Wristband Reminders

Consider the Event Wristband, a thin Tyvek thread that connects your organization and your supporters. When your annual fundraising event is over, how do you stay connected with your attendees? You want to keep your cause on their radar throughout the year, and you want them to return with enthusiasm when the time comes to host your event again. You may stay in contact with your guests through personal interactions, direct mailers, newsletters and email updates, but these are only effective if you've done the work to build goodwill with your patrons from the beginning.

How do your patrons stay connected with your cause? Do they remember the reason for the event once the last band has left the stage and the kettle corn has gone cold? Does your event or cause come up in casual conversation? Are your patrons left with positive reminders of the big day that they can turn to once it's done? Will they keep their Event Wristbands to remind themselves of the wonderful time they had at your past event?

While planning the actual event is important, it's just as important to consider what happens afterward. Helping your guests create positive memories is necessary to growing your event over time, and your Event Wristbands can be part of those memories.

Start with your Event

What keeps your guests buying event tickets year after year? First and foremost, you know how to put on a great occasion! It's well-planned and well-executed, for a worthy cause, and provides your guests with the opportunity to create memories will last forever. 

Guests who return have strong associations with your event.  It's already special to them. Perhaps a married couple wearing your carnival wristbands at this year's celebration met on your midway at a past one, and they return to reclaim the happy feeling of that day, and to collect a new wristband to add to their memory book. Maybe your neighborhood picnic has become someone's family tradition or your annual art fair has become a festive occasion the whole community looks forward to and plans around. Last year's wristband may remind them to buy this year's tickets.

New attendees are experiencing your annual fundraising event for the first time. They may already feel strongly about your cause, but it's just as likely they were drawn to your event not by the cause but by the activities you have to offer.  Maybe they don't know much about the women's shelter you're fundraiser is benefiting, but you've booked a band they really want to see. Your goal is to show them a great time that they will connect with your charity in the years that follow. From the moment they don their admission wristbands and walk through the gates, you have their attention. Make good use of it!

Provide Opportunities for Memories

Don't miss any opportunity to help your guests create strong, lasting memories.  From the moment you plan your promotion through the day of your event, you can lay the groundwork to keep your cause in your guest's hearts and minds through the months and years to come. Every time and in every way you interact with your patrons you sculpt how they perceive your cause.

Start by choosing collateral appropriate to your audience. The right images and language can draw the attention of your patrons and sustain it for a long time. Before your fundraiser, you can advertise using well-designed posters and flyers or direct mailers such as invitations and postcards.  During your event maintain the same branding on your tickets, admission wristbands, and other collateral.

Custom tickets work well for crowd management, but custom event wristbands are also quite useful. Patrons wear these from the moment they walk through your gate until after they leave. Different color wristbands can help you quickly discern the ages of guests for drink concessions or tell who has access to which activities. Most importantly they serve as constant reminders for the guest themselves. They need only to catch a glimpse of their wrists to remember the reason for the day. When they leave the event, admission wristbands can also be the cause of conversation and questions helping you drum up interest in your cause by word of mouth.

Something to Hold Onto

After your fundraising event, your guests will be left with many strong memories of the time they spent there. The collateral they take with them can help serve as a reminder of your day. Along with the pictures they might take, your guests will also have your branded tickets and event wristbands to help evoke a sense of nostalgia. When these are branded with the design of your event, they become souvenirs of the wonderful time they had and reminders of the cause you hope to promote.

 

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Food-lovers are an ample and diverse crowd with diverse dietary needs. There are vegans, vegetarians, diabetics, carnivores, those needing gluten-free foods, Paleolithic, or kosher diets. Some people are allergic to dairy, while others will only eat cruelty-free animal products, raw foods, or grass-fed beef. This summer, millions of people with a common interest in food and radically different tastes will flock to food festivals all over the country. Customized, color-coded wristbands can increase the efficiency and safety of your event.

