Newtopia Now: 6 Weeks to Replace a 40-Year Brand
With just a little over a month until public launch, mdg helped New Hope Network replace a decades-old event identity with an entirely new brand built for the evolving CPG industry.
Case Study
- New event brand delivered in six weeks, including name, positioning and launch assets
- Over 7,000 attendees and 560 exhibiting brands attended the inaugural event
- Brand intentionally differentiated from traditional CPG trade shows and events
Client
New Hope Network / Informa Markets — Newtopia Now
Challenge
Natural Products Expo East had served the consumer-packaged goods (CPG) industry for decades, but the event was losing steam in a changing market. Buyer expectations were evolving, revenue had stagnated and the brand increasingly overlapped with its flagship counterpart. New Hope Network made the decision to retire the legacy identity entirely and introduce a completely fresh event brand — with only six weeks until the public announcement, and an immediate need to start selling sponsorships. The goal: Create something that doesn’t look or sound like anything else in the CPG world.
Approach
mdg immediately embedded with the New Hope Network team and facilitated a stakeholder workshop focused on audience priorities, market positioning and the long-term vision for the new event. That session established the strategic foundation for the brand and accelerated decision-making across teams. From there, mdg developed the Newtopia Now name, messaging and visual identity while building a coordinated rollout across PR, email, social and sponsor communications. Because sponsorship sales and brand launch timing were tightly connected, the strategy and commercial rollout had to move in lockstep from day one.
Results
Newtopia Now launched on time with a complete identity system, positioning framework and launch toolkit in place. The inaugural event attracted more than 7,000 attendees and 560 exhibiting brands, including 180 companies new to trade shows. The new brand established a distinct presence within the CPG industry while creating a stronger foundation for future event development and community-building efforts.
Frequently asked questions
Timelines depend on stakeholder alignment, scope and approval processes, but event marketing experts recommend a minimum of 12 weeks for brand development and six months for marketing surrounding the launch. However, accelerated timelines are possible with a structured decision-making framework—for Newtopia Now, mdg developed and launched the new event brand within six weeks.
Differentiation comes from identifying unmet audience expectations and developing a brand experience that clearly separates the event from competitors and category norms. For Newtopia Now, that meant intentionally creating a brand that looked and sounded unlike traditional CPG trade shows.
Stakeholder alignment helps accelerate decision-making and reduce friction during fast-moving brand initiatives. Early workshops for Newtopia Now created shared clarity around audience priorities, positioning and launch direction.
Successful transitions require coordinated messaging, clear audience communication and operational alignment across teams. For Newtopia Now, brand development and launch planning were executed simultaneously to support both public rollout and sponsor sales efforts.
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