Defenders

Since its inception in 1998, DEFENDERS has emerged as the only Authorized Premier Provider for the home security brand ADT. DEFENDERS has 2,000 team members in 48 states with over 140 branch offices nationwide. In recent years, DEFENDERS has been recognized nationally for its growth on the Inc. 5000 List of Fastest Growing Companies, as well as one of Indianapolis’ fastest-growing private companies.

DEFENDERS focuses not only on providing industry-leading defense mechanisms for home security, but also a higher purpose through faith, self-improvement, and giving back to the community. In fact, their mantra is “Businesses don’t grow, people do.” This is why each year DEFENDERS hosts an annual leadership convention in which the entire purpose is a day of self-improvement, where team members are encouraged to work harder on themselves than they do on their job. For their 2015 convention, DEFENDERS set out to gather nearly 2,000 attendees together, and soon realized how important it was for them to have a print communications partner they could rely on with the expertise around tradeshow marketing and print.

The Challenge

• DEFENDERS needed a reliable, creative partner to produce signage within space and venue limitations
• DEFENDERS was rolling out a new brand at the convention so they needed a print partner that was flexible with planning, timing and ongoing print changes
• DEFENDERS kept registrations open leading up to the event, so they additionally needed a partner that could accommodate print and mailing needs around last-minute registrations
• DEFENDERS needed to assemble and deliver packages to over 1000 people in 17 different locations attending the event by simulcast

The Fineline Solution

Fineline’s Senior Account Manager, Rich Mathiesen, made sure to spend time on-site at the event venue in order to make recommendations on signage placement, foot traffic and the best print concepts that would fit within the space. As Fineline helped DEFENDERS assess venue solutions, they were especially helpful with alternative signage when they were posed with the problem of not being able to remove permanent posters. Fineline came up with a creative solution to have slim line hanging banners covering the existing signage.

As with many events, timing and logistics are both key. DEFENDERS needed a partner that could independently manage incoming registrations for on-site materials such as name tags and programs, along with the assembly and mailing of materials to off-site attendees, who participated via simulcast. Fineline’s Senior Account Manager & Client Service Team consulted with DEFENDERS to stay on top of volume and incoming registrations leading up to the event. Fineline was also open and willing to accommodate assembly and mailing logistics of 1,000 packages across 17 different locations.

Additionally, Fineline supported the DEFENDERS National Leadership Conference with the following items:

• Signage
• Printed programs
• All marketplace materials
• Name tags
• Convention journals
• Payroll deductions forms for Wish for our Heroes Program
• Lanyards
• Pop-up banners
• Hanging banners

The Outcome

DEFENDERS was able to produce a successful leadership conference with nearly 2000 attendees. Their post-event survey showed that 80% of attendees rated the conference as good to excellent. The event was a seamless experience that was well thought-out and logistically marked. Every package made it with the correct materials and on time to the appropriate location with all of DEFENDERS’ 1000 simulcast attendees.

“Our experience with Fineline was awesome! Most importantly we didn’t have to worry about things being done the right way and on time, when we were busy with other event projects. We had a lot of confidence in them, and Fineline exceeded our expectations.”

- Joi Riley, Director of Team Member Engagement at DEFENDERS.