Event Branding

ExxonMobil is one of the largest companies in the world with an annual revenue of over 230 billion dollars and nearly 100,000 employees. In 2012 they looked to announce new company initiatives and needed a brand that would fit their vision for the future.

In 2012 I was asked to create a brand identity for ExxonMobil's Global Procurement Conference which was being held at the Ritz Carlton in McLean, Virginia. It was an event that hosted about hundred high level procurement executives from over 30 countries worldwide. Additionally the event was broadcast live to nearly 2,000 people around the globe. ExxonMobil wanted to use the event to announce new initiatives in procurement that would transform their operations by the year 2020. They wanted to energize the company’s procurement divisions on levels that had not yet been achieved and were looking for bold, forward thinking ideas on how to brand the conference.

After several exploratory sessions with the client it was determined that they was leaning toward some type of “space” or “future” centric theme. Through in-depth brainstorming sessions with my creative team I helped establish naming that would set stage for all the event branding. The chosen name for the event was 2020 Vision – Advance Beyond. The timeline was tight (less than a month), so I worked quickly to establish a brand identity for the event. Since the logo needed to appear on every item produced, from pens and t-shirts, to video and large format graphics, careful consideration was put into all visual elements. Once it was approved I worked to establish an overall brand that would compliment existing visual styles they provided. Color was added to mix which immediately transformed the look and feel of the event. Throughout the process I provided them guidance on everything from lighting and graphic implementation to video and audio sequences. The weekend leading up to the event I provided round the clock on-site technical support as I worked with the client to refine a 40 minute Prezi multimedia presentation. In the end, the event was a huge success. Words such as amazing and awesome were heard among attendees describing the opening ceremony, which included a highly dynamic, video sequenced light show.