Making a Brand Alliance
The power of a brand alliance
Unlike most things available to people today, complacency doesn’t drive people to go to an event. You have to get dressed. You have to travel somewhere. You oftentimes have to pay money to get inside. It’s never the easy thing to do. It always requires event-goers to go out of their way, yet people attend events now more than ever.
This is because each and every event represents something, or perhaps better said, things. They are all saturated in associations that are compelling to people. This can be as simple as ‘fun’ when attending a concert, or ‘opportunity’ when attending a business mixer. It can also be complex and multifaceted such as attending a fundraising gala for healthcare research. The associations that draw someone to attend may be:
Fun - dressing up and going dancing
Compassion - knowing someone suffering with illness the benefiting charity serves
Philanthropy - making the world a better place
Customer Care - supporting a cause my clients care about
Socializing / Community - meeting other people who care about this topic
Brand alignment decisions
Deciding how to align your company and at which events can be tricky. There are always a wide range of options available, but poor associations can be ineffective or counterproductive. Here are a few thoughts to guide the search process:
What industries matter especially to my brand?
This is not so much what industry are you in as it is in which industries are your customers? If you’re in roofing, your customers may be general contractors or new homeowners, and construction industry conference may be key. If you are a financial planner that has found a niche with helping nurses, consider sponsoring a medical convention.
What feel does my brand have?
A bank or insurance agency is selling safety. They are likely to be more buttoned up. Somewhere with a higher dress norm might make more sense. Or, because of the shirt & tie association the industry carries, they may be looking to represent themselves in a more casual light. A camping goods supplier is probably better suited looking at outdoor events over something indoor.
Which locations matter?
Geography doesn’t matter for every product or service, but it does to many. If your service area is expanding into a new neighborhood or city, meet people where they’re at and as close to their home / work / routines as possible. Alternatively, look at where you don’t currently have much business coming from and pursue clients there by going to them.