200+ Event Ideas To Steal Today

It’s so tough to impress attendees these days, won’t you agree?

That feeling of ‘seen it, done it’ is always lingering around.

We need inspiration and creativity more than ever.

Our boss demands them, our attendees want them, and our sponsors crave them.

So how do you impress attendees, regardless of the type of events you plan?

The devil is in the details.

Sometimes it’s those little twists you add to small details of your event that change perceptions. This is why we are giving you the most comprehensive database to date on event ideas. We are making it public and sharing it with you.

If you want the most comprehensive list of event ideas around, jump to one of the sections below for all our top picks organized by event type:

1. 20 VIRTUAL EVENT IDEAS TO CONNECT REMOTELY

2. 20 FUNDRAISING EVENT IDEAS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE

3. 20 CREATIVE CORPORATE EVENT IDEAS TO USE TODAY

4. 20 ENTERTAINMENT IDEAS TO MAKE YOUR EVENT GUESTS GO WOW!

5. 20 PROMOTIONAL IDEAS FOR EVENTS: START SELLING TICKETS NOW!

6. 20 COMMUNITY EVENT IDEAS THAT BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER

7. 20 COMPANY EVENT IDEAS TO GO FROM YAWN TO YAY

8. 20 PUBLIC EVENT IDEAS TO MAKE EVERYTHING GO AS PLANNED

9. 20 OF THE BEST INNOVATIVE EVENT IDEAS TO SURPRISE ATTENDEES

10. 20 SOCIAL EVENT IDEAS TO MAKE YOUR GUESTS CONNECT

11. 20 UNIQUE SPECIAL EVENT IDEAS TO IMPRESS YOUR GUESTS

VIRTUAL SOCIAL EVENT IDEAS

Virtual Escape Room

Escape rooms have become incredibly popular over the past several years and are a fun group activity. However, being locked inside an enclosed space for an extended period of time is clearly not consistent with pandemic safety guidelines.

Luckily, there’s still a way to experience the fun of escape rooms remotely by joining a digital version. Virtual escape rooms are a great way to get people to connect online, whether it’s for a casual social event or a competitive corporate team building activity. If you’re organizing the latter, try pitting different teams against each other and offering a prize to the winners to add to the excitement.

Virtual Game Night

Game nights are a classic social event, and if it’s not possible to gather physically, organizing a virtual game night is a great alternative. There are countless games to choose from, from trivia to scavenger hunts to online editions of classic board games.

Depending on your comfort level when it comes to putting together an online game, you may consider working with professional hosts and/or organizers who can help you with the planning and execution. For company game nights, try including some icebreakers or company-related trivia questions to add some team spirit.

Online Workouts

With many gyms still closed or implementing strict safety restrictions, getting in workouts and staying fit has become more difficult. However, there are now more online exercise programs than ever to help people keep up their workouts — and many are free.

Working out with others can be very motivating, especially after a slump. Use these tools to find pre-recorded workouts — or consider organizing a private, live exercise class — to incorporate fitness into your event and get friends or employees moving together.

Magic Show

Magic and hypnotist shows are fun and unusual additions to any type of social event. The hosts of these shows are generally also comedians, so they’re sure to entertain and delight attendees.

If you’re looking to switch things up at your next virtual event, including a magic or hypnotist show is an effective and unexpected way to get everyone engaged. Many event hypnotists and magicians are now offering their services virtually, which opens up options beyond who may be available in your immediate area.

VIRTUAL FUNDRAISING EVENT IDEAS

Digital Auction

Auctions are staples when it comes to fundraising events, and they can also be organized virtually if it’s not safe to meet in person, or if you’d simply like to be able to reach more people. One of the main differences to think about when hosting an online auction is the items that you’ll be auctioning off.

Prioritize items that can be shared digitally, such as private online classes. If you include any physical items, be sure that they are easy and affordable to ship. There are several online auction and bidding platforms that you can utilize when building out and running your virtual auction to make it as seamless as possible.

Virtual Tour

If your fundraiser revolves around a venue — a museum, for example — that you would generally give donors a tour of, consider making this a part of your virtual event. Tourism destinations and corporate events have been creating virtual city and museum tours throughout the last year, and these can just as easily apply to fundraisers.

During your event, have a guide live-stream a tour of the venue for attendees, during which they can also answer any questions that donors may have. This will help inform attendees of any updates and feel more connected to the cause even if they can’t physically attend.

Online Paint Night

Paint nights are popular events that are typically held at bars and restaurants, where participants can join for a low price and snack while they paint. They make for great fundraisers, and are yet another event type that can relatively easily be pivoted to virtual.

You’ll need to look for an artist who can volunteer to teach the painting class virtually, and all ticket sales can go towards the fundraiser. Be sure to clearly list the materials that participants will need in advance, or consider sending them a kit as part of their registration.

Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

Peer-to-peer fundraising relies on people sharing the fundraiser with their network in order to increase donations. Although this type of fundraising often includes a physical component, such as a marathon, it’s entirely possible to hold an all-digital fundraiser.

