Case Study
Avalara FUSE
A partner summit built around one message: partners were Avalara's most important relationship.
A partner summit built around one message: partners were Avalara's most important relationship.
Avalara needed to launch a new partner program. A press release wasn't going to cut it. They needed an experience that made 250 partners feel like the most important people in the room — and moved real deals while they were there.
We started with research: interviewing over two dozen executives who managed partner relationships. The insight was clear. Partners didn't want another conference. They wanted access, candor, and the feeling of being genuinely valued.
The name came from the strategic core: not Avalara and its partners, but us. One ecosystem, fused together.
We built an identity around that idea — palette, patterns, iconography, spatial language — distinct enough to feel like its own world, coherent enough to live inside Avalara's brand. The system drew directly from the venue: The Boca Raton's pink facades, tropical foliage, art deco details. We designed into the space rather than against it.
The Fireside Theater was a custom-built 40-seat venue inside the main conference space. Speakers gave 25-minute presentations, then stayed for candid, off-the-record conversation.
Even with competitors in the room, executives talked openly about challenges, strategy, and lessons learned. Research shows four out of five event attendees rate "interacting with experts" as their most valuable networking interaction. The Fireside Theater was built specifically to deliver that.
Every decision pushed against conference defaults. The main stage was crescent-shaped, eye-level with the audience, with runways extending into the crowd. We didn't schedule relationship-building. We built conditions where it happened on its own.
A visual identity and spatial design that hit the moment you walked in
Clear messaging and purpose-built spaces where partners could explore the program and ask real questions
Unexpected moments — the Fireside Theater, the concierge partner services, the pre-event gift box
Spaces where business conversations could actually happen — not forced, just available
The experience started before anyone arrived. Pre-event gift boxes, badges, lanyards, shirts — all designed as part of the same system as the venue. Not afterthoughts. Not vendor defaults.
Naming, visual system, stage design, environmental graphics, signage & wayfinding
Keynote decks, speaker templates, motion graphics, video sequences
Badges, lanyards, swag, programs, pre-event gift box
Vendor management, fabrication oversight, on-site creative direction
Delivered as Creative Director at Avalara.
"Many partner participants, who attend as many as four conferences a month, told Avalara's event staff that FUSE was their favorite partner event they had ever attended."
Avalara expected most deals to close after the event. Instead, partners signed millions in contracts on-site — covering the full event investment before anyone flew home.