When the American Academy of Dermatology (MD) sent out an RFP for general service contractors for its 2007 Summer Academy, redefining the organization's branding wasn't part of the plan. But Dallas-based exhibition services provider Freeman led the organization through a creative brand exercise that changed those original plans.

"Many companies think they know the perception of their brand," says Jeff Cameron, Freeman Vice President of Design and Creative, and creator of the brand exercise. "But often after completing this exercise, they realize their notions are radically different from reality."

"When branding our meetings, we always focused more on selling the destination than selling our organization," says Sara Peterson, AAD Senior Manager, Meetings and Conventions. "When you went to our meeting in San Francisco, you saw bright colors and images of the Golden Gate Bridge. You might not have recognized that it was the Academy's meeting unless you saw our logo."

Analyzing the results of the branding exercise, Freeman uses them to develop the customer's brand identity, which serves as a working model to create the event's overall design. When Freeman arrived atMD headquarters to present its concepts, both Freeman and the association were surprised to see that the suggested design featured a color scheme that matched the AAD office color palette of calm blues and wood tones. 'We felt like they really got it when they came in and presented their look and it was so similar to everything we had already established," Peterson says.

In addition to the new color scheme, the design concept included incorporating cropped images of the human body, such as skin and nails, to link the event design to dermatology and its focus on the promotion of skin health - a concept AAD hadn't previously integrated into its meeting branding. "Now there's a consistency of the design's look and feel, so when our attendees come to our meeting in any destination, they feel like they're walking into an Academy meeting," Peterson says. "It's a much more polished and professional look that really conveys the overall image of our organization's mission."

Freeman's plan also called for redesigning the meeting's registration area to look more like an upscale hotel lobby. To make this typically chaotic area less stressful and more inviting for attendees, bright, harsh graphics were replaced with soft, calming wood tones and cream colors. Rich, draped velour curtains were used in place of hardwalls, and tables and chairs were added for relaxing.

The new branding concept has also extended beyond the show floor. 'We're working with Freeman going forward to make sure we're staying on track not only with our printed meeting materials, but also for our meeting Web site so that everything ties in together and maintains our brand," says  Peterson.