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2016 - 2017 Club Achievement - PROGRAMS

Programs are the heartbeat of Ad 2 Tampa Bay. It’s our team’s mission to provide quality programs and

well-attended events that bring credibility to the club, provide value to our members and generate

significant revenue to support operations and conference participation. Reflecting on previous years, we

felt it was time to internally rebrand “Programs” into “Gatherings” to better portray its purpose and recruit

committee members. By doing so, we launched 2016-2017 with new faces on the team and new goals to

achieve, specifically three that we held as a standard for each event and one special goal to turbocharge

our organization’s success.

Our goals for each gathering:

Strive for no less than 20 attendees

Confirm event best practices by testing different factors such as timing, RSVP-ing, ticketing and

follow-up surveys

Reduce event expenses and make each event unique by partnering with local ad agencies and

businesses

Our special goal:

Host an event that activates club involvement and surges membership growth by 100%

Monthly AdSocials: ‘Network & Chill’ throughout Tampa’s top ad agencies

Event Details: Ad 2 Tampa Bay challenged ourselves to create a monthly event series that is completely

free for members (1.1) to continue active and interested membership. This came to life in a refreshed

series of AdSocials with a new nickname, Network & Chill (N&C), that gives our members an inside

look into Tampa Bay area’s most impressive ad agencies through a laid-back format. The hosting agency

participates in this event by not only welcoming the Ad 2 community, but also giving a brief introduction

and office tour followed by them personally enjoying the mix and mingle environment.

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Target Audience: We focused on making these events a free benefit for our members (1.2), which

simultaneously helps us target non-member students / professionals and use N&C as a tangible reason to

join our organization (1.3).

Method of Promotion: Our series is driven by collaborative efforts of Ad 2 and the supporting agency’s

contributions (1.4). Before unveiling the new format, we partnered with the Creative committee to design

a logo (1.5). This logo became a recognizable stamp overlaid on each month’s refreshed promotions. All

promotional content was a balance of professional and personable, lighthearted messaging as the name

implies, which was crafted into a consistent template for multi-usage including: RSVP page, email

invitation, Facebook event page and social media marketing (1.6).

Attendance: Each AdSocial has been diverse in size and shape like the agencies themselves, but all have

been exceptional in turnout. For example, one night was at a boutique studio, which resulted in 53 RSVPs

and 41 attendees (1.7). Another month, we partnered with the largest agency in town, 22squared, to gather

89 RSVPs and 55 check-ins (1.8).

Feedback mechanism: By making it a series of events, we were able to slightly adjust a process or touch

point each month to learn and optimize for the back half of the year. For the premiere N&C AdSocial, we

promoted it as “cash only” to avoid processing fees (1.9). For our second event, we allowed credit cards

but also allowed members to bring one guest for free (1.10). The next installment took place on a Friday

evening (a first for our club) with a costume contest for a prize of $100 (1.11). Our most recent gathering

introduced a new icebreaker format (1.12). Afterwards in our committee and board meetings, we asked

members which methods they preferred and analyzed which was also most operationally successful

(1.13).

Results: We took our AdSocials out of bars and restaurants and into ad agencies where our group

belongs! Each event resulted in over thousands of users reached through social media marketing (1.14).

By partnering with the agencies to eliminate event expenses and charging non-members $10, we were

able to raise nearly $500 for the club in additional revenue (1.15). Most notably, our members recognize

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Networking & Chilling as a true perk of being in Ad 2 and continue to share their praise with the hashtag

#Ad2Chill (1.16). These events have also initiated new connections from partnering restaurants and

businesses. Our attendees have enjoyed treats and refreshments from over four different community

partners such as Pipo’s-To-Go catering, 3 Daughters Brewery and more (1.17), which has resulted in a

win-win relationship for all and led to continued partnerships for our entire roster of events.

Student-Focused Gathering: Internship Speed Dating

Event Details: This fast-paced, speed-dating-style program introduces motivated, career-focused students

to local advertising agencies and marketing companies in need of serious, dedicated interns. Our fall

Internship Speed Dating (ISD) was held at the University of South Florida, which is a central location for

both students and professionals. To maintain the event’s successful reputation, we select only the most

ambitious students by having them fill out a brief survey that hones in on their passion and goals (2.1).

