Trade shows were a sea of booths, so we built our own room. I lead the brand and creative for EZRA Hosts, a series of our own events with speakers including Simon Sinek, Jacinda Ardern, Stephen Fry, Anna Wintour and Venus Williams. They beat their ROI targets so comfortably that the business doubled the number the following year.
- Company
- EZRA Coaching
- Role
- Brand Design Lead
- Scope
- Brand · Events · Team leadership
- Team
- Two designers reporting to me
- Reports to
- Creative Director
- Event budgets
- Under £500k
- Above target Every event beat its ROI target, as tracked by our WebOps team
- 2× Events the following year, because they performed so well
- A‑list Speakers including Simon Sinek, Jacinda Ardern, Stephen Fry, Anna Wintour and Venus Williams
A sea of booths
Going to trade shows just meant standing in a sea of booths, and it wasn't working. We needed to get our best prospects into a room, and into our funnel.
A brand big enough for one-off events
Bespoke events are a big investment, with budgets typically under £500k. My job was to balance two things: the masterbrand and a premium, one-off experience. Always recognisably EZRA, never repeating ourselves. I shifted the focus from simply turning up to being thoughtful and unexpected, and that became how we think about the brand.
One masterbrand, a new world every time
We keep the brand's DNA fixed (type and colour) and give each event its own theme, with room to build a visual world around it. A tight core and a flexible layer: the brand stays recognisable, and guests who come back are always surprised.
Stays fixed
- Typography
- Colour
Changes every event
- The theme and visual world of each event
- The invitation landing page
- The on-stage graphics
Every detail, designed for how it feels
We review every detail as a team, on the big screen, and map the attendee journey to see where the budget will have the most impact. The team made everything from the invitation landing page to the on-stage graphics, and everything in between.
We design each one with behavioural psychology in mind. How does this moment make someone feel, and what does that make them think of us? We want it to be unexpected and personal, and there's a lot of thought behind every detail.
From making things to knowing why
I lead two designers across motion, digital and print, and report to the Creative Director. My job is to make space for growth, collaboration and craft, and to connect their work to what the business is trying to achieve. The team's culture has shifted from just getting things made to understanding why: designers now write down their contribution and understand the commercial impact of what they make.
Pipeline up, doors open
Our WebOps team tracks all our marketing, events included, and every event beat its ROI target, comfortably. Pipeline grew and repeat guests kept coming back. The feedback was always the same: guests say they never know what to expect, it catches them off guard, and each event is better than the last. It changed how sales works too. Attendees chat to peers at other companies, so sales conversations don't start cold any more, and that's lifted how people see the brand. The results were strong enough that the business doubled the number of events the following year. So in my second year, the team and I delivered twice as many.
Our then CFO liked the identity so much he requested the graphics for his custom-made triathlon suit.
More time to test
Our timelines are tight, so our most inventive thinking happens under pressure. With more time to test, I'd give the team room to push ideas further before they go live.
