Event Branding, Production & Photo Art Direction / Axial Concord
Brand Development
Photo Art Direction
Environmental Graphics
Website Design & Development
Digital & Print Production
Event Support
Seriously, it’s Tinder for M&A.
Axial Concord is Axial’s annual matchmaking event for the lower middle market. Using Axial’s match technology, each attendee gets up to six curated, 25-minute one-on-one meetings with the deal professionals and private company CEOs most relevant to them. Speed dating, for dealmakers.
CASE STUDY
From online matches to real-world connections
SITUATION
Axial connected M&A advisors, investors, and private company CEOs online, which led Bloomberg to call it “the Tinder of M&A.” Concord was where those online matches finally met in person. Like most financial brands, Axial relied on stock photography, the same polished handshakes every competitor used, which said nothing about the real community behind the platform.
TASK
Build the Concord brand and a full-day attendee experience worth coming back for.
Make the event work harder for Axial’s brand year-round, not just for one day.
Replace generic stock imagery with something real and ownable.
ACTION
1. Built the Concord brand and experience:
Developed the event identity, website, signage, environmental graphics, and print and digital materials.
Supported the event on the day, from check-in to the final meeting.
2. Turned the event into our photo and video studio:
Offered every attendee a free professional headshot to upgrade their Axial profile.
Art directed photography and video of real attendees in real conversations throughout the day.
RESULT
Grew from 165 attendees at the first Concord to 400 at the second, more than doubling in a year.
About 95% of attendees got a professional headshot, upgrading their Axial profiles on the spot.
A library of authentic, royalty-free photography and video of our real community, used across Axial’s brand and marketing for years.
Brand imagery no competitor could copy, because it was our customers, not models.
Phenomenal resource and designer extraordinaire!
Clarissa is very skilled at quickly developing powerful designs across a spectrum of mediums and applications. She has an innate ability to understand the business needs and the desired outcome for the intended audience and hit the nail on the head. She is an extremely hard worker and is never above doing whatever needs to be done to deliver an exceptional outcome. It was a privilege to have worked with Clarissa and any organization would be fortunate to have her on their team!
— Barry M., People Function Strategist, Executive Coach