by Morgan Manghera
November 27, 2023
For any organization, milestone anniversaries are cause for celebration, and conferences are a great opportunity for additional festivities. In August 2023, Smithbucklin joined forces with longtime partner SIGGRAPH—the premier conference on computer graphics and interactive techniques—to celebrate its 50th conference. A leader in the world of computer graphics, digital art, animation, visual effects, artificial intelligence (AI), and more, SIGGRAPH 2023 marked a milestone conference for the organization, and it was not without celebration in the planning, marketing, and event production phases.
A milestone conference serves as an opportunity to fully immerse your conference participants in the celebration and create an environment they will want to return to — not only for your next milestone conference, but for every event in between. If your organization has a milestone event on the horizon, take into consideration these five tips as you begin planning for this special experience.
Establish your branding
Any worthwhile event begins with strong conference branding. When designing your conference brand, consider ensuring the milestone is reflected in the assets — website design, email templates, social media graphics, digital advertising, GIFs, slide templates, and more. For SIGGRAPH 2023, Smithbucklin and creative partners leaned into the “50” theme and used 1974, the year of the first conference, as inspiration. Take a peek at the website to get a taste of this groovy look.
via GIPHY
A key element of the branding was the “50 roundel.” This design used gold linework to etch a 50 into the conference branding and included the SIGGRAPH logo in the center. The 50 roundel appeared across the conference website, at the top of every promotional email, in GIFs, on the commemorative conference pin, and on the big screens of the general session room during the conference. This part of the conference branding served as a consistent touchpoint and reminder that this conference year was set apart from the rest.
Solidify your messaging
Once the event’s branding is established, it’s time to create a messaging platform that champions the importance of and drums up excitement for your milestone event. Draft messaging that is celebratory of your conference’s special year while reflecting on the journey that brought your association, your event, and your participants to this moment. Use your language as an opportunity — not only to celebrate the event and the past, but to look ahead to the future. SIGGRAPH 2023 highlighted its celebratory tone beginning with the conference website launch, through all marketing efforts, and in the conference chair’s scripted remarks at the event.
via Flickr
Develop unique merchandise
What’s one way to guarantee your conference participants will remember your event for years to come? Merch! Consider creating special merch or fan-favorite items featuring your brand so your participants can represent your organization well beyond your milestone conference.
SIGGRAPH 2023 sold fleece jackets, t-shirts (including a far-out orange tie-dye shirt), and coffee mugs featuring the 50 roundel. This merchandise was so popular that the team achieved 48% over its initial budgeted merchandise income. Also, SIGGRAPH creates a collectible lapel pin for each conference year. This year’s pin was particularly special, as the 50 roundel was etched into the metal, making it an eye-catching and textured collectible. Plus, many conference participants were lucky enough to receive a pin straight from the hands of SIGGRAPH’s seven-foot-tall mascot, Pixel!
via Flickr
Incorporate special experiences into your conference planning
Consider how you can create a special conference experience that also leads to other benefits, such as boosting your registration numbers. During SIGGRAPH’s conference planning phase, the Smithbucklin marketing team brainstormed a “registration raffle” to encourage registration between two major deadlines. Winners were offered one of 50 prizes, including the fan favorite — a “legendary tour.” This experience featured an exclusive small-group tour of the interactive Experience Hall, led by the SIGGRAPH 2023 Conference Chair. This opportunity allowed winners a close-up look at the most transformative technology and innovative art from SIGGRAPH’s Art Gallery, Emerging Technologies, Labs, and Immersive Pavilion programs. Planning a special experience that boosts registration numbers and puts conference content front and center is something attendees will never forget.
via Flickr
Include complementary programming
Perhaps the best way to honor your milestone event is through conference programming. Consider selecting keynote speakers and session content proposals that align to your event’s milestone year.
In collaboration with the conference chair, the Smithbucklin marketing team coordinated and welcomed two keynote speakers with very different focuses — Dr. Darío Gil had the future-focused presentation on what’s next for quantum computing, whereas Kathryn Kleiman uncovered the untold story of the six women who programmed the world’s first general purpose, all-electronic computer. These areas are pivotal to SIGGRAPH’s audience, both past and future. The annual SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival Electronic Theater, a qualifier for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, put on a special Retrospective Celebration featuring a reel of films from past conferences with SIGGRAPH legends sharing live commentary throughout the screening. Additionally, the SIGGRAPH 2023 History Chair and her team curated “Blasts from the Past” exhibits featuring past conference content and a “History Hallway” full of past conference artifacts. The history team also built a History Time Tunnel, in collaboration with an industry partner, which was the most comprehensive timeline of computer graphics achievements over the past half-century. This interactive exhibit and its accompanying programming were physical representations of how computer graphics’ past led to the bold and bright future SIGGRAPH aims to build — a perfect addition to a 50th conference.
via Flickr
These special milestone markers helped lead SIGGRAPH 2023 to success, including 14,275 attendees from 78 countries, over 26,000 livestream views on the Virtual Access platform during the conference week, opportunities to engage with the international computer graphics community, and even a newscast placement on KTLA. By incorporating these strategies into your milestone conference’s plans, you can bring the celebration, engage your attendees, and keep them coming back to your conference for all the years ahead.
Morgan Manghera is in Marketing & Communications Services at Smithbucklin.
Morgan Manghera
(she/her)
Marketing & Communications Services
Smithbucklin