Storytelling & Messaging
Convention Theme Rollout
Objective
ALPFA’s National Convention themes needed to create emotional buy-in across highly diverse internal and external audiences: C-suite leaders, individual contributors, chapter leaders, and members—while remaining aligned with ALPFA’s long-term 2030 vision and national brand.
Strategic Approach
I approached each Convention theme as a narrative system. The goal was to create shared language that leadership communications, chapter activations, and member-facing content could all use consistently, while still leaving room for local interpretation and creative expression.
Insight
A convention theme cannot be abstract. For it to work at scale, it must be a true reflection of the brand and flexible enough to live across formats—from a social caption to an on-site installation, a workshop title, or a long-form article. Most importantly, every audience segment needs to see themselves in the theme, regardless of career stage or role. If people can’t say it easily, embody it, and adapt it, it will not stick.
Results
I led the development and rollout of a theme system used across 5 National Conventions, reaching about 6,000 attendees and 47 professional chapters and 200 student chapters.
Shared language from day one reduced confusion across national teams and chapters.
Grounding each theme in the long-term vision led to faster, more consistent adoption at national and local touchpoints.
Chapter leaders activated the theme confidently in their own communities.
Key deliverables:
A core narrative explainer defining the theme’s meaning, purpose, and connection to ALPFA’s organizational vision
A comprehensive messaging framework outlining tone, voice, audience considerations, a unifying one-liner, and key message types
Internal alignment documents for national staff and executive leadership
Chapter-facing messaging guidance designed to support local activation and external engagement
Presentation decks and training videos focused on how to communicate both the Convention theme and the broader ALPFA brand
Ongoing editorial guidance to ensure consistency across digital channels, on-site experiences, and programmatic content
Why it matters for you
The same approach works for any organization with one message and many audiences: members, chapters, sponsors, and board.
