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Save the Date ads for 2018, 2015, 2013. Copywriting, photo selection, design direction. 

Teaser for the 2013 Annual Meeting. Copywriting, photo/B-roll selection, music & design direction. 

AAO 2020 Virtual thank-you video. Copywriting, photo/B-roll selection, music & design direction. People were skeptical about a video from a virtual meeting being exciting. I proved them wrong.

EVENTS

AAO ANNUAL MEETING:

REBRAND & MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

 

BACKGROUND

The American Academy of Ophthalmology holds an annual conference that drew about 25,000 attendees and 500+ exhibiting companies (pre-Covid). It's the largest gathering in the world of ophthalmologists, technicians, practice managers, and industry experts. 

 

As Marketing Manager, I developed the strategy and oversaw 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, especially after COVID, to increase attendance and revenue. 

 

SOLUTIONS

  • We semi-rebranded the annual meeting in 2014. Along with renaming it (e.g., "[year] Annual Meeting" to "AAO [year]"), I introduced an annual word theme. These words — engage, discover, innovate, new, art+science, and inspire — highlighted the value of the Academy's meeting, differentiated it from the competition, and gave our campaigns a more cohesive, purposeful feel.

  • I added more video, print and digital ads, social media and postcards to the mix and ensured that our messaging was concise, on brand, and error-free across all print and digital touchpoints.

 

RESULTS

  • My efforts helped us exceed attendance targets by up to 15% and revenue by up to 18%.

  • Our theme words proved to be very popular, with exhibitors incorporating them in their marketing and course directors including them in session titles. (Imitation is flattery!)

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