PLEASE FLIP THROUGH TO REVIEW THE SUBMISSIONS FOR MOST CREATIVE PROJECTS IN 2023.
U.S. BANK COOKIE BRANCH KIT On the U.S. Bank Cookie Branch Kit, this was a team building exercise that was sent to all Union Bank branches in the acquisition in 2023. It was meant to bring the group together and start getting them excited about becoming a U.S Bank branch. It was different from anything they had done in the past, and it’s always fun to do something new. My marketing contacts received lots of positive feedback about how much fun the teams had putting these together. Kudos to Tori and Taylor for the cute video that U.S. Bank posted on their social media after seeing it on ours!
US SKI & SNOWBOARD AUCTION PADDLES Every year at the Gold Medal Gala in NYC there is an auction. The funds collected from this event help fund the US Olympic Athletes journey to gold medals in the following year. This year the theme was ‘Guiding Light’ and the client wanted to have custom auction paddles made. The idea they sent me (from etsy) was a diecut plexiglass paddle with a built in light. They were listed as $18 per paddle. The client asked, “do you think we can do these for around $7.50 per paddle?” I did my due diligence and reached out to all of our custom manufacturers to see if that was remotely possible. (it wasn’t) Then I remembered the really cool smash light I had seen a few years back at a supplier show? You might be asking what a Smashlight is? It’s a flashlight that is super thin - less than 1/2 inch thick - and can be turned on and off by “smashing” a hidden button at the top. It’s a very useful promotional item that catches the end user’s attention and will most likely not end up in the trash because they don’t have anything like it. We ordered samples and had mockups created. Client loved the idea and gave the green light. Now, how do we adhere the smashlight to the paddle? The typical glue dot wouldn’t work because the colder temperatures reduce the stickiness of the adhesive. A traditional double sided tape was going to leave a weird residue when removing the smashlight from the paddle to take home. Then we found a new product that is highly adhesive but low residue and extremely transparent. It was perfect! We put a small strip of that between the top of the light and the wooden paddle. Then we also purchased small clear rubber bands and put one of those at the base of the smashlight and paddle. It worked perfectly and made it to NY in mint condition. During the auction, donors would smash their light on and raise their paddles to bid on items. The event was a ‘smashing’ success and they raised a record amount of $2,000,000!
IVX HEALTH NASHVILLE KIT Client wanted to send custom kits to potential business partners. They wanted the kit to be impactful and emphasize IVX’s roots in Nashville. The goal was to include Nashville themed items that could be shared within an office environment. We chose authentic Nashville snacks along with a couple office items. We have received feedback from the client that the kits have helped them gain new business partners.
HUSQVARNA/WORLD OF CONCRETE Husqvarna World of Concrete Pop Up Shop 2023 – Built into the Husqvarna outdoor booth at World of Concrete our small but mighty pop up shop sold $38,000 in 3 days. Brand Pride at it’s finest.
BASYS DIRECT MAIL SERIES This client was previously with UMB, so she was familiar with our ability to develop sophisticated direct mail campaigns to support their efforts in business development. They were developing a new brand, and wanted these mailings to also be an introduction in that effort. Being in the financial industry, their target audience were banks with $750+MM in assets, as well as software management companies who leverage processing within their platform, as well as winback clients who have left BASYS for a competitor. In addition to developing brand awareness, there was a call to action, to drive them to their website to capture information, or in the winback segment to also capture contract information to aid in their sales efforts. They requested that GVD source product, develop a messaging platform, provide kitting and fulfillment, and warehousing and drop shipping services. Lots of twists and turns in our service of this project, but ultimately, we sourced product and packaging, and provided creative and fulfillment services. This is a recent program, so the client is currently deploying these in their sales efforts, but they seem extremely happy with production.
TRIUMPH HOLIDAY The client asked for Christmas items with packaging other than a box. Last year we did a drawstring bag which was a nightmare for Kristin. I tried to think of things while they were narrowing it down and once they selected the beanie I thought we could use a poly bag, However, when they decided to go with 2 designs we had to find a way for them to differentiate between the 2 without opening them. This led me to come up with the idea of doing a custom poly bag with the hat designs so when they were passed out to their 2900 employees they could decide which hat they wanted without digging through the bags!
SANOFI, CUSTOM SHOES Custom Shoes for Sanofi with a custom shoe box and two sets of laces, one white, one purple for a team building meeting. We also did matching custom bowling shirts, but those went directly to the customer.
VIVA SELTZER POLE TOPPERS Create a purchase display to be used in liquor stores across the country. (That was it. That was literally the only thing they sent us to reference.) After doing some online and in field market research, I realized that these Pole Topper displays were starting to make a comeback. I reached out to our regular printers with no luck. After doing some additional research and making calls, I was connected with a large format printer in KC who was up for this challenge. Our creative team worked on a design that was ultimately approved by the client. After finding a manufacturer in OH who had the exact base we needed they shipped us a sample to custom fit the printed piece to the pole and base. Finally our design team put together a step-by-step visual on how to put the whole thing together so that they could ship more easily and anyone who received it would have no problem assembling it. After shipping to a random employee in Boston who was able to assemle with no problem we drop shipped the remainder of the order the following day and the client is already working on a new design/reorder for 2024!
