ASAE's 2019 Annual Meeting & Exposition – Columbus Branding
The Situation
The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), a membership organization of more than 46,000 association executives and industry partners representing 7,400 organizations, chose Columbus to host its 2019 Annual Meeting & Exposition.
The gathering in Columbus was sandwiched between annual meetings in tier-one destinations, Chicago and Las Vegas. Focus groups had shown a lack of familiarity with Columbus among ASAE attendees. This was a great opportunity to give the attendees an unforgettable experience in Columbus, one that would entice them to visit Columbus in the future and tell others about their positive experiences.
During the Event
Once the event and its attendees were in Columbus, a consistent city brand look welcomed attendees in all signage, banners, printed collateral and more. The look was developed to complement the conference branding so the experience would be cohesive and easy to follow. Volunteers, music and fun signage welcomed attendees at the airport. A battalion of hundreds of community volunteers all wore the same easily identifiable blue shirts throughout the meeting so attendees always knew who they could turn to for additional help.
At every turn, attendees were met with a wealth of information designed to ensure their Columbus experience was enjoyable. From the second they got off their planes they were never far from an information table, which were staffed nearly 15 hours a day at the airport, all hotels and the convention center. Guests booked in the room block received door hangers that highlighted events for the upcoming day, including both conference and city events. At the end of each conference event, digital signage informed attendees “what’s next” with ideas on where to go out with colleagues and industry peers to best
experience Columbus.
The result was a consistent and welcoming experience throughout the city, which encouraged attendees to explore and enjoy Columbus’ culture, culinary and entertainment offerings.
ASAE's POP Branding
ASAE's 2019 Annual Meeting & Exposition branding was colorful and intricate. Their branding would be seen throughout the convention center and any of their signage.
Adapted branding from the ASAE Pop's Theme
Experience Columbus wanted to create a design that was recognizable to any of the company's and community's efforts throughout the convention. However, we wanted it to feel similar to the look of the ASAE branding. Below is the simplified branding that I created for the Columbus community.
Airport Welcome
To welcome attendees to Columbus, we placed Volunteers throughout the airport to help direct attendees, answer questions and also had a booth to pass out snacks and refreshments.
Designed elements:
- Community Volunteer Shirts
- Welcome Buttons
- Volunteer Lanyards
- Welcome Banner at Info Table
- Digital Welcome Sign at Baggage Claim
- Columbus Wrap by Info Table
- Welcome Lollipop Signs for Volunteers
- Escalator Clings
Photos by: OSP Images, Audrey Hall
Street Signage
Throughout downtown, I created banner signage to welcome attendees.
Photos by: Audrey Hall, Larry Hamill
Cube Social Media Contest
Throughout the city, we placed cubes recognizable to the ASAE attendees. These cubes matched our Expo booth, created by a local artist. I collaborated in the creation as well as created the information signs on the cubes. If you took a selfie and used the hashtag, you could win a $500 shopping spree!
Hotels
Consistent branded materials were created for hotels to continue to welcome attendees. Execution of some materials were in collaboration with Blockfort.
Designed materials included:
- Front Desk Clings
- Floor Clings
- Window Cling
- Restaurant Sign
- Amenities Signs
- Amenity Cards
- Welcome Banner
- Information Table Signage
- Restaurant Map
- Hotel Room Door Hangers
Photos by: Shellee Fisher, Peter Ahn, Audrey Hall
Hotel Door Hangers
I designed door hangers to be placed on the attendees' room every night that had a schedule of events that Experience Columbus was hosting. We also listed events that were happening locally.
Rack Card Packet
I designed a packet to give attendees a short guide to Columbus, sized to be easily carried around or placed in a purse. The design included a sleeve with social information to hold the cards, three racks cards including Things to Do in Columbus + Galleries in Columbus + Events in Columbus. The packet was given to attendees when they checked into their hotel.
Photos by: Shellee Fisher
Expo at the Greater Columbus Convention Center
During the expo and other event session's hosted by ASAE, consistent signage and other visual cues were placed throughout the convention center to show the community's presence and help attendees with anything they needed. I designed shirts for volunteers and Experience Columbus sales team staff. The shirts were worn by more than 600 volunteers covering over 1,000 events.
Designed elements:
- Volunteer Shirts
- Volunteer Sign
- Directional Signage
- Welcome buttons
- Hallway booth display
- Information table materials
- Expo booth Jeni's sign, Pop-Up Plaza cards and collaborated with Blockfort on the booth design
- Banner signs outside of the convention center
Photos by: Shellee Fisher, OSP Images, Audrey Hall
Arnold Plaza Party
In the plaza of the Greater Columbus Convention Center, we set up a relaxing lounge with refreshments, live music, free Bath and Body Works samples and a DSW display. The party continued across the street to the cocktail bar, Denmark.
Designed elements:
- DSW sign
- Columbus Brands banner
- Columbus Hospitality Lounge sign (in collaboration with Blockfort)
- Coasters
- Selfie sign on the cube
5K Race and Yoga
Experience Columbus and MS3 Sports hosted a 5K Race and Yoga experience in the early morning for convention attendees.
Designed elements:
- Race and Yoga Shirts
- Race and Yoga medals
- Finish Line Signs
- Event Signage
Photos by: Larry Hamill, Peter Ahn, Audrey Hall
Out in CBUS Lounge
At a popular local gay bar, Union Cafe, we hosted attendees to celebrate our inclusive city.
Designed items:
- Columbus Pride Koozies
- Columbus Pride Shirts, worn by Experience Columbus staff and bartenders
- Out in CBUS guide that Experience Columbus produces annually, available at our Visitor Center's
- ASAE Columbus Coaster's
Photos by: Peter Ahn
Opening Event at COSI
Experience Columbus hosted a fun, interactive event at COSI with entertainment performances from local bands and drag celebrity Nina West.
Designed Elements:
- Experience Columbus Sales Team Shirts
- Event Signage in collaboration with Jobe & Associates and Zen Genius
- Cooler Design in collaboration with G&J Pepsi
- Donatos, a local pizza restaurant, adapted the brand for their staff t-shirts
- Banners for photo opportunities, using photos from our partner photographers (credit: Ken Claussen and Joshua Martin)
- Sponsor Banner
- Photo Booth design
Photos by: Audrey Hall
Classic at Nationwide Arena
At Nationwide Arena, we hosted an extravagant evening with hors d'oeuvre, drinks and a live band, before the headlining act of John Legend.
Designed Elements:
- Volunteer Shirts
Closing at Express LIVE!
Our final event for the attendees was a celebration of fashion and music in Columbus at Express LIVE!. We had great food, several runways with local designer's works and local bands throughout the venue. The headlining act was Brad Paisley.
Designed elements:
- Sponsor Banner
- "Columbus is Fashion, Food, Music" sign
- Designers sign
- Sales team COLUMBUS shirts
- "Columbus is Fashion" signs
- "Great Spot" sign
- "Columbus' active fashion..." sign
Results
I designed several recap materials to be used to share the successful results of hosting ASAE in Columbus. Materials included a Recap Tri-fold piece, a Testimonial One Sheet, Stats One Sheet, two Case Studies and a Surprise Slider.
