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CORPORATE EVENT

companies use corporate events to bring people together to develop interpersonal relationships that couldn't exist inside the structured environment of the office. 

 

Seminars and Conferences

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Organizations plan and hold these meetings with targeted audiences and provide them with relevant information.

DescriptSeminars are usually shorter events, lasting anywhere from a couple of hours to a few workdays. They have single or multiple speakers and generally keep all participants together in the same space. Conferences, on the other hand, typically have multiple sessions.

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Trade Shows

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Organizations often attend trade shows as a lead generation activity. Companies may also choose to host or sponsor a trade show to reinforce their image as an industry leader among those who attend. Event planning for trade shows involves negotiating sponsorship rates for booth space, advertising, promotion, and speaking opportunities where company leadership can speak. Trade shows are held in large spaces, showcasing the products and services of often hundreds of vendors.

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Appreciation Events

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These programs allow an event host to spend informal time with its guests in a nontraditional environment, giving both parties an opportunity to build rapport and learn more about mutual business priorities.

Appreciation events can range from programs geared toward employee appreciation to those for showing client appreciation, both of which have become a staple in corporate America.

There are limitless possibilities and types of appreciation events that organizations hold throughout the year. Common programs include:

  • Dinner and theater

  • Day at the racetrack

  • Suites at sporting arenas

  • Day and evening cruises

  • Private parties at music festivals

  • Holiday parties

  • Tickets to a popular event 

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Company or Organization Milestones

 

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Company milestones provide a business or organization the opportunity to celebrate a grand opening or other major milestone or anniversary. Company milestone events vary significantly in their execution but tend to follow similar programs as employee and client appreciation events. Milestone markers are often celebratory in nature and can be limited to company employees or be expanded to include clients, vendors, and even the local community depending on the company's size and public presence.

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Team-Building Events

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Team-building events are meant to boost employee confidence, goodwill, and morale. These events also provide a unique opportunity for employees to spend time together in a non-work environment. Team building events are meant to do just what their name says.

Outdoor and physical group activities epitomize corporate team-building events. In fact, companies all around the nation specialize in hosting team-building events in intricate indoor and outdoor courses of their own design. Team-building events can also include workshops about emotions in the workplace as well as sensitivity training.  

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Product Launch Events

 

Product launch events can range from internal meetings to inform all employees about any upcoming products to full-blown launch parties that create a buzz surrounding a product's release among customers and the media. Product launch events are most common for business-to-consumer (B2C) companies.

 

Launch events are meant to generate media coverage and industry buzz prior to a product release. These events may include a flashy introduction to the product along with an address from the company's most important executives. Large product launches also tend to feel more like big parties with well-known guests, dinner, and entertainment, depending on the industry. Apple and Tesla are two companies that have perfected the model. 

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Board Meetings and Shareholder Meetings

 

Board meetings and shareholder meetings both serve essential purposes. Board meetings serve as an opportunity for board members to meet to review business performance and meet with company executives to make important decisions. Shareholder meetings provide companies the opportunity to share recent performance, targets, future goals, and business strategies with their shareholders. 

Held annually, biannually, or even quarterly, these two types of meetings can be small internal meetings of board members or prestigious large-scale business events for shareholders that range in size depending on the size of the company and shareholder turnout. 

 

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Wellness events

More businesses and event planners are adding wellness events to conferences, retreats, and even the office. Unlike health-focused events, which focus solely on health, company wellness events aim to improve employees’ overall health by enhancing their sense of personal well-being and satisfaction.

A convention may include a mental health wellness event that thousands of people participate in at once, such as a mindfulness exercise or expression of gratitude. In contrast, individual wellness events, such as yoga classes or team challenges, are much smaller. Consider organizing a wellness event in the office (i.e., in available meeting space) or an accessible public area nearby, like a park.Customer

 

Customer & client appreciation events

Show gratitude and appreciation for loyal consumers, clients, and the business they bring your company with customer appreciation events. Smaller enterprises can save on special event venue rental costs by hosting appreciation events onsite or selecting a unique, non-traditional venue, such as:

  • Restaurants

  • Wineries

  • Breweries

  • Night clubs

  • Amusement parks

  • Arcades

  • Museums

  • Art galleries

Host an appreciation dinner, organize an outing, or throw a thank-you party to demonstrate reciprocity to clients and customers. Regularly connect with your best clients by sending coupons, gift cards, or exclusive offers.

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Employee appreciation events

Employee appreciation events are just like client appreciation events but for employees. Treat employees to events and activities they will genuinely enjoy. Avoid overdone pizza parties and pancake breakfasts. Instead, showcase your genuine appreciation by planning a thoughtful employee appreciation day. Take a field trip to the movies, host game day on the lawn, organize a company picnic, or surprise employees with an unexpected half-day.

 

Awards ceremonies

Recognize outstanding employees, managers, and other staff members by hosting a company awards ceremony. Reward individual and collective achievements, celebrate company successes, and shower employees with recognition for their dedication and hard work. Nominate individuals for specific awards, such as “Employee of the Year” or “Best Leader,” and invite colleagues to vote for the winner. Announce award recipients at a formal-to-semi-formal event that includes drinks, dinner, and entertainment. Choose a venue that can comfortably accommodate your company guest list.

