Circle of Champions was Waddell & Reed’s flagship professional development event, attended annually by 600–800 independent financial advisors from around the United States. In 2017, the company celebrated its 80th anniversary with a unique edition of Circle to honor company history, recognize advisors’ accomplishments and cast a vision for future growth.
As a member of an internal team that included several senior designers, the task of producing all deliverables for this large event was always shared. However, the function of lead designer could rotate from year to year among team members, depending on availability. I had the privilege of taking lead design responsibilities for this special event — hosted in Kansas City, Missouri; the company’s original hometown.
Executive leadership chose the theme “Engage” for the event. I went to work on early visual concepts; shown in sketches below.
ABOVE: Executives and marketing leadership settled on the visual brand shown here.
With a wink and a nod to the 1980's, the corporate events team demonstrated it usual creativity, requesting a standalone visual theme for one night. All employees and advisors were invited to celebrate at this exclusive concert featuring entertainers Jason Alexander, Huey Lewis & the News and Pat Benatar.
Financial Advisors were shuttled to the corporate headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas, where they received a hero's welcome from home office employees and served a meal featuring Kansas City's famous barbecue.
