Gem-Pack IFPA Merger Campaign
Cultivating Success:
Gem-Pack's Berry Big Merger
When Southern California-based Gem-Pack Berries acquired Well-Pict Berries, they were excited to announce this sweet addition to their blossoming family of brands. As Gem-Pack's established agency partner, Waltz Creative couldn’t wait to tackle this acquisition announcement campaign that would culminate in a huge splash at the International Fresh Produce Association’s Global Floral and Produce Show. Gem-Pack wanted to share the unique benefits of this new partnership to both their consumer and retailer audiences in the lead up to IFPA in October 2023. This merger meant greater depth and breadth in the berry industry: it increased the volume across their growing regions, maximized growing seasons and expanded their knowledge base, thanks to Well-Pict’s decades of experience in developing proprietary berries. Gem-Pack wanted to create a campaign that would convey this to their customers and demonstrate how this merger supports their commitment to berry science and innovation. With the deadline set and an announcement strategy to cultivate, Waltz immediately dug in.
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CAPABILITIES
- Marketing Campaign
- Creative Strategy
- Brand Strategy
- Ad campaign
- Tradeshow/Event Branding
- Graphic Design
- Video and Motion Graphics
- Presentation Design
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DELIVERABLES
- Print Ads
- Tradeshow booth
- Window clings
- Floor graphics
- Banners
- Truck Wrap
- PowerPoint Presentation
- Event Assets
- Video
- Collateral
The Challenge
Over the years, the Gem-Pack family has grafted several brands into its patch. Adding Well-Pict to the mix meant a hierarchy needed to be established so that each brand was organized correctly. Another challenge when merging the two brands was maintaining consistent strategy and brand positioning for both the B2B/retail audience and B2C/end consumer audience. Lastly, we had to consider the strong brand recognition of the Well-Pict logo in the consumer marketplace: Gem-Pack did not want to lose this traction by altering the logo or removing it completely from any trade show collateral. Simultaneously, they needed to ensure that Well-Pict fit cohesively into the brand family. All of these goals needed to be accomplished in time for the tradeshow, with each design decision agile enough to grow with the company in the years to come.
The Goal
Together with the Gem-Pack team, we quickly identified several goals for this acquisition campaign. The first was to get a brand hierarchy established, followed by the need to build a suite of fresh campaign assets that were visually striking and balanced the brands according to the hierarchy. We also needed to preserve a version of the Well-Pict logo that would sustain brand recognition while finding a way to seamlessly fold it into the existing Gem-Pack branding at the tradeshow. While both the Gem-Pack and Well-Pict logos continued to grow independently as brands, at the IFPA show they needed to debut as a united front.
The first order of business, though, was to generate buzz and excitement. We designed complementary, animated social posts — one hinting at the big announcement, which posted first, and then, a few days later, another one announcing the merger.
The Process
Waltz has enjoyed a sweet history with the Gem-Pack Berries brandscape, stemming from more than a decade of working with
Red Blossom Farms before they joined the Gem-Pack family in 2021. Rooted in this relationship, our team had the perfect foundation for building a new brand suite. We began with a deep dive into research and analysis, exploring variations of the Well-Pict logo that would align best with Gem-Pack’s existing trade show booth.
Not only were we looking for the most cohesive fit visually, but we were investigating options that presented longevity and flexibility, as decisions were still being made about branding beyond the trade show. In addition to the brand hierarchy and logo decisions, the Waltz team had a long list of deliverables that needed to be created in time for the tradeshow.
Gem-Pack’s booth needed to be a central hub that supported their family of brands and effectively announced the merger with Well-Pict. We elevated their visibility far beyond the booth walls with hanging signs, floor graphics, window clings, a truck wrap and banners. With an opportunity to place signage throughout the venue, we explored a variety of designs to accommodate creative placement in various locations. One such creative placement available was on the outside of a stairwell; we were able to hang banners on two floors and came up with a concept that visually knit the two together.
A focal point of the booth itself was the hanging sign, the first element that an exhibition visitor would see from a distance to draw them in. The size and placement was another one of the creative ways that we were able to communicate the hierarchy and the fact that these two brands had merged. The hanging sign set the stage for the brand hierarchy across the booth itself, with the Well-Pict logo always below and slightly smaller than the Gem-Pack logo. Once attendees entered the booth, they were swirled into a veritable berry smoothie of collateral, complete with a dynamic PowerPoint presentation and a berry season chart handout.
Print Ad Series
Extending the merger announcement beyond the tradeshow, we created a series of print ads in trade publications to reach those who didn’t attend the show. We designed the ads to prominently display the Gem-Pack logo at the top, with both logos side by side at the bottom. We used the phrases Shining Brighter Together, Shine Bright Like a Berry and Shining In All Seasons and Regions to communicate that these two families had joined berry forces.
Offsite party
Gem-Pack also hosted an offsite party that provided an additional opportunity to showcase the expansion of their brand. We branded and themed the event with a bushel of delicious assets: an email invitation, banners, A-frame signs, cocktail napkins, coasters, bathroom signs, a stage video and scores of hanging gem signs that were suspended from the ceiling, enveloping attendees in the bright world of the Gem-Pack family. Every detail of the party was intentionally crafted, down to the berry-inspired custom drink menu which included a Blueberry Mule, Strawberry Margarita and Raspberry Mojito.
The Results
Following the IFPA trade show, Gem-Pack was thrilled with their first industry outing after the Well-Pict acquisition. This was an important step in communicating their new unified identity, rolling major players of the fresh berry industry into one large, dynamic grower/shipper: Gem-Pack Berries.
Waltz Creative helped create a distinctive brand, and after working together for years, we continue to produce fresh, eye-catching, industry-leading campaigns, year after year!”
Michelle Deleissegues
SVP of Marketing, GEM-Pack
