Reno Tahoe USA promotes trade shows and events at the Reno Tahoe Convention Center. Looking for a way to challenge event coordinators to take a fresh look at the area, it contacted Fixation, a Bethesda, MD-based marketing firm specializing in marketing trade shows and events.

As part of its creative brainstorming, Fixation looks at more than just images and messaging. It looks at how unusual shapes, designs, and formats can be used to grab and hold attention.

For this campaign, which uses the tagline “Reno Tahoe: more than you know,” Fixation chose to deliver the message on an Exploding Page from Red Paper Plane. The Exploding Page is a specially scored page that delivers flat, but “explodes” along a starburst pattern into a much larger size when opened.

“This piece is a lot more than you’d think,” says Rosser Clark, creative director for Fixation. “It starts out small, but it’s huge inside. It mirrors Reno Tahoe’s message nicely.”

Originally, the client had only asked for a flyer to hand out at trade shows. But Fixation knew that in these environments, people are handed hundreds of pieces of paper every day.

“We were thinking, ‘What can we do that is more than a flyer?’” says Clark. “We looked through different samples, and this just jumped out. It starts small, so it fits in your pocket. But as it unfolds, there is room for a lot more information inside. Like Reno Tahoe, it’s more than you’d expect.”

Because this project was very short run (500 pieces), Fixation was initially concerned that it would be cost-prohibitive. “We went into this not knowing whether it was possible to produce a piece like this in a small quantity,” says Clark. “We were surprised at how competitively priced it was — under $5 apiece.”

The client is thrilled with the results. Fixation has now been hired to design a matching envelope so the piece can be used as a mailer, as well.