Business-related events can often feel stale and predictable. But that doesn’t mean they have to be.
To avoid awkward speeches, bland catering, and a conventional setting, all it takes is a bit of imagination.
Over the last 15 years, Eventbrite has supported creators all over the world to execute corporate events that pop. We’re here to help you transform your next corporate event into something 100% unique and memorable.
Translation: we’ve seen it all, and we know what it takes to build a successful corporate event.
To help you get started, we’ve created this comprehensive guide. Read on to find out why corporate events are so important and what makes a corporate event successful. We’ll also zoom in on 11 amazing corporate event ideas to inspire your next event.
Why are corporate events important?
Before we share some ideas for your next corporate event, let’s press pause and talk about why corporate events are so important.
The term “corporate event” covers a wide range of event types. But in general, we can class most corporate events as either internal events or external events.
Internal corporate events, for a company’s employees and stakeholders, should be a cornerstone of any organisation’s strategy to keep things progressing at a healthy pace.
On the flip side, external corporate events are an essential tool in every marketer’s toolkit. This is the type of corporate event we’ll be focusing on today!
External corporate events enable a company to connect with many different stakeholders — including existing customers, potential clients, investors, members of various communities, and the general public.
Types of external corporate events can include almost anything. Here are some examples:
- A brand or service launch
- A conference
- A trade show
- A networking event
These events are a way to get a brand’s name out there in a positive way. Corporate events show members of the community what a company’s values are, give them a way to showcase and celebrate company successes, and communicate to customers and would-be customers what a business has to offer.
Considering the benefits, most companies can’t afford not to stage corporate events. But if you’re looking for more information, find out more about why corporate events are so great for business from Eventbrite friend George Taylor, chairman at event creator LS4 Events.
What do you need to remember when planning a corporate event?
Pulling off a memorable corporate event is no small feat.
Event creators need to consider many things when putting together a corporate event — especially if that event requires multiple sign-offs from management or business partners.
Let’s take a quick look.
Event goals
Very few companies have extra cash sitting around to throw at an event for no reason. If you want your corporate event to get approved and move your idea forward, you need to create a realistic and measurable set of event goals.
Your event goals will need to align with the organisation’s overall strategic business objectives so that you can demonstrate how this event will contribute to them — whether it’s to achieve an internal objective like improving staff morale, or an external objective like creating new sales leads.
Event budget
Cash flow tends to rise and fall, and so you need to be conscious and realistic when setting an event budget.
If you want your event to succeed, you need to know from the get-go what your budget will be (and what happens if you end up going over budget). After all, no CEO will greenlight a corporate event without a relatively specific budget and trust in his or her event team that they’ll stick to that budget.
Event location
Location has a big impact on your budget, but it’s important logistically too. For example, you don’t want to plan a networking event 200 miles from your target audience’s location (unless you’re planning on paying to shuttle everyone out there).
However, choosing the right event location for your corporate event is also important from a marketing and branding perspective. Locations can stir a lot of feelings in people, and so you’ve got to ensure you choose a spot that matches the tone and vision for your event.
Creating an event plan
To keep your event on track, we recommend you create an event plan.
An event plan is a detailed outline of what your event will achieve and all the logistical elements you need to reach your goals. It’s a helpful way to guide the event planning process, and serves as a constant reminder and reference point if you run into any hiccups.
Need help creating an event plan? Try out our free template.
Internal buy-in
Let’s face it: unless you’re the CEO, you probably won’t be able to put together an event without getting approval from somebody else.
That’s why internal buy-in is such an important element of corporate event planning. You might need approval from the company’s board of directors, senior management, or even company shareholders.
Make sure you get the right permissions as early as possible in the process so that you don’t end up wasting time (or money) on an event that your organisation isn’t willing to sponsor.
Vendors
This is a crucial part of your event plan. After developing an event concept and choosing a location, start to research what types of vendors you’ll need.
