Branding Your Event: Great Marketing Tactic or Just Plain Tacky?

Event branding isn’t just for big corporate conferences or launches anymore. Even small scale events are getting in on the branding action and this year the trend of branding your events is set to sky rocket. From a bar mitzvah to a global launch, creating a visual language to accompany your event is a fantastic way to set your event apart from the crowd and give your guests a memorable experience. Here are two simple ways to brand your next event:

Hashtags

It’s not all about coming up with a great logo and sticking it on every aspect of your event. In fact, that’s no longer the way to go about it. Today, most companies like to include hashtags into their branding and this tech trick works wonders for any size event. Creating a specific hashtag to be used across multiple social media platforms allows you to gather every photo, video or post about your event in seconds and give you a great idea about how your event went down.

But why is this important for small scale, personal events?

Well,  hiring an event photographer is one thing, but taking a look through your guests own experiences of your event is a great way to get free, fun media from your event and gives everyone a chance to check it out online. All this requires is a unique hashtag (for example. #BillSmithTurns40 or #McDonaldsLaunch2014) and making sure your guests are aware of the hashtag. You can even urge them to make use of the hashtag when posting their photos, videos and status’ by including it in the invitation, on tables, tags or a sticker on the bathroom mirror (don’t underestimate the power of a selfie).

Logo

Now let’s get back to basics. Branding is more often than not the creation of a logo. A sexy logo can go a long way towards communicating the right tone of your event. And it doesn’t have to cost you an arm or a leg. If you don’t have a graphic designer in your team, you can easily hire one online through the many graphic design websites around. You can even try your hand at creating one yourself through online editors. All in all, if you don’t already have a logo or you’d like your event to have a unique logo, creating one is not as complicated or expensive as it may seem, and it can make your event look professional and sophisticated.

Once you have a logo, make sure to include it on invitations, tickets, flyers, websites, press releases and any promotional products or treats you’re giving away. Want to pump up your dessert? Put your unique logo on cupcakes. Want to stand out from the crowd? Think of new and innovative ways to place your logo and hashtag in surprising places around your event.

Don’t overdo it!

I’m sure you’ve been to an event and felt like you were being bombarded with logos, company slogans and hashtags. It’s a common mistake to paste your branding in every aspect of your event, and although this is expected, you can definitely overdo it. Try to avoid the places where branding is usually found, as people have become so accustomed to it that they don’t even notice it anymore. Clever, sneaky branding goes a long way to setting your event apart from the rest so spend some time on it. A good brainstorming session is all that’s needed!  

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