2012 Winners & Shortlists

Brief Explanation

As a new advertising agency that opened in May 2011, Polar Bear needed a fun and engaging way to approach clients to stand out whilst keeping production costs low. We also wanted to keep the design environmentally friendly, so the document had to keep printing to a minimum and be easily sent by email. A credentials document is usually the first step in introducing your services to a potential customer, and being a new agency in a crowded market, Polar Bear needed to ensure that breaking the ice - figuratively speaking - need not be difficult to achieve.

The Brief

Polar Bear is a recently opened advertising agency, offering design, strategy, social media, digital, content creation and event management services. As a start up company with limited resources, methods of approaching clients and winning new business contracts need to be executed in a way that ensures memorability from the first meeting.

How the final design was conceived

The final design of the credentials document revolves around a board game on the front cover, affectionately called ' For The Bored '. Users of the document on the second page can cut out three themed figurines of Polar Bears and Penguins, along with a dice in order to begin the game. Whilst moving along the board game, players land on spaces that direct them to particular pages within the credentials document. On these pages, humorous industry-related instructions instruct players to perform tasks, ranging from making their colleagues coffee to either paying a visa fine or moving three spaces back.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

We have had great feedback from clients we have approached, who enjoy the novelty of receiving something other than a showcase of work. Whilst clients may not actually play the game themselves, the board game concept certainly has been an ice-breaker at meetings, and definitely positions Polar Bear as an agency that aims to transfer its passion and creativity into the work it provides.