A corporate or private event is held for businesses, for their clients, and staff. The corporate event may include clients they do business with and also for any other interested parties. It can be held for larger convention audiences, or it may be a small executive retreat, a golf event or a company holiday party.
Corporate events are becoming the norm for most larger organizations. As reported by the Meeting Professionals International, there is current $122 billion spent annually in the U.S. meeting industry. Most corporate events are held at resort hotels, conference centers, restaurants, country clubs and convention centers. Smaller events are held at city hotels and meeting locations and retreats throughout the U.S. Although some larger corporations have event planners on staff, professional event planners that are themselves “independent contractors” are gaining in popularity.
Event planners could be planning a large or a small event. They could be planning anything from a small board meeting to a large corporate trade show. Corporate event planners must be concerned with finding a workable date for the meeting, finding and renting the perfect venue and even looking over contracts to protect the company from unforeseen liabilities. Additionally, they may plan offsite venue rentals and make all logistical arrangements for attendee transportation.
Even themes and criteria for attendee participation:
Everything from soup to nuts is planned by the event planner. After meeting with the company representative, her goal is to coordinate, plan and deliver a well-thought out experience for all involved. She arranges for all specific events happening throughout the convention and keeps everyone informed of the dates and times of corporate activities.
Some of the corporate events of today are going so far as to creating and running their own websites to present the corporate vision and to explain the convention goals and objectives.
Seminars and conferences:
Organizations hold these meetings to provide the targeted audience with relevant information on the company product or service. Seminars are normally shorter events, lasting possibly a couple of hours, or a couple of days. Conferences on the other hand, may have several sessions about different interests, and attract a unique target audience. Conferences could last up to a week and there are speaking opportunities. They usually start with a keynote speaker well-versed on the subject of the conference and continue to allow the participants be a part of the discussion during the course of the conference.
Trade shows:
The purpose of the trade show is to present the company product or service in a visual way to trade show attendees. The trade show can welcome many guests based upon the size of the convention room size. The company is trying to improve their image as an industry leader and to attract new customers. Event planning for the trade show involves booth space rental, promotion and advertising. These arrangements are usually completed prior to the event itself. There are many logistical details that the event planner must deal with to plan a successful tradeshow. Within the trade show there are usually speaking opportunities.
The event planner may be involved in all of the following tasks:
- Event registration coordination / Hotel or Other Venue Locations
- Planning air booking and/or ground transportation
- Hiring speakers and entertainment
- AV staging and production
- Approving marketing banners and other visuals
The importance of recognition and praise:
It is customary at these events to reward any top company performers for their hard work and dedication. These individuals should be recognized and praised for their contribution to the company brand. Generally, one night of the event is set aside to offer company awards. A company reward could be a cash award, a small vacation trip, or the gift of travel and expenses for a larger travel venue. This recognition in front of their peers is a huge incentive for these top employees to continue to shine in the years ahead.
Cost-effective steps to saving money when planning a corporate event:
- Set company goals and objectives for the event
- Develop a plan based upon company brand requirements
- Prepare the company budget
- Decide on a date and time for the event
- Stay flexible when choosing a venue
- Ask for contracts for any venue considered
- Research the logistics for the event
- Talk about any liability issue which could arise
- Discuss marketing ideas and advertising options
- Plan a company awards banquet
- To save costs, plan a buffet dinner (rather than a sit down meal)
- Ask for company volunteers to help
- Book guest speakers early
- Book entertainment based upon the ages of the attendees
Thanks for stopping by and reading our article on corporate event planning. Stay tuned for more next time.
Remember to consider Events by Jaclyn for your next company affair, larger or small.
Staff writer:
