- Campaign Name: Employee & Client Merchandise Program
- Core Strategy: Eliminate manual administrative burden by automating merchandise fulfillment through custom workflows while maintaining quality control and brand consistency across employee onboarding, internal distribution, and client gifting touchpoints.
Solution: Custom webstore platform with automated workflows for three key touchpoints: onboarding kits triggered by offer acceptance, $100 employee gift cards for curated merch selection, and holiday pop-up shop for departmental client gifting.
Challenge:
Pond & Company is a 650-person architecture and engineering firm. Their previous merch program was so bad that it damaged relationships with key stakeholders.
Their HR team was stuck manually assembling and shipping onboarding kits. Every new hire meant more administrative drag. Every client gift required coordination across departments. The process didn't scale, and trust was shot.
Response:
They built a custom webstore that eliminated the humans-in-the-middle problem. New employee accepts an offer? Automated trigger sends a premium onboarding kit. No manual assembly. No shipping logistics. Just a box that shows up at their door before day one.
For the existing team, they gave out $100 gift cards to the store. For clients, they created a holiday pop-up where departments could select curated gifts, including handwritten notes in Pond's voice.
Result:
92% redemption rate on the gift card program. Zero manual kitting by HR. The merch became an asset instead of a liability.
The lesson is about designing systems that remove internal friction while elevating external perception. Automation makes consistency possible, It doesn't make things colder.
