A new event opens with a short Details wizard, an Event Setup block in the sidebar and a Your next steps checklist on Home. The steps follow the sidebar order, with one or two sentences each and a link to the detailed article.
Before you start
Brella creates events. Create Event and Duplicate on the organization's Home page are shown only to Brella staff. To get a new event, contact Brella or your account manager.
You need to be an organization admin or an event admin of the event. See How organizations and admin roles work.
Ticket selling through Brella (Ticketing in the sidebar) is not covered.
For help with setup, select Support in the admin panel's top bar to contact tech support. You can also ask your Brella contact for additional information and assistance if it is included in your package.
Language and event content
Brella does not yet offer built-in multilingual support. You can write the event content you control, such as session descriptions, announcements and Event info pages, in the language you choose. This does not translate the rest of the interface.
Multilingual support is in development. Ask your Brella contact for more information.
Prepare artwork
If a designer is preparing your images, share the guides for the placements you will use. Each guide gives the current requirements, so the designer can prepare the right version for each place.
Artwork | Guide to share |
Event logos and cover photo | |
Image attendees see when joining | Customize the welcome screen, including where to keep important content so it survives cropping |
Image or video on the attendee home page | |
Sponsor booth carousel images |
Where to find it
Open the organization's Home page and select the event. A new event opens on its next unfinished setup step. After setup it opens on Home.
The Event Setup block
While setup is unfinished, the top of the event sidebar shows Event Setup with a percentage and three steps: Details, Matchmaking and Schedule.
Details is done when you finish the Details wizard with Confirm and Save.
Matchmaking is done when matchmaking is on.
Schedule is done when the schedule is on.
Select a step to open its page. Done steps move to the top of the list. The block disappears when all three are done.
Step 1: Details wizard
Open Details. The page says Let’s start with basics.
Select Add event details. I'll do this later opens Matchmaking instead; the wizard returns the next time you open Details.
Event name: enter Name of your event and choose the Industry. Select Confirm.
Time and location: set Event start date, Duration in days (1 to 14), Time zone, Region, Country and City. Select Confirm.
Joining: choose Public - anyone can join or Invite-only. For a public event, enter the Join code; for an invite-only event, enter the URL slug. Both take letters and numbers only, 4 to 20 characters. Select Confirm.
Customize your event: upload the Wide logo (2:1, at least 240 x 120 px) and the Square logo (1:1, at least 120 x 120 px). Add a cover image under Add cover image; it is cropped to a 940:360 ratio. Select Confirm and Save.
The admin panel saves the event and opens Matchmaking. Back returns to the previous step; on the first step it returns to the start page.
Skip Add meeting area map on the last step. The mobile app and the web app don't show this image. Set maps under Customization > Maps instead (step 3).
Everything in the wizard can be changed later under Details and Customization. See Update main event details.
Step 2: Details page
After the wizard, Details is a settings page with the sections Basic info, Features, Onboarding settings, Event Type, Visibility and Location details. Check the Event Type, Set event visibility (Public event or Invite only), Enable One-Click Authentication and Choose onboarding mode. Only organization admins can change Enable Natural language search under Features, after Brella turns on access for the event. See Update main event details, How attendees register and join your event and Turn on natural language search and the Discovery tab.
Step 3: Customization
Event Logo and Cover Images: replace the logos and cover image from the wizard if needed. See Add the event logo and cover photo.
Home Screen: add an image or a video to the top of the attendee home page. See Add an image or video to the event home page.
Branding: choose the accent color, an optional highlight color and light or dark appearance. See Brand your event app: accent color, highlight color and appearance.
Maps (hidden for virtual events): add a venue map and a networking area map. See Add a venue map and link sessions and booths to it.
Welcome Screen: the screen attendees see when they join. See Customize the welcome screen.
App Sponsor: a sponsor logo shown in the app menu. See Add an app sponsor.
Tabs: rename the pages attendees see, change their icons and reorder them. See Rename and reorder the app's tabs.
Featured Tiles: tiles on the attendee home page that link to content. See Add featured tiles to the event home page.
Step 4: Matchmaking
Open Matchmaking and select Start matchmaking. The wizard offers a template or lets you define categories and interests from scratch. See Enable matchmaking, Set up matchmaking with Brella templates, Create matchmaking categories with an AI assistant and Import matchmaking categories from a CSV file.
Set the identity questions (persona, industry, function) under Matchmaking > Identity. See Set up identity: personas, industries and functions.
Step 5: Networking
Networking > Managed Meetings: only if Brella has turned on programs for the event. See Set up a managed meetings program.
