Wedge & Linden Hills Co-op • Owner Celebrations
In 2018, the Wedge & Linden Hills Co-op restructured their ownership benefits to create quarterly events that gave their 23,000+ owners high-value coupons to use in the store week-by-week throughout the month. The goal was to drive traffic, increase repeat trips and increase basket, as well as showing genuine appreciation to owners. Therefore, each Seasonal Owner Celebration features a cohesive, omnichannel promotion that weaves through digital, print and in-store. Creatively, each celebration had its own unique personality that played tied closely with the seasonality and reminded shoppers why they love the co-op. Every event has been a great success and resulted in significant increase in sales, traffic and basket.
STRATEGY
DESIGN
ART DIRECTION
COPYWRITING
EXPERIENTIAL DESIGN
ILLUSTRATION
With the support of the Wedge & Linden Hills marketing and purchasing teams, I created nine distinct campaign events from 2018-2020. From an Up North summer thematic to an autumn local apple fest, each event required I design over 50 marketing pieces — from Instagram to in-store.
2020 SPRING OWNER CELEBRATION
I was tasked with creating a month-long spring campaign to celebrate co-op owners and the season. The result was an inspiring spring event packed with bright color and fresh flavor, just when Minnesotans are desperately craving color and warmth at the tail end of winter. For our local food system, spring is about the land waking up and the growing season beginning. It’s a season of excitement and I worked to create an awareness campaign that reflected that in digital—social channels, weekly enews and website. In addition, a direct mail was sent out to all 23,000+ owner households to inspire, inform and drive traffic to the store. At the stores, they were greeted with a full store transformation with over 25 in-store signage elements and displays to engage the shopper, tell the story of local farmers and vendors, drive incremental sales and increase basket.
OWNER DIRECT MAIL sent to +23,000 households. Weekly offers encourage repeat trips throughout the month.
IN-STORE SIGNAGE told the story of local farmers
VISUAL IN-STORE GALLERY hung along a large cooler system to add seasonality.
“I had the pleasure of working with Laura Glass for nearly 4 years on countless design projects for the Wedge and Linden Hills Co-ops. Each time, the entire process, from concepting to implementation, was a dream. Laura will work closely with you to find the right direction for your project, working with mood boards, sketches, photography inspiration, whatever is needed to help flush out your concept (no matter how abstract) and bring it to life. From print, to digital, and even 3-dimensional displays, I was repeatedly thrilled with the end results of her work. I truly hope I have the opportunity to work with her again in the future!”
— AINSLEY JENSEN, WEDGE & LINDEN HILLS CO-OP MARKETING SPECIALIST
2020 FALL OWNER CELEBRATION
The Seasonal Owner Celebrations continued amidst the pandemic with the fall event, which was all about the local harvest season and savory flavors. The co-op’s integral part of our local food system means that every celebration directly connects to the season and tells the story of what it means for Midwestern farmers and producers. I created a holistic campaign that included over 60 pieces of collateral for digital, print and in-store marketing that did just that.
In addition, the co-op launched digital coupons that were stored on individual’s co-op owner accounts. I completed the UX strategy, design, copywriting, minor HTML coding and reporting for the first owner event email that announced these coupons. This allowed the co-op to pivot from costly paper direct mail to digital emails, as well as storing each owner’s savings on their personal account for reporting and data-driven digital marketing.
OWNER EMAIL announcing their new digital coupons, as well as promoting their safe shopping practices on a webpage I created (https://tccp.coop/safe-shopping/) and emphasizing the use of their newer Co-op Curbside program.
DIRECT MAIL introducing new digital coupons / IN-STORE signage that encouraged basket / IG STORIES helped increase awareness and remind owners to use their savings
The result was a seasonal campaign that celebrated the month of autumn harvest, vital farmers, delicious bounty and the owners that make it all possible. It drove traffic in-store and to their online curbside service, all while ensuring that staff and shoppers alike felt comfortable amidst the pandemic.