FIVE QUESTIONS FOR...

Reginald Foxworth Creative Services Manager, Freeman

Now more than ever, organizers are looking to event companies as partners that can help them achieve their event objectives, rather than as service providers. Freeman is up to the task, proactively focusing its efforts on being a more creative, strategic partner with show organizers. “We’ve always been well known as a logistics provider, and we want people to know that we’re equally strong at strategy and creative,” says Reginald Foxworth, Freeman’s Creative Services Manager.

As a company, you’re making efforts to be a more strategic creative partner with clients.Why is that important?
We want to work with them through the full cycle so that the experience extends beyond the show itself.We help organizers to leverage the equity they have in their brand, bring that to the experience at the event and reinforce it in every possible way they can.

How does the process work with the show organizer?
We start out by hearing what our clients have to say, listening to everyone involved with the project from the client side, and then we engage them with our creative briefing process. We have a very defined set of questions we work through to get to the very heart of the matter and to really fine-tune the objectives. It works best when you have a clear, concise message. Often, there will be several points that you want to hit on, and we want to find that one overarching theme that we want to communicate and then come up with a creative way to deliver that message.

What do you take into consideration when you think about delivering the message?
It’s not just a matter of putting something out there.We want to make sure that the way we develop this show from the structural design to any experiences we create as part of the show are geared toward the core message.

Why is branding a show so important?
We tell our clients, whether corporate clients or associations, that their brand is really their most valuable asset. In our industry, clients often gravitate toward using the event location as the main theme of the show.While the destination does influence our work, we recommend that the focus be on the brand and the products or services the client is promoting.

Can you give us an example of an organization that you’ve worked with to brand their show?
For the American Academy of Dermatology’s 67th Annual Meeting we started with our Brand Sensory Exploration. This is Freeman’s proprietary method for uncovering a brand’s essence through the five senses. We worked with small groups within the client’s organization to gather relevant information that might not have been apparent otherwise. The process was engaging and the results were often surprising. Combining this process with a clear creative brief led to the development of the style guide, which covered the look and feel of graphics and structural design throughout the exhibit. Maintaining a consisten brand voice was essential for a successful show experience.