--- title: "GVA Lighting: A marketing department built from scratch" description: "Culture Cartel built GVA Lighting's internal marketing division, unified its brand and led its presence at Lightfair, the trade show in New York City." canonical: https://www.culturecartel.ca/work/gva-lighting language: en-CA publisher: Culture Cartel --- GVA Lighting # GVA Lighting A marketing department built from scratch, proven at Lightfair New York. - **Client:** GVA Lighting - **Format:** Live - **Industry:** Lighting and manufacturing - **Location:** Johannesburg, South Africa - **Year:** 2015 ![Visitors at the GVA Lighting stand at Lightfair New York, with tall branded towers and coloured light](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_f09387ed20d84b05-1408.webp) Services - Trade shows - Launches - Brand strategy - Brand systems - Consulting Practice - [Experiences](https://www.culturecartel.ca/live) - [Strategy & Brand](https://www.culturecartel.ca/services#brand) [Start a project like this](https://www.culturecartel.ca/start?service=live&ref=gva-lighting) ## The brief GVA Lighting needed two things at once: a marketing department that did not yet exist, and a major presence at Lightfair in New York City. We built a centralised marketing division from the ground up, overhauled the brand’s global communications, and ran Lightfair end to end. ## The insight Fragmented marketing does not survive a global stage. A trade show the size of Lightfair exposes every gap: inconsistent product stories, unclear ownership, last-minute creative. Fix the department and the show gets easier. Use the show as the proving ground and the department earns its place. So we built both in parallel. ## The work ### Marketing infrastructure We designed and scaled a full-service internal marketing division, with the workflows and creative standards needed to drive global growth. ### Lightfair New York We directed the creative and strategic presence at Lightfair, managing logistics, creative direction and lead generation under tight timelines. A stand built from light itself: tall branded towers, open truss and colour on every surface, positioning GVA as a serious global player. ### Brand architecture A unified brand architecture that brought diverse product lines under one identity and professionalised the company’s market position across North America. ### Product launches Launch creative for new product lines, including Color-Stream and the HL4 Highlighter, presented to the industry on the Lightfair stand. ## The result GVA moved from a fragmented approach to a high-performance internal department, capable of managing major international activations under one global identity. Lightfair was the proof. Project highlights ![GVA Lighting trade show stand with white product towers and linear light fixtures](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_9e17eff29f7c4f56-1463.webp) 01 / GVA Lighting trade show stand with white product towers and linear light fixtures ![Two star-shaped award trophies for GVA Color-Stream and HL4 Highlighter lit in colour](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_c74b26154d7042ee-1200.webp) 02 / Two star-shaped award trophies for GVA Color-Stream and HL4 Highlighter lit in colour ![Visitors talking beside an RGB-lit column on the GVA Lighting stand](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_299c585784014aac-1200.webp) 03 / Visitors talking beside an RGB-lit column on the GVA Lighting stand ![Show floor crowd moving around the GVA Lighting stand and its truss structure](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_33fa460baaa94745-1200.webp) 04 / Show floor crowd moving around the GVA Lighting stand and its truss structure ![Corner of the GVA Lighting stand with Color-Stream signage and coloured uplighting](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_76e550a8c91f4a35-1200.webp) 05 / Corner of the GVA Lighting stand with Color-Stream signage and coloured uplighting ![Truss tunnel entrance to the GVA Lighting stand washed in red and white light](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_5d072f7fd6e745af-1437.webp) 06 / Truss tunnel entrance to the GVA Lighting stand washed in red and white light 07 / Walkthrough video of the GVA Lighting stand at Lightfair New York Results described qualitatively. ## Start a project like this. Launches, activations and brand presence people talk about the next day. Tell us where you are and where you need to be. [Start a Project](https://www.culturecartel.ca/start?service=live&ref=gva-lighting) [Ask about this project](https://www.culturecartel.ca/lens?mode=ask&ref=gva-lighting) Related work - [Decorex 25](https://www.culturecartel.ca/work/decorex-25): A 25th anniversary turned from milestone into movement. · Live / Events and Design / Johannesburg / 2025 - [Africa Travel Week](https://www.culturecartel.ca/work/africa-travel-week): The tote bag heard around the industry. · Live / Tourism and Events / Cape Town / 2022 - [BOMAG](https://www.culturecartel.ca/work/bomag): Full marketing for BOMAG Light Equipment, launch through growth. · Brand / Construction Equipment / EMEA [Next project Argo A fintech brand that looks as serious as its backers. Keep scrolling](https://www.culturecartel.ca/work/argo) --- Culture Cartel, 8 The Esplanade, Toronto, ON M5E 0A6. info@culturecartel.ca, +1 647 459 2154. Start a project: https://www.culturecartel.ca/start