All you need to do is set up the donation platform and fundraising info. Participants can then join and create their own page with their fundraising goal, which they can share with friends and family. Combining this with a social media challenge is also a great way to get more people excited and involved.

VIRTUAL ENGAGEMENT

Incorporate a Gamification Component

If you’re hosting a conference or other corporate event, including gamification is one of the best ways to engage virtual attendees and keep them interested in the event content. The basic mechanics of virtual event gamification include assigning point values for different actions, such as attending sessions, and displaying point totals on a leaderboard page.

Many virtual platforms now offer gamification features, some more advanced than others. However you decide to implement it, be sure to include worthwhile prizes to incentivize attendees to compete and engage.

Virtual Coffee Breaks

Engaging remote employees can be tricky, especially for teams who are used to regularly interacting in the office and who have been apart for several months. One way to keep employees feeling engaged with their job while working from home is to implement virtual coffee breaks.

These breaks can simply be short meetings over video conferencing software that take place at regular intervals, such as every Friday morning. Scheduling virtual coffee breaks achieves two goals: encouraging team members to take breaks, which is proven to boost productivity, and giving them the opportunity to catch up and maintain their relationships.

Live Translations

One major advantage of virtual events is that they can reach a wider audience. That said, you can only reach and engage so many people before language becomes a barrier. In order to make your event more accessible to international audiences — as well as participants with disabilities — try to provide live captioning or translations.

Many virtual event platforms now include these features, powered by AI, and several third-party apps are available as well. Although AI-generated translations are not always completely accurate, they will go a long way to making your event more engaging, and some also allow for human input to make corrections if needed.

Mini Masterclasses

Online masterclasses are very popular and exist for just about anything you may want to learn.

Instead of having typical breakout sessions during your virtual events, try incorporating mini masterclasses to surprise and engage attendees.

Leverage the expertise of your speakers and/or exhibitors to create specialized sessions that attendees can join based on their areas of interest. Have attendees register in advance so you can get a sense of what they want more of and which classes they find less interesting.

VIRTUAL EVENT PRODUCTION

Include Pre-Recorded Sessions

Pre-recorded sessions have their drawbacks, so they may not be appropriate for every event. However, one of the many advantages of recording sessions in advance is the level of control you have over the quality. This makes them ideal for evergreen content available on demand on an ongoing basis.

High production value is key for virtual events, so if you have any concerns about technical issues on the day of, or would like the ability to edit or enhance the session footage, then pre-recorded sessions may be the way to go.

Prepare Speaker Kits

If you don’t have the budget to partner with a production company for your virtual event, there are still lots of ways to up the production value of your presentation with plug-and-play equipment.

One way to do so is by preparing kits that will offer a consistent and professional look and feel across your lineup. These kits should include a green screen, a tabletop tripod that you can use to mount your iPhone, LED lighting, and a wired shotgun or lapel microphone. You can offer these to your speakers as a “thank you” gift, or you can include a return shipping label and reuse these items if budget is a concern.

Treat Your Online Space as a Venue

The virtual event platform you build your event on is more than just an interface where guests access a webinar. The goal is to take full advantage of the digital format to provide a well-rounded, multi-faceted digital experience. For example, Fortnite created a concert space last year and hosted an immersive concert series within the game.

If you don’t have the budget to create some of the beautiful spaces that brands have created recently, such as the online House of Fenty, you can still place guests online in more subtle ways. For example, shoot pre-event videos that give guests the feeling of arriving somewhere and create the buildup of excitement before they walk through the doors.

HYBRID EVENT IDEAS

Bring Remote Attendees Into the Room

Depending on the type of event you’re organizing, using tech to bring virtual attendees into the physical venue can be a great way to make them feel included and boost engagement

For example, during their last season, the NBA implemented a virtual fan experience that enabled fans to join the game via LED screens in the stands. A key part of the experience was the two-way interaction it provided — the setup included the fans’ audio in addition to their video, so they could be heard in the venue as opposed to just being silent spectators.

Include a Virtual Host

Although most attendees at hybrid events in the near future will likely be joining virtually, it can be easy to focus on the live experience and put the virtual component on the backburner. However, virtual participants shouldn’t be an afterthought.

To keep remote attendees engaged, have a virtual host interact with the virtual attendees separately during coffee breaks, change of stage set-up, lunch breaks, etc. Imagine a second virtual stage in live events where the host can actually do a short interview with virtual attendees, or a quick “get to know the speakers” for the next day, a quick poll to get feedback on the previous sessions, or even a behind-the-scenes interview with organizers.

Incentivize Live Attendance

On the flip side, you also want to be sure to make the live component of your hybrid event compelling enough to make people want to attend in person instead of just joining virtually. One of the main appeals of physical attendance is the environment — regardless of the venue or destination, the big difference is that they’re not at home.

