The work behind the moments.I’ve spent 20 years creating national sales meetings, conferences, customer experiences, employee events, trade shows and association gatherings. No two have needed the same thing. Some needed a stronger story. Others needed better ways for people to participate and connect. Many required someone to see how the agenda, environment, marketing and merchandise could work together instead of being planned as separate pieces.
The work below shows how I approach those challenges and turn the purpose behind an event into an experience people can feel.
A few events. A lot of different problems to solve.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS · INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP EVENT
Designing an industry event for people who had already seen almost everything
The challenge
The audience included branded merchandise suppliers, service providers and leaders from top distributor companies. These were experienced industry professionals with no shortage of events competing for their attention, so attendance couldn’t be taken for granted. The experience needed to feel different. Attendees needed less time being talked at and more time to connect with one another, work through real business issues and actively participate.
My role
I led the experiential side of the event, including the merchandise store, fashion show, rotating business roundtables, committee meetings and interactive merchandise activations.
The approach
The roundtables gave attendees space to work through common business challenges with their peers. The fashion show brought the merchandise to life, while the store gave people a completely different way to explore products.
Before an event at Fenway Park, attendees chose the shirt they wanted to wear. An onsite hat activation added another layer of choice and participation. Merchandise wasn’t treated as something to place in a bag. It became part of the experience.
The impact
This was an audience that was difficult to impress with merchandise, which made the response to the store especially meaningful. Attendees asked how they could create a similar experience of their own, and the event received strong feedback for giving people more ways to participate, connect and learn from one another.
BATTLE CREEK, NEBRASKA · NATIONAL SALES MEETING + ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
30th Anniversary Celebration
Honoring 30 years while preparing dealers and employees for what came next
The challenge
The company’s 30th anniversary needed to be more than a party. It was also its national sales meeting, bringing dealers and employees together to learn about sales programs, hear from trainers and speakers and reconnect with the business. The event needed to balance useful business content with a celebration that felt authentic to the company’s agricultural roots.
My role
I led nearly every part of the planning and experience, coordinating with the advertising agency, internal teams and event vendors. I helped shape the programming, selected the merchandise and developed the Gravel Road Getdown. I also worked with the agronomists on the plot tours, arranged the wagons that transported attendees through the fields and helped plan and run warehouse tours.
The approach
An empty section of the company’s seed warehouse became the event center. We started with a blank slate and created an event space. Business sessions gave dealers and employees practical ideas, while agronomist-led plot tours and warehouse tours connected the content directly to the company’s work.
The event then shifted into the Gravel Road Getdown, with a band playing from a flatbed trailer and merchandise that carried the company’s 30-year story.
The impact
Dealers and employees didn’t attend a disconnected sales meeting followed by an anniversary party. They experienced one gathering that connected the company’s history, current business and future direction in a place that was meaningful to the people in the room.
MADISON, WISCONSIN · INDUSTRY CONFERENCE + TRADE SHOW
Dairy Strong Conference
Turning the trade-show floor into a place people wanted to stay
The challenge
Dairy Strong brought together farmers, agriculture professionals, sponsors and industry partners. The trade-show floor needed to be more than rows of booths people passed through between sessions. The conference was also introducing a new identity, so the experience needed to build recognition for the Dairy Strong brand and make it feel established from the moment attendees arrived.
My role
I led the experiential side of the conference in coordination with the lead event planner. I developed the new logo and carried the rebrand across the event collateral, merchandise and trade-show environment. I also created the experiences on the show floor, including the coffee shop, an indoor patio with games and a recharge lounge.
The approach
Each activation gave attendees a different reason to remain on the show floor. They could meet over coffee, spend time together playing a game or step away from the conference pace to recharge their devices and themselves.
The coffee shop also included a merchandise store, giving attendees another way to engage with the new identity. The branding wasn’t confined to a logo on a sign. It appeared throughout the environment and the items people interacted with and took home.
The impact
The trade-show floor became part of the conference experience rather than a space attendees moved through on their way somewhere else. At the same time, the new Dairy Strong identity was reinforced through the physical experience, building recognition across the audience from its first year.
