Event themes: Catchy versus kitschy

From associations to corporate events, everyone loves a good event theme! But when you're the event organizer (and have been for 20+ years), you start to feel like you're theming your high school prom.

How many SKOs have you done with race car themes?

• Fast Track your Success

• Revving up Results

• Pedal to the Metal

Or that Top Gun theme?

• Full Throttle Forward

• Mach 10 Sales Machine

• Supersonic Sales Season

How about that annual conference's nautical theme...

• Navigating Change

• Charting the Course

• Waves of Change

• Beyond the Horizon

Or that corporate exploration theme...

• Exploring New Frontiers

• Pathways to Progress

• Pioneering Progress

• Charting New Territories
  

Maybe I'm going down a rabbit hole... LOL... I'm just tired of the same old themes executed the same old ways: With a kitschy title, some graphics to match, and not much else. Same old conference. Same old keynotes. Same old parties.

If you're trying to pump up a sales team or create a rally cry for your customers, embrace the theme and follow through.

Focus on aligning the theme with the event’s goals, audience, and industry trends.

1. Align with Event Objectives

Ensure the theme directly supports the event’s objectives, such as fostering innovation, driving collaboration, or addressing industry challenges. Economic changes affecting your industry? That "charting" or "navigating" theme might be the right one for this year.

2. Incorporate Industry Trends

Use current industry trends and insights to shape the theme, making it relevant and forward-thinking. Don't just pick a theme out of a hat. Understand what's happening in the industry and design to drive the audience's emotions in the direction you want them to go.

3. Focus on Real-World Issues

Choose themes that address real-world challenges or opportunities in the industry, making the content more valuable and impactful for attendees.

4. Leverage Data and Insights

Use data and insights from previous events, surveys, and industry reports to create a theme that resonates with the audience’s needs and interests. What's the demographic or valuegraphic for your audience? Do they value stability? Do they value belonging and connection? Knowing your audience will connect them to the theme.

5. Involve Thought Leaders

Collaborate with industry experts and thought leaders to ensure the theme is relevant and thought-provoking.

6. Emphasize Practical Application

Select themes that highlight practical applications and actionable takeaways, ensuring attendees can implement what they learn. If they are "charting their course" give them actionable tools to actually help them do that.

7. Create a Narrative

Develop a compelling narrative around the theme that ties all event elements together, making it more cohesive and engaging. Design to it creatively and through the messaging in the keynotes and experience.

8. Use Professional Language

Skip the overly gimmicky or playful language. Instead, use professional wording that reflects the event’s seriousness and importance. Alternately, lean into the heavy gimmicks if it's right for your audience, but lean ALL THE WAY in. There's nothing worse than a silly headline and a lackluster event to take the wind right out of your sails (or sales).

9. Integrate Brand Values

Align the theme with the organization’s brand values and mission, reinforcing the company’s identity and purpose. Don't go completely off the rails. Stay true to who you are as an organization.

10. Focus on Innovation and Growth

Highlight themes that promote innovation, growth, and strategic thinking, positioning the event as a catalyst for progress. No one wants to be stuck in place. The event needs to feel like it has forward momentum.

It doesn't mean you have to fully dump the cheese-factor in your design or drop the idea of theming that you can carry through, but add more strategic verbiage to make your conference feel more grown-up.

I like to think of themes more as Content Tenets than just names. Your pillar content should align with the theme to create a sense of place throughout the narrative.

Examples:

• Instead of “Sailing to Success,” use “Navigating Strategic Growth.”

• Instead of “Expedition to Excellence,” use “Exploration of Innovation.”

• Instead of “Quest for Excellence,” use “Pioneering Industry Leadership.”

And don't just leave the theming to a conference title and some clip art graphic. Carry it through the conference - if you are Navigating Strategy Growth with a nautical twist, make your party night a Yacht Rock theme!

If you are Pioneering Industry Leadership for your Bay Area event, make the welcome reception a gold rush theme!

Be playful, carry it through, and make it meaningful.

Gainsight's conference, Pulse, held in St. Louis this year took a high school theme and carried it through beautifully! It was subtle on the website - not giving away too much about the theme. But when you arrived onsite, they went ALL IN. Executives dressed in 90s attire, hallways had oversized lockers, and the colors were bold pops of colors with vibrant energy.

So when you're ideating around your theme, ditch the surface-level headline and dig deep. Embrace the theme. Use the theme. And strategically insert the theme into your messaging, narrative and event!