From corporate events to brand activations, audiences are looking for engaging and connected experiences.

Post-pandemic, Americans have gotten more selective about how they spend their time off the clock. They live further away from their offices, socialize less, and are less inclined to give up evenings for a work obligation or corporate event.

So how can a brand event – from a corporate conference to a lifestyle product reveal – earn a spot on the calendar of consumers and clients?

It starts with the narrative.

Your event materials – from invitations to opening speeches – should weave a compelling and cohesive story that connects your values and the purpose of the event to your audience’s priorities. This is the through-line that will resonate with stakeholders and convince them that your event is worthwhile, and it should be clearly and creatively reinforced at every touchpoint.

• It doesn’t have to be fancy – just genuine. Think about events that support nonprofits, like the Susan G. Koman Race for the Cure or the Out of the Darkness community walks for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Their purposes are clear, their event structures tie into their values and goals, and the events resonate deeply with audiences.

Identify your value-add.

What does this event exclusively offer to your audience? It might be an immersive experience or irreplaceable networking opportunity with high-level executives. As consumers place a higher value on their own time, your event needs to offer a unique concept, opportunity or purpose to draw attendees.

• For a corporate event, this might look like creating more time for networking or swapping some motivational speakers for actionable, skills-based training. A brand launch may offer exclusive discounts and experiential moments for attendees to share with their followers or provide behind-the-scenes access.

Make it memorable.

With your purpose and value clear, a creative or unexpected event structure will build loyalty with your audiences and help them move beyond “I should go to this” to “I’m excited to go to this.”

• This could be an outside-the-box venue that closely ties to your product or mission, or a creative onsite activation that engages guests in new and meaningful ways. The key is to know your audience (with data) and personalize the event accordingly.
• Our client Team IMPACT matches children facing serious illness and disability with college athletic teams to create one-of-a-kind experiences and support networks. Their regional fundraising and awareness events are infused with elements of the local sports culture – like city-favorite foods and a hometown announcer – to connect directly with attendees, while participants’ heartfelt stories provide an unforgettable, first-hand perspective on the organization.

Activate your audience.

Bring them into the story and offer ways for them to engage more deeply with your brand or share the experience with their networks on social media. A conference might consider live polling to gather and share exclusive insights with industry executives, while a consumer brand may choose to develop “made-for-social" moments.

• When John Legend launched a new children’s album and partnership with Fisher-Price in August, he collaborated with the toy maker to host an exclusive event – at his house! - for parenting influencers. Creators and their children were invited to hear him debut new songs live, interview him personally (for their social audiences) and share unique sale codes with followers. The high-impact event connected the singer and attendees around their love for their families while also creating a social media moment with insider access for influencers.
• When the storied Penn Museum announced a monumental building transformation with new galleries and a historic reopening, we wanted to invite the public along the museum’s journey and establish its grand reopening as a major cultural event in Philadelphia. The museum’s unofficial mascot – a 12.5-ton sphinx of Ramses II – needed to make its way to its new home in the museum’s re-envisioned Main Entrance Hall. Team Brian had the privilege of working with the Penn Museum to place a 500-pound replica of the sphinx in Dilworth Park, activating the community and social media influencers to try to #MoveTheSphinx – a memorable engagement that reached 191,000 social media users, was featured by media outlets and built momentum for the museum’s re-opening.

From branded conferences to corporate announcements, glamorous sportsbook events to toy launches – events still deliver an unmatched opportunity to connect directly with key stakeholders and create engagement around your company’s values. And with a clear narrative and compelling value proposition, your event will stand out from other invitations.