For example, this year you might want to host a company banquet in a ballroom that doesn’t do in-house catering. So, you would need to contract a caterer and drinks provider for the event.
Likewise, you might be planning a community fun day for families in the local area. To create a festival-like atmosphere, you may want to hire some food trucks, inflatables, and retail stalls.
Promotion
There’s no point creating an amazing corporate event if you’re not telling anybody about it. To make sure your corporate event is a success, you’ve got to create and implement a targeted marketing and promotion strategy that will get the word out to the right people.
This is where a tool like Eventbrite’s Event Marketing Platform really comes in handy.
Using the sleek dashboard, you can manage all of your social media posts and ads in just one place. You can also use integrations with apps like Mailchimp to send out targeted email campaigns. These campaigns can point back to your Eventbrite ticketing page or a fancy landing page on your website.
Data and analytics
In the age of big data, a most companies want to see hard numbers that demonstrate a particular campaign or corporate event was worthwhile.
Unfortunately, it can be tricky finding and engaging with the right data to prove that a corporate event achieves your event goals. Having the right tools helps a lot.
For example, with Eventbrite you can tabulate all the essential information about your ad performance, email engagement, ticket sales, and check-ins in one place so that you’ve got all your event numbers at your fingertips.
That makes it simple to run reports, create graphics and prove that your corporate event was a smashing success.
What are some different types of corporate events?
There are many different types of corporate events. Simply put: if you can dream it, you can do it.
But if you’re just getting started with a new event concept, you’ll be interested to know the more popular corporate event types and why they’re worth checking out.
1. Product launches
A great product launch should leave people buzzing with excitement and anticipation.
A powerful moment for any company looking to forward their brand, a product launch is one of the few times when employees, investors, members of the press, and even competitors come together in one place.
A launch doesn’t require a big stunt or over-the-top party to be engaging. Here are three pro tips to help you challenge tradition and launch your product with a bang:
- Use augmented or virtual reality. Help people experience the new product with AR or VR. Using augmented reality can show off a product and really ignite the interest of your attendees.
- Offer unusual food choices. At one of its past events, 8 Northumberland Avenue, a London venue that holds many events organized through Eventbrite, set up a nitrogen ice cream bar which offered attendees crazy flavours like popcorn or Jack Daniels and vanilla. Each attendee had the novelty factor of exhalable “dragon’s breath” nitrogen smoke!
- Pick a theme. Your theme sets the tone for your whole event, driving all of your planning decisions and helping to engage attendees. Choose a theme for your launch to brainstorm relevant experiences or activations your attendees will love.
2. Conferences
When a company decides to host a conference, its reputation is on the line.
This type of event is an opportunity to demonstrate that a company is truly a thought leader in its industry, capable of bringing together speakers and content that provide real value to attendees.
Registration prices can often run high for this type of corporate event, so you need to pull off an experience that warrants the investment.
Here are some pro tips on how to get creative with this format:
- Find the best event speakers. Conference-goers are willing to travel far distances for the right speaker lineup. But finding and securing conference speakers isn’t always easy, so you’ll need to upgrade your conference speaker sourcing strategy.
- Let attendees choose their own merchandise. People love free stuff, but only if it’s something they actually want. A customisable merchandise stand is an imaginative way to send them home with goodies they will actually keep. For example, a caricature artist who captures your attendees’ likeness is more likely to help them remember their experience than a branded keyring.
- Offer interactive food and drink stations. There are many ways to feed attendees and wow them at the same time — a customisable champagne cocktail bar, live stir-fry station, or even a doughnut wall. Dotting them throughout your event is a delightful surprise!
3. Training workshops
Putting on training workshops, either for employees or the public, can be a thankless task.
To ensure everyone’s engaged, you’ll need to break people out of their distractions and get them participating.
