How to Define and Design Your Event Concept in 5 Steps

Imagine if your event could talk, what would it say?

Well, that’s essentially your event concept — your gathering’s lively personality that tells everyone your event’s who, what, when, where, and why with unmistakable flair.

Having a clear and appealing concept will help you attract the right audience and make planning easier by clarifying and guiding your ideas. In this article, you’ll find examples of real event creators to illustrate what an event concept is and how to execute one. 

Eventbrite has been working with event organizers worldwide for 14 years, and we’ve seen what makes an event concept work. Read on if you want a unique, attractive, and workable event concept!

What is an event concept (with real event examples)

An event concept is the overarching theme or idea that gives your event its unique identity. It’s what sets your event apart from the competition. You can use it as the blueprint for all your planning decisions — from venue selection to marketing strategies; you should complete everything with the event concept in mind to create cohesion. 

Start every step of your event planning process with your event concept in mind. That means choosing the right venue for your event’s vibe and ensuring your marketing reflects the concept. 

A well-defined event concept can simplify your planning process by providing a clear direction for all decisions. It helps to align the five Ws of any event for simpler planning: who, what, when, where, and why.

A compelling event concept helps attendees build a deeper connection with your event, improving attendee engagement and making them more likely to attend again. 

Finally, having a clear event concept will help your marketing efforts, as it helps you develop your event branding and marketing messaging. 

Event concept examples

Dyketopia Comedy’s Camp Dyketopia is an excellent example of a well-defined event concept featuring LGBTQ+ comedy and a summer arts experience in an outdoor setting. Here are just some of the ways this event organizer made sure every aspect of the event was a part of this overarching concept:

• Who: A roster full of hilarious and talented LGBTQ+ comedians, so every part of the event was flooded with inclusivity.
• What: Everything from the event’s activities (LGBTQ+ comedy, summer camp crafts, shows from drag icons, musicians celebrating their identities, and an artist’s fair) to its whimsical discount codes (FLANNEL and SUBARU) had an LGBTQ+ and summer camp theme.
• When: Midsummer in Colorado was the perfect climate for a summer camp, and as the event description notes, the cool evening was a great chance to bust out the beanies and flannels. Hosting during the warmer months allowed the organizer to have an outdoor venue for more space for activities. 
• Where: A small, LGBTQ+-owned farm outside Denver was the perfect venue for an inclusive, outdoorsy feel.
• Why: Camp Dyketopia was created to bring LGBTQ+ people together and make them laugh. They didn’t just do that through the standup acts and drag shows. Activities like friend speed dating helped clarify the event’s social intent — and celebrate all identities.

Each of these factors individually supported the overall event concept, one especially valuable in the events industry, where less than half of events state their commitment to inclusion.

But Dyketopia Comedy isn’t the only event with a solid concept.

Get in the Kitchen! has several event series with strong event concepts, such as Cooking & Comedy, Drag Brunch, Dinner and Dancing. They always integrate their event concepts into all five Ws of an event. This is how they do that with their Cooking & Comedy events:

• Who: They bring in comedians and chefs to entertain and teach anyone who wants to learn.
• What: The concept is unique — both educational and entertaining. You’ll leave with a belly full of food and laughs. The event sticks to its name, featuring cooking classes and plenty of jokes.
• When: You could do an event like this any time, any day. But by hosting the classes on Friday nights, the organizers bring a little more of the late-night comedy vibe to a cooking event.
• Where: Of course, you need a kitchen for a cooking class. But, the organizers ensure event guests have all the equipment they need at their Chicago venue. 
• Why: Using humor can improve learning outcomes, so this event perfectly combines its two purposes: Teaching people a useful skill and making them laugh.

Both of these events apply their event concepts to the five Ws of their events. By focusing on answering those five pillars with your event concept in focus, you’ll create a cohesive, effective, and engaging experience. Let’s look at some ideation strategies to develop a great concept.

Steps to create a great event concept

Event concept creation and the event planning process aren’t easy. If you’re unsure where to start, this step-by-step guide will walk you through how to successfully create your event concept and integrate it into your plans.

Step 1: Start with your event goals

A great approach to successful event goals is thinking about them as SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

This method transforms broad desires into actionable and strategic objectives. For example, if your aim is to boost event attendance, a SMART goal could be to precisely target a 30% attendance increase from the previous event within a six-month timeframe through virtual and in-person ticket sales. 

This isn’t just a general wish for better outcomes but a defined goal that guides every planning decision — from promotional tactics to choosing the right venue and activities. In this way, SMART goals provide the structure for planning your event concept. Once you know what outcomes you want to see, you can build a concept that helps you get there.

Step 2: Know your audience

It goes without saying that different themes appeal to different people. The concept that worked perfectly for a craft brewery crowd might be all wrong for your fundraising gala. Understanding your target audience is key to designing an event attendees love.

While you’ll never know exactly who will walk in the venue doors, you can be strategic about how to reach potential attendees. 

