Connecting Global Audiences

Challenge

Bringing cohesive branding to life across two continents

In 2023, for the 10th anniversary of Inspire, Business Spend Management (BSM) software company Coupa planned to launch two companion experiences for its Inspire events — one in Las Vegas and one in London. Along with a smoothly run event in each location, Coupa wanted to use aspirational stories to showcase its solutions, engage attendees with relevant experiences, and build deeper audience relationships long after the event.

The brand needed a partner with boots on the ground that knew how to design cohesive branding along with high-level production expertise to tie the events together seamlessly.

With locations throughout the world including EMEA and the U.S., our global pros with local knowledge aligned to help Coupa achieve its goals.

Solution

All together now

Dual events mean twice as much planning, attention to detail, and follow-through. Freeman worked with Coupa to achieve two-for-two goals while maintaining unique — yet cohesive — branding in both locations.

Unity.

It was important to design a strategy and creative development process to elevate the cohesive experience beyond just visual brand assets, but also to reflect global values through content and experience.

By managing the overall creative direction, we helped cascade the various branding elements across the expo and keynote portions of both the U.S. and EMEA events:

• Consistent look and feel across both events that included branded signage, wayfinding materials, and specialty spaces within the event (more on these below!).
• Key topics of general session woven throughout Coupa booth activations, breakouts, and other event programs.
• Managing local and regional teams to help adapt the experiences for each audience while keeping it true to the brand and saving on budget.

For example:

• Personalizing the event with local customer success stories highlighted throughout the space
• Speakers that included culturally-relevant talent
• Including location-inspired decorations, graphic images, and furnishings

“It was very London, with some of the iconic imagery and things that just make it feel very local to those attendees.”

– Tasha Barnes, VP Client Service, Freeman EMEA

Inspiration
To make sure Inspire lived up to the name, Coupa featured success stories from some key customers, aka “Spendsetters,” to inspire event attendees. The customer stories highlighted key performance improvements and results achieved with the Coupa platform, and were showcased throughout the event.

In particular, the team focused on these stories in the “Coupa Community Village,” a modern interpretation of mixed-use neighborhoods designed to build, connect, and strengthen the community by celebrating people and ideas.

Our team designed this environment to bring all customers together for deeper connection. The area included hands-on demos and 1:1 conversations, as well as partner and sponsor exhibits.

The environment aimed to:

• Extend the narrative thread from the keynote
• Showcase Spendsetters and customer stories as an aspirational access point to highlight the impact of Coupa products and services
• Connect attendees with personally relevant content and experiences
• Experience thought leadership and partner demos in the Village Theater Talks
• Connect attendees with each other in a fun, informative, and energetic environment

Engagement
Coupa wanted to build community, inspire customers, and spur repeat attendance. To engage attendees both pre- and post-show, we helped the brand:

• Send smart, relevant email messaging during the year to build anticipation for the next event.
• Capture content from keynotes, breakouts, and other event sessions to deploy across personalized and public channels.
• Deliver incredible on-site engagement through:
  • Executive exchange
  • Welcome reception
  • Community celebration
  • Coupa Community Village
  • Breakouts

Result

2024, here we come!

One brand, two cities, two events. Our global teams worked together to design seamless, cohesive Coupa Inspire events in both Las Vegas and London and crafted the individual experiences with creative nods to their respective locations.

Mission accomplished.

So what’s next? Our global teams are once again united in gearing up plans for the next Inspire series in 2024.

“Because Freeman has regional stakeholders and event production expertise across the globe, their teams design experiences that local attendees will love, and get things done efficiently, while still having that all-important management overview of the big picture. There were no silos, just one well-organized team.”