HANCOCK IRON ORE
grounding a new era
in a sense of place
To mark the coming together of Atlas Iron and Roy Hill, Mardaa collaborated with Hancock Iron Ore to shape their new, unified brand identity. We helped mark this new chapter by providing a culturally connected art piece and branded merchandise for the staff making meaningful contributions to the resource sector.
embedding culture within industry
through authentic Aboriginal art
Marking the beginning of our partnership, this project commissioned Mardaa artist Joeanne Caporn. Joeanne is a proud Yamatji woman of the Palyku (Bulgoo) mob from the Pilbara region between Port Hedland and Marble Bar.
Joeanne’s painting ‘The Pilbara’ is a symbolic representation of the merger. It shows the staff, stakeholders, and communities sharing each other’s knowledge and wisdom to build a stronger future together. At the centre, traditional symbols reflect a collective commitment to the project’s long-term success. Copper kangaroo tracks traverse the piece to symbolise strength, resilience and agility, while bronze emu tracks curve around the centre to signify endurance, determination and spiritual insight.
The edges of the painting act as a map of the landscape surrounding the Pilbara region and the coastal town of Port Hedland. The oranges, reds and yellows in the top left represent the unmistakable Pilbara sunsets. The bottom left captures the wet season with rich red rocks emerging through the greenery, beside the top right side that celebrates the vibrant wildflower season. The deep blues of the bottom right represent Port Hedland, marking the importance of the town that connects the region with the world.
making meaningful impacts
through every project
The Hancock Iron Ore team received 3500 personalised welcome packs that were delivered to each staff member's door across Australia. Their welcome boxes were custom designed and manufactured with the new Hancock Iron Ore branding and were stocked with a custom bucket hat, polo shirt & water bottle, along with a welcome letter and card featuring the artwork and its story.
To extend the positive impacts of the project, we engaged with the social enterprise, Westcare. This choice ensured each welcome package was handled with care by a team dedicated to empowering people with disabilities through meaningful employment.
the procurement process
made simple
Hancock Iron Ore was working toward a very tight deadline, requiring a high-volume of welcome packages centered around a culturally connected piece of artwork. To ease the pressure on their procurement team, we connected them with Mardaa artist Joeanne, who quickly understood their mission and vision. Within a week, she had created a meaningful and story-driven artwork that our in-house designers transformed into ready-to-wear merch.
From there our merch experts managed the project from the initial mock-ups to setting up an online store so staff could select their sizes for seamless shipping and delivery. We handled all the logistics, ensuring the welcome packages maximised the budget without compromising quality. The tight deadline was not only met, but was met a week earlier than required, so the Hancock team could stay focused on a smooth brand launch.
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Ready to work on something
meaningful together?
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