WCM Ascend Gala Social Media Campaign
Branding, social media, animation
Toronto, Canada
2021
Toronto, Canada
2021
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Organization: Women in Capital Markets (WCM)
Director of Marketing: Neema Amadala
Senior Graphic Designer: Nayla Yehia
Event Production: JL Events
Video Production: Boathouse Productions
WCM hosts an annual gala to celebrate "Champions of Change," who are individuals that WCM's sponsors recognize as contributors to ED&I in the finance industry. Due to adjustment to the pandemic in 2020, WCM did not host a gala. However, in 2021 WCM held a virtual gala by way of broadcasting pre-recorded material. The program comprised keynote speakers, a spoken word poet and a performer/advocate in addition to the Champions of Change. Footage was shot at Casa Loma and via Zoom calls and edited by JL Events and Boathouse Productions.
Gala name, logo and tagline
The gala was named "Ascend" in reference to a desire to rise above the "glass ceiling" that mid- to senior-level female professionals women face in the finance industry. The gala logo incorporated an abstraction of the horizontal glass ceiling that is being propelled upwards as represented through vertical lines that denote a motion trail. The ascending motion was reinforced through animation in various instances. "Rise high" became the gala tagline and a graphic element used throughout.
Typography, colour and imagery
A high-contrast serif typeface with playful swashes in the uppercase was selected as the display font for the gala branding. This created a sense of elegance when combined with a loose uppercase tracking in the light style of the sans serif corporate typeface. Monotone images of Casa Loma and the program features in WCM's light corporate blue are contrasted with solid blocks in the corporate dark blue, as shown in the assets below.
Sponsorship Package
Homepage
Eblast
Pre-gala social
Below are some examples of static and animated social assets that focused on early bird pricing and the program features to build excitement and drive ticket sales ahead of the gala.
Gala day social
On the day of the gala, Instagram stories were created to relay the program in real time.
Post-gala social
Snippets were taken from the gala footage and sewn together to create a seamless narrative. As the full gala video is restricted to WCM members, this excerpt informs followers on social media of the strength and success of the event's program.
