Fall conference season is 6 months away… that means the time to start planning for your fall events is now! In the last blog post, we talked about the first key decisions that need to be made to plan your event. These include deciding:
- The purpose of your event (educational, ceremonial, etc.)
- Your event budget
- How many people will attend
- Whether your event is in person, online, or hybrid
- For in-person/hybrid events, your event venue
- The day and time of your event
Once these elements are decided upon, it’s time to start developing your event theme. This word or short phrase will play a starring role in the rest of your event planning, marketing, and ticket sales.
Here are some “do’s” and “don’ts” to keep in mind for creating event themes:
DO:
- Be short and memorable – The theme should be a few words or a short phrase that captures the idea you want to convey. It should be catchy and memorable to capture your target audience’s attention.
- Call it what it is – Get creative, but not so creative that it’s unclear what your event actually is. Don’t be afraid to clearly state what type of event it is so people immediately understand.
- Use keywords – Know the words that will stand out to your audience (and in search results), and don’t be afraid to use those in your theme.
- Convey tone – The type of event will impact what type of tone the theme is in. For example, if it’s a party or a ceremony, you might have a more playful theme. If your event is an industry conference, keeping the tone serious and professional may be needed.
DON’T:
- Be too long, fancy, or complicated – This will lead to your theme not being as memorable or as catchy as you’d like, going against the core purpose of the theme.
- Forget to check intellectual property rights – The last thing you want to discover after you begin promotions is to find out that the phrase you’re using is trademarked. Do your research in advance to save yourself future headaches later.
It can take time to develop your theme! It’s often a lengthy back-and-forth creative process with multiple creative minds working together.
Don’t underestimate the time needed for this ultra-important part of your event, and lean on collaboration to get your desired result.
You can make your entire event planning process easier by getting our outside support and expertise. To explore how we can support you, send us a message or book your 15-minute call with Sandy here. We look forward to connecting with you!
Reimagining Places With You,
The PPR Strategies Team
