Event branding is a necessity, not a luxury
Just as your company or business needs a clear, distinct brand to effectively communicate your reason for being and the value your products or services bring to consumers – and a brand identity for all that’s tangible – so is the case for your events.
Every event – from trade shows and sales meetings to conferences and training sessions – must have its own unique brand identity (also called event branding) in order to make a real connection with your audience and generate interest and excitement. This identity helps drive the direction for your marketing materials, which communicate:
- Purpose: Why is the event being held and what is being covered?
- Legitimacy: What qualifies you to hold such an event and what are the credentials and experience of the speakers?
- Value: How will the event benefit attendees in their career, business or life?
It’s one thing to present your event through words and descriptions, but those words can only do so much without powerful and compelling visuals to accompany them and bring them to life.
You can only be taken as seriously as you position yourself, so you don’t want to miss this perfect opportunity to showcase all that makes your event a must-attend experience.
Event branding is more than just a pretty face
People are wired to notice and take in visuals first and then words. So much so that our brain processes visuals 60,000 times faster than text. With an overwhelming statistic like that, you want to ensure that all your event-related elements are graphically rich, eye-catching, and enticing.
Event branding introduces the beauty factor into your event graphics, but it offers so much more than that. It:
- Gives greater meaning: By tying everything together in a visually appealing and powerful way
- Communicates in a way words can’t: Through icons, charts, graphs, maps, fun or interesting graphics, etc.
- Serves as the direction for everything: Brings a standard look and feel to apply to all event-related components for a cohesive, consistent identity
Event branding is integral to the overall event experience
From the first communication to every element of the event itself to post-event follow-up, you shape how your audience experiences your event and perceives your company. By establishing an event theme and visually exciting and captivating branding, you will help to ensure a well-attended and much-lauded event.
Branding must be consistently and continuously carried through to:
- Save-the-date mailings
- Landing page
- Social media posts
- Handouts
- Presentations
- Signage
- Name cards
- Gifts/giveaways
- And every event touchpoint
Event branding elevates your content
You can have the best breakout sessions, speakers, panels, sponsors and exhibitors, but if not promoted and represented in a captivating, theme-focused, on-brand, clarity-inducing way, it won’t garner attention or interest – and attendance and participation will surely suffer.
To appeal to and attract the right people, every element of your event must be:
- Distinct: To set your event apart from others and to reflect your professionalism and high-caliber offering
- Engaging: To allow attendees to feel welcomed and comfortable, and to inspire interaction among participants
- Beneficial: To keep people talking about the event long after it’s over and feeling like it was an invaluable experience
- Memorable: To encourage a loyal following and repeat attendance year after year
Event branding determines perception
Your event graphics and promotional materials serve to define and validate your offering. A lackluster look, confusing graphics or messaging – or anything less than what your audience expects or desires will only lead them to conclude that your event is what is being portrayed and not worth their time.
From pre-event promotion to post-event follow-up – and every single touchpoint in between – an impression is left in the minds of those you’re reaching. We have no doubt that you want it to be the right impression and the best one, so never skimp on the visual component or brand identity for your event.
Need the help of a professional to create your event branding?
If you don’t have the internal resources or time to devote to creating a brand identity for your event, Sharper Creative is always happy to help. We specialize in event branding and welcome the chance to develop stunning, on-brand visuals that get noticed – and get results.
