Crafting a Cohesive Event Brand: 3 Tips for Associations

No matter what type of event your association is planning, it’s essential to consider what type of atmosphere you want to create. The overall mood and environment of your event can make or break whether attendees have a positive, memorable experience that makes them want to engage with your association long-term.

One of the best ways to enhance your event’s atmosphere is through consistent branding. Not only does branding give your event a cohesive, professional look and feel, but it also reinforces your association’s identity and values for new and returning participants.

In this guide, we’ll discuss three tips to help your association craft a cohesive event brand that elevates the attendee experience. Let’s get started!

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1. Consider Your Brand Holistically

When you hear the word “branding,” the first things that come to mind are probably the visual elements of a brand, such as logos and color palettes. While these are critical aspects of effective branding, your association’s brand actually extends beyond visuals into your messaging strategy. 

Let’s dive deeper into both sides of your association’s brand so you can apply it holistically as you plan events.

Visual Brand Aspects

The visual side of your brand is what gives your event a consistent look and feel. The most important aspects to consider here are:

• Logos. Your association’s logo is the visual representation of its identity and values. During events, it should serve as a constant reminder of your organization and its goals. While you might create a few different versions of your logo—both event-specific and more general variations (such as a black-and-white iteration that is easier to print)—they should all be built around the same basic design to cement your brand.
• Colors. Most brand palettes consist of one or two main colors that represent the organization, plus a few secondary shades to make content more visually appealing. Color psychology also applies heavily to branding—for instance, many associations incorporate blue into their brand palettes because it’s associated with professionalism and trust—so keep this in mind when choosing your brand and event color scheme.
• Typography. In addition to expressing your association’s personality (for instance, bold fonts convey seriousness and rounded fonts are more playful), your brand typography needs to be legible. For example, sans serif fonts are easiest to read on a screen, which is a key consideration if your association does mostly virtual or hybrid events.

Branding Through Messaging

As you define the visual aspects of your brand, you should also ensure consistency in event messaging by establishing your association’s:

• Tone. How do you want attendees to perceive your organization after reading content related to your event? Are you welcoming, optimistic, driven, or something else?
• Word choice. What terms will you use to describe your association’s mission and the different aspects of your event? For example, are the social portions of your event “networking sessions” or “meet-and-greets”? 
• Mechanics. Does your association follow an established style guide that is familiar to your audience, such as the Associated Press (AP) Stylebook or the Chicago Manual of Style? Or do you have your own rules for capitalization, punctuation, and other technical aspects of writing?

Compile all of the visual and messaging elements of your brand into a single digital style guide so that anyone at your association involved in the event planning process can reference it and ensure consistency in every aspect of your branding.

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2. Feature Your Brand in Your Event Marketing Materials

Cohesive event branding should begin long before your event actually kicks off. Catch potential attendees’ attention and start building trust with them by featuring your brand across all of your association’s marketing channels, including:

• The Events page, calendar, and signup form on your website
• Email blasts and newsletter sections about the event
• Social media posts on various platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn
• Print communications like flyers and direct mail invitations

Consistent branding across all of these channels is vital regardless of your event’s target audience. If you’re primarily targeting new or prospective members, your brand serves as an introduction to your association and sets the tone for what to expect at the event. For audiences of seasoned members, branding reinforces their existing relationship with your organization and (hopefully) brings to mind past positive experiences that encourage them to sign up for another event.

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3. Brand Your Event Space

For your brand to contribute to your event’s atmosphere, you need to feature it throughout the space attendees interact with during the event. Of course, this will look different depending on the event format, so let’s look at how to brand event spaces for both in-person and virtual events (for hybrid events, use applicable tips from both sections).

In-Person Events

In-person events provide the opportunity to physically surround your attendees with your association’s brand. Include relevant visual and messaging elements across your:

• Event signage and maps
• Name tags or badges
• Attendee information packets
• Presentation handouts

You may also need to promote event sponsors’ or other presenting organizations’ brands in these materials. If this is the case, include your association’s logo alongside theirs and create a distinction between your organization as the host and theirs as sponsors or presenters. This way, you’ll reinforce your association’s brand identity while still providing these other organizations with the free publicity you likely promised them in your sponsorship agreements.

Virtual Events

During virtual events, create a branded digital space where attendees will spend most of their time. This can include branding the:

• Waiting room that participants initially arrive in when they join a session
• Mobile app where attendees can interact with each other and engage more deeply with presentations
• Presentation slides for various sessions—if outside speakers create them, make sure they include your event name and association logo alongside their organization’s branding

To make your brand tangible for event participants, consider mailing out your attendee information packets, or at least upload them in a printable format so anyone who wants to print them at home can do so easily.

Promoting your association’s brand doesn’t end when your event is over! Connect with attendees after the event by developing branded follow-up messages thanking them for attending and letting them know about other upcoming opportunities. Additionally, if you send out a post-event survey, include some questions about how participants perceived your brand so you can hone your strategy for future events.