Caribou Coffee
Retail B2C Seasonal Campaign
Brand Strategy / Creative Strategy / Identity Design
Partnering with Caribou Coffee, we reimagined Northwoods holiday charm through a modern lens—delivering an in-store campaign that honored traditional holiday warmth while introducing a fresh edge.
Creative Strategy
Narrative Platform
Brand Promise
Energizing daily life with coffee that’s handcrafted, sustainably sourced, and rooted in genuine human connection—making every visit a small moment of good.
Brand Pillars
Hand Crafted
Caribou stands for real, thoughtfully sourced ingredients and craft-level preparation.
Sustanability
100% Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee isn’t a marketing claim—it’s a commitment to doing the right thing for farmers, ecosystems, and the future of coffee.
Community Centered
Caribou cafés are built to bring people together—neighbors, coworkers, families, travelers. Every interaction is a chance to “make someone’s day.”
Northern Spirit
Born in Minnesota, Caribou embodies a sense of warmth in cold places.
A small-batch holiday lift, warmer than the expected gift.
Brand Character
Washed Flannel
Northern Rooted
Crafted
Conscientious
Uplifting
Creative Strategy
Concept Development
Our “Santa Certified Gifts” concept brings Caribou’s day-making spirit to life through a playful, handcrafted holiday story rooted in warmth and imagination. Inspired by the brand platform, it blends real ingredients, cozy northern charm, and small acts of good to create a festive experience that feels authentically Caribou.
Identity Design
Illustration Style
We recommended illustration as the core visual approach for its handcrafted warmth that photography alone can’t. It allows every element of the campaign to feel connected—unified by a consistent, distinctive style that instantly signals the brand’s spirit. To bring that vision to life, we proposed partnering with Midwest illustrator Rick Peterson, whose whimsical charm and gentle, storybook sensibility capture the season's innocence, nostalgia, and lightness. His hand-made cut-paper style adds an emotional lift to the campaign, creating a look and feel that’s both memorable and uniquely Caribou.
Graphic Foundation
This campaign required a broad suite of visual assets, including a series of individual story vignettes designed to bring the “Santa Certified Gifts” narrative to life. To deepen the seasonal atmosphere and create a cohesive wrapping-paper sensibility, we directed the illustrator to develop a full set of holiday patterns—candy cane stripes, classic flannel, and stylized Christmas trees—along with complementary border treatments. We also commissioned custom banner art to help deliver priority messaging with clarity and charm. Together, these elements form a flexible graphic foundation that keeps the campaign feeling festive, unified, and unmistakably branded.
Product Stories
To support the illustrated world and strengthen the “Santa Certified Gifts” narrative, our writer, Dan Rupert Kahn, developed a copy platform that balances holiday warmth with clear, product-forward messaging. Each vignette is paired with simple, charming lines that echo the innocence of the visuals while reinforcing the idea that these gifts have earned Santa’s official stamp of approval. We also created a flexible headline system—playful enough for storytelling moments, direct enough for retail needs—ensuring the campaign could shift easily from emotional charm to conversion-driven clarity. Across all touchpoints, the copy provides a consistent voice that ties the campaign together and amplifies its seasonal magic.
Applications
