Creative Workshop Series Sponsorship

Sponsorship of the Creative Workshop Series in Toronto, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles

(2007-2008)

“Last night at dinner…”

Sponsoring workshops that promoted forward-thinking initiatives and inspired new ways of merging technology and creativity were crucial to Wiredrive’s mission. As VP of Sales and Marketing, my goal was to teach production companies and agencies how to produce and present work online. So when 'Boards Magazine produced a traveling workshop called “The Art and Business of Creative Advertising,” I made sure Wiredrive was the biggest sponsor! 

We put disposable cameras on the tables to capture behind-the-scenes photos. It was a fun “ice breaker” and I could upload the photos to Wiredrive and send them to guests post-event. This was before Facebook and social media were mainstream. However, the Wiredrive platform could track views so we could see the presentations “going viral” within our community. In turn, this increased engagement and interaction with our brand.  

Additionally, the online advertising that was included in our sponsorship drove thousands of visits to our website, and was one of the highest ranking referrals of traffic. This was at a time when publishers were in the very early stages of offering banner ad space. I was there from the beginning, experimenting with media buying and A/B testing online advertising.

At the dinners, we established meaningful connections with key agency and production contacts and landed big clients like Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and Deutsch. Once those agencies started using Wiredrive, it paved the way for others to follow like W+K, DDB, Oglivy and TBWA/ Chiat Day.

As a result of the success, we continued to invest in dinners, kickoff parties and after parties as a key component of our marketing strategy. 

Boards Magazine also benefited from the kick-off dinners. Not only did they get a free world-class meal, the Editors got a chance to discuss the upcoming panels and presentations with speakers. This made everyone more prepared and gave them additional material to present. Inevitably at every workshop, someone would start with "Last night at dinner..."