Rebranding ATD's Awards Portfolio
I led the rebrand of three established award programs and the launch of a fourth, ATD’s first in the Middle East. Applications went from declining to 125% of goal.
MY ROLE
Led brand strategy, creative direction, and launch
ORGANIZATION
Association for Talent Development (ATD)
SCOPE
4 award programs:
3 rebranded, 1 launched
RESULTS
125%
of application goal
Background
The Association for Talent Development (ATD) is the world’s largest learning and development association, with 30,000+ members. ATD provides L&D leaders, trainers, facilitators, and instructional designers with tools and resources through events, research, certification, and educational programs to help them train and upskill their workforce.
The Challenge
Fewer applications and a brand that was hard to follow.
ATD’s award portfolio is comprised of four programs that recognize excellence in talent development mainly in the B2B space:
- BEST Awards
- Excellence of Practice Awards (EIP)
- Advancing Talent Development Awards
- Middle East Excellence in Talent Development Awards
By the time I joined the B2B marketing team, the programs were underperforming with a year over year decline in application submission rates. The visual identity across the programs was inconsistent, the messaging was confusing, and applicants were often unclear about what each award actually honored. The Advancing Talent Development Awards didn’t have its own logo and instead shared the generic ATD Awards logo, which made it nearly invisible next to the others.
These weren’t just design problems, they were brand strategy problems that were directly affecting submission rates and business results.
What I Did
Unify, differentiate, expand.
01
Positioning
- Clarified each award’s value proposition based on audience research.
- Wrote a distinct tagline and messaging framework for each program.
- Kept each program distinct while keeping the portfolio connected.
02
Creative Direction
- Directed the first-ever logo for the Advancing Talent Development Awards.
- Redesigned each award brand look, ad graphics, one-pagers, and website heroes for clarity.
- Reviewed every asset for brand consistency.
03
Web
- Rebuilt all four programs on one consistent structure.
- Reorganized content so that requirements and value were easy to find.
- Added photos from past ceremonies so applicants could picture themselves and their team on that stage.
04
- Rewrote emails to be shorter, more direct, and more visual.
- Added storytelling to build emotional connection and urgency.
- Sent more emails across the application cycle.
05
Campaigns
- Built stronger CRM segments to reach more of the right people in campaigns.
- Ran paid social ads targeting enterprise L&D leaders and managers.
- Cross-promoted enterprise products alongside the awards.
06
New Middle East Awards Launch
- Led go-to-market for ATD’s first regional award program.
- Owned brand positioning, campaign creative, and messaging with the product team.
- Launched with 14 award categories and a press release picked up by regional news outlets.
The Work
The new program pages.
All four program pages now follow the same structure. Here is the BEST Awards page:
1. One structure for all four
A shared menu links every program, so applicants can compare awards and move between them.
2. Who it's for, up front
The first thing on the page says what the award recognizes and who should apply.
3. Requirements in one click
Tabs for the submission process, why apply, application tips, and criteria to win.
4. Photos from past ceremonies
Real winners on stage, so applicants can picture themselves there.
Program identities.
Below are the new visual designs for each award program, each with a distinct but cohesive look.
Campaign ads.
Below are the ads that were used during the award submission cycle. Each one led with a single tagline and one clear call to action.
The Result
Applications stopped declining and finished 25% above goal. Each program is now easy to tell apart, and the portfolio looks and reads like a set of prestigious awards.