2015 Texas Capital Bank Conference Event
At Spire, we believe a well-executed networking event can create more of an impact with a client’s prospective audience than nearly any other marketing vehicle. In 2015, we helped Texas Capital Bank’s Mortgage Finance division produce just such an event at a prominent industry tradeshow.
Our work began with a scouting trip to the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco where the conference was being held. After reviewing available locations, we settled on the historic Oak Room restaurant within the hotel and then began to go about building a theme for the event that would tie in with the masculine tones of the event space. We needed to ensure our invitation was enticing enough to attract attendees to our event over any other receptions going on at the same time. Good attendance was crucial to our client given that they were also using the opportunity to announce the launch of their new Correspondent Lending division. We ultimately decided that a Whiskey tasting would be a welcome deviation from the typical wine-related events popular in San Francisco and a good draw for our target audience.
In the weeks leading up to the event, guests received an oversized faux-wood invitation (matching electronic invitations were also sent) which asked that guests let Texas Capital Bank show them a “Straight Up Good Time” in the Oak Room. For the top tier of prospective guests, we worked with the hotel on room drops: a copper mug tied with an invitation to the event and a whiskey drink recipe in the base. Within the Oak Room, the space was cleared so that we could bring in rustic wood tables, plush leather couches and a whiskey barrel tasting bar where guests could enjoy sampling and learning about various varieties from a Scottish whiskey expert. Custom signage throughout the space, from the entryway and walls to the cocktail tabletops and pillows on the couches, tied in with our invitation and room drops and reinforced the Texas Capital Bank Mortgage Finance brand. The end result was an event that doubled our attendance goals, resulting in excellent word-of-mouth and several substantial new deals for Texas Capital Bank and its new Correspondent Lending Division.
