Translating Olympic energy into Partner engagement

Translating Olympic energy into Partner engagement

Translating Olympic energy into Partner engagement

Created @

Created @

Created @

Project overview

Designed to energize and motivate Appfire’s lower-tier partners, this campaign brought together strategy, storytelling, and timely creative direction. I led the design and art direction, building a fully on-brand system rooted in the Appfire design language while introducing an Olympics-inspired visual approach and messaging to coincide with the real event happening at the time. This thematic foundation helped create a sense of momentum, ultimately driving meaningful participation across the partner ecosystem. The campaign exceeded Q3 2024 engagement goals by 10% and generated 30+ net new contacts who previously had little to no contact with Appfire.

Role

Lead Designer

Date

2024

Team

Anna P.

Melissa H.

Robin G.

Skills

Art Direction

Illustration

Web Design

Driving engagement through a weekly system

To encourage deeper participation from lower-tier partners, the campaign was designed as a multi-week engagement program built around a simple but motivating premise: complete weekly activities, earn points, and unlock rewards. Each week introduced a new task revealed directly on the landing page, giving partners a reason to return and keeping momentum steady throughout the campaign's run. To guide partners through the experience, supporting touchpoints were created across multiple channels, including targeted Google ads and weekly email announcements that drove traffic back to the landing page. The final deliverables included a centralized landing page to act as the campaign hub, weekly email communications, Google ad sets, and custom swag items tied to point-based prize tiers. Together, these components formed a cohesive system that made the campaign easy to follow and engaging from start to finish.

Balancing consistency with competitive energy

Crafting the visual direction required striking the right balance between Appfire’s established brand system and the competitive energy of an Olympics-inspired campaign. The work needed to feel unmistakably “Appfire,” yet introduce a sense of momentum and friendly rivalry that supported the campaign’s theme. To achieve this, I used medal tiers as a core visual device for communicating point values. Each weekly activity on the landing page was paired with its medal tier, and the corresponding weekly emails mirrored that same imagery in their hero sections. This created a clear, repeatable visual language that helped partners immediately understand the value of each task and reinforced continuity from week to week. Another key challenge was ensuring the entire system worked across both dark and light mode, an essential requirement of the Appfire brand. Every component, from illustrations to typography and hero graphics, was designed with flexibility in mind. Maintaining contrast, clarity, and consistency across both environments added complexity to the design process, but ultimately resulted in a polished, accessible campaign that felt fully aligned with the core Appfire brand.

Delivering on lasting Partner engagement

The results reinforced the strength of the approach. By leading the design and art direction, I shaped a campaign system that not only met expectations but surpassed them, by exceeding Q3 engagement goals by 10% and generating 30+ net new contacts from partners who had never previously engaged with Appfire. What made the outcome even more meaningful was the sustained momentum that followed. Instead of fading after the campaign concluded, engagement from these targeted partners continued into Q4—a critical outcome given that roughly 80% of Appfire’s revenue is partner-driven. This proved that the campaign didn’t just deliver a one-time lift; it helped strengthen ongoing relationships that directly support the long-term health of the business.

The results reinforced the strength of the approach. By leading the design and art direction, I shaped a campaign system that not only met expectations but surpassed them, by exceeding Q3 engagement goals by 10% and generating 30+ net new contacts from partners who had never previously engaged with Appfire. What made the outcome even more meaningful was the sustained momentum that followed. Instead of fading after the campaign concluded, engagement from these targeted partners continued into Q4—a critical outcome given that roughly 80% of Appfire’s revenue is partner-driven. This proved that the campaign didn’t just deliver a one-time lift; it helped strengthen ongoing relationships that directly support the long-term health of the business.

Credits

Hero Illustration and Sticker Design

Anna P.

Sr., Channel Marketing

Melissa H.

Director, Channel Marketing

Robin G.

/ Shaping the experience behind a premier Partner event

/ Shaping the experience behind a premier Partner event

/ Shaping the experience behind a premier Partner event

Seeking new role

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Small details.

Big impact.

Designed and built with ♥ by me

© 2025 Tom Hayes. All rights reserved.

00:00:00

Seeking new role

Back to top

Small details.

Big impact.

Designed and built with ♥ by me

© 2025 Tom Hayes. All rights reserved.

00:00:00

Seeking new role

Back to top

Small details.

Big impact.

Designed and built with ♥ by me

© 2025 Tom Hayes. All rights reserved.

00:00:00