Broadcasting a new direction
How NAB reimagined its conference for today’s media evolution
For more than 20 years, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has trusted Freeman to provide audio visual and general contractor services for its annual conference. With an evolving media landscape hyper focused on streaming and a growing audience of content creators, NAB recognized that it was time to reimagine its show for a new era.
To accomplish this goal, we brought in additional expertise including event strategy, audience acquisition, and experiential design. All teams collaborated behind the scenes to deliver a flawlessly executed event that wowed (and expanded!) NAB Show audiences.
Evolving the script
Challenge
To kick off the refresh, our strategy pros took a deep dive into historical data collected by the event research team – this would help identify NAB Show’s key audiences and better understand their motivations. This data revealed an opportunity to reorganize the show floor into designated areas that corresponded with the way attendees were creating, managing, and delivering different types of media. Our audience acquisition experts at mdg, A Freeman Company, developed data-based attendee profiles to update marketing approaches and curate personalized attendee experiences.
Our experiential designers further leveraged these insights to develop the on-site experience and re-imagine the customer journey, which allowed attendees to pick a specific “pillar” of content interest to personally experience on-site. Our designers then collaborated with our AV team to create engaging experiential zones that directly correlated to each pillar of interest: create, connect, capitalize, and intelligent content. We hosted bi-weekly collaboration check-ins and updates to ensure all teams worked seamlessly across the organization and with NAB.
Data in high-def
Our combined suite of services helped NAB reach new audiences and strategize a new creative direction for its show, which also simplified the event planning process. This new direction helped NAB surpass the goals set for its reimagined event. The association saw increased engagement from attendees and heard overwhelmingly positive feedback from exhibitors. The show’s success demonstrates the power of audience acquisition strategy, which increased the international reach — 24% of the total attendees traveled from abroad. The team plans to build upon this success by reviewing the post-show survey data to enhance the overall experience for 2023 NAB Show.
"We would never be able to execute a show like this without partners — Freeman is by far the most important partner we have. It’s like having an extension of your team." said Chris Brown, executive vice president of NAB. "They have the innovation and desire to push the envelope baked into their DNA. This is why we came together so well, as these things are certainly baked into ours."
Must-see success
27M+
Impressions on NAB Social campaign
3x
The goal social media engagement rate
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Results
Case study
Solution
Directing the attendee journey with an all-star cast and crew
Broadcasting a new direction
How NAB reimagined its conference for today’s
media evolution
Case study
Uncommon audio and visual
experiences connect creators
Lights, camera, broadcast…and stream!
Unpacking key trends evolving the media and entertainment industry
24%
Of attendees came from abroad
11%
Increase in new followers on
all social media channels
27M+
Impressions on NAB Show Social campaign
3x
The goal social media engagement rate