All you need to do is determine which categories of dietary restrictions are most likely to be represented at your event, then be sure that your vendors tag their offerings with the same visual color-code as your Event Wristbands. Here’s how.

* Decide on Your Color-Coding: Once you’ve settled on your categories, assign each one a color. For instance, you may choose red for meat-eaters, green for vegans, and so forth. Be sure to consider ease of use for the staff and participants at the festival. You should distribute the coded list that corresponds to color and significant to vendors and staff in advance, so they can become familiar with it. Be sure to print out extra wristbands, so that vendors can attach the correct colors to sample dishes or menus, allowing your guests to know at a glance if the food is right for them.

* Have Fun with the Design: For each wristband, in addition to the color-coding, you may also include a graphic that shows the wearer’s dietary needs. For a vegan, you may include a graphic of fresh veggies, while a vegetarian who eats dairy may have the veggies with an egg. Meat-eaters’ wristband may have an animal, and so forth. Have fun with his aspect of the design and your Event Wristbands, with some simple printing, become engaging to the wearer. Most people are proud of their dietary choices and consider them part of their identity, so a meat-eater may proudly display a bracelet with a cow on it, while the vegan will be equally happy to show off their carrot design, providing your festival more free publicity.

* The 21 and Over Crowd: No matter what you decide upon for your final design, if you will serve alcoholic beverages, you need a fast way of identifying whether the wearer is 21 years of age or over. Something as simple as a square that may be stamped or checked on the wristband can show alcohol vendors that the wearer is of legal age, proving that they were carded upon entrance into the event. Or, you can distribute a second wristband with a radically different design and color for easy identification.

* Keep It Simple: A multi-level system of Event Wristbands works best when it is simple, allowing vendors and staff to identify distinctions at a glance. Imagine how grateful a vegan will be if someone is able to shout, “Hey, do you really want to eat that? It’s fried in lard!” upon glimpsing the green bracelet around their wrist and the chimichanga in their hand. Fortunately, once you’ve created your color-coded system, it’s easy to order and print your wristbands online. A little bit of advance thought will make your event that much more successful, and your patrons will be grateful. No one will have to quiz busy food-prep workers about ingredients. Nobody will have to stand in line hungry while someone else quizzes busy food-prep workers.

* Adding Advertising: In any case, your Event Wristbands will serve another purpose: advertisement. Adding the logo of your company, sponsor, or organization provides added exposure for the event and the group. People will be wearing your wristband throughout the day and perhaps into the following day. Choose a waterproof DuPont Tyvek wristband, to guard against weather and hand-washing and let that paper bracelet do its work as long as it hangs around. No matter how small the space, don’t forget to add that extra advertisement.

It may seem like a radical idea, but people are more concerned with their diets than ever. Give your guests what they want by color-coding your wristbands for dietary restrictions at your next food festival!

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Creating custom wristbands for your event turns a simple security feature into a great marketing tool both during and after your event. A wristband may appear a small space to work with, but it can be very effective in its inclusion of pertinent marketing information, as well as its inherent visibility.  

You can use wristbands in lieu of event tickets, or in addition to tickets, in which case your guests receive a customized paper bracelet at the door. The design and purposes of your event wristbands are dependent upon the event you are hosting. Different colors can denote different functions: VIP, over 21, plus simple general admission, allowing mobility for your participants as well as added exposure for your brand. Since it is the season of outdoor festival events around the country, let’s use this as our example as to how to best maximize your wristbands’ effectiveness.

*  Your Customizable Wristbands: Custom Wristbands offer effective marketing, advertising your event while also allowing for exceptional organization, so start designing them before you begin selling tickets. If you will serve alcohol or offer VIP admission, color-coding is a quick and simple way to make the event an organized success. Decide on the color coding and choose the text and image that will appear on the wristband. Include the logo for your event, your sponsor’s logo, or an image that can help you brand the celebration. The wristband can also include times, dates, and venue of your event. The inclusion of these pieces of information will instantly act as an advertising tool. People leaving your event will be walking advertisements, evoking curiosity.