This year, we prompted the students to arrive 15 minutes prior for a brief presentation beforehand that

included interview tips and tricks (2.2) after gauging feedback from agencies that in previous ISDs the

students were lacking interview professionalism (2.3).

Target Audience: We host this event for ad agencies and advertising students of the Tampa Bay area to

come together and find their perfect match.

Methods of Promotion: The overall look & feel of ISD is a balance of professional and fun to play up

the dating aspect (2.4); however, since employers and students are contrasting audiences, our team takes a

dual approach to ISD promotions. For students, it is a well-known event that they eagerly wait for. We

leveraged social media such as new Instagram Stories as way to unveil and tease which agencies are

coming until finally we reveal a full list to the attendees (2.5). For professionals, we leverage Mail Merge

to send out personalized emails to a list of Tampa’s top agencies and speak their language of meeting a

handful of candidates in one sitting (2.6). Both audiences are directed to one landing page for event

details and sign up (2.7): a payment link for agencies and an application for students. We also created a

Facebook event page to leverage its organic reach and lead to our RSVP page (2.8).

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Attendance: We secured 13 companies: large ad agencies, small boutiques, non-profits and even local

businesses who need marketing assistance (2.9). For students, we selected 23 students from creative to

account and everything in between (2.10). At each of the agency tables, we had one to three agency

representatives interviewing one student at a time after analyzing previous years’ feedback (2.11).

Feedback Mechanism: Since this event is extremely logistic-heavy, we implemented two robust follow-

up surveys: one for students and one for agencies (2.12). This provides our team with concrete,

quantifiable feedback to continue improving year after year. In this year’s survey we asked questions such

as how they’d feel about switching up the location and also open-ended questions for any additional

suggestions (2.13).

Results: Our survey confirmed that 89% of student participants were offered an internship following the

event and 100% of agencies are interested in participating in more Ad 2 events (2.14). Our new addition

of coaching students on interview etiquette was well-received with the one representative specifically

stating that the students were “very well-prepared” (2.15). By partnering with the university and

eliminating expenses, charging Ad 2 student members only $5, non-members $15 and each agency $40

for a table we were able to raise $600 (2.16)! We are looking forward to shaking things up and having

ISD at a large coffee shop in Spring 2017 (2.17) for a more intimate setting.

December AdTalk: Back From the Future

Event Details: Ad 2 Tampa Bay hosted an engaging AdTalk on a Sunday afternoon to share insights on

virtual reality (VR) and the future of immersive advertising. The program was held at Creative Loafing’s

open loft, which we converted to include a lounge area and bar for coffee and mimosas adjacent to our

circular classroom-style discussion which complimented the 360 nature of VR (3.1). Our featured

speaker, Gabriel Valdivia, works at Facebook Inc. on the VR Design team (3.2). Before moving to

California several years ago, Gabriel was the Creative Director of Ad 2 Tampa Bay. Gabriel spoke about

the principles of immersive advertising, how VR is making its way into our lives and why brands are

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lining up. After his portion, guests had the opportunity to demo different VR technology and show all the

fun with #Ad2Future (3.3).

Target Audience: Members of Ad 2 Tampa Bay and anyone interested in learning about virtual reality.

Method of Promotion: We promote AdTalks as a casual format to discuss meaningful shifts in

advertising and culture (3.4). The “Back From the Future” theme was a playful nod to Gabriel coming

back to Tampa Bay and from the future with Silicon Valley insights to share. This came to life in a stylish

microsite, email blast and social marketing with a mix of messaging that leveraged the buzz over VR and

highlighted AdTalks as a fun thing to do on a Sunday (3.5). In line with futuristic content, we also tested

out our very first Facebook Live during the event so non-attendees could get a glimpse into what they

were missing (3.6).

Attendance: We had 23 faces that came together for our December AdTalk (3.7). This size of group was

ideal for all attendees to actively participate in the discussion and demo.

Feedback Mechanism: There were a handful experiments in this program that provided us with lessons

for moving forward. We set out to see if a weekend event was viable (3.8). We tested having tickets being

sold online to see if attendees would pay in advance (3.9). We also implemented name tags and yellow or

blue stickers to indicate whether they were a member or not in Ad 2 Tampa Bay (3.10) aiming to support

our team’s introduction to new members.

