Marketing & Branding

Check out our "MIT Sloan Events Marketing Checklist" to help guide you and keep you on track for marketing your event(s).

Calendars

Make your event visible! Once you select an event date, you should add it to the relevant calendars ASAP! There are multiple calendars to be aware of when promoting your events. (It's also a good idea to check out these calendars before selecting a date for a larger scale event!)

1. SloanGroups Calendar: Create your event on SloanGroups ASAP once you have an established date. Here are some tips to keep in mind when creating and promoting your SloanGroups event:

  • Lead with a strong image!!
    Upload an image to your event. Images will help to highlight your event on the homepage slider and in the SloanGroups app.
  • Sync your calendar
    When viewing the calendar from a computer, click on the "Subscribe" button to sync SloanGroups events of your choice to your calendar.
  • Review your audience settings
    Who can RSVP, who can see the event
    Step #6 "Access and Display Options" in your event setup.
  • Use SloanGroups Email Builder
    You can include clickboxes that will automatically import information about your event(s)

Be mindful when setting up your event on SloanGroups! There are a lot of options and settings available to use. Please see instructions on how to create an event here. If you have any questions on how to set up an event you can ask us: slquestions@mit.edu

2. MIT Sloan Events Calendar
Email slquestions@mit.edu to request to add an event to this calendar.

3. MIT Event Calendar 
Email slquestions@mit.edu to request to add an event to this calendar.

4. MIT Institute Community & Equity Office (ICEO) Calendar
Submit an event to the ICEO calendar if your event aligns with their mission or promotes DEI and is open to all MIT Community members.

5. DoingWell Events Calendar
Submit an event to the DoingWell calendar if your event is focused on wellness or well-being and is open to all MIT Community Members

5. External Calendars
You can add your event to Boston/Cambridge calendars such as The Boston Calendar, or relevant calendars to your specific event. Please note there is typically a cost associated with posting onto these calendars.

Newsletters

1. Sloan Department Newsletters 
Submit an announcement in one or more of the Sloan Newsletters (MBA, MFin, EMBA, SFMBA, Student Life, and Sloan Educational Services). Note: newsletters have different audiences and different weekly publication dates.

2. Thinking Forward Newsletter 
Submit an announcement to Thinking Forward.

3. Grad Anno 
Submit an announcement to Grad Anno.

4. Reach out to OER & CDO for further promotion

Digital Signage

Make a slide to post on digital signage boards in E52 & E62. Submit slides here. Once your announcement is approved, it will run on displays in Sloan buildings. You can download the digital signage template here.

Please keep in mind the following when creating a slide:

  • If you include a QR code to your event registration page, we encourage you to also include the URL to increase accessibility.
  • Slides for student-led conferences need to include the MIT Sloan student led logo.
  • It's best practice to include: event date, time, place, event name, who is hosting the event, and sponsors (if applicable).

Reach out to Student Life's communication coordinator Jackie Dunn with any questions about digital signage.

You can also create slides for the electronic bulletin boards in the Infinite Corridor. Note: There is a fee for this service

Social Media

There are many opportunities to utilize social media for event promotion and group management. Maintaining a club or conference social media page(s) can be beneficial for visibility, branding, and most importantly is a way to communicate with your audience. Please take advantage of the following resources when promoting your club or event on social media:

Posters & Flyers

These can be produced by CopyTech. Copytech can usually deliver your order within 3-5

Kinko's and FedEx are other good options, especially if they suit your pricing, format, and timing needs.


  • Consider making large posters on foam core mounts; easels can be borrowed from Student Life
  • Please email slquestions@mit.edu with event details, dates, and number of easels.
  • Posters may only be placed on bulletin boards (not on walls or doors).

Events with Alcohol

REMEMBER:

You must register any event where alcohol is served, where you expect over 100 attendees, and/or where more than 20% of your attendees are not from MIT.

Do NOT mention alcohol in advertisements, instead:
  • Advertising must focus on the event, not alcohol. Phrases such as "Beverages Available" and "Positive ID Required" are acceptable, while phrases such as "Pre-Game, "Wine & Cheese Party," and "Beer Bash" are not. This includes written and verbal promotion of the event.
  • Advertising may not promote free alcohol, provide information regarding the type or brand of alcohol to be served, or include phrases such as "All You Can Drink". Student Event Hosts may not extend an open invitation via email distribution lists. Individual guests may be invited via email.
  • Unofficial "After Parties" should not be advertised on SloanGroups.

Recording and taking pictures at your event

A great way of advertising for annual events is through posting pictures from their previous years. If you plan to record any portion of your event (through photo, video or audio), you must:

  • Ask anyone who you may be photographing to sign a Photo Release Form and give copies of these to the Student Life Office (slquestions@mit.edu).
  • Inform your audience that you are recording at the event. This may be done through posting a sign at the venue or by noting it on your website.
  • If you are livestreaming an event, or sending out a recording, please be aware of the closed captions requirements.

