Product Design
Systems Architecture
UX Design
Workflow Automation
In 2021, as pandemic restrictions began to ease, I was a member of a team that established a world-class, industry-defining conference series. Since we had an existing architecture of tools our team had become familiar with, our first step was to develop additional features for this new use case of hosting in-person events.
As a small team with only one in-house developer, we opted for low-code platforms to rapidly create custom tools and implement new functionalities. As an absolute die-hard Airtable fan, we used their database software in combination with Stacker, a tool for developing business applications on top of existing database systems.
We heavily relied on four key tools:
Our CRM streamlined the sales process, allowing salespeople to close deals with a single click while generating customized contracts and invoices. Data integration through Zapier facilitated seamless connections with PandaDoc and QuickBooks. Once contracts were signed, sponsors were automatically added to our Event Management Tool, and their logos were promptly updated on our website.
This meticulously crafted Event Management Tool (EMT) guided every aspect of pre-, during, and post-show production. It oversaw speaker and sponsor management, volunteer applications, communication, marketing resources, and over 150 sessions per event. Integration with our website ensured real-time updates for public agendas, speaker information, sponsor logos, and marketing communications.
Designed to eliminate back-and-forth communication between our creative team and external partners, speakers, and sponsors, this system provided partners with the ability to independently update their public and private information within our database, including headshots, logos, bios, and company descriptions. These updates were instantly reflected across all our tools, websites, and content calendars.
Simplifying the complexity of managing three separate social media handles across various communication channels, this system—you guessed it—seamlessly integrated with our suite of tools. In addition, our CMS also worked in sync with our CRM to automatically generate unique contracted deliverables (ie. four social posts for Sponsor #1) into our content calendars.
By synchronizing these tools across the same database, it erased redundancy and pushed updates across all platforms automatically. It saved our small team thousands of hours of work every year.
Automated Creative Production Across Thousands of Assets
Our innovative solutions transformed monotony into a seamless process for our producers. Imagine managing hundreds of speakers and sponsors, along with dozens of media partners, each requiring tailored graphics in various sizes, email newsletters, social media copy, and marketing webpages. Now picture being able to generate all these materials with just one click.
That’s the breakthrough we achieved, turning what was once a full-time job into a mere 15-minute task daily.
A Step-by-Step Example of Our Marketing Workflow for Partners
Here’s a walkthrough of the workflow we developed to automate our speaker confirmation process.
*The only manual step in the process, and all they have to do is crop a headshot.
Strategizing the Customer Journey
The Customer Journey for ticket purchases on our website was kept elegant and direct. From selecting the proper ticket type to follow-up emails reminding purchasers to invite their friends, our user experience encouraged fulfillment and sharing at every step along the way.
After evaluating all available off-the-shelf mobile app solutions for live events, we concluded that none of the options met our desired standard of customer experience. I spearheaded the creation of our bespoke application, significantly saving time by utilizing the Fliplet platform as a low-code base.
Fliplet enabled us to greatly enhance our user experience by developing custom pages and writing JavaScript functions to introduce extra features. Inevitably, it allowed us to connect and synchronize our mobile application databases with Airtable alongside our other tools.
Leading the Development of Custom Features
Unfortunately, the foundational capabilities of Fliplet did not include some features we aimed to provide our attendees. I collaborated with a developer and utilized JavaScript to facilitate data transfer through third-party platforms via webhooks.
A Library of Resources to Support Our Users
In addition to our mobile application, I developed video tutorials, guides, and walkthroughs, as well as drip email campaigns that showcased the app’s key features and their usage. By offering a comprehensive library of supportive content, we enabled our team to concentrate on making the event memorable rather than being overwhelmed with support inquiries.
We utilized SketchUp to create our floor plan, enabling us to visualize our event with a 3D representation and gain a sense of its look and feel. By meticulously cross-referencing our budgets, we ensured that the forecasting and planning for equipment and furniture rentals were accurately managed. Additionally, this visualization aided our sales team in securing sponsorships and partnerships with prominent brands in the industry.
Operating with a limited budget that depended solely on organic marketing, we needed to generate high-quality creative assets to promote the event. Collaborating closely with the video production team, I spearheaded the post-production video editing for our marketing materials. Through a well-organized approach, we produced over 50 pieces of unique content, significantly emphasizing optimizing our creative pipeline.
Operating with a limited budget that depended solely on organic marketing, we needed to generate high-quality creative assets to promote the event. Collaborating closely with the video production team, I spearheaded the post-production video editing for our marketing materials. Through a well-organized approach, we produced over 50 pieces of unique content, significantly emphasizing optimizing our creative pipeline.
In three years, we brought more than 5,000 attendees down to Miami to discover the future of wellness. Our brand was seen as the premier business conference for legitimate investors, entrepreneurs, and executives, including personnel from the FDA, Apple, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Palo Santo, Otsuka, and more. The event received global coverage in publications like Forbes, Insider, Fast Company, Benzinga, VICE, The Guardian, Bloomberg, ABC7, NBC, the New Yorker, and LA Weekly.
