Location Pin Phone
Phone 1.800.908.6326

Mailchimp Rainbow Room

From IRL to URL

Challenge
Help a growing company more easily manage their internal reward and recognition system.
Solution
Turn the beloved “brick-and-mortar” Rainbow Room into an exciting online experience.
Result
A delightful, fully automated, online Rainbow Room.

The Mailchimp Rainbow Room

A unique experience built to reward and recognize Mailchimp employees.

The Challenge

Tucked away in the Mailchimp HQ is a company store called the Rainbow Room. It houses limited-edition Mailchimp branded products and swag. Originally intended to wow visitors and special guests, the Rainbow Room evolved into a key component of the company's employee reward and recognition program. To recognize key milestones and achievements employees were given physical Mailchimp branded coins to use as a form of currency at the Rainbow Room store so they could "purchase" products.

But as Mailchimp grew, the team managing the Rainbow Room faced a few challenges:

  • Employees who were not in the Atlanta office couldn't easily access the physical store. 
  • Coin allocation was difficult to manage and track. 
  • The lines got really long as the company grew and added employees.
  • Inventory was hard to track and manage efficiently. 

Solving the Problem

Nebo was brought in to help take the Rainbow Room from IRL to URL.

 

What may have looked like a simple project on the outside was full of nuances and unique requirements. 

  • The new, online Rainbow Room had to make shopping fun but also needed to allow for managers to easily award coins and manage inventory.
  • We had to build an ecommerce-like experience that didn't feel transactional. Mailchimp values design and the Rainbow Room had to reflect that.
  • Custom 3rd party integrations needed to ensure that data flowed into the system seamlessly from existing platforms. 
  • The site needed to be sprinkled with surprises. Think fun interface animations and unexpected GIFs. All within an elegant framework that highlights the amazing products and creative photography.

Results

The much-anticipated online Rainbow Room successfully launched in 2019. Hundreds of coins were redeemed in the first week alone. Employees were excited about being able to shop without the stress of standing in line. The store admin team was glad to be free of the burden of managing inventory by hand. And the executive team was happy to see more equitable access to rewards and recognition across the company

Delightful Simplicity

We designed an elegant, happy, easy-to-use experience, continually coming back to the idea that success is found in simplicity.

Highlighting Mailchimp’s Creativity

We relied heavily on imagery to showcase the unique creations that Mailchimp designers dream up for their fellow coworkers.

Handling Multiple Use Cases

For every use case, we wanted the experience to be simple: employees need to choose and purchase items. Managers need to award coins. Admins need to manage the system.

Hints of Surprise

Throughout the site, we included very subtle design animations to really bring what was a physical experience to life. A neon logo, flickering at random. A rainbow loading animation. A happy employee after a successful purchase. The small details helped us maintain the nostalgia and excitement associated with the physical room.

Like what you’ve seen?

Give us a call at 1.877.826.1731

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