It’s no secret that storytelling is a marketer and an event planner’s favourite tool. It’s a brilliant way to get an audience engaged and invested in what you’re doing – whether that’s selling socks or raising money for charity.
So you might think that you’ve cracked storytelling at your event? You’ve created a narrative to encourage attendance or donations or engagement – whatever your KPI is. But have you thought about the visual storytelling at your event? In the age of instagram, what you put on a banner can be just as important as what’s coming out of your speaker’s mouth. So how can you use visuals to tell a story at your event?
Book a celebrity speaker
A celebrity speaker to help with the visuals might sound all wrong – but when you hire a celebrity, their familiarity is just as important as what they say. A celebrity guest with a good reputation can help to make your event a success, just by being there.
Choose someone who will resonate with both your audience, and the story you’re telling. If it’s a charity event, choose a celebrity with a history of philanthropy or activism. For an event about entrepreneurship, choose a recognisable and trustworthy businessman, like Sir Alan Sugar.
Create a visual theme
A great graphic designer can help you to create visuals that help to tell your story, and it’s a theme you’ll be able to carry through the whole event. We all take in information best in different formats, so if your graphic design can tell your story visually, you’ll be opening up a whole new segment of your audience.
But it’s not just about the right fonts and colours, if you’re using photos you need to make sure they’re truly representative. Stock images are often blatantly obvious in such contexts, so spend a little cash on having a photographer take some really good photos.
You’re never going to grab 100% of your audience’s attention, but you can maximise your chances of grabbing it with some take-away materials. Whatever message it is that you’re trying to send, from employee engagement to encouraging philanthropy, materials that attendees can take away will help you to make sure it sinks in.
Leave your materials on seats or put them in gift bags; the glossier and heavier they are, the more people will feel obligated to take them home!
Visual storytelling at events
Keeping your visuals strong is a great way to tell stories and build narratives in the world of event planning. If you make sure to create a visual theme, offer some take-away materials and hire a recognisable celebrity guest with a reputation that fits your cause, you’ll be well on your way. For more information about hiring celebrities on our book, get in touch today.
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Put Storytelling at the Heart of your Events