What is your idea of the perfect partnership: chocolate and peanut butter maybe? Lennon and McCartney? How about tortilla chips and salsa? That last pairing was the one that REACTOR chose to emphasize how a company’s “fresh ideas” (the salsa) could be complemented by Henry Wurst Printing’s “seasoned expertise” (the chips) in a simple-but-effective direct-mail package.
Last time around REACTOR wowed us with the daring design of their “Good Fortune” client gifts. But with this piece they let simplicity be their watchword, allowing the underlying idea – the value of a good partnership – to take center stage and sell the idea.
Sourcing the chips and salsa from “the Internet” (the folks at REACTOR can be entertainingly to-the-point sometimes), they designed engaging bellyband wraps for each and nestled them in a metal lunchbox filled with shredded paper to cushion their journey. To make the lunchbox their own they created a simple cover for the outer lid proclaiming “Perfect Partnerships have all the right ingredients” and die cut it to fit. Something similar was done for the interior lid, with the addition of a large pocket to hold a brochure, and a small slit for a business card, all with one simple message: “Let’s Talk.”
The brochure, too, is a straightforward affair, its patterns and colors tied perfectly to the chips and salsa packaging. Yet as with the best salsa, this brochure has that little something extra – in this case it’s printed on the silky-yet-sandy-to-the-touch Arjowiggins Curious Matter 100 lb. Cover. It may only be once you’re holding this piece that you realize that the brochure holder as well as the bellybands on the chips and dip are printed on that same paper. (Of course paper nerds like you and me will also be quick to remember that Curious Matter is produced with potato starch, echoing the food theme of this package. Now if only they had gone with bratwurst as a play on the Henry Wurst name. Ah well…)
Printed and hand assembled by Henry Wurst Printing, the kits are still being used and still getting results. According to REACTOR, “Of the ones they’ve distributed thus far, they are having conversations with 25% and appointments with 10% of recipients,” with some large orders directly attributable to the pieces. Just one more example of smart design potentially landing a company “in the chips.” (I know, I know. ;-))
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