Innovating in the Great Outdoors
How One Company is Changing the Remote Internet Experience
When Angie McKenna and her husband embarked on their cross-country RV adventure, they quickly realized that the one thing most campgrounds lacked was reliable internet.
"We love the RV lifestyle," McKenna explains, "but the frustration of poor Wi-Fi was something we couldn't ignore." This realization sparked an idea that would not only solve their problem but potentially revolutionize the remote travel industry.
McKenna and her husband own a small company with big ambitions—to bring portable wireless internet to the farthest reaches of the country. "We started by partnering with mobile networks to offer portable internet nationwide, but we needed to get the word out," McKenna says.
The company, Redzone Wireless, had already explored typical marketing avenues—Google Ads, social media, even TV commercials across states like New York, Texas, and Florida—but they knew they needed a fresh approach to reach remote travel communities like RVers.
That's where the idea of a custom, branded box came in—a box that was more than just packaging, but an experience. McKenna recalls, "We wanted something special, something that the recipients would be intrigued enough to open up to see what was inside. This box was going to be our surprise gift to 50 select campgrounds, each filled with items to delight and inform campground owners about our internet solution."
The process of bringing this vision to life wasn’t without its challenges. "When we started searching for companies to create the boxes, most required a minimum order of 1,000 units,” she said. “But we didn’t need that many—we were looking for an order of 25 or 50." After some frustrating attempts to communicate with other companies, McKenna connected with Kendall Goss, Pre-press Technician at Boxes by Design.
"Kendall was a game-changer," McKenna enthuses. "I filled out a chat form, and he got back to me almost immediately. We had a great dialogue, joined a Zoom call, and he really listened to what we wanted." What followed was a series of emails, phone calls, and mockups. "Kendall even sent me a video showing how to put the boxes together. It was mostly easy, but the insert inside was a bit trickier."
According to McKenna, the experience was overwhelmingly positive. "I've been floored by the personal touch—cheerful, responsive, professional. Our team is thrilled with the outcome."
The final product was a beautifully crafted box, so special that the recipients would think twice before discarding it. Inside, along with a personal note and a flyer, were information cards to distribute to campers and a red Yeti coffee mug, all branded with the Redzone Wireless logo. "The idea is that the campground owners, whose campers often complain about bad Wi-Fi, will find a solution inside these boxes. And the campgrounds, well, we hope they won’t have to deal with the complaints anymore."
But McKenna’s work doesn’t stop there. The success of this project has inspired her to think bigger. "Our next project is to create custom boxes for the devices we send out. Last time, we ordered red boxes from another company, and they arrived all scuffed up. This time, we’re going for a craft brown with a black logo—something that will hold up better. And, thankfully, Boxes by Design can do this kind of packaging, too. Making them a one-stop shop for us."
As McKenna and her husband continue their RV journey, they’re not just exploring the country; they’re exploring new ways to connect people, one remote campground at a time. And with innovative marketing strategies like these, they’re sure to leave a lasting impact on the RV community.
McKenna’s packaging design keeps the customer’s unboxing experience at its core:
1. Color match is critical. Working with Kendall to get the exact right color of red matters. Anytime the process transitions from traditional PMS color matching to digital printing, there is finesse required by the print tech. The expert printers at Boxes by Design pride themselves on that perfecting that match.
2. The items in the box, to have that unveiling experience, were placed in a custom insert that helped keep them stable but also created a framed display for the recipient. Boxes by Design can help craft any kind of corrugated cardboard insert for your project, just reach out for a custom quote.
3. To avoid the scuffs that can come from the back of the big brown truck, Angie chose to put a box around the box. This isn’t a choice you make lightly. But when brand matters, and in this instance it did, protecting the contents is important.
4. Think about your overall packaging mix. For basic product shipments, a kraft box with a one-color logo may fit your need. For more specialized marketing efforts, a full color box within a box, with inserts, may be the winning combination.
5. Reach out for help to make things perfect. As a small business, owners must wear many hats. Kendall and the team at Boxes by Design knew how to provide help when it really mattered.
Visit Redzone Wireless.