Creating a theme and a branded look for a fundraising event, gala or conference is a crucial first step toward sparking interest, raising awareness and eliciting contributions. Below are several key factors to consider when setting out to achieve your fundraising goals.
1. Develop an Engaging, Relevant Event Theme
An event theme is the overarching title that encompasses all aspects of the event. The event theme is expressed through the graphics and messaging on every bit of branding and correspondence before, during and after the event. Themes for events should be simple and concise. By involving your graphic design team from the beginning, you can bring more conceptual creativity to the theme development process. Typically, the theme of an event should be a singular statement or thought. For example, Green Vale School, the largest co-ed private school on Long Island, NY, for pre-nursery through 8th grade, was celebrating its 100th anniversary. Their theme, Party of the Century, captured the excitement and glamour of their centennial gala. The school was founded in 1923, so the gala paid homage to the Roaring Twenties and used Art Deco design throughout its branding to evoke a sparkling feeling of history and celebration.
2. Design the Look and Feel
Once you have a theme that accurately expresses your fundraising event, your graphic design team should be able to create a strong visual identity that delivers the message while remaining true to the parent brand. Because event branding can consist of many, many individual marketing materials, Trillion creates “mood boards” to present our design directions. A mood board is a collage of color, photos, typographic treatments, words or other visual indicators composed on one “board”, or small poster, in order to show a look and feel. It could consist of a few major marketing components such as a banner, flyer, postcard, web banner ad or digital presentation screen. The mood board provides our clients with a quick glimpse into what their event branding materials may look like.
In addition to the visual elements, create written and verbal talking points that reflect the theme. Serious, light-hearted, analytical or other relevant language that appropriately ties into the theme will enhance your chances of a successful fundraiser.
3. Design Inspiring Sponsorship Opportunities
One big factor in helping potential sponsors get excited about your cause is to show them how their logo will be placed on your event’s marketing materials. Sponsors should want to be associated with your event and be exposed to the attendees. For one of our client’s events, the Cycle for Courage, we provided a small mood board and visuals that depicted a sponsor’s logo placement opportunities. We clearly labeled where specific levels of sponsorships would be featured. The mood board helped potential sponsors see their potential logo placement.
Another important factor with sponsorship opportunity packets is to clearly list all of the benefits of participation, as well as statistics and demographics of the anticipated attendees. If an advertising media buy is in place, list the viewership, impressions, and demographics relevant to potential sponsors.
4. Share a Clever Save-the-Date
Since a save-the-date will be the first interaction with potential attendees, make a great first impression. Share a realistic budget with your graphic designer so they can suggest a cleverly branded solution that fits your needs. A special mailer, email blast, or flyer that shares your event’s date and time is a worthwhile investment to get people talking about your event.
5. Inspire with Your Event Invitation or Flyer
Whether your invitation is a digital design or traditional print design, utilize your event brand identity and make something truly inspiring. The recipient should be convinced that “I must attend this event!” and take the next steps to find out more about your event and how to register.
For The Cooke School and Institute’s annual Food for Thought Gala, we used a butterfly concept to highlight the Cooke School’s transformation from its beginning as a single, small classroom to a full-fledged institute and school with an enrollment of over 300 students.
To capture the fun and sophistication of the gala, we designed an intricately cut gatefold of two wings that enclose the invitation, closing at the butterfly’s body. We used elegant and ornate lines in the butterfly design that mimicked the elegant serif typography. We continued to use the blues and greens from the Cooke School palette to retain brand equity.
The event was sold out, and Cooke exceeded their fundraising goal by $150,000. The invitation was widely praised, with many attendees saying it was the most beautiful invite they received all year.
Applying Your Brand Across All Event Materials
Once your initial event brand is established, all of the other marketing and advertising materials should follow suit. Here are other items that may need to be considered and will require the attention of your graphic designer:
- online banner ads
- registration website
- marketing emails
- print advertisements
- radio or TV advertisements
- venue, day-of signage
- Welcome signage
- Registration signage
- Sponsor identifiers
- Projection screens
- Swag bags/giveaways
- Event Program(s)
Optimize Your Event with Strategic Marketing
Ultimately, even the most visually striking event branding only reaches its full potential when paired with smart, strategic event marketing. Promotion is where the brand identity you’ve built comes to life, across social media, email campaigns, partnerships, PR and paid media. It’s not just about increasing attendance; it’s about creating anticipation, driving engagement, and extending the event’s impact long after the lights go down. Utilizing post-event engagement tactics, such as recap content, surveys, and retargeting, will nurture relationships and build momentum for future events. Great branding gives your event a voice; effective marketing makes sure the right audience hears it.
Let Trillion Turn Your Event Into a Fundraising Success
If your organization would like to get the most out of your next event, our talented team of designers and marketers can help. Our striking, memorable branding and smart marketing tactics have led many of our clients to reach or surpass their fundraising goals. Give us a call at 908.219.4703 or contact us here to discuss your event. You can also visit our website to see more of our event branding work. We look forward to helping you make your next event a huge success!