Results: By setting up a win-win partnership with two local businesses: Clayton Gray Boutique and

Buddy Brew Coffee, there were zero expenses for Ad 2 at this event and each partner benefited from our

promotional materials (3.11). Because of our $5 ticket price for members and $15 for nonmembers, we

were able to raise $186 for our club with $120 of it coming from online sales (3.12). Our event page

reached over 1,300 people and the Facebook Video received 420 views, which tells us this is a successful

medium to tease our gatherings. After the event, several entrepreneurs followed up with Ad 2 Tampa Bay

to thank us and get connected with Gabriel for their own clients’ speaking arrangements (3.13).

Special Event: Ad 2 & You at Coppertail Brewery, Ybor City

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Event Details: Our 2016-2017 board shared a vision to restructure and enact committees for a more

collaborative future in Ad 2 Tampa Bay. We determined in kickoff meetings that each team (organized by

the eight achievement books) would be most benefited by two to eight supporting committee members

per director, which meant we needed one large gathering to attract a lot of ambitious attendees and

empower folks to get involved (4.1). This led to a feel-good summer social on the private upstairs of a

local brewery branded as Ad 2 & You symbolizing a meet & greet between our organization and new

faces (4.2).

Target Audience: Paid members who are not involved in any role (4.3), as well as non-members who

we’ve seen stand out with an interest or ambition to join Ad 2 Tampa Bay and make a difference in their

community (4.4).

Method of promotion: The Ad 2 & You theme was presented on beautiful microsite with inviting

imagery of our board huddled around like the group of best friends that we are (4.5). The copy on the

event page, social posts, emails and event collateral was extremely conversational as if we were directly

talking to You (4.6). We advertised it as a fun reason to come by, have a drink and catch up, so we can

get to know each other and find out what the future holds, together (4.7). This is also where we officially

rebranded Programs and unveiled Gatherings, with a clearer focus on quality experiences and member-

driven ideas, as a committee option (4.8).

Attendance: Our personable, no-pressure outreach earned us 97 RSVPs — a record for our event pages,

plus an outstanding conversion of over 60 guests that showed up to get to know Ad 2 Tampa Bay (4.9).

Looking around, it was a majority of all-new faces next to our incoming board of directors celebrating

and standing as Ad 2 ambassadors (4.10).

Feedback mechanism: Asides from clinking drinks and the number of smiles, our measure of success for

this event would be an increase in leads for membership. To obtain an attendee’s interest in being part of

our club, our team designed and printed our very own Ad 2 interactive cards (4.11) to have on every table

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for attendees to leave a colorful signature of their choice and check off the initiative they were most

excited about. Since we had their contact information in their RSVP, we just needed their name!

Results: With much excitement, we obtained 38 signed cards from people interested in joining a

committee (4.12). This led to every initiative having two to seven teammates for a more collective

journey ahead which doubled our active membership throughout the next two months as we passed the

torch to our Membership Director to begin onboarding (4.13). By rebranding from Programs into

Gatherings, we were able to attract four individuals who all have a heart for making people feel welcomed

(4.14). The 2016 night of Ad 2 & You also recognized an amazing year of achievements in a brief,

engaging presentation, and all was captured through the hashtag #Ad2andYou (4.15).

CONCLUSION

By refocusing from Programs into Gatherings, we stepped into new successes with a passionate

committee and a checklist of three goals for each event: attract more than 20 attendees, test and learn

processes, and partner with local businesses to reduce expenses. We accomplished these every time and

by doing so were able to make each gathering unique and use our insights for the next half of the year.

Top takeaways include utilizing pre-event ticket sales online and a post-event survey for continued

efficiency. By challenging ourselves with a special goal of hosting an event that turbocharges our club’s

growth, we proved the most powerful marketing happens in-person. Our biggest win this year came from

our mid-year survey that showcased the #1 word used was “events.” (5.1). One member said, “We

stepped up our game overall - with more fun, high quality creative, killer events and amazing

membership.” (5.2). This rings true by seeing the average attendance of a member exceed three events

(5.3). Through this all, we have become a more recognized name within our city and continue to grow

exponentially, one heartbeat and gathering at a time.

