Case Study | Creative Direction

HealthTrust University Conference

THe Setup

HealthTrust's annual conference brings together over 4,000 members, vendors and staff for three days of education, entertainment and relationship building. 2017's event was hosted at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas Nevada and featured keynotes from Carly Fiorina, Andy Slavitt and John Foley, with a live performance from Lynyrd Skynyrd to kick off the event.
Project Summary

Prepare for takeoff.

Project Outline

Our goal in the communication of the event was to showcase our inSight Advisory Services to help our members gain a deeper understanding of how our expertise can help them improve their operational efficiency. We wanted to show that we are an innovative, technology-driven partner committed to helping our members navigate the ever-changing healthcare landscape.

Deliverables

  • New tradeshow booth
  • Video content for booth video wall, mosaic wall and freestanding digital displays
  • Environmental graphics including stage backgrounds, screenwarmers and waffle wall content
  • 2-part video series to open Day 2 and close Day 3 General Sessions
  • Wayfinding signage
  • Printed conference guide
  • Presentation templates for General Sessions and Education Sessions
  • Email campaigns
  • Miscellaneous supporting projects

My Role

Define and lead the creative direction for HealthTrust's annual advertising campaign and corresponding conference. I lead a team of three in-house designers, three video agencies and four freelance designers to conceptualize and execute a branded conference theme that was unique to this conference but still tied back to the primary HealthTrust brand and current ad campaign's messaging.
The Booth

A vision for healthcare in the digital age

Requirements

The old booth was tired and dated. It was closed off and did not welcome people into the space. The fading printed panels were expensive to replace and required updating each year as the messaging changed.

We were asked to create a progressive, technologically advanced booth that was open and inviting but still maintained a dominant presence on the show floor. It needed to be less expensive to set up, ship and store, and wouldn't require hardware updates each year.

Before

The previous booth was expensive to set up, ship and store, as well as requiring printed panels be updated annually.

Feedback from the account directors was that it felt outdated, closed off and uninviting. They wanted something that was progressive and very open while still maintaining an authoritative presence.

After

Our solution modernized the structure in a way that feels very much in-line with our new corporate headquarters.

Since the booth is shared by two companies, it was imperative that it be easy to swap branding. All content is digital and easy to change without any new hardware costs. The logos are mounted on interchangeable acrylic panels.

Digital content was created to mirror the booth design by featuring a lightbeam that represents "the illumination of shared knowledge."
The Conference Theme

Navigating with Insight.

The conference theme became an extension of the ad campaign we were running that featured our members represented by a series of pilots. The storyline reads, "You pilot a complex enterprise. Trust us to be your copilot." and features two pilots surrounded by complex equipment.
"You pilot a complex enterprise.
Trust us to be your copilot."
Using the copilot as a metaphor for our advisory team, we chose the theme "Navigating with Insight" to open the door to talk about how our advisory services could play a supporting role in helping our members improve efficiencies. Contrary to the typical consultant's message that they deserve credit for all positive results, we opted to play a passive role where the member gets the credit for the success of the engagement.
The Event

Trust us to be your copilot.

We're Live!

We took the pilot theme from the ads and expanded into videos, wayfinding signage and all other touchpoints. The arrow from the tail of the HTU17 logo was used throughout in combination with radar maps and instrument panel imagery.
General Session was kicked off by a video that includes cameos from the HealthTrust CEO, his assistant, the COO and SVP of Advisory Services. The video transitions to a live feed with the CEO entering the stage wearing the same outfit and sunglasses.
Multiple versions of screenwarmer video and IMAG footage were displayed across over 200' of varied surfaces using both rear and front projection.
Roving cameramen captured some of the excitement of the event which was then shown back to the attendees as they settled into their seats each morning.