Corporate events help to bring people together for a range of different reasons. Some help build relationships or celebrate hard work. Others aim to build brand awareness or network with potential collaborative partners.
But if you haven’t held a corporate event before, you might be a little hazy on which event type will be the best for your needs.
Ready to clear things up?
Let’s take a look at some of the most common types of corporate events you could throw for your customers, employees and wider local audiences.
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Types of corporate events:
Gala dinners
Gala dinners are a formal type of corporate event generally organised to celebrate achievements and reward successes. They may also be held to bring together a group and reflect on milestones or new chapters.
Included in a gala dinner will often be a presentation or special guest speaker, entertainment and a three-course dinner with beverages.
As a celebration of individual or company accomplishments, gala or business dinners offer a high-class experience, generally requiring black-tie or cocktail attire.
Why hold a Gala Dinner:
- To celebrate company or employee achievements
- To reward the successes or hard work of your company
- To mark a company milestone
Awards nights
While similar to a gala dinner, awards nights are distinct in that they feature special accolades for individual achievements.Awards nights may be held to honour specific employees of a company or individual businesses that make up a collective – such as a franchise or local industry.
Adding to the exclusivity of the event, awards nights will generally include a host speaker who presents information about nominees and speeches from award recipients.
You’re also likely to be presented with a sit-down dinner or high-quality canapes and drinks package.
Why hold an awards night:
- To honour individual or business achievements
- To motivate nominees to continue their hard work
Corporate exhibitions
Corporate exhibitions are intended to showcase a business’s products or services to other businesses.
Exhibitors are most often business-to-business operations aiming to build their brand and reputation within their industry or target audience.
As a generally large-scale type of event, corporate exhibitions are often held in community arenas or corporate centres to help cater for exhibitor and attendee numbers.
Why hold a corporate exhibition:
- To showcase your products or services
- To build your brand image and reputation
- To connect with potential customers (B2B)
Corporate conferences
Corporate conferences offer an opportunity for individuals within an industry, or who share specific interests, to come together and share ideas.
In general, a corporate conference will feature key speakers who present topics relevant to their industry. Guests are then encouraged to attend in order to gain ideas and knowledge which can be applied to their own role.
Corporate conferences are generally sponsored by notable businesses within an industry. As well as providing educational content for guests, conferences are a great opportunity for sponsors to increase brand awareness and get people engaging with their business.
Why hold a corporate conference:
- To share ideas among likeminded professionals
- To increase brand awareness among relevant individuals
- To create an additional income for a business / business collective
Product launch events
Product launches are a great way for businesses to unveil a new product offering to customers, media representatives and even competitors.
As a way to launch their new offering to market, product launch events are a great opportunity to boost brand awareness and build excitement about the next big thing your company has to offer.
Product launches will often include widespread company branding, influencers or endorsers, product demonstrations or testers and may even feature existing products that work with or build on the effectiveness of the new product.
Why hold a product launch:
- Make a fuss about your exciting new product
- Build awareness about the product launch
- Inform consumers of your product benefits
Trade shows
Trade shows are designed to showcase the capabilities of various businesses, helping them to meet and connect with new prospects.
These types of corporate events can allow businesses to network with other businesses within their industry or distinct industries with collaboration opportunities.
Trade shows are often organised by trade associations but may also be sponsored by key players within an industry.
Why hold a trade show:
- Build connections within your industry
- Uncover collaboration opportunities with other businesses
Outdoor events
Outdoor events often include social and cultural activities an can include things like festivals, art exhibitions, sports events and music shows.
Unlike other corporate events, outdoor events are usually focussed on gaining consumer attendance. Despite this, organisers may choose to combine another event type with an outdoor setting to give their attendees a unique experience.
Why hold an outdoor event:
- Gain large-scale consumer attendance
- Offer unique experiences to your guests
- Create a more social and inviting event setting
Team building events
Team building activities are a great way to build deeper connections and collaboration among team members outside of their usual roles.
These kinds of events often include physical activities, mental challenges, creative exploits and a collaborative dining experience.
Why hold a team building event:
- Foster collaboration and teamwork
- Reward teams for good work
- Help employees get to know each other outside of work
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Corporate event planning
Once you’ve figured out which type of event will work best for your needs, it’s time to start putting it all together. This is where the fun really starts!
However, holding a corporate event, no matter what style you’re going for, can be a complex process that takes time and careful planning to execute successfully.
From event marketing and planning right through to event execution and pack down, our team have a world of experience assisting businesses throughout the entire process.
If you’re ready to start planning your next business event, chat with the event management specialists at con-sol. As an experienced team of AV experts and event planners, we can deliver end-to-end event solutions to help you put on a world-class event.
