Five Key Tips to Make Your Corporate Event Memorable

Understanding your client, their audience and what is the purpose of their event is the first step in planning a memorable event. What are your client’s values, mission, and their event goals? Who are their target audience? Once you know this you can start to create your event.

Using your experience, you can take the client’s vision and match the concept to align with the needs and wants of the guests. Matching the format of the event to the event purpose is the first step. Regardless of whether the purpose is to provide information or lead generation or promote a new product or service the best way to make your event memorable is to entertain the guests. Having fun is not just for children. Adults also like to have fun and motivation levels are increased when our minds and bodies are stimulated by fun, interesting and novel experiences.

With that in mind though we need to make sure the event aligns with the event goals, the company brand, and the guest demographic because fun in the wrong context can be disastrous making your event memorable for all the wrong reasons. For example, if you are creating an event for a younger demographic remember this is a generation who are well informed about sustainable living and healthy lifestyles, they will want to see an event that matches their values. You might be able to achieve this with choices of sustainable event consumables and less focus on alcohol at social events. Regardless of the event demographic, you need to think about the vision and purpose of what the event and how you will match this with the needs and wants of the guests. Start with the end in mind and create experiences that tick the box for both the client and their customers.

To say that creating an event theme is challenging is an understatement. After reading the first tip you know we are trying to satisfy the needs of both our client and their customers. This is not an easy task. And if you have been working in the industry for a while you will know client expectation is not always matched by the client budget!

Using the art of creative thinking is a key skill for an event creator. Many of us think creativity is something you are born with, like most things it can be a learned skill. Having a creative process will help, you could use brainstorming to come up with some new ideas, storytelling or storyboarding to formulate and communicate the ideas to your client and then create parameters around what you must deliver, this will help you think about other more creative ways to get to the end point.

Once you’ve decided on the theme, look at how it can be conveyed through all the event elements. The more elements you include the more memorable it will be. You could use event invitations as a teaser, and you can tell the story about the theme through the marketing strategy.

Don’t underestimate the importance of decor to create the right environment for your event. Décor support the creation of the right atmosphere, use shapes, structures, and colour to continue to support the theme within the venue. 

If your event is catered remember the event menu is great chance to support your theme, if it is a community-based event highlight local producers or a sustainable event could have a menu featuring only sustainable food elements.

If you’re on budget use your creative thinking to come up with some innovative ways to craft the theme. Taste, sight, and hearing are the human senses normally stimulated at events but think about our other senses to help you create a more memorable experience, could you use smell or touch in your event concept to mix it up a little?

You don’t need to deliver the event on your own. This is an industry that relies on suppliers to help you create memorable events. As you might be unsure about how to execute a particular staging effect for your event, look for a specialist supplier as they will have the expertise you need give you the desired outcome and options which you may not have considered. As they have additional experience with other events, they usually have connections with venues as well which will help smooth the way through the event process.

When looking for a supplier, find one that with experience and knowledge with the type of event you’re hosting. Making enquiries takes time but it will help achieve the outcome of your event. Over time you will develop a list of preferred suppliers who you will go to for all your event needs. Make the most of the many social networks within the event industry to get recommendations or leads about who can best help you achieve your vision.

Working with a specialist supplier will give you peace of mind as you can leave them to the area of their expertise and then move on to the other aspects of the event you need to arrange.

The best way to create a memorable experience is to deliver an event that removes any distraction between the attendee and whoever or whatever they have come to experience. Unfortunately for a lot of events what guests remember is that the food was cold, or they couldn’t hear the speakers. Your aim as an event creator is to remove all those distractions with a well planned and executed event. 

Attention to detail will always be necessary in delivering a memorable event. Have you thought through the customer journey from the minute they hear about the event until well after the event has finished? What is their first interaction with the event, how do they get to the event – whether it is a face to face or virtual event, what will they experience, how comfortable will they be, will they feel safe, will their needs be met, how will they interact with other people and what will they do when the event is over. By asking these questions you can meticulously plan each stage of the customer journey. The more effort you make with the planning, the less effort rectifying issues or placating unhappy clients.