Mid-Continent Dental Congress
Event branding that really shines
The Mid-Continent Dental Congress, or MCDC, is an annual conference that’s been held for over 75 years by the Greater St. Louis Dental Society. The conference is an event for dentists, hygienists, and staff to gather, learn, and share. In 2020, the conference was being moved from St. Charles to the St. Louis Union Station. The team was looking to rebrand the conference and leverage the new venue to grow local and regional attendance. We helped them re-establish their brand position and core messaging, as well as develop a new brand identity with visuals such as a logo, typography and color palette. The new branding set the foundation for a full marketing strategy that kicked off a highly successful digital marketing campaign.
A brand worth smiling about
Coming out of the brand workshop, we got to work developing brand positioning and messaging, including brand promise, brand manifesto, tone & voice, brand personality, and core pillars. Looking to take advantage of the new, exciting venue, we worked to breathe new life into an age-old event and appeal to a younger generation of dental talent while not losing site of established professionals.
With this target in mind, we chose a fun, vibrant color palette which we incorporated into the branding through duo-tone imagery. The imagery itself is reflective of the core messaging we established which is fun, passionate, and educational. We utilized the shape of the iconic St. Louis arch to break up imagery and space in an interesting way, while being reflective of the venue. The fonts are made up of mainly straight lines, but incorporate subtle angled details that are both modern and fun. Once the new branding was established, we created a comprehensive brand standards document to guide all marketing efforts moving forward.
Bigger.
Better. Back
in the Lou.
MCDC already had a website in place so we refreshed the design with new typography, color palette and imagery to better align with the newly established branding. We highlighted the new venue through a large hero image and improved the organization of content to draw attention to important dates and actions.
The Campaign
With the new branding in place, we got to work on a full marketing strategy—detailing specific tactics that were focused on reaching a younger audience throughout the midwest region. This included a monthly social content calendar complete with captions and creative templates to help them reach their audience on social media. It also included a paid social and PPC search campaign that targeted industry professionals looking to gain required course credits offered at the event. The search campaign was especially successful, resulting in metrics that were 2-4x the industry average.
Caption
“Looking for ways to continue your team’s dental education? Consider joining us this fall at MCDC for two days of CE courses and workshops. The Greater St. Louis Dental Society is an ADA CERP Recognized Provider–a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in identifying quality providers of continuing dental education. See link in bio to register today.”
Measurable Results
Google Ads
23.5%
Conversion Rate
more than 4x the average
Google Search
7.6%
Click-Through-Rate
more than double the average (3.17%)
