Gearwerx
Experiential Marketing
“How do you deliver a campaign that involves moving one million Hershey chocolate bars across Canada in five months? And how do you transform your mobile marketing concepts to do this into the best solution in only six weeks? The right answer is you engage a partner that can make it happen with lightening speed. Design 1st was that partner for Gearwerx. They were able to transform our ideas into a real ”wow” experience for people which took a depth of experience, strong collaboration and team work, constant problem-solving and a little bit of luck.”
Adam Starr
Co-Founder and President
Project
Design 1st teamed up with experiential marketing powerhouse, Gearwerx to successfully launch Hershey’s Milk Chocolate 2009 summer campaign. The Gearwerx challenge? Transport one million Hershey chocolate bars to the public across Canada in five months.
Summary
Projects move quickly in the world of mobile marketing campaigns. Making visual magic using vinyl graphics, paint and carpentry are the tools of the trade. This project required the next level, a full three-dimensional chocolate bar extending from a bath of flowing chocolate in the back of a pickup truck. With only six weeks from sketches to truck on the highway, the Design 1st team transformed the Hershey/Gearwerx campaign into reality. Engaging at a distance, safe chocolate transportation and delivery were the key requirements which involved ensuring the chocolate stayed cool and undamaged into the customer’s hands.
Solution
Design 1st started with play dough and a scale pickup truck from Walmart and sculpted a master model. With the latest CAD tools, design of the shape, structural supports, pull-out bed frame to hold the coolers, Design 1st found solutions. Going from small scale to full size custom fibreglass body shapes required specialists for both the modified truck and backpacks. The Design 1st team works with artisans in Ottawa that create robust objects for our museums and trade show exhibits. The build team was assembled and a flurry of styrofoam, plastic, fibreglass and paint created the finished masterpieces. Et voilá, a truck to drive across Canada and four custom backpacks to help hand out 10,000 chocolate bars per day while wading into the summer crowds.
Benefits
Consistency with the Hershey campaign brand in color and form as well as cooling, stability at highway speeds and pushing the limits of the possible were just some of the elements in the designs to consider. Even under the duress of a very short timeline and the unique design requirements, Design 1st through their depth of project management experience and strong collaboration with Gearwerx ensured both truck and backpacks were transformed into an engaging and very “cool” delivery mechanism for tasty little treats from a chocolate land Santa.
Company Profile
Gearwerx is a strategic marketing firm that conceptualizes, develops, executes and measures experiential marketing (XM) initiatives.