Consider the unique experiences and opportunities that the destination can offer, and take advantage of them for your event. Taking the risk of traveling to an event only to be stuck in a windowless ballroom all day just isn’t as appealing as being able to attend workshops on the beach, for example. Think about what Covid-safe activities you can do at smaller capacities that wouldn’t necessarily scale up, and thereby take advantage of the limited attendance numbers to provide a more memorable experience.

Use an App to Connect Audiences

Mobile event apps are nothing new, but they will become particularly important for hybrid events as a way to connect the remote and in-person audiences. The event app will be common ground for all attendees and will allow them to view the same information and interact in the same chat conversations.

Look for virtual platforms that include fully-integrated apps that everyone will be able to access.

Using apps for things like Q&A and live polls will also help promote engagement from both virtual and live attendees.

Use Lighting to Create Cohesive Environments

Many event planners are used to lighting for in-person audiences, and some may even be used to lighting for a TV audience or other types of remote viewers. However, the challenge is how to bring that together in a hybrid experience.

Look at lighting as a fun way to add an experiential tie-in to the in-person audience that your virtual audience can also appreciate. For example, if you add a beautiful stage wash that has reds or yellows, why not add that to the virtual platform so the online audience can also feel the same thing? Lighting can be a vehicle for your theme or branding that should be reflected in your online platform.

Fundraising events must be among the most difficult types of events out there. You are inviting people in a room to ask for their money. For a good cause, of course, but still you are asking for their money.

Coming up with cool fundraising ideas that make an impact is not always easy. Getting the audience to empathize with your cause can be a challenge.

No worries, we are here to help.

Let’s look first at some strategies to tackle the ever-changing world of fundraising events, then we will share some of the most effective event ideas out there.

Utilize Storytelling

Stories can truly connect your audience’s emotions to the cause you are fundraising for. Without a face or story to represent your fundraising need, your donors won’t be able to envision or feel exactly how worthy your cause is. People are inclined to give when they connect on an emotional level with a speaker or a personal journey. By sharing these types of heartfelt stories with your audience at an event, you are much more likely to increase your charitable contributions.

Tug the heartstrings:

• At the event, set aside a time to educate your audience about your cause and show them the impact they are making.
• Use storytelling through things like photographs, videos, quotations, and artwork.
• Providing your donors with actual examples of where the money raised is going and the impact it is having, will provide gratification to your donors and encourage them to continue giving during future campaigns. You should always be looking for the chance to show your donors what their gifts are accomplishing.

Cater to Your Donor

Everyone loves to feel special at an event, especially a high-level donor or top-tier sponsor. You should try to make each one of your guests feel like the most important person in the room, in order to provide a great customer service experience and make them more inclined to open their pocketbooks for your charity. By making attendees feel special, they will be much more inclined to give to your cause or spend some extra money while attending your event. Everyone enjoys feeling like a VIP, so do your best to show all of the guests attending your event that their dollar truly matters.

Make them feel special:

• Calling your guests by name upon arrival and recognizing them for their generosity at every chance you get, will go a really long way in providing a positive and lasting impression.
• Place VIP board members’ names on the invitation. When people receive an invitation if they recognize a name they feel more obligated and motivated to attend.
• Place VIPs on your event board. People who give buy-in and advice on something feel an added incentive to see how it turns out, which means they’ll also attend. This also helps you build a closer relationship with them.

Stay Connected

Being connected to your donors and supporters during the event is easier than ever with social media and digital devices. Being tapped into the vibe of your outing will give you a good perspective on the impact your event has had and perhaps the likelihood of your fundraising success.

Are people sharing information about your cause or event with their network? Fundraising is a very social project in this digitally connected world. Almost every day we see someone online who is raising money or awareness for a cause they care about. By making your events more socially connected you will increase your visibility and build upon your potential fundraising income.

Boost engagement:

• You can follow along with your group through event hashtags and apps during the event
• Don’t be afraid to ask attendees how they are doing with pre-and post-event surveys!
• Connect the digital and physical attendees with a live social wall during your event and flood with messages of donations and support for the cause.

20 Fundraising Event Ideas

Here are 20 event ideas to bolster fundraising revenue at your next event.

Silent Auction

Whether it is experiences or donated products and items, silent auctions can be an interesting way to raise funds during the event without the hassle of organizing a real auction. Bidders simply fill out a form with their information and the highest amount they would pay for each item. Highest bid wins. Make it interesting by adding valuable items or experiences such as coaching or speaker sessions for the corporate crowd.

Donation Matching

Find a sponsor or company to match the donation amount that you raise so that you can immediately double it. This incentivizes guests to donate more as they know it will be worth twice as much as they give. If you can’t find someone to do this for your event as a whole you could ask individual sponsors to double their bid if you reach a certain criterion, e.g. finish a sporting challenge or reach a milestone amount.

Digital Donations

Don’t forget about your digital attendees who may want to help raise funds but are unable to attend. Making digital donations available by sharing links to a secure funding page on your event social media can help expand reach and makes fundraising more accessible. It also works well during a live stream or social media wall and makes fundraising accessible before, during and after your event.

Donation Kiosks

The traditional donation box is getting a revamp with kiosks that take contactless or card payments, no more having to cash checks for your fundraiser.

