Every event that you plan is like a separate product - each event requires its own brand and identity. Its sad to see how people keep on launching events without giving thought to the event’s brand story. Today, I am briefly going to talk about ways of building brand stories for your events, whether they are small soccer club gigs or huge global conferences. The essence is always the same - does the brand of the event make people want to brag about and be a part of it?
There are different approaches to building the brand story, but I like the simplest approach the best. Its more genuine and honest and takes up less time.
Step 1: Understand what sets the event apart
The first step to building your brand story is to understand who your ideal attendees are. What are there thoughts, fears, requirements, ideas? What gaps exist in other events that you will be filling? Once you understand your targeted attendees, you will be able to identify things that you want to highlight about your event that fills their needs. This can be anything, from better payment terms to cool merchandise. Write down the things that set your event apart. Let’s call them the brand attributes.
Step 2: Build a story based on your brand attributes
Now that you have the brand attributes written down, it’s easy to build a story around it. A story is a description of how the event idea came about, in layman’s terms. The story doesn’t have to be a fabricated knit-up but it should be positioned in a way that is easy to remember and repeat. A story could be: “we were furnishing our baby’s room and couldn’t find good economical furniture for small baby rooms in this town. First we looked around then, we decided to take things in our own hands and custom build them. They turned out so great and everyone loved them. We now have a small furniture outlet in our own garage for other parents like us where we arrange bi-monthly meetups for parents to share ideas and come up with designs. Our little get-togethers are open for all expecting or existing parents and even furniture designers.” This is a story people will not only remember, but spread to every parent that they know.
Step 3: Tell the story to your audience
If you have been following my posts, you probably already have a community (audience or list) that you are actively building a relationship with. When you are ready to share your story with your community, just tell them the exact story that you have spun in the previous step and let them absorb it. Never push anyone to your events, let them get lured themselves.
Step 4: Make references to your story and encourage others to spread it
Make it easy for people to share your story with their friends. A great way to do this is to have materials ready, that they can send to their networks. Also, keep referring to different aspects of the story or different analogies of the story off an on, as a subtle reminder to the community. For example: “you know how we have this great little garage all set up”, or “we are avid believers or DIY home products..”, or “our babies in a cute and inquisitive stage these days..”, or “its interesting to see how great ideas can be generated in fun brainstorming sessions..”, etc. These references will revive the entire story in the listeners mind and will make sure he or she doesn’t forget it.
Just like product brands require special attention, your events deserve the same level of thought into designing them. Good luck.