Here are some pro tips from the Eventbrite community to get people engaged:
- Change the room layout. Training rooms are always laid out in the same way — rows of tables and chairs. Challenge the convention and surprise your attendees by providing bean bags instead of chairs, standing podium tables, or tables with just a few chairs to encourage small groups.
- Add networking opportunities. Whether a training event is external or internal, provide people with time to connect. An event app can be useful in helping make networking suggestions for attendees.
- Turn audience members into participants. Encourage total participation, even from shy attendees, by using audience interaction tools.
4. Seminars
Seminars are often used to showcase a company’s expertise on a specific topic or provide employees with learning opportunities. They’re also an opportunity for audience members to interact with the speaker.
To mix things up at your next corporate seminar, consider the following tips:
- Think outside the box. Sometimes the best venues are the ones that don’t feel corporate at all. Choosing the right venue for your event can add considerable value to the experience.
- Incorporate an activity during break time. Instead of the usual coffee break, consider adding some experiential marketing into the pause. Informal fireside chat sessions, for example, can energise attendees and help their brains get the learning rest they need to focus when they come back.
- Lean on technology. Instead of a PowerPoint presentation, consider how you can help your speakers connect with the audience better — whether that’s through an app, social media, or even a chatbot to help people discover relevant content.
Corporate event ideas to spice up your event
Having covered a number of event ideas for corporate events, we’d like to cover some different activities that can add a memorable element to any corporate event.
To help you visualize the possibilities, let’s explore the weird and wonderful activities that real event creators from the Eventbrite community have put together.
1. Outdoor cinema experience
The experience of watching a movie in a cinema setting creates a shared space where people can gather, engage, and enjoy the collective entertainment. This communal environment fosters a sense of connection and shared experience among the audience, making it a powerful tool for bringing people together during corporate events.
But if you’re planning a big corporate event, it can be difficult (and expensive) to find a movie theatre big enough to accommodate hundreds of people.
So, how about setting up an outdoor cinema?
This way, you can recreate the magic of the silver screen in the great outdoors. That means choosing a location that aligns with your strategic vision, and adds yet another dimension to creating a festival-like atmosphere for your guests.
Want ideas on how to execute outdoor cinema the right way?
Take a look at Eventbrite creator Adventure Cinema. They regularly set up screenings in some of the UK’s most beautiful outdoor spaces. They’re normally themed (which adds a fun element), and guests are invited to bring their own picnics and sprawl out to get comfortable and connect with one another.
2. Craft or skills workshop
A brilliant way for you to connect with your employees — or educate members of the public about your company — is to host a craft or skills workshop.
Not only is this a great team-building exercise for workers, but it can help you to create a brand persona that shows the public you’re fun and accessible.
If you’re looking for pointers on how to put on a great workshop, check out event creator Sett 174 Art Cafe. The Manchester-based space organises regular street art and painting workshops (complete with live DJs) designed to teach attendees the basics.
This is a great option for team building or an employee day out.
3. Silent disco
Silent discos have been gaining traction for a while now, and it’s easy to see why. They give attendees an opportunity to let their hair down and get wild — without upsetting neighbours or creating noise problems.
But if you’re wondering how you could incorporate a silent disco into your next event, take a look at Eventbrite creator Silent Discos in Incredible Places.
They stage silent discos in epic locations all over the UK, like cathedrals, town halls, and even caves. All you do is pop on your headphones, choose from one of three music channels, and start dancing. A full service bar is always on-site, too.
4. Street market
A street market is a fantastic way to create a fun and vibrant atmosphere as part of a product launch, conference, or staff appreciation day. It means liaising with a lot of vendors to ensure you’ve got plenty of choice for guests — but it makes the whole day fun and memorable.
If you want to see how street markets are done the right way, look no further than event creator Namaste Village Norwich.
They regularly put on a number of street market events, including their upcoming Norwich Indian Street Food Carnival. It’ll include a range of street food stalls, music, dancing, henna tattoo artists, and vendors selling various Indian crafts and goods.