/ View calendar on next page

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2016-2017 Programs Calendar

June 2016 Ad 2 & You, June 17 Amalgamate Board Inductions, June 30

July

#Ad2Gether Board Retreat, July 17 August

Ad 2 Town Hall, Aug 1 Public Service Night, Aug 19 Campus Road Show, Aug 30 August AdSocial: Network & Chill, Aug 30

September

Members-Only Meeting, Sep 8 Campus Road Show, Sep 13 September AdSocial: Network & Chill, Sep 14 Campus Road Show, Sep 20 Diversity AdTalk: UNDIVIDED, Sep 27

October

Ad 2 Aromatherapy Workshop, Oct 15 Mentorship Reveal Party, Oct 17 Government AdTalk: Cyber Insecurity, Oct 20 Fall AdTour, Oct 21 October AdSocial: Hallowchill, Oct 28

November

November AdSocial: Network & Chill, Nov 10 December

December AdTalk: Back From The Future, Dec 18 January 2017

#Ad2Back2Gether Mid-Year Retreat, Jan 21 February 2017

Ad Day, Feb 7 ADDYs Live, Feb 16

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1.1 Initial thought creation of N&C series

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1.2 Complimentary for Ad 2 Members

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1.3 Using series to recruit new members

Example of Presentation where talking point was free attendance to our Network & Chill AdSocials

Example of RSVP page promoting membership

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Member commenting that friend wants to come

1.4 Collaboration & Communication with agency partners

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1.5 Event series logo and collaboration with the Creative team

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1.6 Content and imagery for N&C marketing across all platforms

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1.7 RSVPs and Check-ins at August N&C

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1.8 RSVPs and Check-ins for September N&C

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1.9 Cash only messaging

1.10 Bring a friend for free messaging

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1.11 Friday event with costume contest and prize

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1.12 First icebreaker at AdSocial

1.13 Notes reflecting on previous N&C events

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1.14 Social Media Analytics

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1.15 Example of deposits made from a Network & Chill

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1.16 #Ad2Chill + Commentary

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#Ad2Chill on Instagram

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1.17 Community Partners

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2.1 ISD Application for Students

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2.2 Presentation for students before agencies arrived

2.3 Agency feedback from previous year

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2.4 New ISD branding

2.5 Instagram Stories to reach student followers

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2.6 Mail Merge Personalization to Agencies

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2.7 Landing page

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2.8 Facebook event page

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2.9 Registered companies

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2.10 Registered students

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2.11 Feedback from agencies and students

Agency / Students

2.12 One survey for agencies, one survey for students

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2.13 Examples of questions

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2.14 Results

2.15 Agency comments

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2.16 Agency and student registrations

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2.17 Conversations with coffee shop

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3.1 Event setup and format

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3.2 Gabriel Valdivia

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3.3 VR Demos and #Ad2Future

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3.4 AdTalk messaging

3.5 Back From the Future Promotions

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3.6 Facebook Live

3.7 Event check-in sheet

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3.8 Discussion about making it a Sunday afternoon

3.9 Selling tickets online

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3.10 Name tags and colored stickers

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3.11 Event partners

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3.12 $120 online tickets next to total $185

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3.12 Event Reach and Facebook views

3.13 Follow up connections

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4.1 Brainstorm and planning documents

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4.2 Pictures of Brewery and Overall Event

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4.3 Example of Targeting Current Members

4.4 Examples of Non-member outreach

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4.5 Microsite and RSVP Page

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4.6 Copy and Overall Tone

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4.7 Examples of Advertising

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4.8 Programs Rebrand to Gatherings

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4.9 Event RSVPs

Event Check-ins

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4.10 Interactive Stations with Directors

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4.11 Interactive Cards

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4.12 Signed Interactive Cards

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4.13 Newly Formed Committees and Surge in Membership

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4.13 Close up of payments following our Ad 2 & You event

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4.14 Gatherings Committee

Gatherings Committee Team Picture

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4.15 Ad 2 & You Presentation

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#Ad2andYou

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5.1 Mid-year Survey

Word cloud from responses

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5.2 Survey “What do we do well?” testimonials

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5.3 Checked-in attendance from Members

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