Effective event branding is the secret ingredient that many event creators overlook. The truth is, strong branding can help you build a loyal community, boost ticket sales, and ensure recurring attendance. It’s a critical element of any successful marketing strategy.
However, many event creators still rely on the same old branding tactics, missing out on opportunities to stand out and leave a lasting impression. With over a decade of experience using Sickening Events event management software, we’ve seen firsthand the transformative power of effective branding. Today, we want to inspire you to create memorable experiences for your attendees that keep them coming back.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to approach event branding successfully and share unique branding ideas and examples from event creators who have nailed it.
More Than Just a Logo: Understanding Event Branding
When you think of branding, you might first think of a logo or the color scheme on a website. But event branding goes far beyond just logos and colors.
Your brand identity is shaped by the reputation you build for yourself and your business. It’s about the feelings and perceptions your audience has when they engage with your brand. This means that you have the power to influence how your audience views your event.
To create impactful event branding, you need to answer one key question: How do you want your attendees to perceive your brand?
For many event creators, finding the answer is a journey. That journey begins with identifying your brand personality. Develop a persona for your brand, and use that persona to tell your story. This approach helps you stand out when people are searching for fun events. And if you can create a sense of attachment to your brand, you’ll sell more tickets.
Creating Brand Attachment
Brand attachment is about forging an emotional connection between you and your audience. To build this genuine connection with your potential attendees, consider the Connection Prominence Attachment Model (CPAM), which views brand attachment as the strength of the tie linking the brand to the consumer’s perceived self.
Simply put, brand attachment helps customers see themselves in your brand. A strong community of followers is closely tied to how your brand is perceived. To build this attachment, make it easy for people to interact with your brand, foster a community of like-minded individuals, and communicate your brand’s values openly so that people can connect with them emotionally.
For instance, the “clean girl aesthetic” trend on TikTok uses branding to evoke a particular feeling—like having round ice cubes for your iced latte makes you feel organized and in control. This strategy is all about creating a specific emotional response tied to a brand’s identity.
The branding ideas you choose should reflect how you want people to perceive your brand and see themselves in it.
Sickening Events makes it easy to customize your event page with contextual advertising that puts your brand’s voice, personality, and design front and center. This ensures your brand story reaches local eventgoers looking for both events and a community to connect with.
5 Creative Event Branding Ideas to Build Your Community
People crave personality and flair. The more creative—and sometimes even bold—your event branding, the more likely your audience is to remember you and connect with your brand. However, make sure you understand who your audience is and tailor your branding to how you want them to perceive your brand.
Here are some clever event branding ideas from successful event creators to help inspire your strategy:
- Create a Signature Brand
- Offer something unique that sets your brand apart. Consider events with a signature drink or venues that host regular themed nights. This builds a strong association with your target market and keeps attendees coming back.
- For inspiration, look at SoulfulofNoise and their “Soulful Sundays” event series. Billed as America’s biggest open mic event, it feels like a family reunion with a live band. This series aligns perfectly with their mission to showcase independent artists and has become a unique signature of their brand.
Pro Tip: Use Sickening Events Collections to showcase your signature offerings and make them easy for fans to find. Grouping different events on a single page ensures your audience never misses out.
- Build an Interactive Website
- Your website should be more than just a platform to sell tickets—it should reflect your brand’s visual identity and connect with your message. Think of it as an extension of your brand.
- Use imagery, videos, and consistent typography to showcase your past events and create a cohesive brand experience. For example, House of Yes uses their website to visually represent their brand. Their vibrant and creative event promotions align with their identity as a hub for unique and wild parties.
Pro Tip: To keep the ticketing process seamless, partner with a platform like Sickening Events to sell tickets directly on your site with an embedded display. This simplifies the user journey and keeps your branding front and center.
By following these strategies, you can create a strong, memorable brand that resonates with your audience and keeps them coming back for more. Start building your brand today with Sickening Events tools and insights!
3. Edit Short Art Films for Instagram Reels
Immersive short films can take users on a visual journey that aligns with your brand’s story. For inspiration on best practices, consider event creator Duck Club. They’ve crafted a distinctive, grungy, arthouse style when editing promotional videos to showcase their diverse range of gigs and shows. Instead of creating standard ads, they produce emotive, indie short films that capture attention and convey event details creatively.
By sharing these short edits and reels, you can vividly bring your event’s mission to life with dynamic visuals. This approach allows you to connect emotionally with your audience, share your brand story, and offer an authentic glimpse “behind the scenes” as you prepare for your event.
💡Pro tip: Once you’ve created captivating videos that represent your brand, maximize their reach by incorporating them into ads for future events. With Sickening Events Marketing Tools, you can design ads that complement your reels and videos, making your promotions both cost-effective and highly targeted.
4. Use Creative Graphic Design for Event Ads
Graphic design is a powerful branding tool. Sometimes, all it takes is a striking and eye-catching design to grab people’s attention. A strong visual identity can help establish your brand’s presence.
Take a look at Club Space as an example. Their creative and consistent branding ensures their event ads stand out and resonate with their target audience. This strong aesthetic has helped them build a bold, edgy reputation that their community loves.
💡Pro tip: Your event has a unique message, and your choice of typography and visuals should express that. Use signature colors and memorable imagery that instantly identify your brand—much like recognizing an artist’s work. Sickening Events Marketing Tools allow you to create multiple ad campaigns across different platforms using the same artwork, ensuring consistency while setting up campaigns quickly and efficiently.
5. Introduce an Event Mascot
Adding a mascot to your event marketing strategy can enhance brand consistency and engagement. A mascot brings personality, creates a fun atmosphere, and offers unique opportunities for audience interaction.
For example, the Big Dub Festival introduced a pineapple mascot that features on their marketing materials, event merchandise, and even makes appearances at the festival itself, enhancing brand recognition and engagement.
💡Pro tip: When developing a mascot, choose one that resonates with your target market. Consider conducting focus groups or online surveys to get feedback from real customers before introducing your mascot to the world.
Leverage Creative Event Branding Ideas to Build Your Community
Boost engagement and foster a deeper connection with your audience by incorporating some of these creative branding ideas. Experiment with your website design to ensure it conveys your brand’s message effectively, and ensure your social media visuals reflect your brand’s personality.
At Sickening Events, we recognize the value of effective event branding. We provide the tools and resources you need to develop and promote any event while creating a cohesive and impactful brand identity.