*  Waterproof Wristbands: For music festivals or food festivals that continue all day, or over multiple days, you may want to use waterproof wristbands to keep them from discoloring and deteriorating from sweat, weather, and hand-washing. Waterproof materials will also encourage the wearer to continue to wear the wristband after they leave the venue, maximizing your event’s exposure.

*  Custom Printed Wristbands: Perhaps you can use an online template to create your customized wristband and print them as needed. Designing and printing them yourself cuts out the middleman and saves you money. Custom printing also provides event promoter control over the color of the wristbands, the quality (waterproof), and the overall design that will maximize marketing.

*  Research Quality Discount Wristbands: Especially if your event is going to be very large, research where you can design and print quality discount wristbands. Many online vendors can help you to create customized, quality wristbands for a reasonable price, especially if you will be creating these in great volume.

The use of event wristbands can give your event an added marketing edge in its constant visual exposure. They will also keep your event organized through the inclusion of important information and a color-coding system that tells your door staff necessary information about your visitors: whether they are 21 and over, a VIP, or general admission. And don't forget: a well-designed wristband becomes a fun souvenir for your participants.

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            From print to radio, from television to the internet, the medium for selling event tickets seems to be ever evolving. While the internet appears to be the frontier of the future, the focus has shifted from traditional web advertising. Promoting your event tickets through a web site is still essential, yes, but now it’s a part of a larger movement, that of social media marketing.

            Aside from being fairly easy to implement, social media marketing is also extremely inexpensive.  No matter the cost, though, you want to get a return on your investment, be it money or time. Here are a few aspects to focus on when using social media marketing to sell your event tickets:

·      Frequency

·      Interaction

·      Quantity vs. Quality

·      Integration

These four items are key to being successful as you jump into the world of social media.

Like Clockwork

            Part of the appeal of using social media platforms for marketing is the frequency with which you can send out your message. Web users are constantly looking for new information, and sites like Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter allow you to give them that information. You need to mention your event tickets as frequently as possible, so your promotion doesn’t get lost in the constant information stream.

            Remember, all news is important in the social media world.  If you’ve just designed your event tickets, mention it online. Even if you’ve just started considering what your event tickets should look like, bring that up. Frequent updates engage your audience and make the process more personal, no matter how tiny the detail might be.           

A Part of the Team

            The internet allows you to interact with your audience like no other medium and social media sites take this to the next level.  That germ of an idea for the design of your event tickets? See what your audience thinks. Invite them into the process. You don’t have to listen to their suggestions; you just have to ask for them. The simple act of listening to your audience will draw them in.

            Get them talking. Allow comments on your posts on sites like Blogger and WordPress. Create a posting board. Encourage discussion on every aspect of your event, from the aforementioned event tickets to reviews afterwards. Getting them to come back for updates is great, but getting them to come back because they want to interact is even better.

Playing the Odds

            When promoting your event tickets online, try to cast as wide of a net as possible. Networking can spread like wildfire, as one connections links you to another who links you to another and so on. Your target demographic for event tickets is simply your first audience, but they are certainly not your last. Once you connect with them, you can expect your message to spread.

            If you’re creating compelling content about your event tickets, your updates will get passed along from person to person, and suddenly a link to your site is popping up everywhere. This makes up your expanded audience, those who end up visiting your site and investigating your event tickets because they saw a link somewhere.

            It’s the grapevine of the 21^st century!

Headquarters

            It is absolutely essential that, while promoting your event tickets, you have all of your online interactions point back to your web site. Your latest status update may be interesting enough to gain you new fans, but unless they are following you back to your web site, it won’t translate into event ticket sales.

            The process works both ways. It easier than ever to imbed your social media updates into your web site. You want to make sure that anyone who comes to your site directly can also follow you through other sites. Once they add you as a friend or a follower, they indirectly become a part of your marketing team!

