Ideas can be better when mashed together

The Brief

The brief was to deliver a memorable and innovative Xmas gift that expressed who we are and what we stand for. Something that makes our clients smile and feel valued. In a busy time of year, it needed to be something that cut-through the festive clutter, leaving audiences to say “wow, that’s cool.”

The Solution

The driving strategic idea was Better Together, reflecting the partnership between us and our clients. Its direct alignment with our Strategy+ Creative: two complementary forces brand story made it instantly appealing as a message platform to build a creative idea on.

The creative vehicle selected was the portmanteaus – the mash us of two words to create a new ‘better’ word. Think cronut, labradoodle, bromance and Brangelina.

The combining of words in fun ways inspired the idea of creating a game that our clients could enjoy over the holidays. What better way to show we care than helping clients unwind over the break. It was also a great way to ensure our gift lasted beyond the festive season and was shared with friends and family.

But game design can be complex. How many cards? How many players? Should there be points? How do you earn them? There was no choice but to just keep playing until we got it right. The laughter could be heard far and wide. The final game, called Mashmaster, required players to come up with the funniest definition for new words created by bringing two things together. A recipe for hours of fun.

As if inventing a game wasn’t enough we decided it would be even ‘better together’ with food to create a gift that’s both instantaneously pleasurable and has a long-term use. And so the idea of combining two kiwi classic baked-goods was born. There were a few early iterations (like the Chavlova, combining pavlova and chocolate fish) before the Mallington (a mallowpuff + lamington mash) was decided upon. Again, excessive quality control was needed, much to the tasting pleasure of the whole office.

The Results

Just as important as the game and food was the experience we wanted receivers to have. It started with the outer packaging. We created two custom patterns – one geometric and one floral - and then bought them together to create something bold and bright that just couldn’t be ignored. Opening the box exposed a calmer but more curious world waiting to shared, enjoyed and played. Considerable attention was given to the details: including the stylised wordmark with the combined letterforms, the imagery, the instruction fold-out, the notepads and pencils and the holiday wish itself. 

The feedback has been amazing with clients and staff alike describing it as fun, hilarious, OTT, “super-creative”, innovative and “very very clever”. We’ve heard lots of stories of the game being played at home, and we’ve even played it with a few clients over drinks. We’ve heard many new portmanteaus, many which we can’t repeat. And one client liked the Mallington so much, they are getting it re-made for their wedding! Now that’s truly better together.