For 106 years, the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity held its annual convention in world-class venues such as the Waldorf Astoria New York or the Arizona Biltmore Resort.
In year 107, we had to get creative.
For 106 years, the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity held its annual convention in world-class venues such as the Waldorf Astoria New York or the Arizona Biltmore Resort.
In year 107, we had to get creative.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic meant that the entire convention experience had to move online for the first time in the fraternity’s history. How can we make a virtual convention appeal to a college-aged audience after months of endless Zoom meetings?
The average person spends less time on a website than it takes to read this sentence—less than 15 seconds.
If you haven’t caught their attention by then, the resources you spent to get them on your site have been wasted.
As an international college fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi)’s annual conventions were attended by college students worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic meant college students spent more time on the Internet than ever before.
The battle for that 15 seconds was hard-fought.
We needed to take the entire convention experience and move it online. The Indianapolis-based fraternity’s in-person conventions were held at world-class destinations, allowing members to network and relax between sessions. Sitting in Zoom meetings was much harder to pitch.
Speaking of Zoom, the event was to be held roughly three months into the pandemic. The target demographic—college-aged males—was already burned out from a college semester of Zoom meetings and virtual gatherings. We needed to not only catch their attention… but keep it as well.
Our team began by identifying the advantages of an online event:
No physical venue means more sessions can be held simultaneously
Sessions can include interactive components
We could hold the event at no cost to registrants
We prioritized a highly personalized approach. The idea was to curate an individual convention experience for undergraduate members, alumni, and community partners.
My role in this event was developing a website, branding, all graphic elements, promotional materials, and digital documents.
Traditionally, convention attendees would follow one of several fixed schedules with a few breakout sessions to choose from. In 2020, we implemented an a-la-carte scheduling system that allowed attendees to build their own schedules. This would support our goal to provide a more personalized and customizable convention experience to undergraduate members.
The sharp wordmark logo emphasizes a modern digital look while reinforcing the organization’s 107 years of tradition.
Uncluttered, uncomplicated, and easily understood by every member.
You only have 15 seconds. K.I.S.S.
The framework of this virtual program can serve the organization when planning virtual events in the future, or supplement in-person events.
Web design focused on streamlining everything from registration to scheduling:
Registration links in clear view
A clean, minimalist layout
By focusing on the personalized scheduling system and ease of attendance, we marketed AEPi’s first virtual convention as a fresh take on a traditional event.
The result was online attendance for #AEPi107 consistent with in-person conventions in the past. After the lockdown ended, the fraternity reintroduced the framework of this marketing plan to include a remote component for all conventions.