            Social media marketing is a cost effective, high traffic way of selling more of your event tickets. With just a little bit of time and effort, you can receive a big return on your small investment!

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They say the best things in life are free, and they might be right, particularly when it comes to generating interest in an event.  Strictly from a business standpoint, giving away your product could seem counterproductive.  But giving away your event tickets can actually increase your sales, if handled correctly.

 

            There are three, basic ways to look at giveaways:

 

·      Free event tickets on their own

·      Free event tickets paired with products

·      Free event tickets in addition to purchased event tickets

 

All three of these options offer challenges, but they also offer opportunities which can result in unique moments for promotion.

 

Confidence Sells

 

            In general, giving away event tickets on their own proves most beneficial if you’re planning a series of events.  The idea is that getting potential audience members to come to one event will be enough to convince them to come back again, this time at full admission price.

 

            Make sure you consider how you’re going to give away free event tickets.  This is a promotion, after all, so you want to reach your target demographic.  If you’re holding a celebrity softball game, then give away those event tickets at something like the local minor league baseball game.  Finding a connection between your event and the venue for your ticket giveaway allows you the greatest chance of success.

 

            Remember, giving away your event tickets is all about confidence.  You are tell your audience that you feel strongly enough about the quality of your product to give them the first event for free.  It’s important to tell them that.  Consider promotional slogans along the line of “you’ll love it so much, you’ll come back again!”  You need to plant the return business seed into their heads right off the bat, because that’s what event ticket giveaways is all about.

 

A Match Made In Heaven

 

There are two types of giveaways connected to products: broad and focused.  Broad giveaways involve products that regularly sell in large quantities and are readily available to the average consumer.  Focused giveaways involve specific products that relate either to your event or to the audience you’re trying to capture.

 

Which method to choose?  Well, that depends on your event.  If you’re planning something with broad appeal, than attaching event ticket giveaways to a high visibility product can be successful.  If your event falls into a smaller niche, then target specific products.  For example, if you’re holding a concert for a group whose audience is primarily children, attach the event ticket giveaway to products aimed at parents.

 

Make sure you choose your product partner carefully.  Your event is going to become synonymous with the product you choose, so make sure it’s a name you want to be associated with.

 

Bring a Friend

 

            Perhaps the most common type of event ticket giveaway is the ubiquitous “Buy one, get one free!”  Similar to the straightforward giveaway, this method is less costly and more targeted.

 

            With free ticket giveaways, you run the risk of giving event tickets to people who might not even use them.  But by pairing free tickets with purchased tickets, you increase the chances that the free ticket will actually get used.

 

            This method also gives you the added advantage of having a built in marketing person to help you: the individual who paid for a ticket.  In many cases, the free event ticket is going to someone who isn’t familiar with your event, but is going with someone who is.  This strengthens the promotion from the start, as it gives you a theoretical advocate for your potential new audience.

 

The Price Is Right

 

            Regardless of which of these different options you choose from, it’s clear that giving away tickets isn’t as counterproductive as it might seem.  Considering all the money you can invest into different marketing avenues, giving away event tickets can ultimately save you money, and generate a greater return on your investment.

 

            If there’s one thing that will get people’s interest, it’s the word “free!”

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            They’re trophies.

 

            I don’t know who it was that originally taught me to do it.  I’m not even sure I was aware of the tradition until I’d already been to a few shows and disregarded what was left of my concert tickets.  But at some point, I realized those stubs had value, and that they were part of a long standing concert going tradition, a tradition that’s important to keep in mind when printing event tickets of your own.

CD Display Case

            The stub from a concert ticket is a piece of personal history and, as such, needs a place to be put on display, a way of cherishing and remembering that concert for years to come.  The advent of CDs, or more specifically CD cases, gave people the perfect place to put those event tickets.