Benefitted Keynote

Invite guests who are affected by the cause you are trying to raise to speak at the keynote on behalf of others. Motivational or inspiring stories, as well as seeing the affected can hit home for many and encourage more donations.

Raffles

Highly popular, particularly with low budgets because you can have prizes donated and it’s simply the cost of the tickets that you have to pay for. Incentivize this further by introducing a 50:50 split where the tickets are placed into a bowl and the prize is half of the amount raised by the ticket sales. The other half goes to the designated charity.

Bring to Buy

From cakes and food to clothing or nearly new items, bring to buy are highly popular for fundraisers. It prompts others to have a declutter or get creative while working towards a good cause at the same time.

Sponsored Bar

Rather than a free bar, the sponsor agrees to match whatever was made in drinks and donate to a charity. This is perfect, particularly if they are marketing with a custom cocktail so it is a win-win and also encourages drinking for a good cause!

  A Red Carpet and Step & Repeat

Make your attendees feel like the VIPs they are by featuring a red carpet leading up to the entrance to your event. You can even kick it up a notch with a branded ‘step and repeat’ banner and “paparazzi” (professional photographer) behind a velvet rope taking photos of your guests. If your attendees feel like high rollers, they may even be more likely to be generous throughout your fundraiser!

Gamification

Attendees are more likely to pay to play games or activities they are participating in which makes sports and gamification popular for fundraising. Organize a simple pay to play mini-game such as guess the sweets in the jar or go big and organize an entire sports tournament as part of your event. The winners can receive a product or service from sponsors and the money

Diverse Keynote Speakers

It’s increasingly critical for event planners to not only look at keynote speakers who will be relevant to their attendees, but also to seek out those who will provide a diverse perspective. We hear time and again that representation matters. As you plan the keynote speaker lineup for your next fundraiser, be intentional about securing a keynote speaker who appropriately reflects the diversity of your audience and community.

Full Valet Service

An excellent corporate fundraising idea is to have a valet and car wash available for attendees while they are in the event. The proceeds go to the designated charity, guests are more likely to pay a bit extra for the cause and they have the car cleaned while having fun!

 Casino Night

A casino night event is a classic for a reason. Attendees have a ball as they sip cocktails, eat delicious hor d’oeuvres, play casino games, and win prizes. In addition to casino games, you can feature event enhancements like a charity poker tournament or live music. A casino night also offers several options for fundraising, including ticket sales, table sponsorships, or drink sales.

Homemade Carnival

If the budget allows carnival rides like the one below, excellent but if it doesn’t there are still plenty of fundraising opportunities for your event within the carnival theme. You could opt for smaller, homemade stalls such as the coconut shy, plate smash, raffles and tombola stalls or alternatively for corporate carnivals you could play dunk the boss!

Credit: Fiesta Party

Influencer Awareness

Get an influencer or celebrity guest involved in your fundraising for causes that they are passionate about. Even if you can’t get them to attend the event themselves they could still publicly donate to your cause, prompting others to do the same. Plus, it’s an excellent way to spread awareness.

Animal Guests

For animal fundraising, work with local shelters or sanctuaries to bring animal guests to your event to pose for photos or be part of the keynote. Animals strike a chord with people and chances are you’ll have attendees with pets so they will be more likely to donate seeing the animals themselves. Everyone loves an underdog (or cat) story.

Credit: Megan Hunter

Charity Photo Booth

Capitalize on the selfie and photo booth popularity at your event by turning them into fundraising machines. You could have them branded with the charity or cause information to boost awareness or offer pay per print with the proceeds going to charity.

Fundraising Exhibition

Ask attendees to take photographs and submit them before the event, have the best ones blown up onto canvas and create a “crowdsourced” art exhibition. Charge for tickets and auction the photos at the end (or have a silent auction!)

Host a Slumber Party

Have pyjamas as the fancy dress idea and play an old movie, cinema style. Charge for movie tickets at your event as well as for popcorn and drinks. Offer other areas, for example a pamper zone or lounge, custom cocktails and pillow fight entertainment as part of the party to raise funds.

Fashion Show

Have local talent, boutiques or even attendees submit their fashion designs and charge for entry to the fashion show. You could offer this as part of the entertainment at your event or go all out and make it a feature itself.

Making a corporate environment fun and engaging can be difficult when you also have to consider keeping a professional image at all times. The pressure is on to raise intrigue among attendees, whilst staying totally on brand.

If corporate events are your game, we have some essential reading for you in this post: Advanced Corporate Event Planning Guide: 100 Ideas, Checklists and Tips to Plan Successful Events.

And if you’re looking for insights into the ways that hybrid work is influencing the world of meetings and events, check out our latest report produced in collaboration with IMEX — Designing for Connection: How to create meetings and events that build culture and community.

In the meantime, if you’re looking for ideas and inspiration, we’re here to help with some of the most effective corporate event ideas we’ve seen to date. You never know, one of these ideas might just be the one that turns your corporate event into the event of the year!

