninspired, I brought the design challenge in-house and handed it to my own team. After a few rounds of feedback, we landed on something that felt genuinely fresh - clean, modern, and brand-right in a way that only an internal creative team could achieve.

A standout addition was the #BeAlight section, featuring real employees wearing the new gear. It was a direct response to leadership's call for more social engagement from within.

With no photography budget, I turned to AI image generation. I spent significant time testing prompts and reference images until I found a formula that consistently produced lifestyle imagery that looked completely real. My own team couldn't tell which photos were AI-generated. It gave me full creative control over who was in the shot, what they were wearing, and how the product was presented, all at zero additional cost.

To close out the project, I partnered with Internal Comms on a drip campaign that built anticipation before launch and drove strong early adoption.

• Led vendor research, interviews, and final selection

• Directed all creative on site design, layout, and content

• Curated the full product assortment

• Generated all lifestyle photography using AI image generation

• Coordinated IT on store build and infrastructure

• Partnered with Internal Comms on the internal launch campaign

• Managed the entire project form start to finish