This Award-Winning Printed Holiday Card Doubles as a Murder Mystery Game

Every year, Allegra Marketing Print Mail in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is tasked with making the ultimate holiday “card” for Martin Stein, founder of Grand Rapids-based Blackford Capital. In years past, the “card” has taken unique forms such as cookies in a personalized box, comic books, and memory playing cards. 2022 was no different, and Allegra Grand Rapids was awarded second place in Alliance Franchise Brands’ Marketing & Print brands “Project of the Year” competition for its work.

“This year, [Stein] said, ‘Hey, how about if we create our own mystery game?’” says Roberta Tepper, marketing specialist and creative director at Allegra Grand Rapids. “His family is really into family game night, so he loves anything that has to do with games.”

Stein also wanted to tailor the game to the Grand Rapids area and his home, located in a historic district, to give it a “local feel.”

After composing a script over the summer, Tepper sat down with Stein in September to make sure he liked it. In this process, Tepper was able to incorporate new elements that Stein provided.

“He proposed to his wife on the gazebo at their property, so we brought that [into the script] and we weaved some things into the storyline that we didn’t know about,” says Tepper.

Once the script was finalized, Allegra had to deliver on the components needed to tell the story. Most components were created in-house: a case file folder, nine stock photos, a newspaper article, a coroner’s report, a map, four person of interest sheets, seven witness statements, four police interrogations, phone records, two letters, three information clue cards, a voluntary statement, and three sealed envelopes containing bonus clues. Two items — evidence bags and the game box — were ordered and then customized in-house, according to Tepper.

To put everything together, Allegra used a Ricoh C9210 digital press, a Ricoh 8200 black-and-white copier, an HP iJetColor 1175P envelope printer, and a Standard Horizon VAC-1000 collator.

Allegra created a complementary digital component, which allowed players to make decisions in the fictional murder. “We don’t want to reveal it too early, and they have to solve this before they get that clue, so we tried to really integrate that into the website landing page as well,” says Tepper of the development process.

To ensure consistency, Tepper says the team used something “almost like a brand guide” of colors and other design features. They also applied the family logo — which Allegra created when it began doing the annual project 10 years ago — to every piece.

Tepper says the game was a hit with Stein’s family, friends, and close colleagues — all 525 of those who received the mailer, from California to Dubai.

“It’s the best feedback he’s ever received, all his clients and family love it, and he’s just very happy with the project,” says Tepper. “So that, to us, is the best part!”

Not only was the Allegra team happy about Stein’s satisfaction with the outcome, but — after overcoming eight proofing rounds and the challenges of maintaining clear communication — they were proud of themselves, too.

“There were so many hands that touched this,” Tepper says. “Knowing that it came together correctly and that the site was live [was great].”