Making a Splash at the 2012 Iridium Partner Conference

When you think of Hawaii, chances are that swaying palm trees, pristine beaches, and swim-up bars are the first things to come to mind. Exhibit halls, executive presentations and professional networking likely never come into it.

On February 7-10, Iridium Communications Inc. managed to combine them all seamlessly when it hosted one of the satellite industry’s most coveted conferences in Oahu aided by a significant team from Banfield-Seguin Ltd.

The three-day Iridium Partner Conference, which took place at the spectacular JW Marriott, Ihliani Ko Olina, offered more than 350 attendees the opportunity to gain insight into Iridium’s growth, product innovations and financial health. 40 exhibitors were also able to take advantage of a forum to discuss their latest Iridium-enabled solutions.

Iridium strategically positioned the 2012 Iridium Partner Conference as a professional event with plenty of return on investment for partners, and enlisted BSL to help articulate a new identity for the event. What started as a passionate discussion and a few sketches on a napkin soon evolved into a conference name, acronym, messaging and logo.

Everywhere is Here was born.

The new identity played off the global company’s corporate mark, Iridium Everywhere, with proof points of Here for Business, Here for Innovation and Here to Connect.

In the months leading up to the Conference, the Everywhere is Here identity, visual approach and messaging were implemented across a central webpage on Iridium.com. The login-protected page served up information regarding the conference, positioned it as a valuable business investment and hosted HTML forms where partners could register to attend, exhibit or do both. Creative themes were also displayed in interactive header graphics.

With registration rates surpassing expectations in November and December, the pressure was on to deliver an expertly marketed event. In close collaboration with Iridium, we went to work creating, designing, copywriting, editing, producing and outsourcing production requirements.

The outcome was an impressive array of strategically and visually stunning branded deliverables including all manor of signage, 5 videos, 50 executive and break-out session PowerPoints, electronic communications, displays, print collateral, …*gasp for air*… agenda, exhibitor guide, social media editorial calendar and branded giveaways.

Instead of third-party outsourcing, BSL — with our expanding video capabilities — was also tasked with of the on-site filming and shooting at this year’s event. Our crew of three photographers roamed the premises and attended evening events, snapping over 7,000 images. Testimonial videos were filmed in a dedicated studio area while product demo videos were captured in the exhibit hall.

Feedback for the event was overwhelmingly positive — and we feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to contribute to its success. Now we can’t wait to see what Iridium has in store for its partners — and us! — at the 2013 Iridium Partner Conference in Panama!