Viva pole topper assembly Kit Includes: 1 cardboard topper,
Step 1
Lay sign flat, face down. Fold cardboard marks to create the structure.
instructions
2 Poles & 1 2-Piece Metal Base
Step 2
Make sure the flat side of the structure be is facing your stomach. You will with folding the sign over toward you / facing the brackets on the top section over. toward the ground when folded
where there are score / bend
fold top over flat lay with bend marks
view of top half after folds
Step 3
of the structure and remove the Start from the innermost bracket bracket secure at a 90 angle and yellow tape seal. Hold the adhesive to the backside on the lower half. fold the top of the sign over to adhere the lower half of the structure, On you will see small notches on the left and right to use as guides for lining up the adhesive brackets. align remove this it’s important that you bracket tape first the inner top adhesive just below the inner notch the bottom structure.
IMPORTANT!
Align bracket to below this notch
on
NOTE4: Step When folding over the top half, before
Repeat stepthe 3 for the remaining inner bracket, aligning to the lower adhesive securing to rotate it to the notches on the lower half ofor theliftbottom of the need you may backside, is now Alignment structure. the structure so the top fold over Example with the facing you. Lining up the bracket this angle. notch mark is more visible from repeat with this bracket
Step 5 The pole will be in two pieces. Assemble those together to make one pole. Insert inner carboard to second half
Insert here
IMPORTANT!
Align bracket to above this notch Finally, repeat steps again for the final bottom bracket matching the adhesive bracket to the edge.
Step 7 Assemble the wire base. These can be lined up in a “T” formation with the round tops aligning. They will be wobbly until the pole is inserted over the top.
Step 6 Insert the pole from the bottom of the structure and make sure it goes through each of the pre-cut holes until it reaches the top of the structure. This will be a tight fit and may require some gentle force.
Line up in “T” Formation Once assembled, confirm the pole is all the way down the top of the metal base and secure.
Step 8 Display with Viva Seltzer products and Enjoy! Insert pole upwards
GRATSY/LIQUID IV SAMPLING BOX ITEMS We designed a custom keychain that would hold the Liquid IV packet and sold them 50K water bottles with carabiner and keychains for Liquid IV on the go. I loved the creative process of designing the product, the back and forth of the prototypes and last but not least the big order.
SPRUCE DIRECT MAIL SERIES Being a mobile banking app, in an extremely competitive marketplace, H&R Block turned to us to assist in reaching their Influencer target audience. We developed this direct mail campaign to support those efforts. In the beginning, it has been somewhat challenging because we received very little direction with regard to messaging objectives. We began with mockups utilizing their social campaign as inspiration, but quickly discovered they were unhappy with that content, and we needed to go to Plan B. We worked with their agency of record to secure content after product and packaging was selected. Overall, something a tad different for us, being B2C (vs. B2B), which the client was thrilled with. So we sourced product and packaging, utilized our creative services, and we handled fulfillment and drop shipping services.
PRUCE NEW YEAR INFLUENCER MOCKUPS
ption 3: Custom Shipper Box with Spiral Bound Notebook, Skull Candy Wireless Earbuds, Thule Backpack, Wireless Desk Charger, pruce Tree Grow Kit, Custom Notebook set with Belly BandS-Shaped Collectibles Bank & Custom Double-Sided Insert Cards
SECURITY BANK- 90TH ANNIVERSARY GIFT The client wanted to gift their employees a 90th Anniversary gift bag. They had an idea of the products they wanted to include but had no design aspects completed. We were able to source high quality items and use bags and tissue paper, instead of boxes and sizzle, to help keep the project under budget. They wanted a high end look so we included gold tissue paper, gold stirrors, gold logo on the ice mold, and gold logo on the bags. Client was pleased with the final product.
U.S. BANK HOLIDAY 2023 For the holiday items, we thought the holiday card art worked well for different holiday themed items for us to sell on the Logo Shop. The ornament, tumbler, pouch and socks all looked great with the graphics that easily transferred from print to promo items. They were very popular and were fun to combine with other items as holiday gifts for bank employees to give this holiday season.
U.S. Bank holiday gifts available on the Logo Shop shop.usbank.com
2023 Holiday Cards Custom holiday cards sold in packs of 25. Personalized cards and additional versions are available with Wealth Management logos. Available on the Logo Shop for $29.26 per pack.
Starlight Mints Mug Stuffer Add this cello bag of starlight mints to any mug for a tasty holiday gift. Bag tied with red ribbon and decorated with a sticker with the U.S. Bank logo. Available on the Logo Shop for $2.33 each.
