AAO ANNUAL MEETING: REBRAND & INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

 

BACKGROUND

The American Academy of Ophthalmology holds an annual conference that draws about 25,000 attendees. It's the largest gathering in the world of ophthalmologists, technicians, practice managers, and industry experts — and we intend to keep it that way. 

 

As Marketing Manager, I develop the strategy and oversee the implementation of tactical marketing plans to drive professional attendance and meet revenue goals.

 

CHALLENGES

To differentiate ourselves from other supranational and national societies; to maintain our stature as the conference "Where all of ophthalmology meets®"; and to increase attendance and revenue while many medical meetings are seeing downturns in response to increasing regulation. 

 

SOLUTIONS

In 2014, I introduced an annual conceptual/word theme. These words — engage, discover, innovate, new, art+science, and inspire — highlight the value of the Academy's meeting, differentiate it from the competition, and give our campaigns a more cohesive, purposeful feel. I've added more video, ads, and postcards to the mix and have ensured that our messaging is concise, on target, on brand, and error-free across all print and digital touchpoints.

 

RESULTS

My efforts have helped us exceed attendance targets by up to 15% and revenue by up to 18%. Our words have proven to be so popular as to be used by other ophthalmic associations and incorporated into session titles and exhibiting companies' marketing. (Imitation is flattery!)