Our work

AMA Chicago

Branding a conference for brand experts

The Ask

The American Marketing Association of Chicago engaged McGuffin to create a fresh look and feel for its annual BrandSmart conference, the longest-running brand marketing event in the country, to encourage attendance among more Midwest marketing professionals. Mid-conference planning, the global pandemic necessitated moving the event online. The show would go on, “for the love of the brand.”

The Answer

McGuffin refreshed the conference logo and visual identity with an attention-grabbing palette and bold iconography. Using the new identity, we developed social media, email campaigns and other materials to promote the conference and its speakers. Once the conference became an online-only event, McGuffin proposed renaming it to BrandSmart Virtual Experience. Nearly 350 marketers attended BrandSmart 2020 online, beating 2019 attendance. As an event sponsor, McGuffin also debuted a Hitchcock-inspired company video that told conference attendees all about what a “McGuffin” really is.

What we did

  • Brand identity
  • Email
  • Social media
  • PowerPoint
  • Direct mail
  • Messaging
  • Video