Here are 20 corporate event ideas for you to steal.

Philanthropic Group Activities

If doing good in the world is a core value to your organization, a philanthropic group activity is a great corporate event option. A shared volunteering activity will enable your employees to feel good about making a positive impact in the world, bond with each other in a more informal setting, and, according to Fortune Magazine, create increased respect for your organization and leadership team.

Roaming Competitions

A funky guerrilla marketing tactic for corporate events is to create pop-up ideas that spark intrigue and excitement. Build on this by making them roam and moveable. You could do this across the country or even in the office with different elements popping up in different departments each day. They create surprise and buzz about where it could be found next and helps with immediate brand recognition.

Credit: Plano Event Center, City of Plano, Visit Plano

Unique Staff Uniforms

Staff are just as important to the aesthetic so ensuring they are incorporated into themes and color schemes is important. Mix it up by having intricate uniforms, such as these pajamas at the annual meta mixer in line with their sweet dreams theme.

Credit: Destinations by Design, Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas (catering)

Mindfulness Workshop

Mindfulness is “the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.” (Mindful.org) Though research on the benefits of mindfulness in the workplace is still in its infancy, the idea is that mindfulness can help attention, self-regulation, well-being, and overall performance. (Psychology Today) Help your employees develop this important skill by offering a free mindfulness workshop conducted by an expert trainer.

Balloon Ceiling

Corporate events need excellent styling and while this theme is a Gatsby one, it remains classy and sophisticated. Drawing on the black and cold, a trailing balloon ceiling that spread outwards added a level of intimacy to the event. Balloons are an important décor trend for 2022 and are multi-functional too, so don’t count them out.

Dessert Signage

A classic, but still incredibly effective, particularly if you get the right food choice and make it shine! These are the perfect example of dessert branding done right with these sophisticatedly stylish treats. The more appetizing, the more they will be photographed and shared, improving the sponsor’s reach.

Credit: Brand Formula

Digital Mapping

Digital mapping at this gala showcases different images and projects them, which creates an interactive and engaging way to bring to attendees. The images themselves can be automated and moving and in some cases, integrated with the ability to interact with attendees when they are near for some thrilling fun and wow factor.

Canape Spoons

Buffets and canapes tend to remove some catering options because, logistically, you can’t serve difficult foods or those needing utensils without plates. Canape spoons are the latest things to make this possible and open up a realm of possibilities for your menu.

Dine Around the World

A “Dine Around the World” event is a great way to shake up a traditional corporate party; it features food stations throughout the space that offer traditional foods from across the globe. A “Dine Around the World” event works especially well for companies that have offices or customers in international locations. For example, if you have offices in Mexico City, London, and Beijing, you could offer food stations for Mexico, the UK, and China. As an added bonus, you can create a passport where attendees get stamps in their booklet for each location they visit and are entered to win prizes for visiting them all.

Big Scalextric

Be big kids at the event with Scalextric races and gamification. You could create an incentivized leaderboard or tournament lasting throughout the event with prizes for the winners. Even without the incentives, you’ll find it is quite popular and unique.

Corporate Penthouse

Converting corporate spaces can be difficult but this penthouse creation is stunning. With a marble bar and lounge area for networking and comfort, as well as seated dinner and candle-lit walkways it’s definitely transformative.

Credit:Reserve Modern,Peak Event Services,SBL Lighting,Ryan Designs

Swag

You can offer branded swag before the event, as an early bird incentive, giveaway or to bring to the event. This gives attendees the opportunity to show it off and encourage others to look into registering or signing up before the event. Alternatively, give swag at the registration desk and entrance or in goody bags on the way out.

Branded Segways

Plenty of branding opportunities and perfect for large event transportation or pre-event build-up. Segways are still interesting and a novelty for many, even though they were released years ago. You could make them available to rent from your booth at trade shows, giving you excellent reach as they make an impact, or ride them in public to market your event.

Dinner Boxes

Food is normally the next point of call after a long or out of hours meeting, so take away the worry and send them home with dinner and dessert. These combination boxes have a variety of amazing food and can be adapted to suit your attendee preferences.

Branded Furniture

From tables, chairs and food stations to cushions, marques and shelving, branding can be used on a variety of furniture surfaces which is why lounges are such a good idea.

Gesture Control Presentations

Increasing technology now means we can avoid the awkward clickers and weird pointing to the presentation control for a seamless speech or presentation. These gesture control armbands allow those on stage to motion when it is time to move on which can be integrated into the presentation for better delivery.

Private Chef

Go all the way with food and remove the buffet entirely. Opt for a private chef who can create tailored meals to suit the vibe, dietary preferences and what you ask for. The food is fresh, you can see it being made and you know it will be customized and hot!

Simple GOBO’s

An excellent way to make a larger venue feel more intimate is with lighting or similar effects and these simple but effective GOBO’s create a speckled effect that enhances the natural features of this venue.