            The idea is a simple one: take a CD by the musical act you just saw, and place the ticket from that show in front of the CD insert.  If you see a musical act multiple times, then follow the same routine with multiple albums.  In some ways it becomes motivation to go to more shows in an effort to get a ticket stub for every album.  The ticket stubs serve to promote the next show without even trying!

The Digital Revolution

            A few years ago, I decided to make the big switch from CDs to a digital only music library.  I spent hours a day ripping my CDs into media files and then getting those CDs ready to sell.  But I had forgotten about one thing: my concert tickets!

            Without my convenient display cases, what was I supposed to do with all the concert tickets I’d accumulated over the years?  I couldn’t just get rid of them, not have all this time!

            It was then that I realized just how important custom concert tickets were.

The New Frontier of Stub Collecting

            Concert tickets are like snapshots of moments in life, so I figured I should treat them just like I would pictures and give them their own album or, better yet, incorporate them into my pre-existing photo albums.

            Putting them on display by themselves, though, really underscored how important the look of a concert ticket is.  A generic event ticket is fine for conveying information and still manages to induce nostalgia for shows gone by, but a custom printed ticket really stands out and makes those memories flood back even more vividly.

Make Your Tickets Memorable

This is essential when considering custom printed event tickets: make them memorable! With a wide variety of event ticket templates to choose from and the ability to personalize your event tickets, you can make sure that even the left over stubs are able to keep the memory of your event fresh in your audience’s memory.

            In the end, memorable event tickets can mean repeat business, and repeat business is good news!

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Whether your school is putting on a fundraiser carnival and you want to get all the parents, teachers and students involved, or you're touring with your new band and want to see plenty of faces at the venue, you'll need to manage a campaign that will generate interest in your event. Throughout the course of your promotion, you might manage an online marketing plan, rely on word or mouth, or print event tickets, posters, flyers, invitations, and other promotional materials that raise your visibility.

Online marketing helps you reach a wider audience, share details and market event tickets. Buzz generated by friends, family and fans is  great for grassroots marketing, and physical collateral gives your event a real world presence. These promotional materials, especially event tickets, can be the most powerful tools in your marketing plan.

More than Just an Event Ticket

Take a moment to consider event tickets. Obviously, you'll need admission tickets to get folks through the turnstiles, but that's not their only use. Custom printed tickets can serve several important functions at your event.

Marketing Tools—When you design event tickets for your occasion, you have a choice. If you're thinking only of function, any tickets will do. However, the admission ticket may be your attendees first point of contact with your event. So much more can be included than a simple "admit one." Imagine how including formal branding and event details can raise profile of your event.

Crowd Management and Tracking Tools—Secure, numbered tickets with perforated stubs can be useful in the management of people into and out of your event and at particular venues within it. Custom tickets allow you to maintain the integrity of your event. Secure numbering and detachable stubs allows you to track the flow of guests into the gates. Selling Drink Tickets and custom passes, such as VIP passes, before the event allow you to manage concessions and activities quickly and safely. They allow you to keep cash exchanges more centralized and secure.

Raffle Management—A well designed ticket is essential for the management of a fundraising raffle.  It's important for your raffle tickets to not only contain important details, but they should also have secure numbering, detachable stubs and room for the guests' details, as well. These tickets aren't just meant to get guests through the gate. They're used to manage the entire lifecycle of the raffle. Event organizers can track ticket buyers through the numbering system, and the stubs are used for the raffle draw.

Door Prizes—Much like raffle tickets, a well designed admission ticket can be used to manage door prizes. Ticket sellers can hold onto stubs when guests come through the gate and announce winners throughout the event. This encourages folks to hold onto their custom event tickets throughout the occasion.

Memory Management—A great ticket might be the only souvenir a guest takes away from the occasion. Why not make it memorable? Strong imagery and branding will help the memory of your event to remain with your guests far into the future.

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Say your event has become a tradition in your community. You can count on your base to buy event tickets and show up, but your basic audience has not changed in years. How do you increase your roster from the traditional and convince new people to buy tickets to your event? By altering even small aspects of a tried and true event, you can attract new audiences: From revising publicity materials and punching up promotional event tickets to adding a trendy spin or a popular attraction, open yourself to possibilities and watch your ticket sales soar.

