The goals of event hosts vary from bringing together internal employees or industry leaders to promoting products and services. Each and every organization hosting an event—regardless of the goal and makeup of attendees—is best served by promoting its own brand. A cohesive brand available via resources like social media and mobile event apps leaves a lasting impression in the days and months after the event to not only increases the chance of attendee retention and discussion about the event well into the future, but enables event hosts to better spread their own message to existing and new audiences. Utilize available technology, pay attention to the finer details, and engage attendees to achieve a consistent brand and reach bigger goals.

Mobile App Branding

A mobile event app is often the first and last thing an attendee experiences at the event. Typically available for download in the months prior to a meeting or conference, event hosts must ensure the mobile app isn’t generic, but instead branded with appropriate logos and color schemes to set the stage for a consistent and visually appealing event. From the app icon and opening splash screen to small details such as in-app accent colors, the ability to highly customize a mobile event app to reflect branding is a great first step.  

Remember the Details

Branding a mobile app and even paper material such as fliers and brochures greatly helps attendees associate the event with a particular company or organization. Without proper attention to detail, however, much of the potential to form a lasting impact is lost. Consider what attendees take pictures of at an event and make sure the backdrop behind speakers is also branded with at least an appropriate color scheme. Also take time to ensure fonts are consistent and any giveaways or promotional items also follow a consistent patterns. Even subtle measures like lighting colors and generally creating an ambiance in line with existing branding builds an attendee’s subconscious awareness and creates lasting impressions.

Social Media

Share happenings at the event and encourage attendees to do the same. Branding specifically comes into play with social media by creating shareable, instantly recognizable videos and photos of the event and utilizing visual-centric platforms like Instagram and YouTube. By including a logo and consistent color scheme in media to share across social media, the branding of an event and its organization is even more successful. Also remember to update cover photos and other visual elements of each social media page to the newest required dimensions; sites like Twitter and Facebook change their layouts from time to time. Personally responding to attendee posts and sharing great content across all social media channels—all with a consistent brand—increases user engagement and retention, both of which serve to achieve the event host’s goals.   

Create Lasting Engagement

Promoting an event brand doesn’t stop on the last day of the meeting or conference. As part of a year-round strategy to promote brand awareness, offer free product giveaways, discounts on registration fees for next year’s event, and other reasons for attendees to remain engaged long after they return home. Keep in mind the buzz created during an event with regards to branding and promotion extends to those not in attendance through providing long-term value to the branded mobile event app. Integrate company or industry news and blog posts—as well as resources such as PDF documents—and continue to post useful information to social media. Building a recognizable brand at the event helps lay the foundation to day-to-day success throughout the year.