Credit: Luxe Productions

Overnight Stay/Accommodation Paid

For retreats, workshops or events that last several days, you could offer free accommodation as part of a giveaway package before or during the event. Before the event would offer more flexibility and allow you better rates to negotiate a hotel package beforehand but even during the event you could offer to cover accommodation costs for the event. Alternatively, you could simply offer an unrelated overnight stay in a luxury hotel that has other amenities such as a spa or fitness center as a mini-break.

Segmented Escape Rooms

Escape rooms are growing in popularity as a team building exercise but you can now create your own so attendees don’t have to travel. Using cleverly thought out planning, draping partitions, lighting and plenty of themed décor you can create an immersive experience at the same venue as other team building exercises for a fraction of the cost.

Experience is more than just a buzzword. Creating a great experience for event attendees is essential if you want your event to be memorable. To keep your attendees’ interests piqued, you need to keep them engaged. One of the best ways to do that is through entertainment.

Capture the imagination of your attendees with unique performers, fun activities and unique experiences to create a buzz around your event. It can attract attendees, give audience satisfaction and increase brand exposure in a big way. Get it right and your attendees will do your social media marketing for you!

3 Tips For Event Entertainment

Multi-Level

You want to entertain on various levels, big and small. Of course, a big entertainment act is a great event idea but what will attendees do while they wait? Consider different tiers of entertainment for continued amusement that hits the right note.

Different tier mentality:

• Consider queuing. If you have elements of your event that may turn into queues and these are unavoidable, entertain them! Having walking entertainers to interact or big screens near the waiting area will make time fly by for guests.
• Amuse crowds. Just because you have minimal space to maneuver everyone doesn’t mean you are limited to stage entertainment. Simply adding props or interactive crowd games can make it more enjoyable and engaging.
• Think small. Don’t forget to think small and consider the personal touches that make entertainment memorable. This could be something as simple as ensuring there is table trivia at a corporate gala for networking, to interactive speakers or roaming entertainment.

Make It Social

Don’t just entertain your attendees, entertain your audience by making it go viral! This improves brand reach by getting your event trending and shared globally.

Time to connect

• Get emotive. People will want to post and share your event if it evokes strong emotions; be it surprise, excitement, awe or amusement! If you use an act, a show or a performer that is so unique (and can also incorporate the brand!) that people are stirred to feeling amazed or surprised, then they are going to want to share their experience with others.
• Record it. Don’t rely on attendees to capture the entertainment (particularly if it is a surprise) so ensure you have someone recording it, you never know when the footage may come in handy for full previews or exclusives.
• Plan ahead. Don’t be afraid to put some thought into how to make the entertainment viral. Do some research on what is popular, create a buzz that includes entertainment teasers on social media and you could even invite press for coverage!

Remember Your Audience

Your event style and type will largely dictate what is appropriate or not. Corporate event profs will first have to take a few factors into consideration when ensuring that the entertainment ‘fits’ the event:

Know who you’re talking to:

• Analyse your demographic. Determine age, social background and sex, and choose entertainment accordingly. A tribute to ‘One Direction’ or ‘Justin Bieber’ may be suitable for a corporate family day event, but not for a black-tie gala dinner.
• Consider venue space. Venue size and location is a factor that many event planners and organizers forget (or remember at the last minute!). This is important, as it will play a part in deciding whether or not you can have that aerial team you want or full-scale swing band!
• Budget. Do you have a strict budget that you have to work within, or is money not a problem? The amount of money a company is prepared to spend on entertainment will affect the options available.

20 Entertainment Ideas

Hungry for entertainment e event ideas? Here are 20 things to inspire your next event.

Interactive Audience Games

Keep your audience engaged and invested by integrating audience games into your general session content. Audience games can include the use of live props — a beach ball, for example, or famously an inflatable whale that, when tossed around by the crowd, controlled a video game on stage. It could also include trivia questions that attendees can respond to via your conference app and more.

One thing to keep in mind – don’t let your audience game be just a fun distraction. It should meaningfully reflect your content and drive home your messaging with attendees.

Digital Caricatures

Forget pens and paper, this is caricature art for the New Media Age! Digital caricaturists are one of the most popular options for corporate events that require walkaround entertainment that incorporates technology. Not only will guests want to tweet or post their personal works of art (which can include company logos, branding or products!), but the artist can also email the caricatures to attendees or post them live on to company social media sites!

Group Dance Lesson

If your event includes music and dancing, a group dance lesson can be a great way to reflect your overall event theme and get attendees out of their shell and having fun. For example, at a recent Cuban-themed event in South Florida, the host offered a salsa lesson. The dancers did a fantastic job engaging with the crowd, and eventually the CEO, leadership team, and key clients were all up joining in. It led to lots of laughs and a great conversation point the next day.

Corporate Percussion

Geared towards corporate clients, artists will perform using products i.e. ladders, machinery, etc. These shows also have added wow factor, as they are a fast paced, high energy performance.

Aroma DJ

They say that smells trigger memories right? Well, why not ensure your guests remember your event with an aroma DJ! Using an ‘aroma laboratory’, these new and exciting DJs mix a blend of oils, incense and real pheromones; “controlling the vibes of the dance floor by mixing a seamless blend of scents!”.

