When you organize an event and on-board a roster of sponsors to finance it, what do you offer them as a benefit? Branding opportunities. And what do sponsors do with said branding opportunities? Why they brand the hell out of it to the point that it becomes oppressive to the senses! In most instances, organisers don’t pay attention to constructing branding opportunities in a manner that benefits the sponsor, as well as the entire event experience.
This is quite true in the Sri Lankan context. Local event branding opportunities, translate into just one thing; brand visibility. More often than not, sponsors are offered space in some form; a bare space at the venue, a put-up structure at the entrance, the ticket surface; all resulting in simplistic and unengaging solutions that create absolutely no value.
We blame the absence of creativity when managing the branding aspect of an event. In the rush to create a spectacular and memorable audience experience, organisers forget the implications sponsor branding can have on it, such as having a brand of zero relevance as the main sponsor, causing negative perceptions within the event audience. On the other hand, an event that partners with brands that have a strong resonance with the subject matter of the event will allow forexperiential branding opportunities that serves the sponsor, while also creating engaging touchpoints for the audience.
Event branding comes at a huge cost to sponsors and partners. Thus, some form of ROI is expected for the investment made. But how are organizers ensuring that this ROI is delivered? Sadly, in the local context, brand sponsors who know no better, will end up erecting a few hundred flags and wonder what the ROI was, and whether they even realized any kind of engagement value with target audiences.
As event curators with extensive experience in turning out events with high experiential value, Eventistry has long held the belief that the branding aspect of an event needs to be looked at from a holistic angle, with specialist focus. Our partnership with Winfield Associates has been formed for the purpose of developing tailored, effective branding solutions for each and every event partner / sponsor. With the element of innovation high on Winfield’s priority list, the inclusion of branding options such as 3D VR signage which was used at the recent Army Commanders T20 Cricket Cup provides event sponsors with great visibility for their brands.
We take event branding as an element that is critical to a successful final outcome, and work towards making it synergistic and complementary to the total event experience. Collaborating partners / sponsors are assured measurable gains on the branding opportunities they have invested in. As far as the fundamentals of event branding are concerned, we have mastered them, and if creating true value for your event partners is a priority, be assured that we can deliver on this expectation.
