Company
Duration
Event Marketing That Actually Built Anticipation
AIESEC Canada's National Congress needed more than event promotion, it needed to give delegates from across the country a reason to show up. The campaign made Ottawa the destination.
About the project
The campaign ran across Instagram and Facebook, targeting AIESEC's national membership base in the weeks leading up to the event. Rather than promoting the conference programming alone, the strategy reframed the event as a destination experience, positioning Ottawa itself as a reason to attend. Content spotlighted the city's landmarks, neighbourhoods, and culture alongside the conference, giving prospective delegates something to look forward to beyond the sessions. Merch, speakers, and programming were woven into the campaign to build anticipation and maintain momentum across the promotional window. Execution was consistent and coordinated across AIESEC's national channels throughout.
Challenges
Getting delegates to commit to a four-day conference requires more than an announcement. It requires desire.
National conferences face a specific conversion problem, the audience already knows the organization, but attendance requires real commitment: time, travel, and registration fees. Generic event promotion wouldn't move people who were already familiar with what AIESEC offered. The campaign needed to sell the experience of being there, not just the content of the programming. Ottawa as a city also wasn't an obvious draw for delegates coming from larger markets like Toronto and Vancouver, reframing that perception was part of the work.
250+ delegates. Highest attendance in seven years.
The campaign delivered the strongest National Congress turnout in seven years, with over 250 delegates attending from across the country. The destination-first strategy proved out, giving people a reason to show up that went beyond the programming itself. The follow-on effect extended past the event, maintaining relationships with sponsors for future events and campaigns.
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