Why Is Event Branding Important? Learn What You Need to Know to Brand Your Next Live or Virtual Event
Whether you’re hosting an event of your own or you are the keynote speaker at a big event, you want to share your brand in the best way. There are so many things to think about when you brand your event. Here are a few important things to think about when you get started.
Why Should You Brand Your Event?
It’s simple really: you should brand your event to make it recognizable. You’ve heard of San Diego Comic-Con, the Country Music Awards (CMAs) and the Super Bowl; right? They all started small and grew over time with their brand evolving right along with them. The brand that you portray helps develop a connection between you and the attendees, both mentally and emotionally. The logo, the decor, the signage, the digital marketing, the #hashtag — these are all pieces of the brand identity and these pieces help create loyalty as you market your event to your audience.
Your brand matters! When you properly present your brand to the public, you are shaping how attendees, sponsors, and other event partners see your event. It is incredibly important to ensure your brand is clear, credible, and memorable.
When Should You Start Branding Your Event?
You want to start branding your event when people are spending their hard-earned money to pay to attend your event or when they take time out of their day to attend. Hint: This means you should ALWAYS brand your event.
How Do You Brand Your Event?
When you brand your event, start with the basics. What is your brand name? What is your message? What visuals represent your event? Develop a creative, unique, yet identifiable name and logo with colors to compliment your event message. This is important for both virtual and in-person events! It also helps to have your biggest supporters, including both fans and sponsors, start sharing these branded pieces as soon as you are ready to launch.
Once you have your basics covered, take things a step farther. Move your event’s brand images and wording to your postcards, designer invitations, website, social media and whatever other types of media avenues you will be using to attract your target audience, especially if you’re marketing to a virtual audience. On the digital side of things, be sure to take time to get creative and build the custom header graphics for your Facebook events, design unique highlights covers on Instagram, and use a consistent colors and logos in your email marketing. You can also opt for white labeling your registration portal and virtual event platform to really impress your attendees. Think outside the box with what you can do with your brand digitally!
Create content for your event with your event’s brand, like folders, pens, name badges, signage and other promotional items. Don’t waste money on “swag” that holds no purpose for attendees. If you’re up for being creative with your budget, consider t-shirts, custom cookies or cupcakes on your tables, logo’ed gobo lights for the venue, or a custom sponsor and brand backdrop for your stage or registration area. These tangible items are typically low-cost, too.
Always Be Branding
Use your event branding efforts to communicate your message and build the relationship between your attendees and your event before, during and after your event. Make your event branding marketing efforts work for you to help grow your event’s brand so you will build an event that will grow in future.