WHY QUICKBOOKS IS BETTER FOR ACCOUNANT’S CLIENTS THAN CURRENT METHODS OR SOFTWARE
Date 2025
Client QuickBooks
Role Lead Designer/Art Direction
Type UI + Display + Social
The Project
Key Stakeholders:
Client: Intuit, Kristy Hollis, Head of Marketing
Agency: BAM, lead by CD Thomas Deng and CD Jeremy Blum
External Partners: DO Agency x Crater x Studio Two Twelve
The objective was to drive conversion among accounting firms that managed multiple small to medium business clients. Internally, the project was steered by two Creative Directors who guided our team. We needed to position QuickBooks as the smart, scalable, modern accounting solution to the legacy systems these firms were using. Our ‘Master's Journey’ campaign aligned by translating this business objective into a human insight. Instead of listing features, we addressed the result of not having a modern solution: burnout and endemic late nights. The 'Master' figure was the embodiment of the ‘smart’ and ‘scalable’ promise, offering empowerment and mastery over one's time, which directly fulfilled the briefs strategic goals.
My Role in the Project
My role in this project was to co-lead the conceptualization of this campaign and execute the campaign assets in close collaboration a copywriting partner. Our Creative Directors provided oversight and creative feedback, my copywriting partner and I were responsible for managing design led research workshops to uncover insights and build the concept.
My responsibilities included:
Co-leading the design research workshops with 10 accountants across the APAC region
Gathering insights to assist in marketing case study websites
Designing final assets across social, eDM, OOH and websites
Storyboarding the main film and short-form videos across Youtube and Tik Tok
Presenting concepts to internal stakeholders.
Overseeing the film and photoshoots to align with approved storyboard
This included working collaboratively alongside the client's marketing managers to ensure our creative territory was not only compelling but also solved their specific business problem. We also managed creative feedback to our external production partners that helped in the film and photo shoots. We also actively presented our concepts and navigated feedback and approvals while meeting the client's needs every step of the journey.
Project Success and Learnings
We took a deep cultural value and connected that to the product benefit. The insight allowed us to reframe the conversation, instead of telling overworked accountants to simply 'stop working hard', we were able to offer them a way to evolve past that work ethic. We positioned QuickBooks as the tool for a new kind of mastery over time and workflow, making 'smart work' the ultimate sign of progress.
The lesson was the power of reframing. We weren't just selling software, we are validating their hard work while offering a solution to the burnout so often accompanying it. In retrospect, I'd have pushed to validate the "Master" concept with a small focus group of accountants earlier on in the process. We were confident in its cultural relevance, but getting that direct market feedback sooner would have streamlined our internal revisions and armed us with even more data points to bolster our creative decisions during client presentations.
