Case Study: Cannexus 2011
Background:
Cannexus is a bilingual National Career Development Conference designed to promote the exchange of information and explore innovative approaches in the areas of career counselling and career development. Founded by The Counselling Foundation of Canada and the Canadian Education and Research Institute for Counselling (CERIC), Cannexus delivers diverse and informative content to attending delegates. Communicreations has been largely involved in marketing efforts from the beginning.
Industry:
Academic, Non-Profit
Objective:
To create a consistent brand experience from sales collateral on through to event materials.
| Challenges | Solutions |
|---|---|
| Facilitation. Empower delegates with all the information they need (and more!) to remember the event for its superior organization. | Signage is an important navigator, but the real facilitation work horse is a robust and intuitive conference programme. Tête-bêche hard copies with English and French at opposite ends of this 150 page programme makes for quick and easy referencing. Browsability enhancements include "At-A-Glance" tables, sessions and presenter indexes, and simplified floor plans to help people find their way. Haven't lost anyone yet!! |
| Project Management. With multiple deliverables and little room for error, timely completion demands a highly organized and efficient support structure. | A simple yet powerful cloud-based project management portal provides enhanced collaboration tools while ensuring everyone is current with activities and status. We work closely with thrid-party vendors to ensure everything remains on track. |
| Bilingual. The complexities behind adding another language might seem obvious, but many of the marketing and design challenges that arise are not always transparent or predictable. | A terrific eye for detail and a wealth of experience creating bilingual materials has earned insight into what to look for and how to quickly resolve issues. |
| Content. Having dozens or even hundreds of contributors makes it imperative to provide content that is consistent with brand values. | A content style guide was founded to address common issues from being regurgitated annually. Consistent form, acronym usage, spelling, etc. Defined submission standards unearthed numerous efficiencies. |
| Development cycles. The cyclical nature of conferences provide an outstanding opportunity for process improvements. | Workflows are designed to tackle errors before they make their way into draft stages. Automation such as batch processing, scripts and plug-ins are used to precipitate greater efficiency. |
Results:
Despite facing entrenched competition, it didn’t take long for Cannexus to emerge as the “must attend” event on the career counselling calendar. The Cannexus brand quickly became recognized as an authority in the field, and has contributed greatly to the organization. The event boasts an impressive return rate of greater than 60%.
