With all the factors that play into your conference planning, badges might seem like one of the lowest-priority items. After all, they’re tiny and don’t really affect the mood of your guests the way keynote speakers, long lines, or even catered meals do.
However, that kind of thinking is the mistake that far too many event planners make. Badges may be small, but in the grand scheme of event planning, they’re mighty. The design and functionality of your conference’s badges will affect everything from your guests’ networking opportunities to their comfort and overall impression of your event.
With that in mind, you’ll want to give your attendees the best custom event badges money can buy. But what does that entail?
Here are five ideas for giving your guests the best badges they’ll ever receive.
1. Badges That Exchange Information
Virtually every business conference aims to facilitate networking between guests. Attendees want to meet others at the conference for career advancement opportunities, chances to learn from others’ expertise, or simply to make friends. Networking is a vital part of every conference.
Unfortunately, many event planners haven’t quite caught up to 21st-century standards for networking. These events require guests to ask for someone’s name, then type it out on LinkedIn on their phone, double-check to make sure they’ve got the spelling right, double-check again to make sure they’ve found the right profile, and finally connect with the person they’re speaking with. It’s inefficient at best and doesn’t leave much time for face-to-face interactions, which is the whole point of in-person conferences.
The simple answer to this problem? QR codes on conference badges.
While your badges should already include a QR code that links to the event’s landing page to provide guests with real-time updates and information, consider adding a second QR code to the back of each attendee’s badge. This second QR code can link to their LinkedIn or other preferred social media profiles. This gives guests a lightning-fast way to connect, leaving ample time for in-person conversations.
2. Badges That Start Conversations
Attending a business conference can be a nerve-wracking experience, especially for all our introverted friends. With networking being such an integral part of conferences, many guests realize its importance, but starting a conversation can be the hardest part.
So, why not help them out? During the registration process, include a field in your registration form for guests to fill in a few of their interests, hobbies, or specialized career areas. Then, include these personalized information points on each guest’s badge along with their name.
Not only does this provide attendees with easy conversation starters, but it’s also an excellent way to facilitate high-powered networking. Guests interested in a particular field can easily find others with those skills simply by looking at their badges.
3. Badges with Humor
Everyone goes to a conference looking to network, but they also attend to have fun. No one likes a conference that’s all work and no play. Introducing amusement into your conference is a highly effective way to encourage a relaxed yet professional environment. One way to do this is to include humor in your badges.
You can give guests the option to add a lighthearted alternative job title below, above, or even in place of their real title. For example, a procurement specialist could have “Professional Bargain Hunter” on their badge. You can also have guests choose to add personality traits or silly quirks to their badges that say things like “procrastination prodigy,” “coffee addict,” or “spreadsheet wizard.”
You can either have registrants add these traits during the registration process so they’re pre-printed on the badge, or you can have colorful stickers with these phrases at or near the event badge printers.
4. Badges with Thoughtful Designs
When designing your badges, always keep your guests’ preferences in mind. No one wants to wear a ridiculously oversized badge, squint to see someone’s name in a tiny font, or be unable to display important information like their company or job title because your event’s logo takes up too much space.
There are a few fundamental principles to remember when creating your event’s badges. Bigger is (generally) better with regard to both badge size and font size. The words on your badges should be easy to read from several feet away. This means you’ll need to use a large, sans-serif font. Your badges should be large enough to fit the necessary information without cramming anything but small enough to not get in the way.
Keep attendees’ important information at the forefront and let your logo take the backseat—but don’t leave it off the badges. You want your guests to remember your brand and return for future events. Use colors that complement your brand’s logo, including the colors of any badge stickers.
5. Badges Built for Comfort
Because your guests will be wearing their badges for virtually every minute of your event, you want them to be as comfortable as possible. Investing in adjustable lanyards is an excellent idea; without them, your guests on either end of the height spectrum will have a hard time dealing with the awkward lanyard lengths.
You should also invest in badge holders that keep the badges stationary so they don’t twist around. Badges that flip make it difficult for guests to network with each other because they won’t be able to see others’ names half the time.
You can solve this problem by printing your badges in double-sided format. However, remember that this can crowd your badges and prevent you from including a personal QR code linking to each guest’s LinkedIn profile.
The Small but Mighty Key to Success
You can’t overlook even the smallest detail if you want your event to be a hit. Badges might seem like one of those insignificant details, but the fact that guests use them to network, make friends, and even aid in conversation starters means their design is crucial to your event’s success.
When you design and print your next conference badges, make sure you include everything a guest could want from their badge to put your event over the top.