Mid-Tier Agency Rebrands Staff Potluck as ‘Quarterly Edible Touchpoint’
Auckland independent agency Lantern & Vale has today unveiled what it is calling a “bold recalibration of internal culture strategy”, formerly known as the office potluck. The long-running tradition of Linda from Accounts bringing the same overcooked mini quiches has been repositioned as a Quarterly Edible Touchpoint, designed to “drive cross-functional flavour alignment”.
According to Managing Partner Joel Fern, the change came after a three-hour workshop revealed staff were “consuming without clear brand architecture”. The new framework assigns each dish a strategic pillar. Dips ladder up to Trust. Slow cooker meats represent Long-Term Growth. Someone attempted a deconstructed lamington to signal Disruption, but it collapsed during stakeholder review. The agency has appointed two Creative Directors of Plating to ensure stronger visual cohesion across trestle tables.
Lantern & Vale has also introduced a formal pitch process. Staff must now present a 12-slide deck outlining provenance, emotional resonance, and scalability of leftovers. Early favourites include a heritage tomato salad positioned as “locally sourced authenticity” and a sausage roll tray described, bravely, as “mass premium”. Judges provide written feedback. Last quarter’s macaroni cheese was praised for ambition but critiqued for “failing to land the breadcrumb narrative”.
Fern insists the initiative is already delivering results. “We’ve seen a 14 percent uplift in passive aggressive Slack reactions and a noticeable reduction in unbranded hummus,” he said. Plans are underway to invite clients to the next Touchpoint, pending legal clarification on who owns the IP of a pavlova concept developed collaboratively by Strategy and Reception. The agency confirms there will be no leftovers, as scarcity drives demand.
According to Managing Partner Joel Fern, the change came after a three-hour workshop revealed staff were “consuming without clear brand architecture”. The new framework assigns each dish a strategic pillar. Dips ladder up to Trust. Slow cooker meats represent Long-Term Growth. Someone attempted a deconstructed lamington to signal Disruption, but it collapsed during stakeholder review. The agency has appointed two Creative Directors of Plating to ensure stronger visual cohesion across trestle tables.
Lantern & Vale has also introduced a formal pitch process. Staff must now present a 12-slide deck outlining provenance, emotional resonance, and scalability of leftovers. Early favourites include a heritage tomato salad positioned as “locally sourced authenticity” and a sausage roll tray described, bravely, as “mass premium”. Judges provide written feedback. Last quarter’s macaroni cheese was praised for ambition but critiqued for “failing to land the breadcrumb narrative”.
Fern insists the initiative is already delivering results. “We’ve seen a 14 percent uplift in passive aggressive Slack reactions and a noticeable reduction in unbranded hummus,” he said. Plans are underway to invite clients to the next Touchpoint, pending legal clarification on who owns the IP of a pavlova concept developed collaboratively by Strategy and Reception. The agency confirms there will be no leftovers, as scarcity drives demand.