Social Media | Culture | Communications
May 2019 — March 2020
G Adventures Internal Instagram
G Adventures is a small-group travel company operating on all continents, with over 2,000 employees in 2019 working in offices and as tour leaders on the road. I managed their @gadventureslife Instagram account, showcasing life as a G Adventures employee.
How might we…
share all the great things happening at G around the world in one place?
inform employees and followers about engagement and career development programming?
let employees tell stories on a public stage?
attract potential job candidates?
mitigate FOMO by sharing employee experiences for everyone?
Strategy
Before joining G Adventures, their company Instagram did not post on a regular basis. I introduced more storytelling into their Instagram, to make use of the content employees were already making internally.
The Human Resources department wanted to attract more candidates for roles in Marketing and Technology. G Adventures struggled to present itself as a viable employer for these industries, with most assuming they don’t exist at travel companies. My goal with posting was to document what makes G Adventures a great place to work, so employees can share what’s happening in their part of the world and to show potential employees why they should join.
Video Campaigns
The Scoop
The Scoop was a biweekly video series produced by the Employee Engagement & Culture team. This series is a 2ish minute news roundup giving viewers a crash course in what’s new, hosted by G Adventures’ then Mayor, Kris.
I created the branding for the series, designing several gif animations in Photoshop, all consisting of an ice-cream theme. I also helped gather stories for filming, and shared each episode via internal communication channels, as well as on Instagram. See it in action below:
The Scoop: January 9, 2020 episode
My G Journey
This campaign was a video series featuring dynamic individuals across the company, intended to boost recruitment and employee retention by showcasing an employee’s journey at the company. It features employees from Tech and Marketing, departments that were in need of more exposure to talent.
Here is the series pilot featuring Kristina’s journey at G. I storyboarded the video with Kristina, then filmed, directed, and edited the video using Adobe Premiere and After Effects.
My G Journey: Kristina
Engagement Programming
No FOMO allowed.
There was no shortage of things going on at G Adventures. My job was to always keep an eye out for Instagram story content, which meant filming on the fly at all events, and scouring the internal channels for what was happening in other offices. This was our tactic for keeping people connected — I was sharing moments from events so those who couldn’t make it could still be a part of the conversation; I was reposting content we were tagged in; I was reaching out to people to enlist them as my reporters in the field; I was sharing the company’s values and the meaning behind events.
The strategy was simple: engage more with attendees, share moments with absentees, and hopefully entice someone out there to apply for a job at G because it looks like they’re having fun.
Holiday Giveaway — December 2019
The Holiday Giveaway was a month-long initiative at Base Camp, G’s Toronto HQ, where I was based.
Throughout the month of December 2019, the Employee Engagement team was giving away a gift everyday, selected at random. My job was to capture all the magic of opening presents by the tree.
Process: Work with Engagement specialists to coordinate times to select the next recipient, notify them on Slack that they are the chosen ones, and then document the joy
Content: Tons of smiles, some confused faces, too many gifts, lots of love.
Wellbeing Month — October 2019
Wellbeing Month at G consisted of themed weeks. A company-wide initiative, this event required both in-person attendance for Toronto HQ’s programming, as well as discovering and sharing Wellbeing content from our offices around the world throughout the month on Instagram, Slack and Intranet.
Process: know the Wellbeing Month schedule like the back of my hand, daily scrapes of internal channels for international content, documenting Base Camp programming, jumping into a stretching video
Content: Mindfulness, movement, connection, the outdoors and more. All the ways G employees made health a priority.
G Stock 25 — September 2019
G Stock was an annual 5-day event celebrating the best and brightest at G Adventures. It brings together top performers both in the office and on the road, with 300+ employees from around the world gathering in Toronto to connect with each other and the vision. G’s Captain, Bruce Poon Tip also presents lots of awards and announces big plans for the company at his renowned State of G Nation presentation.
Process: keep eyes peeled, camera in hand at all times, and be ready to film at any second between helping actually run the event.
Content: all the excitement, all the friendships, big exciting news, costumes, a Mustang, and a talent show — so much content that there’s now 2 Instagram highlights to show it all.
Selected Instagram Posts
Association of Registered Graphic Designers Award — November 2019
G Adventures’ Marketing team was awarded RGD’s In-House Design Award for their work on National Geography Family Journeys in 2019.
Goal: celebrate the award win, attract more marketing candidates
Process: I reached out to the Lead Copywriter on the project to get a quote to share in the post and learn more about the project
Content: kudos to the marketing team, and background on the campaign: recognizing similarities across different families around the world and how travel can help families connect with each other with the message of “We are all family”
Guac Off — September 2019
The Guac Off is an annual event at G Adventures’ Toronto HQ. 10 contestants battled it out for the title of Best Guacamole, with attendees donating funds to Planeterra.
Goal: show how serious G Adventures’ Base Camp takes their guac / how yummy and fun working at G Adventures can be
Process: I took photos and gathered stats about the event, talked to the Guac off winner about her recipe and set up marquee signage to announce her win
Content: awesome photo of pregnant woman eating the last of the guac, details about how many competed and attended, how much was raised for Planeterra, and kudos to Janina’s Mr. Mango recipe winning for the 2nd year in a row
Career Apprenticeships: Technology — March 2020
One of the many programs available to tour leaders is apprenticeships. When Lindsay, a US tour leader, apprenticed with the Technology department in Toronto in 2020, I wanted to write a post about her to let other tour leaders know opportunities like this were available to them. It was also part of our content for International Women’s Day 2020.
Goal: show how Lindsay is killing it in her Tech apprenticeship and is deserving of some International Women’s Day props, encourage other tour leaders to apply for apprenticeships
Process: I talked to Lindsay myself to learn her background and philosophy as a tour leader; she provided the photos!
Content: a little profile of Lindsay and what inspires her in her role as a tour leader and now as a technology apprentice
Best Places to Work — December 2019
In 2019, G employees left rave reviews on their Glassdoor page, making G one of Glassdoor’s 2020 Best Places to Work. The award is based entirely on employee feedback because the employees know best.
Goal: show how proud G was to win this award, boast about being the best of the best!
Process: photo was taken at Toronto HQ, I edited the Best Places to Work logo onto it, and did some research about how the winners are chosen
Content: award win announcement, what is the Best Places to Work award and how is it awarded, a little rallying cry
South African National Women’s Day — August 2019
On August 9, National Women’s Day is celebrated in South Africa, commemorating the 20,000 women who protested unjust laws in 1956, during the apartheid era. Women of the Cape Town HQ were representing that day!
Goal: let people know about National Women’s Day in South Africa, show how awesome the women of Cape Town HQ are
Process: I spotted this photo on Slack posted by a Cape Town HQ employee and thought it was an important day and a great photo to share
Content: history of National Women’s Day in South Africa, shout out to our Cape Town ladies