TEDActive in Palm Springs, California, in 2013, had a similar idea: Buttons with blank fields labeled "Talk to Me About ... " invited guests to write a short list of topics they love or are knowledgeable about, to encourage meaningful mingling. Attendees could attach the buttons to their existing badges. The independent TED-style event TEDxWaterloo in Canada, takes it a step further, leaving titles and company names off of name badges. Instead, organizers leave 40 characters on the badges for attendees to finish the phrase “I'm chasing … ,” which gets conversations started among attendees on a deeper level.
Photo: Alesandra Dubin/BizBash
Summer Brand Camp—an annual conference in Dallas for foodservice industry professionals working in human resources, marketing, and operations—incorporates camp-style elements every year. For the 2015 conference, organizers evoked a craft station at a kids’ camp, inviting guests to decorate their name badges with colored beads.
Photo: Jill Harper/Summer Brand Camp
4. Sometimes, less is more.
For smaller events, name tags don’t have to break the budget—or stick to a standard format. Artist marketplace Minted suggests a D.I.Y. option for event hosts using a simple button maker. The colorful round buttons are a simple, unobtrusive way to share guest names plus a small fun fact about them—which encourages conversation. Read more about the process on Minted’s Julep blog.
Photo: Melanie Blodgett for Julep
