One year after launching its new brand, Montisa was ready to shout out to the world at NeoCon 2019, a three-day event that draws over 50,000 visitors to Chicago’s Merchandise Mart. Moving into a permanent exhibition space at the Mart was a major step forward for the Montisa brand, allowing them to stake their territory in the contract furniture market.
With just four months until the show, Square One transformed the space from a white box to an upbeat, energetic destination. We began by staging a photo shoot that could do double-duty for Montisa. First, we selected colors, product materials, and props to photograph for an inspirational look book that our client could hand out during the show. Then we repurposed the same pieces to furnish the showroom. In addition to the furniture, we boosted the visual impact of the space by fabricating metal walls and wooden shelving units, then adding graphics and music-themed messaging to reinforce the naming system we created for the brand. A 30-foot-long floor graphic greeted visitors, and a series of smaller vignettes inside the space allowed us to highlight Montisa’s breadth of line, from the original Elton stool to Montisa’s latest addition, Clive casegoods.
To reinforce the music theme and carry our message out to the halls of the event, we screened brand illustrations and the words “Follow Your Own Beat” onto 1,000 bright yellow tote bags, which were snapped up in less than a day! No event at the Mart would be complete without a party, so we created custom labels for the Michigan-made beer and wine Montisa served at the showroom. Finally, we developed a month-long social media campaign and giveaway to build excitement and drive traffic to the space, doubling Montisa’s online impressions and increasing their number of followers by over 230 percent. Montisa was also awarded best marketing for NeoCon 2019 by INDEAL.
