Does Your Event Need a Theme?

Creating an event theme doesn’t have to be hokey. In fact, when done right, conference and event themes have the power to create a successful outcome. Themes have the power to set the tone, draw a crowd, and make it memorable. The key is to select a theme that creates a buzz, aligns with your objectives, connects with your audience, and embodies your brand.

Event Themes Create a Buzz

Creating a marketing campaign around a theme is a great way to start a pre-event buzz. As with party themes, conference and business event themes bring an air of excitement and fun to the event. Select a theme that your audience can identify with and one that will get your marketing team’s juices flowing. Once a great theme is unveiled, it will catch fire via social media and spread to create the buzz you need to promote your event. Need help establishing an event theme? Consider the location, era, colors, films, music, pop culture, etc.

Themes Can Unify Event Objectives

Your event requires a lot of content support in order to be successful. During event marketing, your team will create content on the host city, content around the keynote speaker, content about the speakers, etc. Implementing a theme puts a twist on your content – making it stand out in a sea of other event content.The word “theme” sometimes get a bad rap in the business world. Serious themes that revolve around a key message can work wonders in unifying your event objectives. Maybe your event theme is an action word describing your mission. For instance, a construction association’s conference may use the word “building” as the theme, creating conference breakouts entitled: ‘Building Our Future,’ ‘Building a Powerful Network,’ or ‘Building Communities.’A successful theme shapes your conference agenda and personifies your objectives for the event.

Event Themes Give Speakers Direction

One of the biggest challenges when selecting a keynote speaker outside of your industry is ensuring that he/she understands your unique audience and their expectations. Creating a theme that the speaker can relate to and incorporate into their message to your audience will help bridge this gap. It will give the speaker an understanding of your expectations so that they can tailor their content to your theme.

Themes Encourage Social Sharing

Designing an event where people will naturally want to snap and share is a great way to generate excitement and promote social sharing. The goal is to use styling and props to generate maximum impact and get people engaging and interacting with the theme. Make sure your backdrops, furniture, signage, and props are all consistent with your theme. A good theme will naturally invite your audience to engage. You can be witty, charming, and serious all at the same time!Your event theme should be present throughout your social media posts and videos, as well as in blogs, articles, and press releases. Your event theme will draw interest from attendees, which makes people more engaged and supports more lively discussion and networking.