Product design from concept to reality.

The Parks Canada merchandise consisted mainly of unconnected, low-priced souvenir products that were sold both in Parks Canada Visitor Centre stores and the B2C e-commerce store, Parks Canada Shop. I identified a need for new, good quality products with a cohesive brand identity to enhance customer interest and maximize sales for the program. I conducted trend and market research, sales analysis, as well as listened to both Visitor Centre and Parks Canada Shop customer feedback to select, develop and design new products. I also considered where, how and to whom the product would be sold in order to determine the design and packaging and select the most successful, competitively priced products to introduce into the program. When selecting colours and products I also considered how the product would be sold. Since the majority of the products would be sold in physical stores, I ensured that all of the new products and packaging visually coordinated with existing products when merchandised. I also considered how the product would be promoted. I created design briefs, and collaborated with the graphic design and sourcing teams to design and deliver samples of 3 new collections and new, recycled packaging that aligned with the Parks Canada Brand and made in Canada mandate. I presented these new product collections: The Vintage, The Born to Explore and The Classic Collections, with a cohesive marketing and visual merchandising strategy to the client. I delivered a creative direction presentation to the client which included mood boards and current and new samples visually merchandised together in our showroom to show how the product would be sold in stores. Collections were created so that we could promote the items as collectible items for visitors to try to purchase as many products from multiple Parks Canada sites. The marketing pitch was called the “Travelling Backpack”. We would have an Influencer travel across Canada to all of the Parks Canada sites, using the products and documenting and sharing their stories online and encouraging others to explore and experience Parks Canada sites and bring their memories home. With research to support my visual presentation I was able to influence the client’s decision regarding product selection and marketing strategies for the year. I led a large cross functional team (tech, design, warehouse team) in the creation and execution of the multi workstream, multi-disciplinary marketing product launch for the B2B and B2C e-commerce stores. I coordinated with the warehouse team to deliver products to customers on time. A majority of the products from these new collections were the top-selling products, resulting in 25% higher sales at Visitor Centre stores and 69% higher online sales.