WHAT MAKES THE CUT ?
Neil says ideas are usually divided into those that can ’ t possibly work , those where more research is needed , and those that would appear to be immediate winners .
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“ A strong story is something that resonates with people ’ s lives or interests . A great design helps create an even stronger emotional bond between the buyer and the coin . And when the product has a low mintage , which adds a feeling of exclusivity , it makes a very compelling purchase proposition .”
THE PROCESS
Coin dealers contribute to the continual ‘ brain dump ’ of ideas , in addition to which the Mint consults with several hundred employees across all its operations . “ We do brainstorming sessions and we invite everyone from the company to participate — if they can ’ t be at the meeting , they can drop an email or put an idea in a suggestion box ,” he says .
Professional research is undertaken in customer focus groups , while the Mint also welcomes ad hoc suggestions from members of the public who write in suggesting different coins .
“ We then take those themes and we evaluate them and that ’ s where we cut it down . We have probably about eight people on our product development committee , but we might get the best part of a hundred suggestions from that brainstorm session .”
“ A lot of suggestions from the public tend to be quirky and fun ideas , but you never know where the next best idea for a coin is going to come from ,” he says . “ We ’ ve had some great ideas come through from the public .”
“ Ideally , we ’ re looking for ideas that are going to emotionally resonate with our customers , without being too complex to create or too obscure to be viable to produce .”
EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED
Of course , the process is not an exact science , and during his time at the Mint , Neil has come to expect the unexpected .
“ Over the years we ’ ve had coins that we didn ’ t know would necessarily work , but that have sold out faster than we could have hoped .”
“ Not everything can be a success , and it is all a lesson that guides our next steps .”
Got a great idea for a coin design ? Send in your submission to orders @ perthmint . com
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