1st Place:Integrated Marketing + Brand Awareness
Play It Forward: Creating a Purpose-Driven Brand Experience Across Channels
In 2024, Garmann Miller launched Play It Forward—an integrated campaign built around the ISBA and OSBA trade shows—to turn booth engagement into a powerful brand awareness tool. With a mix of in-person interaction, digital storytelling, and community impact, the campaign unified pre-show, on- site, and post-show touchpoints to deliver a memorable, purpose-driven experience. The Challenge Garmann Miller needed to stand out in a crowded education design market and transform its trade show presence from static participation to dynamic engagement. The firm’s challenge was to build relationships, boost brand recognition, and drive business development while creating an emotional, purpose-driven experience that extended beyond the event floor. The Solution The Play It Forward strategy focused on immersive design and philanthropy. A handmade High Low card game connected attendees through play, with every win donating socks to those in need. Paired with bold booth visuals, cohesive team attire (custom GM socks and green Nikes), pre-event mailers, social media storytelling, and post-event recaps, the campaign built a consistent, multi-channel brand presence that centered on community impact and emotional connection. Execution & Impact Through printed invites, GM-branded playing cards, teaser emails, on-site giveaways, and post-show videos, the campaign engaged audiences before, during, and after the events. The ISBA Legacy Sponsorship amplified stage presence, while the High Low game drove traffic and gave back to the community. The results: record-breaking booth engagement, significant new project revenue, and expanded brand recognition across platforms—reinforcing Garmann Miller’s leadership in purpose- driven education design. Campaign Stakeholders Doug Rentz, CPSM; Jamee Thobe, CPSM; Kristi Shaner, CXMP.
RESULTS
$544 K new revenue from $76K spend 65% of new revenue from repeat K-12 clients
238 client event guests (goal: 200) 296 contacts captured
2,929 video views 57 interactions
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550 socks donated to children in need (goal doubled)
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