Annual Luncheon 2017

The Challenge

Every year the Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board hosts it's largest event of the year: The Annual Luncheon. The event brings together the Board's members, partners, and stakeholders. The 2017 edition looked to grow the event to it's biggest attendance yet, while also It began with a theme: Experiential. From there we set out to build an ambitious event that would take three months of planning and promoting.

defining the vision

We discussed how we should visually convey the theme, and we came up with a design scheme that used vivid color gradients, double exposures, and ethereal smoke. We wanted everyone to feel these designs. We wanted to capture the experience. And we also wanted people to realize one thing: Our experiences make us who we are.

We also wanted to brand the event, but what symbol defines experiences? We were headed a few directions, but nothing felt right. I couldn't help but draw a parallel to one of my favorite bands, Pink Floyd. Dark Side of the Moon's cover is iconic. The concept album is all about the human experience, so I looked into the meaning behind triangles and prisms. I knew we were onto something. I printed out 10 different triangle variations that I thought could inspire something  great for us. 

getting people to the event

Once the first email invitation went out, we began brainstorming the printed invitation. It needed to be interactive and tell a story

Electronic Invitation Strategy

We knew our goal was 450 attendees, nearly 100 more than the previous year. we emailed every week, but knew we needed to keep it fresh and exciting. Too often events are promoted with the same creative and messaging over and over again. But why? There is so much of a story to tell. We broke our strategy into 4 different story angles:

• Exclusive Premieres and Announcements
• Biggest Networking Event of the Year
• New State-of-the-art Venue (this was the first event ever in the gym)
• Keynote speaker announcement

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Transforming the Gym

We knew our goal was 450 attendees, nearly 100 more than the previous year. we emailed every week, but knew we needed to keep it fresh and exciting. Too often events are promoted with the same creative and messaging ove

producing the program

We knew our goal was 450 attendees, nearly 100 more than the previous year. we emailed every week, but knew we needed to keep it fresh and exciting. Too often events are promoted with the same creative and messaging ove

Patriot Trails

the challenge

American Revolutionary War history is the core of tourism for Valley Forge. What had once been marketing centered around Valley Forge National Historical Park was to now be broadened to marketing all of the historical attractions in Montgomery County.

re-imagining the revolution

We had compiled a list of the historical attractions, but it was lacking excitement and heart.

envisioning a video

I wanted to make the video have an emotional core and to appeal to kids and families. I thought back to my childhood and my interest in the revolutionary war. Anytime I would go to a history event, I'd come home and march in the backyard with a gun pretending to be a soldier. My parents would often joke about this. When I was thinking of ideas for the script, this story came to my mind. It was to be the last shot. I worked backwards from there to come up with an adventure that focused on the power of imagination while integrating technology and had a lot of heart.

branding

The name of Patriot Trails

building the website

a website that was useful and exciting, borrowing from adventure games to give personality to the characters and to make the story real.

bringing it back to print

People sometimes neglect print in favor of digital, especially in 2015. Having the brochure at the park and various sites makes sense. the map was designed to be an exciting world of history.

Adventure Montco

adventure montco brand launch

Montco's Best Pizza Tournament

The Challenge