In this article, we want to talk to Event Directors and Event Managers, who understand how events can shape the public perception of a brand and are exploring the options of strengthening their messaging. Events-as-a-Service business model is an approach that enables building stronger brand presence, deepening client relationships and attracting new prospects – and we will walk you through how to achieve that. So how does Events-as-a-Service affect your brand?
The Impact of Events-as-a-Service on Your Brand
The past month we have been talking about Events-as-a-Service a lot. We’ve explored how it changes your mindset in regards to the audience and how its primary purpose is to build relationships that matter with a single, long-term supplier.
In this article we’d like to discuss in more detail about how it will affect your brand and its positioning within the events industry. The EaaS model is designed for your events to deliver impact and drive your business forward. Does this sound like something you’re aiming to achieve? Because all you need to do is carry on reading…
What Brands Can Benefit from EaaS?
The best thing about Events-as-a-Service model is that it’s not constricted by business size, industry of operation or goals you’re aiming to achieve. The reasoning behind is that EaaS isn’t a strategy that would only be relevant for certain types of businesses – it is a mindset.
The heart of it is understanding the needs and goals of every party involved; your partner, your audience, and your business. And to then build trust-driven relationships built on that foundation.
Strong relationships result in smooth communication and genuine care, which in turn deepens the understanding of the goals and challenges, delivering better results. With that said, we can firmly establish that EaaS can be adopted by virtually any brand.
Choosing the Provider
Although EaaS is a one-for-all practice that revolves around working with one provider for a long time – the choice of a provider is a highly individual journey for every business. There is no brand that’s identical to another. Different companies have different goals, operations, missions statements and therefore require different approaches. The market is filled with different offers when it comes to event business, and there’s a match to everyone: you just need to research thoroughly.
This is why it’s important to have your goals outlined clearly before you go down the path of EaaS. When looking for a long-term event planner, you aim to sign a contract with someone who’s services are closely aligned with your needs and objectives. For example, at Showcase we bring the following to the table:
- Virtual event platform and analytics for online events;
- Speaker management and preparation including content review;
- Designing attendee customer experience;
- Logistics and on-site management;
- Content/design visualisation;
- Liaising with venues for hybrid and in-person events;
- Knowledge and experience based assistance across different areas of global events;
- Live, virtual, hybrid event support;
- Production services from AV to manufacturing.
What Makes it Impactful?
Of course, as the people who came up with the term EaaS we insist it’s great and can change your business, but our words only go so far unless we are capable of backing our statement up. And we are. In the next section we will talk about why EaaS is impactful and back up the claim it’s a model for any type of business.
Consistent Messaging Across All the Events
From the use of the same colours to addressing the same core values, consistent messaging is a telling trait of a strong, reliable brand. In other words, every component of the event must be fully aligned and consistent to the brand’s messaging in other outlets: website, communications, PR, marketing and everything else.
The easiest way to explain how the Events-as-a-Service model enables that, is that it eliminates the possibility of miscommunication between multiple 3rd party companies. The more independent suppliers are involved, the more difficult it gets to ensure everyone’s on the same page – and that’s what exposes your business to the risk of inconsistent messaging and experience.
At Showcase, we work with our clients for years on end, gathering a deep understanding of their brand mission and their goals. This allows us to guide them to establish messaging that’s consistent across all platforms and events, consulting them on better approaches and achieving results that exceed expectations.
Long-term Goals vs Targets
Since we’ve brought up consulting and guidance, let’s expand on the topic and talk about why they’re important. When you’re in the middle of an event cycle, it’s very easy for your focus to shift to event-specific targets that don’t carry much value outside the campaign. This often means losing sight of the bigger picture and long-term brand goals.
This is actually closely tied into consistency – the brand that doesn’t act on long-term goals tends to grow inconsistent. Chasing smaller targets often includes specific approaches that may require going out of the brand’s style of operation. To summarise, EaaS allows you to keep the brand’s long-term goals in front of you at all times, ensuring the targets you chase are in-line with your branding and contribute towards the overall objectives.
Building a Community
It shouldn’t just be your messaging that’s consistent – but also the value you deliver. The best indicator of the latter is seeing familiar faces coming back time after time. Events-as-a-Service entails building a community around your brand where you become known for continuous delivery of highly relevant and useful content.
The community of happy attendees builds brand loyalty and turns them into your biggest advocates – who then build your brand awareness. Imagine – how great it is to have an audience that trusts you implicitly because they know they are your top priority. After all, the EaaS approach entails going an extra mile to deepen the relationship your brand has with the audience.
Sustainable Brand Growth
Your brand grows thanks to your audience – they’re the driving force behind your successes and should therefore be your focus. Loyal audience doesn’t just actively reciprocate your involvement, but also spreads a positive word about your brand to their surroundings, recommending you as a reliable specialist to them.
By investing into building meaningful relationships with the audience through EaaS, you subject yourself to constant, sustainable growth. When you turn focus into delivering great value consistently, it becomes associated with your brand. With growing loyalty, word of your excellence will travel too, steadily increasing brand awareness. In turn, this opens new opportunities for growth – such as expanding your reach to hosting international events.
Summary
Events-as-a-Service is not just a business model: it’s a mindset. It doesn’t matter what your business does or how big it is – as long as you are willing to turn your focus from chasing individual goals to add value, it will help you grow. Through years of experience and following our values, we have learned that prioritising long-term relationships is far more rewarding in both personal happiness and ROI.
Are you still in doubt whether Events-as-a-Service is something your brand can use? Let’s discuss your opportunities.
