InAppStory Creative Studio Support When Internal Resources Are Limited

TL;DR

Ahead of a peak retail season, Leroy Merlin Portugal needed to scale in-app content fast. Partnering with InAppStory Creative Studio helped the team deliver a full set of stories on time, reach over 420k impressions, and maintain strong engagement without adding internal workload.

The Challenge

Leroy Merlin Portugal already used in-app stories but struggled to scale them consistently.
Content production relied on a single marketing manager who handled ideation, copy, coordination, and approvals alongside many other responsibilities.

As the holiday season approached, the pressure increased:

• Several high-priority campaigns had to launch before Christmas
• Story publishing frequency dropped due to lack of time and creative capacity
• Topics were difficult to develop without dedicated focus
• Internal approvals involved multiple stakeholders and slowed delivery

The risk was clear. Without support, the team would either reduce in-app communication or pause campaigns at the most important moment of the year.

The Approach

InAppStory proposed involving the Creative Studio as an external extension of the Leroy Merlin Portugal team.

The two sides agreed on a two-month collaboration, during which the studio took responsibility for the full content production cycle:

• ideation
  
  
• copywriting
  
  
• design
  
  
• iteration based on feedback
  
  
• preparation for publishing in the InAppStory dashboard
  
  

The goal was not only to deliver ready-to-launch stories, but also to create a structure and visual logic that the client could later reuse independently.

What Was Done

Content Planning and Ideation

The Creative Studio proposed a broad set of story ideas before narrowing them down to 15 final concepts together with the client. Some ideas were selected for immediate production, others were kept as inspiration for Leroy Merlin’s future campaigns.

Copy and Localization

Initial copy was written in English to speed up ideation and approvals. The client translated the texts into Portuguese, using a local variant important for their audience. This revealed a practical challenge: Portuguese copy required more space than English, which led to careful design adjustments to maintain visual clarity.

Design and Brand Adaptation

At the start, brand guidelines were fragmented and shared in non-editable formats. Throughout the process, additional design constraints emerged from different stakeholders.

The studio adapted layouts, colors, and shapes accordingly, even when assets had to be revised late in the process. Several stories were redesigned to match existing promotional materials that were shared only after production had started.

Story Formats and Use Cases

The final set included:

• Seasonal gift selection for Christmas campaigns
• Product selections with clickable items
• Inspirational interior ideas
• Interactive voting stories for new products
• Educational stories about Leroy Merlin services
• Reusable visual templates designed to be replicated by the client later

Out of the 15 planned stories:

• 12 were delivered and launched before Christmas
• 3 were finalized after the holidays due to extended internal approvals

Results and Impact

Over the campaign period, the stories produced by InAppStory Creative Studio reached over 420,000 impressions inside the Leroy Merlin Portugal mobile app.

In addition to campaign-specific stories, the Creative Studio delivered 15 reusable story templates, allowing the Leroy Merlin team to continue producing content independently after the collaboration.

Why It Worked

✅ Dedicated focus

The Creative Studio worked as a concentrated content unit, removing the operational load from the client’s team.

✅ Format expertise

Stories were designed not as isolated visuals, but as part of the in-app journey.

✅ Flexibility under constraints

Late brand requirements, localization challenges, and holiday deadlines were handled without slowing delivery.

✅ Reusable outcomes

The result was a foundation for future in-house campaigns.

About InAppStory Creative Studio

InAppStory Creative Studio helps teams plan, design, and launch in-app content at scale.
From onboarding support to full-cycle content production, the studio works as an extension of the client’s team, combining creative thinking with deep knowledge of in-app formats and platform capabilities.

Want to See How It Works in Practice?

If your team lacks time or resources to produce consistent in-app content, InAppStory Creative Studio can help you move faster without sacrificing quality.

Talk to our team or explore other case studies.