We so often asked to design the whole event from start to finish which we love. That means we will tend to work with our clients on their invites. The invites you send really depends on the type of event. We have put together our tips and thoughts about the invite process and how to design effective invites for creative events to increase attendance. THE STYL:E OF THE EVENT The style of the event will dictate the style of the invites to a degree. For example, an internal, informal staff party may not require a formal invite whereas a wedding may be more likely to. Think about the tone of your event and how the invite should feel. The invite is the first time the guest sees the invite and has any contact with what may happen on the day.
HARD COPY INVITES We love what we call ‘lumpy post’. So often nowadays you don’t actually get that many letters as the world becomes more and more digital. Even when you do get letters, we are all too familiar with those boring white envelopes. When an envelope lands and it looks different or feels different, we know we get excited! We find that hard copy invites genuinely increase attendance at an event. Think about it – you receive a fancy or creative invite – it sets your impression for the event and what it will be like. It makes you more likely to attend.
EMAIL INVITES
Sometimes a hard copy invite won’t work, perhaps due to your numbers or the style of the event. Digital invites allow you to link easily to website, RSVP systems and contain a lot more information. You can also include videos and moving images. Sometimes they’re the perfect medium. There’s also the appeal that you can send a lot of invites in one go, very quickly. Of course, it is also more environmentally friendly and there’s no chance that it will get lost in the post.
ADDRESSING YOUR ENVELOPES If you can, we suggest thinking about this as much as the content. A gorgeous invite which then arrives in an unexciting envelope or with a digitally printed label can take away some of the excitement. Especially if it’s a creative event or special event you want the impact to be there from the moment it lands. Handwritten envelopes always have our heart. They’re time consuming yes but they just have the appeal as they arrive. They create intrigue. Even if it’s a coloured pen on a white envelope or a gold pen on a dark envelope. We adore calligraphy adorned envelopes as well and work with a range of amazing calligraphers to design ours. Remember though that Royal mail needs to be able to read the postcode in order to deliver. Make sure this is super clear.
RSVPs
When you send your RSVPs consider how everyone is replying before you send. Do you have a system or are you tracking in a spreadsheet? Do you have a special email or address? Perhaps there’s an RSVP card. We often design large RSVP response systems which allow us to collect a lot of data from guests. For a creative event a special email works well though. For wedding we love a little response card.
PROOF READ
This sounds obvious but so often we see proofs with mistakes. Make sure you read these over again and again. Then ask someone else to. Then check again! We sound obsessed but forgetting a key piece of information such as the date or the postcode is so easily done.
BE CREATIVE
Of course, as a creative event management company, we love to design effective invites for creative events. We enjoy thinking about the experience of the guest receiving them. Is there a little gift or nod to the event? How does the invite look, and the envelope feel? Perhaps you could invest what is a relatively small amount in a bespoke wax seal. We love all the little extra touches that create intrigue and excitement.
Let us know if you’d like any ideas for your upcoming event. We love nothing more than an invite brainstorm! Contact us HERE
