Dear Gevme,
My name is John, an IT Manager. Our company is about to organize a business event. This is the first event I’m going to plan and organize from the scratch. We already have an innovative SaaS solution and a list of famous speakers. People who are in the know will come for this event.
Do we really need all these “branding” stuff? If the answer is yes, could you, please, suggest how I should brand my event?
Thanks!
Best Regards,
John
Dear John,
Thank you for the great question! It’ll be a big pleasure for me to help you and I’m going to write a detailed response here.
Let’s figure this “branding” stuff out! In this article, we’ll talk about the necessity of branding for events and the useful how-tos.
Branding is an Event’s Dressing
Wiki says, “The Pareto principle (also known as the 80/20 rule, the law of the vital few, or the principle of factor sparsity) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.”
Branding is the Pareto’s “20” for organizing an event. Work hard on it and you’ll get your “80”! Sure, you can rely on a product’s excellence or your speakers alone, but branding is a complementary with your event. It makes it perfect. Why not to try to squeeze all the juices from a “lemon”? 🙂
To start, let’s find out what “branding” mean. It might be confusing. Is it a logo? A color palette on a website? All these and even more!
A brand is a sign/symbol/words/unique design or a combination of these, that helps harried consumers in complex and crowded marketplace, by standing for certain value and benefits. Over time, the brand will become associated with quality, credibility and customers’ satisfaction.
7 Steps to Brand Your Event
1. Create a Brand for Event
Do you have a clear brand promise in your organization? Does it sound as confident as Coors Light’s “The World’s Most Refreshing Beer”? Is it as inspirational as Apple’s “Think different”? Do people have well-established associations with your event? Unsure? There is no need to worry. There are four traits all well-branded events have in common:
- Unique
- Meaningful
- Authentic
- Consistent
Use them and create your own.
2. Use a Logo as a Part of Decor
There are many branding ideas for events. Using a logo as “a part of an interior” is one of them. Just keep in mind that you have to stick to the concept. Here are some ideas you might like:
- Statement wall
- Illuminated logo
- Dance floor
- Lounge and break areas
- Sponsor backdrop
- Lighting
- Bunting
- Tablecloths
- Napkins
- Balloons
Brainstorm! Think out of the box! Be creative!
3. Brand A Badge (Lanyard)
A badge (or a lanyard) without a logo is useless. If you’re interested in learning how to make your badge awesome, check out the “10 Things to Avoid In the Structure of Your Name Badge” to not make common mistakes in your badge design.
4. Add Branding to Tasty Treats
Foodies will love it! Сupcakes, chocolate candies, сakes, marshmallows, cookies, ice cream. Fortunately, you can brand just about anything edible. Sugar-free? No problem. Apples, bananas, carrot… Simply glue branded stickers on it. Voilà!
Beverages are good too. Customized beverage labels could help you with this. Or maybe stir sticks and/or cups with a logo for hot drinks?
5. All Small Things Could Be Branded Too
- T-shirts
- Pens
- Notepads
- Stickers
- Paper bags
- Event handouts
All these small stuff are like cherries on top of cakes. Finishing touch!
6. Create a Successful Event Website
Go online. You have to dress up your website as well. There are too many things to take into consideration for building a truly successful event website.
Shortcut:
- Key factors of successful event website
- Understanding your customers
- Defining goals
- Prototyping wireframes
- How to create great web design for Event Web Site
- Popular mistakes to avoid in web design for Event Web Site
- Elements of good Event Website
- CMS or Custom Web Development
- Examples of great Event Websites
7. Make your Event’s Branding Social Media Friendly
All of us want our events to go viral. Likes, shares, hashtags, you name it They could make your brand stronger and keep competitors on their toes.
Don’t forget to:
- Create hashtag
- Use social media prop
Conclusion
At the beginning of the blog post, we spoke about the 80/20 rule. So, why do we need to work that hard on our “20”? What is the promising “80”?
Benefits — Why is the branding of your event important
First of all, brand awareness. A brand makes your event recognizable. It helps to create customer loyalty, emotional and mental connections. This will also help make the event last after it’s over, being easily recognized in photos taken.
Indeed, one of the main purposes of branding is to attract a bigger crowd to your event.
Secondly — differentiation. It sets you apart from the crowd, making you stand out from tens or thousands of similar events. In today’s global market, this is critical.
Third one — a strong brand is a promise to your customers. Your brand represents you. You are the brand. Your event is the brand. A brand is a promise. Promises build expectations. The right expectations are the brand owner’s everything. People are ready to invest their money and time for something they feel valuable. Make your brand’s promise clear and inspirational!
Popular mistakes to avoid
- Putting branding as a low priority
- Making audience misunderstand your message
- Brand’s inconsistency
- Duplicated ideas from other brands
- Skimping on the budget
Cordially,
GEVME
P.S. If this article was helpful, please, do me a favor, press the like and share buttons! Get started with Gevme and match your branding to the target event.
