Top Tips for Corporate Event Planners
At Mango Pie we’re not just interested in the big fancy weddings, although they are fun. My roots are in corporate events which will always have a special place in my heart. But, corporate events can be hard. There are normally many more people to be contending with, and corporates can be very guilty of a “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” attitude. So, with that in mind, here are my top tips for corporate event planners, from someone who’s got the plain white t-shirt.
Find out what the actual brief is
Have you ever had a situation where a standing networking reception for 100 has turned into a sit down dinner for 150? I have, and plenty of other example just like this of when things have changed with a moments noticed after you’ve put in a lot of work. Perhaps one of my most important tips is to get the actual brief, not the off the top of the head brief. Ask your seniors questions to make them question what they really want, give them ideas and let them think on it. This way you’re more likely to end up with a more accurate brief, and avoid doing 100 site visits in the meantime.
Know what you can sacrifice on
Knowing what’s important to your audience is in turn super important to you. Look back over past feedback and find out what areas weren’t so good in previous years that you need to focus on. Depending on your industry and your attendees the priorities will be different. If your key focus for you work Christmas party is to have a great evening with tones of food and wine, maybe you can sacrifice on the location for a better deal. Or maybe if you really want a high attendance, you should make sure the venue is close to where a lot of your guests will travel from.
Get feedback!
Most corporate event calendars repeat, so unlike a wedding which you’ll hopefully only do once, you get the chance to perfect the formula over a number of years. The best way to find out what you need to improve on is by speaking to the people that were actually there. I’ve often found that my opinion of how an event went is completely different to those who attended. Plus, as event planners, we’re normally super critical of the details that not many other people would notice, so sometimes it’s a nice pat on the back too.
Don’t be boring
Something that so many corporate events are guilty of… being boring, and doing things the same way they have always been done. Particularly for those with a repeating calendar, don’t you think your guests might appreciate something a bit different? Now I’m not saying hold your Christmas party on the roof of the O2, but maybe try a different format, a stand out design, or just one element that will get attendees attention rather than doing the same thing year in year out as so many event planners do. Most corporate event attendees will go to loads of events throughout the year, so make yours different.
If you want some more ideas on how to make your corporate events stand out, get in touch!