Who said corporate events are uninspiring? Certainly not us – we’re all about wildly successful conferences, exhibitions, product launches and gala dinners.
Make sure your next company event is completely unforgettable with our 7 tips for creating exceptionally engaging events.
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Onboard interesting guest speakers
Speakers can be a major driver of attendees to your event, so it really pays to engage the right ones.
You’re not only looking for experts, but for speakers who can put on a good show and get their message across in a captivating way. Celebrities or well-known speakers are great, but they also need to be relevant, inspiring and motivating.
At a recent event in Queenstown, Sir Graham Henry, former All Blacks Coach, gave the closing address. Not only is Sir Henry highly successful and entertaining, but the timing couldn’t have been more relevant, a few weeks before the Rugby World Cup in Japan.
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Offer personalised merch
Everybody loves getting free stuff, and your event is a great place to offer it – as long as it’s something your guests will use.
Before you go and order 1,000 stress balls that will likely end up in the back of a drawer, think about what your attendees might find useful and use this as a basis for developing your branded merchandise.
Things like USBs, pens and keep cups generally make successful gifts at a corporate event as your attendees can use these every day.
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Use engaging imagery and video
When putting presentations and slideshows together, think about how engaging photography, graphics and video can add value to your messaging.
Traditional slideshows are great, but they have the tendency to be a little dull – particularly when they’re crammed with text.
Using animations, graphics and video can keep your guests’ attention focused on the presentation or speaker. An animation of the concept your speaker is explaining, on-location video tours, or a surprise clip from someone famous are all great ways to keep things fresh.
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Make them part of the event
One of the best ways to keep people engaged is to get them involved. As a passive attendee, it’s easy to lose concentration and become distracted.
Primarily, this is the role of your MC, officiator and speakers – but technology can help.
Get your guests actively involved by offering interactive elements like live polls or real time surveys through an event app.
Another great opportunity for involvement is to encourage social media sharing. You can integrate social media functionality into your event app or ask attendees to use a certain hashtag when posting. Using an event hashtag can help start a conversation on Twitter.
Bonus: free event promotion.
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Offer event recording
Let your guests relive your event as many times as they need to. Recording your event and offering on-demand playback means that your guests can forget about frantically scribbling notes, and actually be present during keynote speeches.
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Put on a show
Corporate events don’t have to be dull. With so many impressive options for sound, visual and lighting effects, the ability to deliver immersive and interactive sets is becoming more achievable than ever before.
Consider what parts of your event you really want to shine and speak with your event management team about how you can add something extra like video mapping, using multiple screens in different orientations or 3D set backgrounds.
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Don’t forget the event fundamentals
It can be tempting to get caught up in the latest trends, but you must have the basics covered.
What are event basics? The right venue, location, budget, audio-visual equipment and speakers.Check out our conference checklist, so you never miss an essential task again.
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Corporate events with con-sol
We specialise in designing and executing world-class corporate events for clients of all shapes and sizes. With extensive event planning experience coupled with a highly skilled team of AV experts, con-sol is best-placed to help you deliver exceptionally engaging experiences.
Types of corporate events we regularly manage:
- Conferences
- Corporate Exhibitions
- Awards nights
- Product launches
- Gala dinners
- Team building activities
- Outdoor events
