Event Branding

Two words: Consistent messaging

Believe it or not, messaging is more than just the words or tagline—it’s also logo placement, advertising and promotions and the elevator speech, which ultimately are part of a brand.   Whether you are working for a for-profit or non-profit – large or small – the success of an event is connected to the brand of the organization.

Q. What is a brand? 

A. Brand is an established set of guidelines about how a company is presented to the public.  A brand is also the personality of the organization that defines the total experience a person has with every encounter with that organization.  The more consistently you communicate the brand the more familiar your company and/or event(s) become to your audience and the more control you have over the organization’s reputation.  The RGB colors of your logo, what type of fonts are used, use of trademarks and copyrights, how to make reference numbers (i.e. 24 vs. twenty-four), etc. are details that help make up your brand.  So how do you extend these guidelines into an event consistently and still make it sexy?

Most branding is pretty obvious and easily carried over to events.  Making sure the brand stays consistent can be tough.  At my current organization branding is a high priority, down to the placement of our logo on the right-hand side of everything.  I often find myself requesting such placement on projects where we are a partner, not the producer.  Is “The” part of the name of your company?  If not, make sure it isn’t referred to as such, even in the media.  Many companies and organizations work with an outside vendor to produce their materials such as invites, programs, scripts and even websites for their events.  Give that vendor a copy of your branding guidelines and don’t be afraid to call out the small things.  The event attendees don’t know how many details went into creating the event but they are quick to point out a mistake, so be picky.

Q. What is messaging? 

A. Messaging, in reference to events, is how the most important information is presented and provides a call to action by adding an emotional aspect.  It’s about bringing meaning to your brand and differentiating your event from your competition.  Messaging should build on the company’s brand and not start a new brand even when the types of events span the spectrum from a board meeting to a fundraising gala. 

A logo may be on everything, but not every logo is sexy.  The use of images, taglines and how you talk about the event are what it boils down to.  Think about your goals and objectives for the event.  Are you looking for a certain number of attendees?  Raising a certain dollar amount?  Now think of how you can subliminally express the objectives to your audience through the advertisements and promotion.  

It could be a picture or graphic.  These are often used by non-profits to illustrate the purpose of the event and maybe even pull a few heart strings.  Placing a picture of a child in need or telling their story in your advertisements can be a very compelling way to move people to attend your event.  Just make sure the objective of your event is to help that child in some way. 

Creating a tagline for an event is an easy way to explicitly explain the objective(s).  If you haven’t seen it, LIVE UNITED is a new brand identity for United Way.  Along with it comes the tagline: Give. Advocate. Volunteer.   As such, that tagline has been added to many United Way events locally since most of them revolve around one or more of those words.  This tagline has therefore reinforced the purpose of each event. Taglines can be tricky however.  Remember that they should build upon your brand, not create a new one.

Create and use an elevator speech about your event.  When you tell other people about your event they want a quick, to-the-point answer.  Try to come up with one or two sentences that tells the story of the event including the what, when, where, and most importantly, the why.  Put it in laymen’s terms and use language that excites people, especially in the media.  Stay away from using acronyms and insider language in case the person you are talking to is not familiar with them.  Use the elevator speech every time you discuss your event, and make sure your staff knows it and uses it as well.

Support the brand at the event
It doesn’t end at promotion.  How guests are greeted, what your staff or volunteers are wearing, how quickly the food is served, what the favors or give-aways are, what the décor is, what music is playing, etc. are all items to consider.  The first experience a guest has at the event will stay with them, so preparing your staff or volunteers with the right language and smiles is extremely important.   We all know that if the food is bad or is poorly executed, it is the first and foremost mentioned mistake.  Ask for a taste test and provide a vision of how you see the food laid out.  Favors and give-aways can be a great addition to an event as long as the item and any verbiage on it fit in with the brand you’ve established.  For example, for an upcoming event about family philanthropy United Way created a card game as a favor that will help parents talk with their kids about how to give back as they play.  

In the end
Don’t be afraid to audit each event you’ve executed.  Take a look at how the branding of each one could have been improved and work those improvements into the next event.  Bringing the brand full circle will also help in finding sponsors, partners and securing media. They are all looking for well thought-out projects that will showcase their brand as well.  When all is said and done, successful branding of an event can give a company or organization the ROI needed to continue the event in the future and blow your goals out of the water!

Ami Dalton, CMP, Event Manager | One10 | ami.dalton@one10marketing.com

With more than 10 years in the event industry across restaurants, hotels, nonprofits and corporate, Ami Dalton’s work spans event strategy, processes, design and delivery, and sponsor and volunteer management. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management from Gustavus Adolphus College, and is a Certified Meeting Professional. Ami Dalton joined One10 in 2011, where her responsibilities on the Channel & Employee Loyalty team include logistics management, third-party vendor negotiations and on-site delivery for retail, financial and high-tech clients.