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
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