Other Event Promotion Suggestions

Use of School name and logos/Leveraging the MIT brand

Adding the words "MIT Sloan" to your event is a powerful statement that opens doors and can help you maximize publicity, resources, and fundraising opportunities. The School name opens doors to speakers, attendees, media, and sponsorship, and helps connect students to the various planning offices and people that can assist with those resources. When using the MIT Sloan name, please make sure you are Aligning with MIT's Use of Name Policies and Procedures: Dos and Don'ts.

To that end, the names and/or logos of MIT and the Sloan School of Management may only be used for official student group purposes. All approved Sloan clubs and the Senate are able to use the name and logo when advertising and promoting your group's activities (e.g., banners, flyers, websites, t-shirts). Additionally, because we want to make sure our brand is being used positively and successfully, branding rights are required for all Sloan student events that reach beyond the MIT community - that includes case competitions, conferences, and treks. These can be obtained via a Student Life branding rights application. Please note that under MIT's policies regarding use of names and endorsements, MIT must review and approve any public statements any external entity wishes to make about any club events or initiatives, including press releases and statements on the Internet or on social media (this is especially relevant for potential student group sponsors).

Under no circumstances is the use of the name or logo permitted for personal profit or in connection with an outside organization that has been established by group members. The MIT Office of Communications designed flexible guidelines to help students fully brand their club activities. The guide covers everything from scale and color, to typography and co-branding. Please refer to the MIT Sloan Club Branding Guidelines and MIT Sloan Branding Guidelines.

Student Club Branding

When creating or using a club logo, please refer to the MIT Sloan Club Branding Guidelines. Please note that any club logo or merch order needs to abide by the following:

  1. "MIT Sloan" must be included, in either the selected font or through the use of the MIT Sloan logo. However, if you do use the MIT Sloan logo, it cannot be altered in any way—including the removal of elements or changing the colors (black, white, or grayscale is permissible). Download the MIT Sloan logo files here.
  2. The word "Club" is required. For student organizations that are not clubs (ex. the Yarn) you must include language such as "student initiative" or "student organizer" that indicate your group is student-led.
  3. Thinking about including or using the MIT logo? Be sure to abide by the MIT Graphic Identity Guidelines. Here's a list of helpful Do's and Don'ts when it comes to using the MIT logo and name.

Conferences, Case Competitions, & Hackathons Branding

It is important that internal MIT partners and external audiences – attendees, corporate sponsors, and speakers – clearly understand who is organizing and hosting each event. The MIT Sloan Office of Communications and Student Life Office offer a suite of tools and resources to help you properly talk about and market your event.

1. On event website, marketing materials, and swag the standardized logo must be used. Theme-specific logos may be used in conjunction with the standardized logo.

2. In print, on event website, and anywhere else event is promoted, event marketing copy must clearly state that the event is a student-led event at MIT Sloan School of Management.

3. Use the MIT Sloan boilerplate language & standardized logo templates for event websites and other marketing materials. These standardized event logo templates align with MIT Sloan student club branding guidelines. Please note on all swag and merchandise orders need to include the standardized logo template as well. If you intend to use the MIT logo as well, you need to abide by the MIT Graphic Identity Guidelines.

Student Club & Event SWAG

How to order merchandise with the MIT Sloan logo or your club logo. Preferred vendors already have permission from MIT to print the school's logo, which expedites the ordering process.

1. Choose a vendor
There are four preferred vendors for SWAG.

Other vendors need to be vetted by MIT to be sure they meet labor standards before receiving permissions for a one-off license to print logos. Please note that Custom Ink does NOT have approval to print MIT Sloan merchandise.

2. Mock up your item
Work with your vendor to mockup your order. All merchandise for club or events need to abide by the MIT Sloan Branding Guidelines. "MIT Sloan", club name, and the word "Club" are required on all merchandise orders for club SWAG. For student-led conferences, the student-led event logo is required. For student organizations not considered as clubs, "student initiative" or "student organizer/organization" is required. Planning on ordering MIT branded merchandise? Be sure to consult the MIT Brand Guide.

3. Submit designs for approval
For branded merchandise using the school's or club's logo, you need to submit designs to student-merch@mit.edu. Please allow 3-5 business days for approval from the Tech Licensing team. For more information, check out the Technology Licensing Office's merch page.

4. Payment & shipment
Once your order has been approved, place your order choose a payment method. If you are ordering large orders of SWAG for an event or sale, you can ship it to the Student Life Office. Contact Student Life for the mailing address. If you wish to store merchandise in the club storage room, you must get approval, you can do so by contacting Student Life and request to use extra space. Please note the storage room is not meant to house SWAG long term. SWAG can be stored in the club room for up to 2 weeks.