Events are where people get to hold the product.
They also get away from you fast, because it's tempting to plan a pop-up around the photo wall and figure out the rest later.
In EventTrack 2026, from Sparks and Event Marketer, 61% of consumers surveyed said they're more likely to buy after a live event (Sparks).
Goals first
Decide what you want people to do after they leave, before you book anything. Buy online with a code, join the SMS list, post or come back to a store. Every choice after that should push toward one or two of those.
That also tells you what to measure: signups captured, codes redeemed in the next 30 days, posts and tags, sales in the zip codes around the venue. Write those down before the event.
The space
Most good activations have one thing people come for and tell their friends about. A product they can try, a bar, a booth where they make something, a wall they'll line up to photograph.
Then give people a reason to stay longer than five minutes, like sampling, a short demo, a mini consult or a game with a good prize.
Merch
Most event merch ends up in a drawer or the trash.
In a 2021 PPAI survey of 5,674 people in the US and Canada, 75.4% said they keep a promotional product because it's useful, about double the next reason. Another 38.3% kept something because it reminded them of an event, and 34.1% because they liked the design. Almost half, 48.7%, had kept promotional products for more than five years (PPAI).
PPAI's Product Power 2026 study of more than 5,000 US consumers found 90% said getting a promo product improved how they saw the brand. About two thirds said they're very likely to keep one for six months or more, and they pointed to durability, design and material. 73% use branded bottles or tumblers daily (PPAI). Low durability, bad design and irrelevance came up as what makes merch feel cheap.
We'd rather design one piece people want on their desk, in the same look as the rest of the brand, than five things with a logo slapped on.
The printed stuff
Signage, menus, cards, sample packaging and whatever tells people how to find you online. It's in the background of every photo, so design it with the space and the merch.
After
Email everyone who signed up within a day or two, and post the content you shot on the day. Then check your numbers against the goal you wrote down at the start.
How we do it
sound like you?
Planning a pop-up?
At Beyond Bright, events run alongside social and email, so we shoot content on the day and the signups go straight into Klaviyo. If you're planning something, start a project and tell us what you've got in mind.
Start a project
Written by
Hana Brenner-Katz is the founder and creative director of Beyond Bright Creative. She started her own design studio in 2018 and turned it into a full-service agency in 2023.
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