For years, IFMA held an annual awards function in the spring, in lieu of its regular monthly program. It was typically held on-site at a member company suburban location with hors d'oeuvres and cocktails. While most of IFMA's monthly program meetings and/or tours garnered attendance of 120 or more, the awards event passed each year with little fanfare and very low attendance, usually around 40 people.
Enter Celebrate
Celebrate was brought in to serve as IFMA's event planner for its Awards of Excellence. In this role, Celebrate:
Chaired the committee, establishing a milestone schedule and facilitating all planning meetings.
Established the theme - "a Magical Night with IFMA."
Developed the brand/graphics including: Save the Date, Invitation, Program, Presentation, Signage, Centerpieces and Table Signage.
Wrote the script for the 60-minute award presentation, which included all visuals, music cues, and master of ceremonies performances.
Provided on-site coordination as the point person, providing all solutions throughout the event.
Results Worth Celebrating
By creating and then communicating a strong, upscale brand for the event, Celebrate garnered immediate attention from the IFMA membership and other affiliate and competitor organizations. Recipients of event promotional material realized quickly that this was not the IFMA awards events of old. The end result was a sold-out event of 300 attendees. For future events, IFMA was able to raise ticket prices and lay a strong foundation for what has become an extraordinary annual event.
Because of Celebrate's success with the Awards of Excellence event, IFMA expanded our role to include ongoing event design and production and graphic design/communication services for the entire Boston Chapter. The year 2008 marked the fifth year that Celebrate has worked with IFMA in this capacity. The most recent event took place at The Intercontinental with the largest production of live performances and attendees yet, including Boston Mayor Tom Menino.
