Challenge
This year, Newsela's presence at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference would be different compared to 2022. Instead of having a traditional booth presence, Newsela would use brand activations to engage with current and potential customers at ISTE. Despite there not being a booth, a creative wrapper was still needed. ISTE's theme this year is: "Venture into the Future of Learning". Newsela needed to tie into ISTE's theme by translating it to the activations and creative.
Solution
"Venture into the Future of Learning" nods to the endless possibilities of education, similar to the vastness of outer space. By utilizing a predominantly blue palette along with space-like elements such as stars, Newsela's outer space creative showcases how expansive the product is and the infinite ways it can help teachers and students.
In the end, Newsela @ ISTE was a huge success. All three activations hit capacity. There were 383 attendees at the Coffee Truck, 24 attendees at the Lunch & Learn, and 144 attendees at the Meow Wolf event. There was also a total of 64 meaningful interactions.
**A meaningful interaction means that a conference attendee requested a follow-up and would be pushed through as a task for Sales Development Representatives.
Newsela @ ISTE logo lockup
Since Newsela didn't have a booth at the conference, a branded campaign name and logo weren't needed. However, Newsela would still be present at ISTE through its events hence "Newsela @ ISTE". By adding "@ ISTE" and product icons below the Newsela logo, the lockup was kept simple.
Paid ads
Ads for Newsela (created by myself) and Formative (created by Sami Biloff) were launched to draw in conference attendees and encourage them to sign up for the freemium products.
Event page
Creative assets were also included in the event page. Full page can be viewed here.
SWAG and signage
T-shirt design
Directional signs for the coffee truck event (one of the brand activations).
Coaster design
Another brand activation was at Meow Wolf– an immersive museum. The venue's quirky and colorful interior paired with Newsela's "out-of-this-world" swag and signage created an engaging and enjoyable atmosphere.
Creative direction and layout: Nathalie Patajo
Illustrations and graphics: Sami Biloff