Silver Ornament
Holiday Tumbler
Leather Wine Tote
nt Celebrate the holidays with An extra special gift for an importa 3” silver ornament is this stainless steel vacuum recipient, this leather wine tote is designed to match the 2023 insulated 24 oz. tumbler for hot A useful. and both good looking holiday card with the tree or cold drinks. Decorated with leather tag with a debossed design. Etched with “Peace and the holiday card tree design. U.S. Bank logo is attached. Cheer” and “U.S. Bank”. Available on the Logo Shop Shop Available on the Logo for $14.96 each. Available on the Logo Shop for $39.04 each. for $2.51 each.
Cable Knit Beanies Keep warm this winter with two different versions of beanies. Choose from a basic cable or with a cuff and pom. Available on the Logo Shop for $9.30/$10.82 each.
Visit the Logo Shop today for more
Holiday Socks
Accessories Pouch
Show your holiday spirit down to your toes! Holiday tree design featured on a gray background. Available on the Logo Shop for $4.93 per pair.
This vegan leather pouch will keep your tech items or other small things organized. Featuring the holiday card tree design for a festive and useful item. Available on the Logo Shop for $5.08 each.
nk.com
U.S. Bank gift ideas! | shop.usba
HARLEY DAVIDSON VISA- FLASK SET AND BOX Client wanted a “high end” looking product without a “high end” price point. After many months and numerous samples, the client chose the flask set. From there we had to pivot from the vendor deco and find a different route because the laser engraving from the vendor did not meet their standards. We ended up using Midwest Engraving and were able to stay under their $20 desired price point for the set, which allowed for us to incorporate the custom box. To keep the final product consistent with Harley Davidson colors, we went with black box, white lettering, and orange sizzle. After many months of work and back and forth, the client was very pleased with the final product.
CYNTHIA J JUNK DRAWERS “I want to give our employees a drawer of junk!” She wanted to stop at thrift stores in the community to purchase dressers and then use those drawers to fill with branded and non-branded merchandise that could then be boxed up and shipped to employees across the country. There was a lot going on with that initial request. For starters, shipping a real wooden drawer is going to cost a fortune - the client didn’t even consider that. Second, why would we want to take dressers from local thrift stores when there are people who actually need those pieces? This created the initial idea for the base design of this project - create a custom designed box to look like a drawer. It’s going to save on shipping and allows us to have control of the final design. Now, to source items you would find in a junk drawer and actually find useful. I surveyed people to see what their top 10 favorite items are in their junk drawer at home. After compiling a list of over 75 items, we were able to present to the client and get them to narrow this down to 23 final items to put in our custom designed ‘Cynthia J Junk Drawer’. In the middle of all of this, the client asked if we could design a new logo concept for them - of course we can! The client also decided she wanted to add a separate ‘lake themed’ gift to this project. Because when you think of a junk drawer you also think of a day at the lake, right? So on top of designing the custom drawer and items that would go inside it, we also landed on a custom cut and sewn neoprene beach bag that would be stuffed with embroidered beach throws and screen printed table bug fans to keep those pesky flies away when you’re enjoying a picnic on the dock. Nothing about this project made sense, but we somehow pulled everything together and made it cohesive through the packaging and messaging. We had amazing feedback from the client and end users about how thoughtful the item selection was and how each piece was going to be helpful.
HILL BOOKKEEPING NEW YEAR Client requested to order the dogs after seeing them on our socials from a previous project. She wanted the messaging to be “Tax season is RUFF, here is something sweet to make it easier.” I suggested the Gable boxes as I thought they would make the perfect dog “house” and green tissue to match the logo worked perfectly for grass. The client requested custom M&M’s, but thought the box was lacking something. We threw in a stress reliever dog bone to play on both the dog and the stressfulness of tax season. - Also, we threw in cookies and animal crackers to tie it all together.
CACU COASTERS They were looking for something small in size and budget with a big impact. Needed something visually appealing and easy to transport as they were set on the table at the tables of the best places to work luncheon at Arrowhead. wanted it to feel like a gift vs just a branded piece.
SANOFI, TRAVEL THEMED KIT Meeting Kit for Sanofi for people traveling to and from the event. Travel umbrella in case, snacks, hand san, custom box.
WELLSKY S’MORES KIT Client was looking for a high end followup to a conference event. Budget was limited, and qty was low, never an easy feat. Because it was fall, we initially shared the solo stove alone as an option. But HH was great to upsell to include the s’mores, skewers, and wood kit. Increased the overall sell by 50%. Yay! Client was extremely happy, and continues to use it for other sales opportunities.
KALMAR PREMIER PARTNERS MEETING Sales Meeting was western themed, and the event was in Houston. Gifts included in the kit were to be higher end for the owners of their dealers. We did two types of chargers, cowboy hats, bandanas, and pens. The feedback from the meeting was that it was fun and well received.