MOO x The Lead Summit: when the event comes home with you

The most memorable events don’t end when the final keynote speaker session wraps up. If an event is done right, you leave feeling more inspired and motivated than when you arrived, with new ideas, new connections and plenty to take back to work.

At The Lead Summit, senior leaders from across retail and branding came together to explore this year’s theme, “The New Frontier”, which sparked conversations around AI and the future of the industry. Aside from all the tech talk, The Lead Summit wanted the event to feel distinctly human – built around genuine connection. The Lead Summit partnered with MOO to create premium, branded Tumblers, Debossed Hardcover Notebooks, Twist Pens and Postcards, that attendees would actually want to take home. 

Partnering with The Lead Summit just made sense. Like MOO, The Lead Summit is obsessed with offering its audience the best experience possible, while making sure quality is consistently top of mind. Vice President of Operations and Experience at The Lead Summit, Caitlyn Boyle shared: “From item selection to design to receiving the final products, the MOO team ensured the process was more or less effortless on our end! And working with a partner who values the same quality, aesthetic and, frankly, attendee experience, means a great deal to me and my entire team.”

Some experiences just can’t be automated 

There’s no real substitute for being in the room. 

Every year, The Lead Summit gives industry leaders a reason to step away from their desks, share ideas and build relationships with people facing the same opportunities and challenges.

Caitlyn Boyle told us: “The Lead Summit and other events we curate are incredibly important to our audience. They give our community the chance to get away from their desks and discuss their work and the industry with like-minded professionals.”

Raising the bar on event merch

Understanding your audience and their needs is a game changer for events of this scale, which means razor-sharp attention to detail is a must. Caitlyn added: “tangible, high quality gifts make attendees feel special. Especially if the gift is useful and fulfills a need.”

In an industry often associated with throwaway merch, The Lead Summit takes a different approach: “For years, the events industry veered towards low-cost giveaways and quantity over quality. But at The Lead Summit, we believe in quality over quantity, which is why the partnership with MOO was such a good fit,” Caitlyn said.

“At The Lead Summit, we believe in quality over quantity, which is why the partnership with MOO was such a good fit”

For Caitlyn, what people take home can shape how they remember the experience itself. “The quality of gifted items an event chooses to offer directly impacts an attendee’s perception of the quality of the event,” she says.

In other words: if you’re going to give someone something, make it something they’ll actually keep.

Getting every detail right

The MOO team wanted the products to be a reflection of the conference and its theme as much as possible. 

MOO designer Ricky Perrotta shared: “After getting the brief, I immediately went to their website to begin research on the conference. I was expecting a pretty standard tech-based design, but was pleasantly surprised to discover “The New Frontier” theme throughout their website. I knew right away I wanted to carry this style throughout their products.” Ricky explored everything from simple logo treatments to more western-inspired illustrations. “I’m glad they decided to have fun with their products and I am happy with how everything turned out,” Ricky said.   

Keeping the event alive

The real test of event merch comes after everyone goes home. 

The best pieces become part of everyday life, the Notebook that ends up in meetings, the Tumbler that lives on a desk, the Pen someone keeps reaching for.

“We know attendees leave our events with useful learnings they can apply to their professional work and new relationships they can foster and grow,” Caitlyn says. “A tangible takeaway serves as a reminder of these intangible benefits.” 

If you’d like to raise the bar on your event merch, fill out the form below and a member of our team will be in touch soon.