Let’s Make You a Business: Put an Imagined Future into a Familiar Place

Read the campaign story

Shopify announced Let’s Make You a Business on 15 April 2019 as its first integrated North American brand campaign. The stated plan combined television, digital, outdoor, radio and social activity across twelve US and Canadian markets. The brand team worked with R/GA, with Traktor directing films. This is distinct from Shopify’s earlier Build a Business competition, already covered elsewhere in the library.

A storefront component placed business possibilities in vacant retail spaces. The participating creative’s portfolio makes the premise clear: the advertised businesses had not yet started. These were representations of potential, not evidence that a lease had been secured, an enterprise opened or a customer succeeded. The campaign’s announced distribution plan is not treated as proof that every planned placement happened or generated commercial returns.

Editorial interpretation: an abstract service becomes easier to discuss when its possible use appears in a setting people already understand. A vacant shop is a visible gap between an existing place and a possible activity. The communication gives that gap a story without needing to explain the whole software stack. The strategic opportunity is to make a future role legible, while the main risk is allowing an imagined business to look like a verified customer outcome.

Editorial interpretation: the invitation also changes the language of entry. Instead of beginning with a feature list, it addresses someone who may have an idea but not yet identify as a business owner. That can create relevance before product evaluation. It cannot remove practical barriers such as demand, cost, capability or permission. A responsible adaptation therefore pairs a useful picture of possibility with a clear account of what is and is not being offered.

Make the possibility specific enough to discuss

Choose a concrete setting, task or object that the intended audience recognises. Use it to show one plausible role for the offer rather than promising an entire transformed life. A rough sketch can reveal whether the relationship is understandable before production begins. Ask people to describe the imagined activity and identify what they would need to investigate next. If they infer an operational commitment that the organisation has not made, revise the representation. Specificity should improve comprehension, not manufacture a false impression that the future already exists.

Label aspiration separately from evidence

A fictional business, projected result and genuine customer story require different treatment. Keep those categories visible in the headline, supporting explanation and review process. Do not use a realistic environment to imply that an invented operation has customers, funding or permission. Where an actual example is used, check the conditions and obtain the relevant consent. Where a concept is used, say so plainly. The creative value of imagining a possibility does not depend on disguising it as a documented success.

Give the invitation a proportionate next step

An inspiring image can leave a person with enthusiasm but no useful action. Offer a small information-gathering step that matches the evidence, such as identifying a need or comparing practical requirements. Avoid treating account creation, borrowing money or signing a lease as a natural consequence of liking the campaign. The first useful commitment may be a question rather than a transaction. Assess whether the communication helps people understand the work ahead, not merely whether they repeat its optimistic language.

A small test for another brief

Proposed adaptation: an adult community workshop could use an original paper drawing of a fictional shared studio to compare a generic invitation with a clearly labelled example of one possible activity. The exercise would explore whether the setting helps readers formulate questions. No real property, trading business, income projection, signup or purchase is involved.

Record which activity readers imagine and which practical questions they raise. Separate comprehension and curiosity from willingness to invest, business viability or a prediction of future demand.

Stop if a reader reasonably mistakes the concept for an available property, a promised service or evidence of an operating customer business.

• Make the fictional status visible on both versions.
• Keep the information and practical constraints comparable.
• Provide a plain-text description alongside the drawing.