 

*  Get Out of the Box: Sometimes the best way to move beyond routine is to observe your standard operating procedure with a fresh set of eyes. Take inventory of what you have done over the years. Which elements have contributed to the success of the event? Is it the design used on event tickets and promotional materials? The entertainment? The venue? Then, consider how to use your old ideas in new ways, or update those options. Having trouble seeing with fresh eyes? Ask creative friends and guests for their opinion.

*  Answers Into Action: After taking this inventory of what has worked and deciding how you’ll revise the event to attract a new audience, get started. Don’t wait! Spring into action as long before the event as you can. Allowing yourself plenty of planning time help ticket sales go smoothly and guards against mistakes that would detract, not attract, guests in the future.

*  What Kind of Audience: Decide what type of audience you want and cater to their needs. If you want more children and young adults at your event, consider something like a Make a Sundae stand for your fundraiser. Teen volunteers can man the stand to help the young children. Many teens are looking for community service hours for their own extracurriculars, like the National Honors Society, and local teens are always a good resource to pull in a new audience. Often teens will buy Event Tickets if they know their friends will be there.

*  Ho Hum to Electrifying: Small changes can add a great new dimension to your traditional event. Customizing an event ticket can be the first step in customizing an event. Other elements such as entertainment or food and drink being served at your event can further your success in attracting new audiences. If you have always had a spaghetti dinner fundraiser, try something just a little different, such as a Lasagna Dinner, adding a catchy title that ties the fundraiser to the organization being funded. Research trends and find out what foods people want to try and what music they want to hear.

*  Spread the Word in Fresh Places: If you desire more elderly patrons to come to your event, print custom event tickets that can be raffled off at a local senior center. For more youthful participants advertise online, and at local high schools and colleges. A diverse audience will always give you a new audience, so cater your promotional materials and tickets to all facets of your community. Spreading a wide net in a variety of places will assist your event in attracting many different people to your event and make it a true and new success.

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What you don’t want: boring events that look and feel the same year after year. What you do want: hot new ideas, unexpected twists, and a forward-looking vibe that gets your guests talking. Instead of being

able to predict what appetizers you’ll be serving based on what you’ve served since 1996, your guests should be wondering with eager anticipation: what will they think of next?

Trends: Get ahead, Stay on Top

Whether you’re a member of the jet set or a basement-dwelling troll, you need to present your organization in the best possible light and stay ahead of the curve by keeping up with emerging trends. Unless you know your supporters are coming for a retro feel and a nostalgic atmosphere, consider how you can utilize trends in music, food, drink, and decorations to add an air of excitement to the evening. Don’t know much about what’s hot and what’s not? Let the Internet guide you.

• Twitter keeps your finger on the pulse of new trends and even points out top trends in a tag cloud on their homepage. Use  tweetcloud.com to view tag clouds on any subject, find trendsetters, and learn more about who and what people are talking about.

• TrendWatching.com offers free monthly briefings on global trends. Reporting on trends in 170 countries, TrendWatching.com offers you a cosmopolitan and timely overview of consumer interests.

• Springwise.com offers reports from 8000 spotters around the world. While this service focuses on business trends, you can sift through the information to learn more about current trends in style, design, marketing, food, and entertainment.

• Tastingtable.com is a “free daily email that delivers the best of food and drink culture to adventurous eaters everywhere.” Read this report and stay up to the minute on the most popular dining culture to ensure that everything you offer your guests is served à la mode.

• Touchey.com offers a wealth of inspiration for your design aspirations. Whether you want to create the coolest Posters to promote your event, or set the most decorative table, Touchey is sure to have some ideas for you.

• The Color Association helps your organization show its true colors. Their Color Education Program provides you with the knowledge and skills to select popular and eye-catching colors for any occasion. They also offer customized seasonal color trend information 20 months in advance of the season.

