Creating Memorable Event Branding And Assets

A key part of having a strong, successful event is having memorable brand assets. The first part, of course, is getting branding down for your event. Everything else you do, from designs to tickets, to value propositions, flows from your brand. Once you have your brand down, the next step is creating the actual event assets. The third step is then implementing the event assets into all facets of your event – from your social media to your event website, to your actual live event. In this post, I’ll discuss how to determine the basics of your event brand, and then how to use it through the steps I mentioned above. Creating A Strong Event Brand Determining the brand for your event is going to take a lot of work. However, you can make it easier by developing a Mission Statement, and then a Vision Statement. A Mission Statement determines your objectives, what you are doing, and what you will do to achieve those objectives. A Vision Statement, on the other hand, is a forward-looking statement that describes what you want your event to be. For example, a Mission Statement for your event could be “I am a small festival that teaches people about the food of the Interior of Mexico and raises money for homes through ticket sales and donations”. For the same event, the Vision Statement could be “I am a 3-day long festival with music, education, art, and raises money for homes”. Now that you have your Mission and Vision Statements, it’s time to come up with a name and logo. Names should be: -Clear. Just a few words at most is best. -Memorable. Woodstock and Coachella are pretty easy to remember because of how unique they sound. -Descriptive, OR Evocative. Descriptive means that it’s something that it’s something straightforward, like “Austin Food & Wine Festival”. Evocative means it brings up a strong feeling or name. Again, I refer to Coachella since that’s still fresh in a lot of people’s minds and it’s charged with a lot of emotion. Logos should be: -Simple. The public is more likely to remember a simple logo than a complex one. Everyone knows the Nike swoosh and Target logo, for example. -No more than a few colors. Building upon the last comment, the best logos don’t have a lot going on. Stick to 4 colors or less if possible. -Flexible. You’re going to use this on posters, on tickets, on your website, and on social media. So it should look good whether it’s small or large. When it comes to logos, you might be better off finding a design firm to come up with several designs for you in lieu of having to come up with your own. A design firm can also help you come up with designs for your entire event, which will save you a lot of time and money. They can also help you look more consistent. Note: I will warn you about asking friends, family, and committees for assistance on names, logos, and other designs. Although now known to be historically inaccurate, Henry Ford’s quote of “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses” still holds wisdom. Instead of designing something by committee, create something and present it to them and get feedback. Building Strong Event Website Imagery Now you have a strong event name and a strong logo. The next step is to build out a memorable event website. You have 3 options: you can build out your own site, you can use an online ticket sales site (like Ticketbud), or you can do both. While you’ll have the most control over your own site, it will also cost you a lot more to develop. An online ticket sales site will have pre-built templates where all you need to do is input a banner image, and possibly one or 2 other images. I’m now going to give you a great example a strong website and Ticketbud page, from one of our users. Igloo Atlanta is a festival where people can bring coolers of drinks as they listen to popular musicians. Notice how this is written as a mission statement? An example of a Ticket Widget in action. Then, when you go to the Ticketbud page, you see this:   IGLOO is the world’s Biggest Global Cooler Festival. Take a second to read all of that. Now that sounds like a vision statement. It’s not hard to see how this event sold out: They have an evocative name, consistency across their pages, and a really cool logo to boot. Consistency Is Key! Across your social media, your event page, your tickets, and your branded items at your event – stay consistent. This could mean having a brand design guide. The best way to have a design guide is to contract out to a designer. This way, you’ll have all of your assets – logo, colors, fonts, and everything else a good brand and event needs. Posters Creating a good poster requires 3 parts. The first part of a good poster is that it should stick out to the person walking by. The second part is that it should be readable. This means that you should relax on crazy graphics and fonts. The third part of a good poster should be a relevant “Call To Action”. That is, after reading the poster, the person (potential attendee) should be encouraged to either scan a QR code, or visit a website, or give a call. Canva.com is a great resource for design inspiration, as well as for actually creating posters. Custom Event Tickets When it comes to memorable event assets, it’s hard to beat tickets. I personally collect tickets for shows that I attend. I know a lot of other people who do the same. And the ones that are customized are always the ones that stick out. These days it is pretty easy to create custom tickets for your event. Most of the popular online systems have developed a way to help you import a CSV of attendees into their system, and then they print and ship the tickets to you. Ticketbud utilizes a printing partner that also imports QR codes, which are essential for when you are scanning multiple ticket types such as VIP or General Admission. You can take a look at options here: https://ticketbud.txdesign.com Conclusion Although there is a lot to consider when branding your event, if you start off by considering your value proposition and mission and value statements, you are ahead of the race. In addition, they will help you create strong brand imagery, which is imperative if you want a memorable event. You can do this by having color palettes and a consistent design on your website, and on your tickets.]]]]> ]]>