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Milestone celebrations

Many companies, brands, and businesses gather to celebrate important milestones in the company’s history or within its leadership community. Milestone events may occur to celebrate significant corporate anniversaries (i.e., five, ten, or 20 years in business), management retirements, or hitting revenue goals.

Bringing the entire team together to celebrate achievements is a fantastic way to keep employee spirits high and show appreciation for their commitment to achieving collective goals. Event planners often book venues to host milestone celebrations, especially company-wide gatherings, as they can be quite large. A cause for revelry, fine food, drink, and entertainment usually accompanies this type of corporate event.

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Networking events

Work with a trendy restaurant, brewery, or tapas house to organize a casual after-hours networking mixer for local businesses. Promote your company’s position in the community while helping employees explore their passions and connect with professionals in various industries. Build better relationships with other companies in your market by partnering with your local Chamber of Commerce to sponsor and host regular networking events. Add speed networking sessions to conference agendas to help drive registration and increase its perceived value.

 

Business seminars

Seminars are smaller programs that provide attendees with training or valuable information regarding a particular topic. They vary in size, from small and focused to mid-scale, with most seminars holding less than 100 attendees. Personal development and business strategy are common topics of conversation at seminars.

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Product launches

Companies host product launches to introduce and build buzz for a new product. They tend to be high-level productions, as the event’s purpose is to hype up a product and promote sales. To debut a product on the market, businesses may host an in-depth demonstration of the latest item or service. Depending on the size of your target audience, dozens or hundreds of people may attend a launch. The guest list should include journalists, bloggers, influencers, analysts, and prospective clients.

Product launches for virtual products, such as innovative software or a new ordering website, may occur remotely. During virtual product launches, an online host demonstrates how a product works and how it can benefit you.

 

Fundraisers

Companies frequently partner with community organizations, charities, and nonprofits for corporate fundraising initiatives. Corporate fundraising events come in various forms. They may take place online or in person and can vary significantly in size depending on the type of event. Popular corporate fundraising events include:

  • Auctions (e.g., live or silent)

  • Raffles

  • Themed galas

  • Golf tournaments

  • Online sweepstakes

  • Peer-to-peer (P2P) crowdfunding

  • Donation drives

  • Concerts

  • Gift matching events

  • Game nights (e.g., Bingo Night or Casino Night)

Base the size of your event on your fundraising objectives, budget, and the number of major donors you can reasonably manage. For example, a large gala may host 250 guests, of which 100 or so are significant donors. Adversely, the guest list for a corporate golf tournament will be smaller, as the target attendee count would be closer to 100 total.

 

Company retreats

Corporate and company retreats bring employees together outside the office to collaborate, train, build trust, and socialize with one another away from work. Depending on the event’s objectives, these events may last a day, week, or even longer.

In addition to boosting team morale and strengthening employee bonds, retreats are strategic business events focused on achieving a particular goal or set of company objectives. Plan an intimate team-building retreat at a full-service resort or host a company-wide sales retreat at a sprawling convention center.

 

Incentive trips

Corporations may offer incentive trips or events to reward employees for their excellent performance. These events are pre-planned and pre-paid on employees’ behalf. All-expenses paid trips, event tickets, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences are incentives businesses use to motivate teams, reward loyalty, and boost productivity. Individuals or groups, such as a branch’s top salesperson or the best-performing branch of a larger company, can receive incentive trips.

 

Conferences

 

A business conference is an event organized for professionals working in the same industry or the same company. They vary in size and scope, from company-wide gatherings to expansive industry-wide events, with attendee numbers ranging from less than fifty to tens of thousands.

Business conferences bring people and businesses together to discuss particular subjects, review trends, share information, and identify new growth opportunities. A single company may host a conference, or multiple organizations may work together to plan the event. They may take place over multiple days and include a variety of sessions, some of which may occur virtually.

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Conventions

 

Although conventions are similar to conferences in many ways, they are much larger and more membership-based. Whereas conferences are comprised of experts sharing information and discussing innovative ideas, conventions bring delegates and representatives from many different groups together, each with unique products and perspectives to contribute. During conventions, members (official or unofficial) discuss pertinent issues and set upcoming agendas.

 

Symposiums

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Corporate symposiums are also similar to conferences but smaller in scope and size. Additionally, symposiums are strictly educational events and frequently occur within a conference. They include procedural instruction, or a formal presentation led by the hosting company, providing an opportunity for businesses to conduct educational programs for corporate professionals. Whereas a conference may take place over several days in various event spaces, symposiums typically occur in one place, with attendees gathering at the same time and staying for the duration of the event.

 

Tradeshows

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One of the most massive corporate events on our list, tradeshows bring together many businesses and professionals from a particular industry. In the corporate world, tradeshows are frequently referred to as exhibitions. During these business-to-business (B2B) events, companies showcase their latest products, demonstrate new services, network, and promote their business.

Corporate tradeshows are typically closed to the public, with attendance limited to registrants or ticket holders, members of the press, and designated company representatives. Limited access doesn’t equate to limited attendance, however, as tradeshows can be enormous. Each January, more than 4,000 global exhibitors and 180,000 professionals gather in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show to behold the latest innovations in consumer technologies.

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