Medtronic, one of the largest medical device companies in the world, has operations across 150 countries developing medical technologies and healthcare products for the treatment of over 70 health conditions. As with many other industries, the Covid-19 pandemic had detrimental impacts on the global supply chain of the medical technology industry. 

The Objective

With lockdowns, social distancing, and work-from-home restrictions greatly affecting business-as-usual, nearing the close of 2020, Medtronic Australasia, the company’s Australian and New Zealand arm, wanted a unique Christmas gift to reward its 950 staff for the hard work and commitment put in to get through a very challenging year.

The gift was not only to be gesture of appreciation. It had to be an Australian-themed Christmas gift that would elevate staff morale and at the same time provide an opportunity for the company to support local businesses and communities, especially those who did it tough through the pandemic.

The gift had to be practical and appeal to a wide cross-section of recipients, varying in age, gender, and cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Both the packaging and gift had to reflect Medtronic’s brand and mission statement, meet their budget and include cost of logistics and distribution to 950 individual locations across Australia and New Zealand. 

The Strategy

What could be more Australian than the work of Indigenous artists? With the idea of ‘connection to country’ as the gift’s guiding theme, Present Company Included undertook extensive product search given that not many promotional products are actually made in Australia. 

Thinking out-of-the-box, we connected with Indigenous businesses and artists and worked closely to brainstorm the concept and develop a gift pack that would have broad appeal, practical use, highly-perceived value and would tick all of Medtronic’s objectives, including the support of local communities.  All items were designed in Australia, most were ‘Made in Australia’ certified, and royalties went directly to the artists and their communities. 

The gift pack included:

• Double-walled drink bottle designed by artist Melanie Hava, who took inspiration from reef, rainforest, art and architecture to create an enchanting combination of landscapes, colour and pattern.
• Small ceramic bowl called ‘Bindi Bindi’, hand-thrown and individually painted by Koorie artists with a mix of dot and animal art. Each bowl came in its own elegant black gift box that included a card signed by the artist.
• Natural Soy Wax Candle made from a combination of earthy fragrances and poured into glass jars that featured a mix of gorgeous indigenous designs.
• Cotton Tote Bag featuring a range of indigenous artworks and designs depicting Dreamtime stories.

A Christmas card was also included, which featured full colour branding on both sides and a thank you message. The overall gift package was custom designed and aligned to Medtronic’s primary colour palate. The final packaging featured a gloss white lid and base gift box with navy blue grosgrain ribbon.

The Result

As requested by Medtronic, all 950 gifts were delivered to individual home addresses across Australia and New Zealand by mid-December. Present Company Included liaised with freight and shipping companies on a regular basis to ensure smooth and prompt delivery, and we kept Medtronic up-to-date with daily status reports of all shipments.  

The response from Medtronic management and staff was overwhelming. Not only was their Christmas gift delivered within budget, on time and met all of their objectives, no other gift campaign had created such an incredible buzz. Medtronic staff was particularly thrilled to receive a gift that promoted local indigenous artists and supported the economy of their respective communities. Medtronic management was inundated with thank you emails and, as a result, the company is looking at creating a new gift concept, but this time with a New Zealand/Aeotora inspired theme.