Coffee Art

This act gives the term ‘instant art’ a whole new meaning! Your attendees will be bursting to share these little, drinkable, personal works of art via social media. The artist uses a portable coffee machine to capture the likeness of event attendees in their very own cup of delicious coffee.

Retro Video Games

Nostalgia can enhance enjoyment at an event, and adding retro video games can bring attendees back to their youth. This awesome idea takes it up a notch by adding a giant element to it and having the traditional Super Mario on a massive controller which can also get others involved playing together!

Credit: Perfect Parties USA

Live Bands/MCs

Music is emotive and generally speaks to people so can be an excellent entertainment idea that appeals to many attendees. Make this more interesting by having unique instruments or something different for example dueling pianos on stage. You could also split the crowd into groups and have a musical riff-off against one another or have them complete musical challenges such as singing lines one after the other to create an echo effect.

Classy Table Tennis

A favorite game with a sophisticated twist! Table tennis is easy to create into mini competitions and you can have up to 4 attendees playing at a time. Create a round robin tournament with teams for a corporate retreat or have “first to five” games to keep it short and sweet!

Credit: Reserve Modern

Responsive Flooring

Whether it’s for a dancefloor, event entrance or the main hall floor, responsive and interactive flooring can be an interesting event idea that is a big hit and makes the venue more engaging without permanent fixtures or adjustments. This can usually be achieved by using projectors and tracking cameras for different effects; some involve moving scenes being displayed with elements interacting with the user as they walk past e.g. a koi pond where the fish swim away when you walk near them. Alternatively, you could have a game where attendees have to run and catch different elements to create a high score, creating an interactive floor game. This could be incorporated on larger floors or upscaled to suit interactions with more guests.

iPad Magician

For technology and gadget lovers/events, iPad magicians are the perfect act to amaze and entertain your guests. iPad magicians perform bespoke shows for the digital age, and many high-profile brands and events are eager to experience this unique brand of magical entertainment.

 Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream Station

A liquid nitrogen ice cream action station is a fresh and exciting take on more traditional dessert stations. Attendees pick their flavors and toppings to create a custom flavor. An attendant then uses liquid nitrogen to flash freeze the ingredients and create their ice cream right in front of their eyes. This type of dessert station works particularly well with a crowd that geeks out on science!

Video Mapping Dance Crews

These are proving to be a big hit for corporate events. New technologies have allowed performers to take their dance/visual performances to the next level as humans and computers merge. These acts can incorporate specific music and graphics, as well as logos and corporate messages.

Interactive Wait Staff

If you have large crowds but minimal space, particularly for staging, you can get on their level by having interactive wait staff. This could be in the form of singing or dancing staff as well as impersonators, rollerbladers or wearable tables all serving food and drinks while interacting with guests. Ideas like this get people talking and act as conversation starters as well as memorable ideas and experiences.

Aerial Performers

A sure-fire way to involve the audience when you have little floor space or room is to have aerial décor, artists and entertainers, performing above their heads. It makes the venue more interactive as a whole while attendees look upwards and can make use of dead space without impacting the floor area if you have a large crowd or audience. Aerial performers also add a thrill element because they are so high up and above the attendees that they feel a part of the act itself.

Celebrities/Influencers

Hire celebrities or influencers to attend, speak or interact at your event to generate a buzz. Alternatively, you could have them do a remote Q&A session on your social media channels as part of the entertainment. Don’t have the budget? Try a lookalike to pose with guests on the event floor or entrance, it will definitely get people talking on social media, particularly who is the best one!

Street Entertainers

Invite street entertainers to create an urban atmosphere at your event. They are always popular because of their innovative approach to performing and you could offer a variety of options from beatboxers, tricking, break dancers or homemade instruments.

Sand Artists

These talented artists will perform custom made sand animations for a variety of corporate events. These shows have a definite wow factor that will ensure your event is remembered!

Comedians

Laughter can create positive memories associated with your event and a good comedian can also act as an MC for other elements of the event. Make sure you hire a comedian whose subject matter will fit your tone and demographic, otherwise you could be memorable for all the wrong reasons.

Stunt Performers

From fire eaters and sword swallowers to stunt bikes or ball tricks, stunt performers leave a lasting impression and have serious wow factor.

Hungry for more? Here are 122 more Event Entertainment Ideas.

Even if you are the best event planner in the world, if people don’t know about your event, they won’t come.

With the ever-competitive event market it is important to stand out and while this may come at a price, it makes the effort worthwhile.

Good promotion can generate more income from sponsors, as well as improve ticket sales, as brands only want to work with events that can improve their reach as well.

But how do you stand out with so much noise out there?

Event planners said that increased competition was their biggest hurdle as far back as 2018.

So let’s look at some tactics first to approach event promotion, then 20 incredible ideas to sell out!

Work With Your Venue

Often, your venue has its own PR team that will be able to lend a helping hand and understands its specifications to promote itself meaning that you can focus on the event at hand. After all, it is in the best interests of the venue that your event is a success.

