Awards Program Event Marketing

Client: Convention Industry Council (CIC), Washington D.C.

The Conclave is the only annual event exclusive to Certified Meeting Planners (CMP). This year, the CMP program was celebrating a milestone of 30 years of existence — making this year an extraordinary occasion for the annual Conclave event.

Goals: The client's goals for the Conclave were two-fold; (1) Increase attendance from meeting professionals who hold a current CMP designation. (2) Generate enough buzz and interest to entice non-CMPs to sign up for the CMP program, to become eligible for the Conclave event.

Challenges: This year's Conclave is in Reno-Tahoe USA. Historically, Reno is viewed as a tired gambling town. Reno-Tahoe, however, is an up-and-coming, but not yet a popular host destination. During our initial conversation, the client explained why the location may pose a challenge: "Meeting planners don't flock to Reno for their next big event . . . in fact, it's not on their radar as an option. We're afraid that the location's obscurity will deter some CMPs or prospective CMPs from attending the event. This industry tends to judge locations harshly, so we'll need to showcase the new Reno-Tahoe in an exciting way."

art direction branding copywriting freelance graphic design illustration

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Contrasting to the challenge, however, the truth is—Reno-Tahoe has changed. The city is changing, and quickly becoming a great host city for this industry. The Conclave is a great promotion for the new Reno-Tahoe, and Reno-Tahoe is a great choice for this Conclave, providing an opportunity to discover this new and exciting host-city. How could we inspire meeting planners to look past what they think they know about Reno-Tahoe, and turn the obscurity into interest? I knew that if executed correctly, that interest and curiosity about the new face of Reno-Tahoe could be very powerful—and had the potential to lead to an exceedingly high attendance for the 2015 event.

Project 1: Create a location-inspired logo for the 2015 Conclave.

The custom illustration was created to highlight the dynamic buildings and picturesque backdrop of the landscape.

Conclave Brochure: Six-Panel, Gate Fold