Pop quiz: What’s the ROI on a conference booth?
If you answered “visibility,” “networking,” or “swag giveaways,” you’re not wrong—but when Gaffin Creative showed up at the Creative Educator Conference, we had something bigger in mind:
Content creation. Community building. And conversations that don’t just live in the moment—they live on your podcast.
As a conference sponsor, we didn’t just roll in with branded pens and pop-up banners. We brought our podcast gear, our strategy brains, and our goal to make every interaction matter. And the result? A booth that became a mini recording studio—and months’ worth of content for The Laylee Emadi Podcast.
Here’s How It Worked
Throughout the event, creative educators stopped by the Gaffin Creative booth to answer thoughtful, curated questions about their businesses, their conference takeaways, and their creative journeys. We also gave attendees the chance to flip the mic and ask us their podcast-related questions.
These recorded moments became the foundation for multiple episodes, including:
🎙 Why Rest Is a Business Strategy: Self-Care for Creative Educators ft. Christi Johnson
In this episode, Christi shares how rest isn’t just a personal need—it’s a strategic one. She goes on to as Laylee for her own insights and experience around rest and incorporating it into her business and life. Having a space for attendees to feel seen and heard, while also getting direct access to the podcast host creates a direct line of communication for listeners.
🎙 Build It With Intention ft. Lauren & Paige
In this episode, Lauren & Paige asked for Laylee’s advice to someone brand new to this space. This gave Laylee a chance to reflect on building a brand and business rooted in purpose. These types of conversations are proof that great content isn’t scripted—it’s sparked by real community and real experiences.
And It Didn’t Stop There
The recordings we captured at the 2024 conference were repurposed to promote the 2025 event, including episodes like:
- 🎙 Are You Ready for the Creative Educator Conference?
- 🎙 What’s the Best Thing About the Creative Educator Conference?
- 🎙 Is the Creative Educator Conference Right for You?
These episodes featured highlights and testimonials from real attendees, recorded on-site and used to show (not just tell) future attendees what makes this conference one of the most energizing and affirming experiences for educators in the creative industry.
A Booth Can Be More Than a Booth
When done intentionally, your event can highlight not only sponsors, but serve as a way to connect with your attendees. It becomes:
- A content hub to record high-quality audio and video
- A conversation starter that draws in attendees and deepens relationships
- A market research tool to understand your audience in real time
- A launchpad for evergreen content like podcast episodes, reels, blog posts, and conference promo assets
Want to Replicate This Strategy?
If you’re planning to attend—or sponsor—an in-person event, here’s how to set yourself up for success:
- Bring your gear (or work with a podcast team that does!)
- Have intentional questions prepared for both interviews and audience Q&As
- Offer value to participants while recording (exposure, a fun takeaway, or follow-up content)
- Batch record and plan out how you’ll repurpose the content
- Think ahead to how these moments can support future launches or events
The Creative Educator Conference reminded us that great content is all around—you just have to hit “record.”And next time, we’ll be ready with the mics again.
