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The Top 10 Most Common Types of Corporate Events

The Top 10 Most Common Types of Corporate Events

When looking for new ways to engage employees, corporate event professionals experiment with multiple event formats. From fun incentive trips to spectacular galas, you can align the goals of an organisation with a huge variety of corporate meeting types.

The statistics reveal that corporate event planners will spend 22% more on product launches in 2018 than the previous year. What are the other types of corporate events over which so much fuss is made today? To answer the question, we’ve compiled a list of the top 10 trending corporate event formats.

What is corporate event management?

Any event sponsored by a company that targets its employees or clients can be called a corporate event. By holding corporate events, organisations usually aim at entertaining or rewarding their staff, launching new products, establishing partnerships, and more. While some corporations choose to entrust such meetings to an in-house event planner, others hire external corporate event professionals.

How to plan a corporate event

corporate events

What do all corporate event types have in common? They all reflect the goals of a specific company and aim at realising these goals by gathering people in one place. Here is a comprehensive corporate planning checklist that you can refer to when building events of any size and format:

  • Pick a strategic location. This rule applies to any corporate event format. No matter who your audience is, people want to feel comfortable at your event’s location. Whether it’s a traditional hotel ballroom or a modern art gallery, make sure it’s nicely located and in line with your guests’ needs.
  • Align clients’ goals with event activities. The ultimate goal of product launch events is gaining good exposure. At employee appreciation meetings, it’s more about generating fun and memorable experiences. Focus on what’s important for your client to build more targeted corporate events.
  • Choose reliable event management software. Implementing technology in your corporate events is no longer a “nice to have”. Pick event planning software that can give you more freedom through automation. With a focus on such tools as online registration, tech-powered onsite check-in, and detailed analytics, you can increase your productivity with lower labour and cost investments.
  • Build connections. The success of your event pretty much depends on people who work on it. Whether you are a seasoned corporate event professional or an ambitious beginner, building a good network of reliable vendors and suppliers is your means of sharing responsibilities with people you can truly trust.
  • Promote. Email your contact base, create an attention-grabbing story that can be wrapped into social media posts or other marketing materials, and start promoting. There’s a misconception that event advertising should happen only before an event. In fact, there are many ways to drive exposure during an event as well. For example, many event professionals partner with media sponsors by inviting them to speak at a corporate meeting, which helps them gain extra publicity.

The top 10 most common types of corporate events

In this section, we take a look at the top 10 corporate event types to help you understand how to build memorable experiences for attendees.

Trade shows

Trade shows

Goals: Generate leads and establish partnerships

Costs: $20,000–$40,000

Secret of success: Ensure your booth stands out by making use of strategic lighting, multi-screen displays, lucrative promotional offers, etc.

By attending an international or local trade show, corporations can boost their revenues through the generation of promising business connections. This is an excellent opportunity for both startups and reputable companies to raise awareness about their projects and expand their networks.

Appreciation events

Goals: Depending on the target audience, appreciation events can aim to recognise employees’ achievements or to build tight connections with loyal clients.

Costs: $5,000–$20,000

Secret of success: Provide a relaxing atmosphere, friendly environment, capabilities for networking, and valued prizes.

From a simple dinner to a private cruise party, appreciation events can embrace different formats. If your goal is to make an investment into lasting relationships with your clients and staff, this is the real go-to.

Holiday parties

Goal: Create a holiday mood

Costs: $1,000–$20,000

Secret of success: Creativity should be your one and only ally here.

Festive celebrations can’t take place without creative entertainment activities. Ensure your staff holiday party is fun and relaxing for everyone.

Product launches

Goals: Raise awareness about a new product or service or acquire clients.

Costs: $1,000–$100,000

Secret of success: The primary focus should be placed on gaining media exposure.

The rapid growth of startups around the globe is the core reason why investment into product launch events increases every year. To make it work for your business, build a foolproof marketing strategy for every stage of event organisation to maximise exposure and attract your target audience.

Business dinners

Goals: Celebrate milestones, welcome a new employee, etc.

Costs: $200–$5,000

Secret of success: Have a perfect understanding of your team members’ interests and preferences.

Business leaders have to maintain a friendly, positive atmosphere within their companies. Any time there is a reason to celebrate a special achievement or a milestone, organising business dinners is a great way to show respect.

Conferences

Goals: Gather targeted audiences in one place to share ideas, implement solutions, or improve collective expertise

Costs: $30,000–$1,500,000

Secret of success: Thorough planning and a focus on technology investment are crucial.

The world’s largest FinTech conference hosts 25,000 industry experts annually. For the majority of ambitious professionals, conferences that are geared towards specific interests are the must-go-to events.

Incentive trips

Incentive trips

Goals: Entertain and reward staff or maintain a business’s good reputation

Costs: $30,000–$2,000,000

Secret of success: Sharp negotiation skills and the ability to organise events overseas will lead to success.

Often held at luxury resorts, incentive trips are the types of events that devour huge budgets while creating unforgettable memories for staff. To rise to the challenge of organising a successful incentive trip, an event professional should be able to find a reliable vendor in a foreign country in only a few days.

Charity events

Goals: Collect donations in support of a cause

Costs: $5,000–$20,000

Secret of success: Make good use of the company’s network.

Strong cause promotion, a worthy value offer, and a centralised platform for the collection of donations are the three integral elements of an efficient charity event.

Team-building events

Goals: Strengthen social ties within a corporate team.

Costs: $1,000–$10,000

Secret of success: Tailor event activities to employees’ interests.

A good strategy is to survey your staff before planning a team-building event. When based on the needs of employees, such events can help business managers build stronger teams.

Board meetings

Goals: Make crucial business decisions

Costs: $1,000–$30,000

Secret of success: Adjust the meeting to the company’s infrastructure and values.

Whether they are for sharing business goals or reviewing performance within a corporation, board meetings are go-to events for any company’s shareholders. To make an event run smoothly, ensure it fits everyone’s work schedules and facilitates the right conditions for debates and discussions.

Conclusion

The experience of working with diverse corporate event types is a valuable asset for all event professionals. By demonstrating a flexible knowledge of corporate planning, you can gain the competitive edge that many event planners lack.

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