In an increasingly competitive and customer experience-driven market, corporate events have ceased to be just occasional gatherings and have become strategic branding platforms. This is what Eduardo Zech, marketing and operations director of Panda Intelligence in Events, a company specialized in creating corporate experiences with a focus on brand building, advocates.
"We work with the client's brand objective as the main guideline, observing their attributes, values, behaviors, and key messages they wish to convey," explains Zech. According to him, every detail of an event — from the scenography to the visual language — can and should be used as an emotional touchpoint with the audience, reinforcing the brand's positioning and values.
For Panda, the event planning journey begins with a deep dive into the client's identity and strategic moment. From this, sensory, visual, and interactive experiences are created that aim not only for visibility but also for the authentic experience of the brand. "The idea is always to generate relevance, differentiation, and increase impact through the creation of positive reputation," affirms the executive.
From physical to digital –The company also invests in digital strategies as a way to amplify the reach of events and extend their impact. "We plan content for before, during, and after the event through a contact timeline. Additionally, we invest in Instagrammable experiences, partnerships with influencers, hashtags, and digital activations," reports Zech.
This integration between the physical and digital, called the phygital experience, is seen by Panda as an essential trend for the coming years. "In-person events remain irreplaceable in building human connections. But today, digital expands the reach and longevity of the event. We believe that in-person and digital go hand in hand to create complete experiences," he emphasizes.
Branding with results –Far from improvisation, building a brand through events requires planning and measuring results. Panda uses data analysis, benchmarking, KPIs, and even local impact indicators to assess the success of projects. "We measure from engagement, interactions in activations, and brand perception, to territory development, such as job creation and local revenue," says Zech.
Cases such as the projects carried out for Anglo American and Localiza illustrate the power of events as a positioning tool. In the second case, according to Eduardo, the concept created for the event was so aligned with the company's purpose that it became decisive in choosing Panda as the responsible agency.
Brand culture –For companies that do not yet use events as a branding tool, Panda's message is clear: start with purpose. "Before thinking about the format, think about the why. What message do you want to convey? What feeling do you want to evoke?" advises Zech. And he concludes: "Events are experienced with the body, emotion, and senses. When a brand provides a special experience, it ceases to be just a name and begins to occupy a place in the audience's emotional memory," he affirms.
