In an increasingly competitive market driven by consumer experience, corporate events are no longer just one-off moments of meeting but have become strategic branding platforms. This is the opinion of Eduardo Zech, director of marketing and operations at Panda Inteligência em Eventos, a company specializing in creating corporate experiences focused on brand building.
“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 a point of emotional contact with the public, 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 there, sensory, visual and interactive experiences are built that seek not only visibility, but the authentic experience of the brand. “The idea is always to generate relevance, differentiation and increase impact, through the generation of a positive reputation”, says the executive.
From physical to digital – The company also invests in digital strategies as a way to amplify the reach of events and prolong their impact. “We think about content for before, during and after the event, using a contact ruler. In addition, we invest in Instagrammable experiences, partnerships with influencers, hashtags and digital activations”, says Zech.
This integration between the physical and digital, called phygital experience, is seen by Panda as an essential trend for the coming years. “In-person events continue to be irreplaceable in creating 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 highlights.
Branding with results – Far from improvisation, building branding 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 everything from engagement, interactions during activations and brand perception, to territorial 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 the event 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 was decisive in choosing Panda as the agency responsible.
Brand culture – For companies that do not yet use events as a branding tool, Panda’s message is straightforward: start with a purpose. “Before thinking about the format, think about the why. What message do you want to convey? What feeling do you want to generate?”, advises Zech. He concludes: “Events are experienced with the body, with emotions and with the senses. When a brand provides a special experience, it stops being just a name and starts to occupy a place in the public’s emotional memory”, he guarantees.
