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At 321Go, you will hear the term branding when it comes to your business.
Building your brand, sharing it, cobranding and more. We pride ourselves in creating brands that stand out and get noticed.
Branding offers you a chance to massively amplify awareness of your event. The goal is create an impact event that is unforgettable.
Are you branding your event?
You have set up your event that you are getting ready to host, but have you truly put effort into the brand? A common mistake I see frequently in the community is an event with zero brand. With so many competitions an events, a flier with only details just doesn’t cut it these days. The CrossFit community is evolving in all aspects of business, so lets go over how you can turn your event into one to remember and one that draws attention.
Logo/Event Design
Sometimes the best approach is is a logo that is subtle hinting at what is to come in your event. Your logo should represent your gym AND the overall expectation of your event. Take a look at one of mine from an event we host called Winter WODfest. It is in the winter and we have swimming. You can see that just in our event logo; athletes already know what to expect.
Try it: when branding/designing the event itself, keep all concepts connected by enforcing one overriding theme – whether that relates to color, design, theme, or message.
Social Media
Your event isn’t confined to the walls of your gym. When athletes and spectators use social media at your event, they talk to people all over the world. Give them something amazing to share – before, during, and after the event.. Take a look at #girlsgonerx and all that pops up. It is consistent theme in regards to color, branding, and it gets people talking.
Try it: bring some design cohesion to your event marketing materials by using one consistent hashtag or tagline for all emails, printed materials, and marketing.
Try it: Establish and publicize an event hashtag and start using it several months in advance. Tweet about topics, speakers, and the event venue. Encourage interaction with questions, polls, and fun contests. Remember to acknowledge each person who responds.
Athlete swag
In the events I run, I try to load up every athlete swag bag with branded items. Common mistakes I see events making are focusing just on prizes and the rest of the registered athletes go home with nothing. You can easily add swag that athletes actually want without breaking your budget. Here is an example for Girls Gone Rx of what every athlete will get. Cost is minimal and my brand is promoted beyond the day of the event.
Try it: Research companies and fun options. We recently did sunglasses for all athletes during our summer events. Get creative and have fun with this.
Photography
I view photography as one of the most important aspects of competitions. It is like your wedding; great pictures will not only create lifelong memories, but are able to be used in future marketing. Yes an iPhone can capture a few good moments, but why not support a local business and have them work for you to create epic moments all day long?! You can give them access to your admin side of things and they can create chatter throughout the event, think of a photographer as building your brand live!
A branded event is a supercharged marketing opportunity that’s all about you and your audience.
If done effectively, event branding lets you promote awareness about your event before, during, and well after it is over. What could be better?
This post was written by Lindsey Marcelli, co-owner of CrossFit Eminence, with her husband Kris.
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