• Google Trends has always been a great tool for comparing the popularity of topics over time. Want to know what’s hot right now? Check out Today’s Hot Trends right on their homepage.

Whatever you choose, choose something new. You don’t need to let fashion dictate your choices, any more than you should rely on outdated modes of expression, but learning about current trends can help you set your own agenda. Build on popular ideas, or start your own styles. Let your creativity shine!

The Power of Public Opinion

The most powerful event marketing tool is word of mouth. If your event is spectacular in every way, people will talk about it for the next twelve months, and attendance will increase exponentially at next year’s event. If something goes spectacularly

wrong, people may talk about that too, with the opposite effect. Whatever happens, stay on top of the situation. Take control of the problem and find some way to direct everyone’s attention to the best you have to offer.

You can’t control everything, but you can take steps to make your event as close to flawless as possible. Do your best to direct the night’s memorable moments by planning well in advance so you are in charge of the buzz. Hire dedicated professional and make sure every task associated with the event is delegated to someone who knows how to take responsibility.

 

Brand Your Event

When you take the steps to craft a unique and memorable evening, you are actually creating an event brand. Your brand reflects the hundreds of individual decisions you make as a planner. When you do it right, you create a recognizable whole. As with successful businesses, great brands are not spawned from thin air. They require hard work, creativity, and sometimes a lot of luck. However, by incorporating a few of the ideas below, you can guide others to see your event as a brand.

• Name Recognition – Naming your event may be the most crucial part of your branding efforts. As with a business, a great name can practically make a brand. Your event needs a descriptive, memorable title. It should be short, compelling, and easy to remember, while creating a sense of excitement. Coming up with a great name is simply a creative process that takes time. Brainstorm by playing with language, generating lists of words and phrases associated with your group and your mission. Allow colleagues who love puns, double-meanings, and your native tongue to offer up their best ideas. 

• Create a Tagline – A tagline is another great way to communicate your brand’s identity. Again, play with keywords and meanings to think up an expression that complements your name, communicates your organization’s values, and sticks in the minds of event attendees.

• Create a Logo – Your logo is an instant expression of your brand, allowing for immediate visual recognition. You can’t brand anything without a logo, so give this the same attention as your name and tagline. The best logos are simple, distinctive, and, unless your industry is a somber one, playful. Again, you may need to find a supporter or colleague with some skill in graphic design. Large
  

  yellow umbrella
  organizations will want to hire a professional. The better your name, logo, and tagline work together, the greater the impact.

• Consistent Messaging – Every element of your event should scream, “We are a brand!” Add your name, tagline, and logo to all your marketing materials, including Posters, Tickets, Invitations, Drink Tickets, Event Wristbands, and anything else you have printed. Not only are you branding your event, you’re creating sought-after souvenirs! Ensure decorations, table settings, music, speakers, and even the venue complement each other. All these details help create an all-encompassing experience. Remember, it is possible to inject meaning into everything. You can brand any and every detail of your event. Placing your logo in unexpected places such as glasses, napkins, or bathroom towels not only surprises and impresses your guests, but also adds to the memorable tenor of the event.

• Consider Your Target Audience – Every choice you make as an event planner should reflect your audience’s taste. Consider the age and personality type of your average attendee. Some over-the-top ideas may not appeal to a group of retired accountants. The same concepts might be perfect for a group of 20 to 30 year olds in the entertainment business. Attempt to step into the minds of your attendees and visualize the experience they want. Then construct something that builds on their expectations.

These are all basic tools for those who desire to host a truly epic event. By staying on top of trends, generating positive word of mouth, and exploring event branding, you can attract new and exciting guests, donors, volunteers, and entertainers. You might even find yourself welcoming a celebrity or two. The boring event everyone forgot about last year can be the talk of town this year. All you need is a few ideas, a little creativity, and a lot of work.

 

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