Project Overview

Bringing the Edison Agency ethos to life - via a bespoke and vibrant Xmas gift pack that truly says "we see you".

How do you put a smile on your clients face and let them know their value to you - whilst reflecting your core business value "Empathy" AND showcasing the business's design and production skills?

Organisation

The Edison Agency

Team

Amber Bonney - Strategy + ECD
Brian Rodrigo Llagas - Design Director
Amber + Brian: Illustration
Natalie Tuke - Illustrator
Matt O'Connor - Production
Stephen Wren - Group Account Director
Liz Archer-Fisher - Senior Account Manager

Project Brief

We take our festive gifting campaign really seriously, like we mean REALLY! Each year we start planning around June - pondering how to show our clients, agency partners and friends that we see them, we hear them and we appreciate their support.

We tasked the team to find a design link between the values and core pillar of the business "Empathy- through human centred design".

Human-centered design is all about building a deep empathy with the people you’re designing for and in B2B this means focusing on people from 3 perspectives:

1. Clients (external)
Having empathy for our clients enables us to tailor our approach and response to them specifically which ultimately means stronger more resilient relationships.

2. Consumers (external)
Understanding the context of the audience is critical but it is important not to confuse empathy with emulation. We can seek to empathise with the end-user as much as is humanly possible but if we always produce design solutions that reflected what end-users told us they wanted, there is every real possibility that we would exist in a pretty ordinary civilisation lacking in innovation and creativity.

3. Culture (internal)
One of the things we value the most at The Edison Agency is the diversity of our people, their experiences and expertise. Practicing empathy with each other as a behavioural driver is key to designing products, services, and experiences that help people understand themselves better.

Project Innovation/Need

This was an all agency collaboration, from hand rolling 480 beer cans (via a Jerry-rigged device thanks to Matt - our senior production manager) to traditional Japanese cloth wrapping of bespoke tea-towels, the process of creation as much of a gift as the curated gourmet contents inside.

We personally curated gift boxes to suit specific individuals, and where possible hand-delivered these seasonal goodie bags, bringing some summer cheer.

The beer itself was personally selected by one of our valued clients - St.Andrews Beach Brewery as the the perfect accompaniment to the upcoming Aussie summer (one of the hottest on record).

Design Challenge

Inspired by a series of posters we designed showcasing our approach to innovative thinking, the ‘empathy’ poster was an illustration that resonated and it planted the seed for the 2019 campaign.

Its bold and vibrant abstraction creates a platform for playfulness that showcases Edison’s vibrant spirit.

Iconography depicting the vital elements that allow us to empathise (the eye, the ear, the mouth, the brain) are interspersed amongst a festive Australian holiday landscape.

The design was particularly suited to a beer-can application, referencing the vibrant and art driven designs that are so prominent within the craft beer industry.

Effectiveness

Year 2 saw the continuation of our annual tea-towel gifting - a bespoke piece of Edison created art - digitally printed onto tea towels, as both a functional and inspiring gift.

Feedback from both clients and agency partners reflected an appreciation of the effort and non-conformity of this gifting series - a gift pack that not only tasted delicious, but truly put the focus back on them during this happy time, and reflected the value of their relationship to us.