STN Media Group operates a B2B school transportation trade news magazine. They host the STN expo conference, which offers information and discussion of school transportation systems within cities.

Visual Notes paid for by Sponsors

The STN Expo already used visual notes at their STN Directors Summit, which made a memorable impact on attendees. Tony Corpin, owner and publisher of STN Media Group, was thinking of ways to generate interest in securing business sponsorships for their upcoming STN Green Summit in a new and unique way. His solution? Offer all conference sponsors the opportunity to have their logo on Ink Factory’s visual notes at the expo.

Tony realized the importance of adding visual notes an experiential element at the STN expo.  They were the perfect way to engage his audience, as well as create an opportunity for clientele to become part of the expo’s attractions. And visual notes are useful beyond the date of the event. Reflecting on expanding the use of visual notes, Tonny commented, “STN as a company used the images from our transportation directors summit in our national magazine to extend our value on our investment.”

“It’s a post-event experience. It’s carrying all the leads and conversations. How do you keep nurturing that person you met? The visual notes bring the conversation forward and take it the next step in creating customer-forward content.”

Tony Corpin, Owner and Publisher at STN Media Group

Engagement Boards: Real-Time Drawing of Your Audience’s Ideas

In addition to live capture of speeches and sessions, Ink Factory artists can create visual summaries of real-time feedback from event attendees. We call these engagement boards–audience feedback or answers to a question are collected, and our artists illustrate each answer in real-time.

STN’s engagement board increased attendee participation, allowing visitors to take photos and post on social media to reinforce their reach and add a fun element to the experience. STN provided a questionnaire for each guest to fill out, and our artists then created a visual “engagement board” of those responses. “We had a very cool reaction from our audience. When you make those investments, you don’t think ‘what did that get me,’ you want to create a unique perspective that differentiates you from everyone else and this is a way to do it.”

The visual notes had a lasting impression on the expo audience, and the opportunity for sponsors to be part of the visual notes experience allowed STN media to create a more engaging conference experience–at a low cost to them.

Nuturing Relationships

Incorporating visual notes into the sponsorship packaging for the STN expo helped to set a new standard for sponsors to think of ways they could be involved in the entire experience. The use of visual notes nurtured a personal relationship with attendees and became a strategy to keep that relationship in their minds.

“I did it because it was fun,” Tony reflects, “I recommend Ink Factory to anyone who wants to add value to their conference and have attendees walk away with a memorable experience. We wanted people to come back. We wanted to give people who aren’t there FOMO that they’re missing out on this great experience.”