Organising a successful corporate event is no mean feat. It requires comprehensive organisational skills, technological know-how, event planning, timeline management, coordination between multiple company groups, and more. You need everything to go right to ensure your event is memorable and can help you achieve your objectives.
It’s where a professional corporate event planner enters the picture. They can help you plan a thoroughly successful corporate event with a memorable theme that will help you structure the event and make it as effective as possible.
What Are Corporate Events?
A corporate event can involve several functions planned over a day or many days, depending on their objective and purpose. As a corporate event organiser, you can host the event to bring together your business’s investors and stakeholders, launch a new product, discuss different companywide initiatives, etc. Typically, corporate events can include trade shows, executive retreats, appreciation events, seminars, team-building events, workshops, milestone celebrations, and more.
While businesses often hold smaller, informal events, such as office parties or executive dinners, corporate events are typically organised on a larger scale, are themed, have grand venues, and multiple events or sessions. They usually involve the entire company and have multi-faceted objectives. If you’re planning a themed corporate event, it’s best to coordinate with a corporate event planner to get the details right and organise a successful event.
Why Should Your Corporate Event Have a Theme?
While you can host a corporate event without a theme, it will mean missing out on the perfect opportunity to reinforce your message, create a focused environment, and foster a sense of community and cohesion. Corporate event management companies can help you create themes that will bring everything and everyone together, reflect your mission, and more.
From event planning to invitations to promotions to the event itself, a theme will unite the attendees, speakers, etc. It will also help you reinforce your values to the event attendees and give your speakers the opportunity to incorporate them into their sessions.
Lastly, choosing a theme for your corporate event will help you create some much-needed buzz online while promoting the event. You want people to discuss your event before it happens on social media, and using a relevant and memorable theme will help you achieve that objective.
6 Tips to Choose the Best Corporate Event Theme
Here are some tips you can use to select the best corporate event theme:
Create & Review Your Event Goals
When working with a corporate event organiser, make sure to create specific event goals. Consider your key messages, ideas, and lessons you’d like your guests to walk away with and incorporate them into your theme. Ask yourself questions, such as why you’re hosting the event and inviting attendees and how do you plan on measuring your KPIs.
Consider the Nature & Tone of Your Event
When working with corporate event management companies, you should always communicate the tone you want for your event to them from the get-go. It will help you communicate your vision to them and develop a theme that goes exceptionally well with the overarching tone. For instance, a product launch will undoubtedly have a different tone than the retirement event of the former CEO.
So, you will need a theme based on the nature of the event. It also boils down to your key messages and overall goals. Are you planning the event to reward your employees, host a tournament, promote new policies, launch a new product, etc.? The answer to this question will define your event’s nature, tone, and theme.
Define Your Audience
You should also think of your audience while choosing the theme for the event. For instance, if your target audience is your company’s potential investors and established stakeholders, your theme will be different than if your target audience was your employees. You will need to consider the specific demographics of your audience and think back on your objectives to define the theme.
Ask yourself if your event will cater to certain investors or donors, will it have your employees, will you invite families to the event, what will be the age range of the attendees, and more relevant questions. Answering these questions will help you develop an appropriate theme that will leave everyone satisfied.
Create a Tagline
If you’re facing trouble coming up with a corporate event theme, you can start by developing a tagline for the event. It will help you clarify the type of event you should have and build the appropriate hype on social media. Your tagline should revolve around your overarching messages. Even if you don’t use the tagline in the end, it will help you make the crucial decisions tied to your theme.
Let Your Venue Inspire You
While we would advise you to choose a theme and then work on finding the ideal venue, if you have already booked a venue, you can use it to define your theme. Consider the space your venue has to offer and the multimedia options you have, and work with whatever you can to define a theme that will make your event memorable.
Think of What You Don’t Want
If you’re struggling with choosing a theme, narrow them down by thinking of what you don’t want as your corporate event’s theme. Identifying the themes that you wouldn’t want to work with through the process of elimination will help you inch closer to the theme that will resonate with you and your attendees. Also, steer clear of outdated or overly complicated themes. It’s best to keep things simple and breezy.
The Bottom Line
Choosing a corporate event theme is not an easy task. However, don’t let that overwhelm you, and use the tips above to help you choose a theme that will work best for your objectives, personal taste, and the needs of your event attendees. At the end of the day, you and your corporation should remain true to your roots, and if you want to experiment with a unique theme, do so authentically to connect with your event attendees.