Networking > Networking Areas: create the places where meetings happen. For each area, choose meeting points, a maximum number of meetings, or open networking. See Set up networking areas and meeting points.
Networking > Ratings: turn on meeting ratings if you want them. See Turn on meeting ratings and read the results.
Networking > Settings: turn on Meeting slots for 1:1 meetings, and check Group meetings, Open chat and the other networking settings. See Networking settings reference.
Step 6: Engagement
Engagement > Pitch Reels: turn on short video intros and decide whether videos need approval before they go live. See Pitch reels settings and Approve pitch reels before they go live.
Step 7: People
People > Settings > Event access: confirm Invite only matches what you chose in the wizard.
People > Lists: set up the ticket type lists and their Permissions & access. See Manage ticket type lists and How permissions work when someone is on several lists.
People > Registrants: for invite-only events, select New registrant(s) and choose Add registrant, Add registration link or Import CSV. See Manage registrants in the Registrants tab, Create and manage registration links and Import registrants from a CSV file.
Step 8: Sponsors
Open Sponsors and add the sponsor booths, their categories and representatives. See Create and edit a sponsor, Link representatives to a booth and Sponsor settings reference.
Step 9: Content
Content > Schedule: choose a layout and select Activate schedule, then add tracks, locations, tags and sessions on the Timeslots, Tracks, Tags and Locations tabs. Networking slots set when meetings can be booked. See Tracks, locations and tags and Create networking slots.
Content > Speakers: select Activate, add speakers and link them to sessions. See Add speakers and link them to sessions.
Content > Streams: add live streams and on-demand videos as embed URLs. See Add a stream with an embed URL.
Content > Breakout rooms: add video rooms for group discussions. See Create, order, hide and delete breakout rooms.
Step 10: Communications
Communications > Stories: Text or Image stories at the top of the attendee home page. See Create and organize stories.
Communications > Custom Emails and Email Settings: your own emails to registrant lists, and the switches for Brella's default emails. See Introduction to custom emails and Email settings and sender address.
Communications > Reminders: the event reminder and the pending meetings reminder. See Schedule reminder emails.
Communications > Announcements: push notifications to attendees during the event. See Send announcements to attendees.
Step 11: Custom content
Custom content > Custom pages: external web pages embedded as their own page in the app. See Add a custom page to the event app.
Custom content > Custom Fields: extra fields for Registrants, Speakers, Sponsors or Sessions. See Create a custom field.
Custom content > Event info: practical information pages attendees open from the home page. See Create event info pages.
Step 12: Integrations
Integrations > Native Integrations: sync registrants, sessions and speakers from Swoogo. See Set up the Swoogo integration.
Integrations > Integration List: export attendee data to a CRM.
Zapier and the public API are set up with an API key from the organization. See Connect Brella to Zapier and Build your own schedule page with the Brella Public API.
Step 13: Rehearse and launch
Before you invite attendees, check the event with your team using attendee accounts. Use test registrations with your own email addresses.
Check the dates, time zone and public or personal join link. Follow the route attendees will use. See How attendees register and join your event.
Join as an attendee with the intended ticket type and custom lists. Check access to the agenda, event information and any restricted content.
Review session times, sponsor booths and representative profiles. Check that booth materials are complete and representatives know how to network. If networking is on, complete the profile and check the interests and availability choices.
If meetings are on, have two team members request and accept a meeting. Check its time and location in both accounts. See Create networking slots.
If virtual meetings are on, test the camera, microphone and call. Include Prepare for a virtual meeting in your attendee instructions.
If streams are on, test each stream before the event. Test with an attendee who has access and one who does not.
Preview the invitation, its join link and other destination links. Check that each personal invitation matches its recipient. See Plan your event communications.
Choose who handles attendee questions and where to reach them. Add the contact and relevant help links to an event info page.
In your attendee instructions, name the page or onsite location for each session or discussion.
Resolve anything that prevents joining, finding content or networking before you launch. Then share access:
Public event: share the Join Code and Join URL shown on Home. See Invite-only or public: event visibility, join codes and join links.
Invite-only event: select Publish under People > Registrants. Current, new and updated invites then get their invitation email with a personal join link. See Manage registrants in the Registrants tab.
Home also has the Your next steps checklist, which you tick off yourself. See What the event Home page shows.
Troubleshooting
The Details wizard keeps coming back
You selected I'll do this later. Open Details, select Add event details and finish with Confirm and Save.
Event Setup stays under 100%
Matchmaking or the schedule is still off. Select the step in the block and turn the feature on.
"Use only letters [a-z] and numbers [0-9]!"
The join code or URL slug has a space or a symbol. Use letters and numbers only, 4 to 20 characters.