If you follow my social media, you’ve heard me say that events need and can use brand strategy too.
Today, we’re discussing why you need to brand an event and if you can use the same branding as the business hosting or sponsoring it. There are two types of events: client-focused and community-focused.
If the event is client-focused for one sponsor or business, and its purpose is to bring in clients or be part of the sales or marketing process for that business, then it doesn’t need its own branding. It can use the same brand strategy as the sponsor because the elements that make up a brand like the audience, messaging, and visuals are the same.
However, a community-focused event, like a large-scale conference or fundraiser, is meant to benefit multiple businesses and the community as a whole. Such an event needs its own identity, including audience, messaging, and values, to draw in and benefit the entire community, not just one sponsor. Therefore, a large-scale event with multiple sponsors and community member involvement needs its own branding.
Even if you change the event’s theme, certain elements will stay the same. For example, if your event theme changes from “Under the Sea” to “In the Stars,” you’re refreshing the visuals, not rebranding the event. The event still has the same purpose, audience, and messaging; only the theme changes.
As business owners, we need to separate the visuals we see from the backend and the parts we don’t see. A brand is more than just visuals; it includes mission, values, audience, and core competencies. Large-scale events are their own businesses or sub-businesses and should have the same components as a new business when it comes to branding.
Alright, that’s all I’ve got. I’ll talk to you later.