UNTUCK

Challenge

After completing an award-winning report for local affiliate Urban League of Philadelphia, Untuck was commissioned by the National Urban League (NUL) to develop and creatively execute its annual conference identity design. Held in Chicago, IL, the 2009 conference allowed participants to be informed and deeply engaged in the various elements of economic empowerment. Over the course of three-days, the most celebrated and influential thought leaders shared their insight and expertise in regards to the challenges and opportunities African Americans will face in the 21st century.

The new leadership in the marketing and communications department at the National Urban League noticed that past conferences had begun to appear stale and entirely too location focused. They pressed Untuck to breathe new life and energy into the organization's annual event and provide a more theme-driven solution. Also, to bolster registration, various audiences would need to be segmented by age, economic level and affiliate status in order to be effectively reached.

Solution

The overall theme for the conference, The Path to Power, was a strong message that influenced many of the design decisions Untuck made for the identity and signage plan at the convention center space in Chicago. The identity revolved around key elements such as: strong and bold typography; colorful paths and arrows serving as visual cues for quick brand recognition and calls-to-action; and an emphasis on people-focused photography to build a sense of anticipation and to personalize the experience. Untuck handled the design and management of a range of print projects from conference logo, promotional postcards, advertisements, invitations and registration materials, to onsite event programs books, official program guide, press badges, directional signage, structural signage and free-standing banners.

Untuck also recommended the National Urban League move into the digital age with an integrated online marketing campaign complete with conference website (with online registration), targeted email marketing and banner ads. The site was developed seamlessly into the existing NUL website’s content management system (Drupal), enabling the internal marketing team to make up-to-the-minute updates.

Results

After a highly successful conference, the National Urban League has continued to rely on Untuck for its 2010 Centennial Conference Identity and recently completed, 2011 Conference Identity. It has also engaged Untuck to design two annual publications The State of Black America 2010 and The State of Black America 2011, plus a special edition publication by NUL president and CEO, Marc Morial entitled, To Be Equal.