THE MAKING of #CREATEGOOD
Brit + Co's first major NYC event, #CreateGood was a multi-branded public festival space for which I served as the creative lead. See how our small but mighty team brought this experience to life and learned a thing or three along the way.
The Numbers:
5 open days + nights / 10k+ attendees / $1 million in sponsor revenue / 40 speakers / 12 branded activations / 30+ pieces of digital content
2018 Digiday Publishing Awards:
"Best Experiential Marketing Campaign" awarded to the Lyft Arcade
"Best Live Event" nomination for #CreateGood overall
THE GOALS + STRATEGY
To kick off the project, I met with Brit+Co’s CEO and heads of Finance, Marketing, Creative, and Sales to identify our business goals, key messaging, available resources, sponsor needs, and event strategy.
The Goals:
10k in traffic / grow email list in NYC market
The Solution:
A 5-day event in Soho featuring daily public activations and a full calendar of ticketed stage programs, all built around the mission of encouraging women to find inspiration, learn new skills, and apply creative confidence their personal and professional lives.
STYLE + TONE
Design kick-off began with a creative strategy document and set of mood boards I compiled and shared with the Design Director and Graphic Designer tasked with building out the event brand. During this process, I continually provided direction and feedback until all materials were ready for executive approval, and then for use in sales and marketing pitch materials.
THE PITCH
Armed with an event strategy, brand style guide, mood boards, and initial sketch concepts, I changed gears to assist the Sales team with customized pitch presentations for each potential sponsor.
THE VENUE
With a better understanding of our spatial needs, I made my way out to New York with my Executive Producer and Technical Lead to tour potential venues and found our first (of three) locations.
fig 1. First venue secured 5 months prior, and lost 1 month out.
fig 2. Second venue secured 1 month out, and lost 1 week later.
fig 3. Third venue secured 2 weeks from load-in.
DESIGN + SOURCING
With the initial venue and sponsors secured, my experiential team grew from one to five, with myself managing four environmental designers on the project.
I then passed off the sold through concepts and initial sketches to design leads per campaign, to execute detailed space and decor plans and sourcing tasks. At this point, my role changed from working primarily alongside Sales, to leading the executional team, providing feedback, and ensuring delivery to client expectations.
PRODUCTION
Throughout the 12-day build-out, I oversaw the on-site team of Brit + Co designers, contracted production designers, carpenters, painters, and muralists to transform the empty retail space into #CreateGood.
Like any good event build, we had a lot of changed plans, surprises, and on the spot decisions, but we successfully delivered on time and as pitched.
THE RESULT
After a whirlwind 5 days of hosting and managing on-site staff, we met our attendee and email acquisition goals. We often exceeded brand client expectations, and left 80% of attendees surveyed quoting high satisfaction and preference over similar events.
More importantly, #CreateGood established Brit + Co as a brand to watch in the experiential space on both coasts and served as a prototype for future events. And it gave me the hard-earned philosophy to keep calm and stay true to the quality of the experience, no matter the container in which it fits.
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All images courtesy of Brit + Co.