AdvaMed 2020 Virtual MedTech Conference Email Marketing
Work for hire for AdvaMed (Advanced Medical Technology Association) by Lara Lee while employed at CSG Creative with permission for Lara Lee to display for self-promotion.
Background
The MedTech Conference by AdvaMed brings 3,000+ executives together for education, business development, and networking. It’s the largest annual gathering of medical device and diagnostic professionals in North America. In response to the 2020 pandemic, AdvaMed transitioned from a hybrid event to the fully online MedTech Virtual Conference.
AdvaMed heavily marketed its newly virtual event via email marketing. The VP, Creative of CSG Creative, Megan Hall, determined the visual core and brand identity for the event, while my supervisor, Director of Digital Matt Hamilton and I executed her designs over email. Once he or I completed the design, graphics, and animations for the emails, we turned over the art to our HubSpot developer, Elle Lawrence, to code for our client. The transition introduced a minor brand change mid-way through the email marketing. Orange swapped for green, plus a new logo, indicated the new 100% virtual event.
My Role
Digital Designer
HubSpot Developer
Elle Lawrence
Agency
CSG Creative
Creative Direction
Megan Hall
Awards
IAEE Art of the Show 2020 Best of Show
(CSG Creative’s first ever!)
IAEE Art of the Show 2020 Winner for Email Promotion Campaign under 75,000 nsf
The Results
Building Excitement with Animated GIFs
Communicating Brand Value at Registration Launch
We launched registration with the first animated email of 2020 illustrating the brand’s tagline via text reveal.
Director, Digital and my personal supervisor, Matt Hamilton, animated the iconic diamond pattern using WordPress plugin slider revolution. The client requested I re-use the same animation for their email. Since one can’t copy-paste a WordPress plugin into an email GIF, I re-created the shape building in Adobe After Effects.
I must consider several design requirements for any animated GIF destined for email marketing:
- The first slide of the animation must reveal the primary message for Outlook versions that don’t play GIF animations
- The animation must start in media res to show a “finished” look on first slide
- The animation must reset seamlessly for a harmonious loop
- The animated GIF can’t be too large to send via email
I completed the 8-second 600×30 animated GIF—with 3x animated text reveals, shape building, and seamless reset—in just 312 KB.
Promoting the Early Bird Deal
This was a midnight rush job. The client requested a second animated email to push early bird registrations.
This email is simple—short copy and one CTA. Nonetheless, all the same animation considerations from the Registration Open email still apply.
The client ultimately selected this minimalist, animated clock face. Since the discount ends at midnight, I deliberately spun the clock hand just short of midnight, where it pauses and slams closed, to instill urgency.
Alternative Email Animations I Proposed:
Wrapping Up with a Post-Show Infographic
One infographic fit the Post-Event Thank You email. The other is a universal social media post size that fits Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter feeds with slight cropping on the edges.
The Total 2020 Email Marketing Campaign
I designed 27 of the 34 total emails, highlighted in full-color below, while my supervisor, Matt Hamilton, designed the remaining. This client prefers lengthy, descriptive email marketing. As a result, each email has an average length of 1,667 pixels tall. Orange headlines and CTAs give way to green as the event went fully virtual. Some emails entailed just a header while the client supplied the rest themselves via HubSpot.
