When planning an event, many of us focus on the bigger details, such as location, seating, food, entertainment, and safety. Branding the event is often considered as an afterthought, yet, exposure for your brand is likely the entire point of having the event in the first place. A major goal for your business or organization when creating an event is to create a look and feel for the event that is consistent with your brand message and that will make it memorable enough for people to want to come back. When doing so, you also want to be certain to utilize all the available channels for getting your name, logo, and message seen and heard by those attending the event so they know who or what organization is involved. Those channels can be visual and auditory and include things that happen before, during and after the event.
When it comes to promoting an event or raising awareness, branding is the key. Just like you know people are talking about “The Games of Thrones” when you hear the phrase “Winter is Coming,” when you attend an event, your mind generates shortcuts or snapshots that help you recall the events and experiences. That’s what event branding is all about. You want to create a variety of snapshots that will stick with your guests to create a lasting impression. If you want to learn how to plan an event with consistent and effective branding, make sure you read this guide thoroughly.
What is event branding?
Event branding is an assortment of fundamentals that come together to form the image of an event. Branding is like an inimitable face for event planners. The more identifiable it is, the more people will notice it. All in all, event branding captures the essence of an organization’s brand and provides it with its proper due in the event marketing campaigns.
Event branding can be done in 2 ways – through digital branding and on-site branding.
Why brand your event?
Event branding is critical to the growth of your event as well as your business. Put simply, representing your brand in the best possible manner and shaping how your partners, attendees, and sponsors reminisce it can help a great deal in increasing customer base and revenue.
Let’s look at some interesting numbers to see why branding matters!
- According to the University of Loyola, Maryland, a signature color or theme can improve brand recognition by 80%.
- 45% of a brand’s image is a reflection of what it says and how.
- 60% of millennials in the U.S. expect consistent experiences when dealing with brands in-store, online, or through the phone.
A classic example of solid branding
When you think of Apple, what are the first things that come to mind? Creative, streamlined, modern, and unique, right? That’s because Apple is an excellent example of a business that has a great brand and a solid presence in the market. Not only this but Apple also does a fantastic job of maintaining their branding across digital media, in retail stores, during their events worldwide, and in their products.
Digital event branding
While live events are trending big time, the most significant reason behind their popularity is that they work well in tandem with digital marketing strategies such as event websites, event social media, event mobile app, and event-related email marketing campaigns. All these digital marketing assets help a great deal in communicating the branding of your organization.
Website
Your event website is indeed the first touchpoint for possible attendees or potential customers of your brand. So, when creating your event’s website, you should take the following things into consideration:
- Fonts
- Colors
- Logos
- Theme
Your event website should be engaging, interactive, and should have a minimalistic design. If you’re planning to use an event management platform for creating the website, make sure you have a plethora of custom fonts, colors, and other options. Alternately, you can also look for event website templates on the internet and customize them to suit your brand.
Once you’ve planned the overall design of your event website, you should also brand the URL of your event website or create a custom (white label) URL. If you’re using website designing solution such as WordPress, you’ll automatically get the option to customize the URL.
Over 75% of B2C companies use email marketing to promote their events. Yes, that’s right. Email marketing provides you with the opportunity to directly interact with potential attendees, speakers, event sponsors, and partners. Once they register for your event, you can maintain communication with them through email. So, just like your event website, your event email marketing designs should also showcase your brand’s fonts, colors, logos, and theme.
Instead of creating designs from scratch every time, you can use templates to make minor tweaks for different target audiences.
Social Media
If social media is part of your event branding plan, you need to stay on top of some important things such as an event hashtag and social media page. On the one hand, an event hashtag makes it convenient for people to discuss your event, and on the other hand an event social media page provides potential attendees with detailed information about your event.
On-site event branding
On-site event branding is more effective than digital event branding as it involves person-to-person interaction. While your event booth, posters, and banners are a few places where you can excel when it comes to on-site event branding, the real deal is your overall event branding and design.
Branded Sidewalk Barriers/ barricades
You can shout it out loud and clear for your brand with branded sidewalk barriers and barricades. They can be used for both indoor and outdoor application. By using sidewalk barriers and barricades, you can create a safe, peaceful environment for the attendees or potential customers and promote your brand at the same time. Not only this but you can also set your brand apart from your competitors by installing branded sidewalk barriers and barricades at your booth.
Custom vehicle wraps
Research shows that vehicle wraps are one of the most cost-effective advertising methods for event branding. A single branded vehicle can provide you with 30000 to 80000 views in one day. Custom vehicle wraps are particularly useful for reaching the event audience. The designs are versatile, and you have a plethora of options to pick from. And, the best thing is that you don’t need to compete with other organizations for advertising space or pay more.
Banners/ Large Digital Prints
A less technical solution for branding your event is reliable banners and large digital prints. You can strategically place them on the event entrance and exit to remind your attendees of your brand. Posters, in particular, are excellent for promoting events.
Photo Backdrops/ Step and Repeat Banners
Photo backdrops or event step and repeat banners feature the names of event
sponsors as well as logos in a repeat pattern. They’re highly suitable for red
carpet arrivals, restaurant openings, and corporate events. You can use a
colorful and sharp photo backdrop or step and repeat banner with your brand
logo to draw potential customers during an event.
Digital Message Signs
Using digital message signs, you can effectively communicate with your audience during an event. You can easily update the information on the signage and project your message to the right audience. Eye-catching digital signs with captivating content signs draw customers’ attention.
New York City Signs & Awnings can help you brand your event
No matter what your event or venue, New York City Signs & Awnings can help you plan professional branding for your event. From branded sidewalk fencing and large format printed banners to digital message boards, we have the solutions at hand. Our graphics team can work up designs for you to review and we can get your products manufactured, delivered, and installed professionally in time for your event. Call us today or request a quote online now.