If you want to create a vibrant atmosphere at your next corporate event, this is a great way to do it.
5. Kidult day
Before we showcase an awesome event creator doing “kidult” days right, let’s pump the brakes and talk about what kidulting actually is.
Event creators use the word “kidult” to describe any number of activities that we used to love doing as children — and secretly would still love to do as adults.
Need an example? Take a look at Eventbrite creator Humber Barn.
Their recent Adults Inflatable Assault Course event was exactly what it sounded like: a chance for grown-ups to jump around on large-scale versions of the types of inflatables you’d expect at a child’s birthday party.
But unlike a child’s birthday party, this event was strictly for adults — complete with a hog roast and full-service bar.
6. Scavenger hunt
A scavenger hunt event is a great option for team building. It encourages colleagues to work together and solve problems that are totally different from the issues they normally talk about at work.
Add in a healthy dose of competition and a prize, and you’ve got an atmosphere buzzing with excitement.
Event creators BucketRace Public Events is definitely one to watch in this arena. They create unique adventures all over London that are often themed and intricately designed for maximum fun.
7. Cooking class
Cooking together is a unique bonding experience that brings family and friends together. But why can’t it bring colleagues together, too?
By incorporating a cooking class into your next corporate event, you can ignite people’s passions and enable them to learn a new skill. It’s a great way to get people talking and build a sense of team spirit.
Eataly London has an amazing reputation for putting together cooking classes that are fully inclusive. You can brush up your skills alongside a seasoned professional and learn to make a number of classic Italian dishes like pizza, risotto, ravioli — and learn about wine and cheese pairings, too.
8. Silent auction
Silent auctions are a staple for charities and businesses looking to raise money for a good cause. The concept itself is quite simple: collect an array of great prizes or experiences, set them on display at your next event, and then let people silently fight it out for the highest bid.
They’re easy to plan, and can help you secure generous donations.
For an example of a classy silent auction, check out Eventbrite creator Alsaihati Intercultural Centre who organizes a Luxury Gala Dinner featuring a silent auction.
9. Race night
Who doesn’t love a day at the races?
Well, hosting a race night is a fun take on the classic British institution. You can organise it on your own, or hire one of many vendors based up and down the UK that specialise in race night events.
Race nights are a great way to get colleagues to let their hair down, and an even better way to raise money for charity.
Take the Redland Green Club, for example. Their upcoming race night north of Bristol gives guests a chance to bet on a number of horse races, the prospect of cash prizes, and plenty of pie and chips to seal the deal.
10. Supper club
A supper club is a great way to unite teams from different departments, engage stakeholders, or build networking opportunities across your industry. They give you the chance to enjoy a quality meal and create stronger connections that have a positive impact on business.
For inspiration, it’s worth looking at event creator One Dalkeith. Their pop-up community restaurant outside Edinburgh focuses on bringing communities together so they can socialise over freshly made, local food.
11. Awards ceremony
An awards ceremony is one of those unique corporate events that can be both internal and external.
Awards ceremonies are a great way for companies to show their staff how much they appreciate them, and express their gratitude. But they’re also a useful branding tool — you can create an external events programme that recognises excellence across your sector or industry.
For inspiration, it’s worth looking at the Comms Council UK. Their annual awards ceremonies like the Comms Council UK Awards Ceremony 2023 help to build a sense of community within the telecommunications industry while engaging members of the public.
Start planning your next corporate event
If you’re looking for a way to help build a company’s brand, engage its employees, and hit business objectives, corporate events are a useful tool in your arsenal.
We’ve given you a variety of ideas in this post — but, if you need more inspiration, the Eventbrite community is where you want to be.
And once you’re ready to start planning a corporate event to remember, we’ve got all the tools you need.
Join Eventbrite to learn from our community experts, network, and manage your event online to create a once-in-a-lifetime corporate event people will never forget.
