Knowing the power of branding is key to the success of a business.
It’s what helps to give your company a unique feel and atmosphere that can’t be found in any other brand.
When done right, branding allows you to stand out from any competitors and be recognized by your audiences without needing to directly call out your name or explain your products and services.
One area of branding that might get overlooked is event branding. It brings some of the important elements of branding into events to create cohesion, recognizability, and a consistent brand presence.
In this article, we’ll discuss what event branding is, how it can help your business create better live events, and go through some of the elements, ideas, and tips that can help your event branding improve.
What is Event Branding?
Branding in general is the process of creating cohesive advertising, messaging, and designs that help a brand be recognized and remain distinct from any other business.
It’s made up of many different elements, including:
- Logos
- Websites
- Apps
- Graphics Designs
- Imagery
- Colors
- Partnerships
- Marketing and Sales Materials
- Products
- Messaging
Event branding takes it one step further and specializes the branded elements for live events, whether they are in virtual, in-person, or hybrid formats.
All of the elements of branding come together to create a unique yet cohesive experience for audiences.
That means that the event should be able to stand on its own while still connecting audiences with the company sponsoring and running the event.
As you can see, you are going to need a lot of products and pieces, to deliver all this work, you’re probably going to need some help with the writing pieces. What about outsourcing and counting on ghostwriters?
Why is Event Branding Important?
While branding might have seemed like an optional choice for companies in the past, today’s business world tells us that branding is essential to success and brand visibility.
Creating a great brand experience across different platforms and in-person is important for garnering the attention of younger audiences.
When you can create a rewarding, memorable experience for audiences, it leads to a stronger connection between your customers and your brand. It also helps to:
- Create compelling experiences.
- Support better marketing and advertising.
- Build trust in the industry.
- Improve employee satisfaction.
- Bring in new customers and audiences.
- Increase the value of your business.
- Improve brand recognition.
What are the 4 Elements of an Event Brand?
There are many different individual elements that make up event branding.
In order to have a truly successful event, it’s important for each of these elements to work cohesively together to create an experience that your audiences will enjoy, no matter what type of event you have.
Let’s go through some of the elements you should consider in your event branding strategy.
1. Logo
While your brand has a logo of its own, your event logo should be unique.
It might have some similar elements to your business logo, like similar colors or shapes, but should be a recognizable stamp for the event itself.
This is one of the main branding points for the event, so take your time in creating a logo that works.
2. Design
The colors, graphics, and fonts that you use in your event branding are another important element for success.
Having a branding guide for the event can help to keep all of these design elements consistent across different platforms, brands, and mediums.
After all, you don’t want to have some colors in your print advertising and different colors on your website.
3. Theme
The theme of your event is often expressed as a tagline or subtitle to the event title itself.
It helps you communicate the goals and purpose of the event in just a few words, which can help bring in new audiences without people having to independently research what the event is first.
4. Messaging
The messaging and naming of your event is a final element that should be a part of your event branding strategy.
Think about the tone you want to set for the event. Is it a high-class symposium? Or an educational seminar?
The type of wording and messaging you use in your event messaging helps to further express the end goal and purpose of the event.
5 Event Branding Ideas
Now that you know what types of elements should be included in your event branding, let’s take a look at some of the different platforms, channels, and products that you can use to promote your event to audiences.
The goal of any organization is to have a highly attended event, and using your branding elements in marketing and promotion helps to create the event cohesion before the first speaker comes out on the stage.
1. Update Your Website
The website is the hub for events, so making sure your website is updated to promote upcoming events is key to the success of your marketing.
Having a banner or notification pop up that alerts new visitors to the upcoming event helps encourage people to sign up and improves the recognition of the event.
2. Create a Marketing Plan
Your event branding needs to be supported by a marketing plan that is multifaceted and helps to promote your event across different channels.
That includes emails, hashtags, social media posts, blog CTAs, event apps, and more. Thinking through each step of the marketing can help increase your event reach.
3. Design Memorable Elements
As mentioned earlier, the design element of your event branding is important to maintaining consistency and creating great visual elements that your audiences enjoy.
That includes colors, logos, photography, graphics, posters, booth design, and other visual materials. Keeping these interesting yet cohesive is important for event promotion.
4. Give Out Great Swag
Even if you are hosting a virtual event, you want to think about having some free swag or merchandise that you can send to attendees.
You can consider everything from branded pens and shirts to digital gift cards, free software trials, and donations. Think about what is relevant to your brand and will delight audiences.
5. Utilize the Power of Video Marketing
All digital marketers should understand the power of video marketing.
Using it in connection with events helps to leverage the impact of video marketing with the experience of your event.
You can promote event highlights, behind-the-scenes details, and speakers with video before, during, and after the event.
5 Tips for Creating a Stand-Out Event Brand
Knowing how to create a great event brand is an important part of being a digital marketer.
These tips and best practices will help you create an event that resonates with audiences, increases your brand visibility, and improves the relationships you have with customers before, during, and after the event.
1. Understand Your Audience
The event branding elements you choose need to have a connection with your audience in order to be impactful.
Therefore, you need to understand who your audience is in order to connect with them.
Do some research to think about the demographics and goals of your audience and start your event branding from that point.
2. Plan the Intent of the Event
It’s also important to know what your event goals and intentions are before you start creating your event branding.
Think about what you want audiences to walk away with after the end of the event.
Are you aiming for fun, technical, or educational? What types of messaging will help promote these intentions?
3. Develop Brand Elements
Not every event will need the same brand elements in the event branding.
Think about what makes sense for the event you are hosting and how those elements will further the intention and the goal of the event itself.
For example, an educational event might want to use more muted colors and fonts than a fun event would.
4. Create Cohesion between the Event and the Business
While you want the branded elements of your event to stand on their own, you still want to create a connection between the event and your organization.
Think about how you can combine the two throughout the event branding and consider the ways in which they can work together.
5. Get Feedback from Audiences
It’s always important to get feedback from audiences to see how they enjoyed the event.
Sending out surveys after the event can help you learn if the event branding worked for the event or if there is room for improvement before your organization’s next big live event.
Wrap Up
Event branding is an important part of creating experiences that resonate with audiences and bring them back for more.
When done correctly, event branding creates a strong connection between the event and your brand in the minds of audiences, which encourages them to seek out your products and services even after the event has ended.
No matter what kind of event you hold, event branding is important. As the world continues to adjust between at-home and in-person, the rise of hybrid events has led to a new era in event planning.
To learn more, check out our blog on hybrid events.
There you’ll discover what a hybrid event is, what types of benefits it can bring to your organization, and how you can start holding hybrid events for your brand!
