The event you’ve been working on for the last year is finally over, and it went brilliantly! Your speakers were amazing, the food was sensational and your networking session had your guests buzzing for weeks – all in all the whole thing was a roaring success. But how much is it all worth if your brand isn’t getting the recognition it deserves for all of your hard work?
With so many different things that go into planning an event, quite often branding falls to the bottom of the list. Ideally it’s something that should be at the forefront of your mind from the very beginning of the planning journey. But if it’s not been a focus so far, whatever stage you’re at, it’s never too late to get on track.
An easy way to make sure your brand is constantly referenced in regards to your event, is to put it in the event’s title. This isn’t going to be appropriate in every case, but if it works, then you’ve done a great job in making sure anyone talking about your event is giving you a plug at the same time.
Headed paper, branded invitations, logos on your email signatures… try to ensure that any dealings you have with potential invitees, suppliers and the press through whatever medium is reinforcing your ownership of the event.
Set up at least one account for your event on either Twitter or Facebook and encourage your potential delegates to follow you. Make your posts engaging, useful and fun so that your followers regularly interact through the channel as every time they see a post from you, they will be reminded of your logo or brand.
Arriving at an event can be an intimidating experience, particularly if the attendee hasn’t been to the venue before. Delegates will be eagerly looking for confirmation they are in the right place and hopefully seeing your brand on the event signage will make them feel reassured they haven’t got the date and time wrong, nor have they gone to the wrong place. The subtle effect of your brand making them feel good will help cement your positive relationship.
Although the ultimate goal of this exercise is to increase the recognition for your brand or company, sometimes this is best achieved through nurturing personal relationships. Wherever possible, try to give your guests contact with specific people on your team and ensure their email signatures and addresses include the name of your company. It’s also important that these designated members of staff attend the event and attempt to speak to as many delegates as possible.
Does your brand produce anything you could use as a giveaway? Or perhaps you could choose a gift you think your guests would enjoy to takeaway with them at the end of your event and have it branded. Either way, a keepsake of the day as a reminder the fantastic time they had there is a great way to link up their memories and who they have to thank for such a good time.
We understand that there are 101 things to do when organising an event. We also understand that sometimes you do a full-time job on top of organising events for your company. That’s why we have an in-house Event Management Team that can offer you as much help you need. Give our team of highly experienced experts a ring to discuss your next event at W12 Conferences on +44 (0)20 3313 1606.