Review surveys from previous events. Pour over your registration data to create a profile of your attendees. You’ll want to examine interests, demographics, and what brought them to your event. It may be a diverse group, but they’re likely united by a common interest.

If you want more information, you can poll your followers on social media — it never hurts to ask. Once you’re confident that you know your target audience, ask these questions to generate your event concept ideas:

• What did your previous attendees like most (and least) about your events?
• Who is your target demographic for future events? (Hint: start by identifying your most valuable attendees)
• What interests do your potential attendees share? 
• Why do guests attend events like yours?
• Should your event be child-friendly or 21+? Is this a night out with friends or a day with the family?

You can begin to glean details of your event concept from the answers to those questions. For example, Laugh Factory needs to know what comedians their audience wants to see to fill their venue with attendees.

What style of comedy are they interested in? Do they want established names or fresh faces? Those are the kinds of questions they can only answer by understanding their target audience.

If you’re facing a similar problem, you can send out a survey via email or social media to ask what they’re interested in. With Eventbrite’s Mailchimp integration, you can email all your past attendees and subscribers in the blink of an eye.

You should also keep an ear to the ground on social media to hear what people are saying to one another about events like yours. Follow key hashtags and identify influencers who might be affecting your audience’s interests.

Step 3: Build your event concept around your main attraction

Your event concept should be built around your audience and your main attraction. For example, Daybreaker’s audience is people dedicated to living a healthy lifestyle. Their main attractions are their yoga and social dance, and their event concepts center around sober, healthy activities to unite people.

Daybreaker enhances those attractions by providing healthy refreshments to help attendees power through the exercise and keep their energy levels up. They’re a modern group that wears stylish activewear to give them the freedom to move and celebrate together. That keeps things focused on the social and health-related event theme while helping people have even more fun.

Answer these questions to get clarity on what your concept could be:

• What would enhance the main attraction at your event?
• Is there an era or style that you could reference?
• What kind of food or drink would fit your event theme?
• How can you involve sponsors in your work?

You can build out your event concept even further with ‘mini-’ or ‘micro-experiences’ within your event — this could be anything from an art installation at a convention center to a cooking demonstration at a yoga festival. 

This is a smart place to bring in sponsors who can help you create unique experiences or provide additional services to your event at no extra cost. For example, Daybreaker found sponsors for their refreshments in line with their healthy theme. This can work for anything from a corporate event to a free get-together for a nonprofit.

Step 4: Heighten your event concept with a unique venue

Once you have your fresh event concept built out, choose a venue (traditional or otherwise) that reflects your selection. For example, if your concept is a Tuscan adventure, hosting your event at a local winery would make sense.

It’s important to align your venue with your theme because the atmosphere can shape people’s moods. When looking for a venue that fits your theme, consider exploring less traditional venues if you want to make a truly memorable experience. Here are some examples to get the wheels turning:

• Warehouses and studies
• Museums — both highbrow and low
• Botanical gardens
• Historical theaters
• Airplane hangars

Grace Cathedral has an ace up its sleeve when it comes to event planning. Its huge, gorgeous space gives its events a unique spin. It’s a great pairing for peaceful and creative event concepts like their Yoga on the Labyrinth event, which took advantage of the venue’s on-site labyrinth and serene cathedral to offer a truly special experience. The sense of peace provided by the space aligned perfectly with the tranquil event concept.

Step 5: Carry the concept through in your marketing

For your event concept to truly resonate and attract attendees, continue your theme across all areas of your marketing — from your social media illustrations to your language in email newsletters.

Here’s how to effectively incorporate your event concept into your event marketing strategy:

1. Craft a compelling narrative: Develop a message around your event that ties back to your concept. This narrative should be present in all your marketing materials, creating a cohesive and engaging message that speaks directly to your event audience’s interests and desires.
   
2. Use social media effectively: Tailor your content to highlight aspects of your event concept. Use teasers, behind-the-scenes looks, and interactive content like polls and questions to engage your audience, build anticipation, and clarify the concept.
   
3. Highlight what makes your concept special: Whether it’s a unique venue, an exciting lineup, or interactive activities, ensure these elements are front and center in your promotional efforts. Emphasize what sets your event apart. For example, Daybreaker isn’t just a fitness class; it’s a health movement.

Consistent messaging reinforces your event’s theme, making it clearer to your potential audience about who you are and what you have to offer. You create a strong brand identity by thoroughly integrating your event concept into your marketing efforts.

How to take your event concept to the next level

There’s a lot to manage at once to build a strong event concept. But if you follow these steps and consider the five Ws, you’ll be able to create a solid concept. Plus, you can use the above event examples as inspiration — doing this well is possible!

Crafting an event concept that connects with your audience leads to more engaged attendees, who will, in turn, be more eager to broadcast their excitement. Then, you’ll be able to develop a truly engaging event experience.

If you want support with audience research, marketing your event, or setting and measuring event-related goals, use Eventbrite. Our platform can help you with all that and more — start by looking at what the marketing tools can do.