The problem: A scrappy startup was trying to launch on a shoestring budget. But their solution was confusing to potential buyers and needed considerable face-to-face explanation. That tactic wasn't working on the trade show floor, where everyone's in a hurry, and it's loud and distracting.
We developed graphics and visual vocabulary that cut down the explanation time on the trade show floor significantly - from 15 min. per conversation to achieve understanding down to under 1 minute.
Brand Strategy and Illustration
First, I dug into their differentiatiors, to help their audience better understand what they do. I developed this illustration to showcase the depth of their services – their IoT ecosystem covers more different types of smart components and controllers than anything else on the market.
I designed process illustrations that appear throughout the materials to show how the different pieces of the Observables system fit together.
Pitch Deck (PowerPoint)
Securing funding was the next order of business. We designed a Powerpoint pitch deck that we refined over time, using Agile methodologies. This secured several rounds of venture funding.
Website Redesign
The priority here was to test new messaging and begin sales. We started with a simple launch pad website that grew over time. I designed this responsive site from wireframes and then implemented it on Wordpress (Divi theme).
Sales Enablement
Next, we created a library of sales sheets, product sheets and catalogs. These were used by our sales force, in stores near displays and at trade shows.
Ad Design
HTML 5 Banner ads and print ads were developed to advertise at trade shows, encouraging booth visits and demo registrations. Demos were fully booked after this particular show.
Packaging and Point of Purchase displays were designed. We only needed a few manufactured, and we had to get creative about producing them to minimize cost per unit.
Trade Show Booths
Our main marketing tactic was showing the product at various security and IoT-industry trade shows. For that, we designed several trade show booth setups - from small tabletop setups ranging up to a 10'x20' booth.
Very rough mockup of a booth design for a European trade show
Rough mockup of our 10' x 20' booth for ISC West 2019