Utilize your assets:

• Discuss what you need. Always talk about what your end goal is for promotion. Creating hype, building awareness or driving ticket sales can have slightly different approaches, so make sure you are on the same page.
• Get your event listed on their event website with a ticket link as early as possible.
• Do the venue have a newsletter of interested event goers? Can they feature your forthcoming event?
• Tap into their local knowledge. Do they have contacts and suppliers that may extend reach or have they got inside knowledge into the city you are hosting your event in that might help?

Stay Current

People have busy lives, so it is important to keep in the forefront of their minds or they will forget about your event. It’s nothing personal!

Get to the forefront:

• Grow your email list. Do everything you can to grow your email list with those that are truly interested in your event. Having a pop up on your site is a great way to encourage people to receive updates so you can keep in touch if they are not ready to purchase tickets yet.
• Newsletter reminders. Use your email list to share tantalising content with newsletter subscribers, but target it towards those that have bought tickets and those still to book. Make the subject line pop so you have better open rates.
• Social media updates. Engage on social media and ensure that you are around to ask any questions or alleviate issues in the lead up to your event.
• Keep it interesting. If you bore them at this stage, chances are they won’t be attending. You could use different mediums or graphics on your channel as well as a temporary change of colors or profile pictures to add that reminder.

Content Accessibility

Make sure that you are putting your efforts into being accessible when it comes to promoting your event. This could be sharing on different media where your audience are active or simply not confusing your message and diluting interest.

Be heard:

• Adapt to your audience. If your audience favors Snapchat, start getting up to date on stories and filters you can use. If it’s Instagram, design stunning images that will turn heads! Promotion is all about breaking through the noise and reaching your demographic.
• Be wherever it matters. Don’t just limit yourself to the normal social networks (although these are useful too.) be where your audience is and this means understanding where is best to reach them.
• Native checkouts. Allow tickets to be purchased via the different sites and mediums you have promoted on e.g. Facebook. This makes the process efficient meaning you’re more likely to get sales rather than distracted potential guests.

20 Promotional Ideas for Events

Drawing a blank when it comes to promotional ideas? Here are 20 ideas to kick start your promotions right now.

Associated Webinar

Put together a free two-part webinar that precludes the event and gets attendees excited and educated which could include sneak peeks from speakers as well as industry relevant information. Make part 2 available post-event that includes highlights and key takeaways.

Device Charging Stations/Branded Cell Phone Chargers

Convention centers are notorious for having poor cell reception and quickly draining the life out of your battery. Offering a device charging station at your booth not only puts you in your attendees’ good graces, it also provides you with a captive audience for engaging with your products or organization. If a device charging station is impractical, you could instead consider giving away branded cell phone chargers. This can be a powerful branding tool, as attendees view your logo each time they charge their phone.

Strategic Influencer Marketing

18% of event planners say that influencer marketing is the most effective tactic to sell tickets. Identify the influencers in your niche that tend to collaborate with events. We are not talking about general influencers popular on a given social networks. We are talking about only those that attend similar events. Invite them to speak, offer VIP treatment, pay for accommodation and expenses. Expect them to blog, tweet, insta and video about your event in return. Remember to get them to disclose your partnership. It’s not just cool, it works!

Security Lane Signage

For a limited time, change the colors of your website to include the theme or vibe of your event. You could add a landing page that takes you straight to the event details with FAQ’s and the information attendees would need. You could also include page pop-ups for commonly used posts or pages to highlight the new event to market and let people know. The important thing to remember is to keep with your brand but make it pop and stand out so that users are aware that it is something new and something to be excited about.

Experiential Art Installation

Experiential art installations are an interesting and novel way to create brand awareness and engage with the public. Though an experiential art installation can be expensive – you have to pay for space in a well-trafficked location, as well as for the art and maintenance during the duration of the installation – it can also create a ton of buzz around your brand.

Gamify Your Executive Team

Scavenger hunts can be a great way to gamify your conference or event through your event app. Gamifying your executive team is a valuable twist on this conference staple. It’s a pretty simple concept – you provide your team with codes that attendees can then redeem for points if they seek out and have conversations with key execs. Gamifying your executive team offers a few key advantages: it offers attendees who might be nervous about approaching your leadership an easy and informal ice breaker, and it can lead to great follow-up conversations about their relationship, challenges, license renewals, cross selling opportunities, etc.

What About Remarketing?

Event professionals wildly ignore the power of remarketing when it gets to event promotion. It is a great idea to convert more attendees. If someone visits your site, you have two special pixels installed to follow them everywhere on Facebook and Google network. If they abandoned your ticket purchase process, you can incentivize them with a small discount. They are hot leads, you just need to push the decision.

Featured Speaker Videos

Ask your speakers to send short videos shot from their smartphones (in landscape mode) telling your audience why they need to attend their session and what are they going to cover. This is usually a great incentive to make the audience comfortable with the topics that will be discussed and quickly evaluate whether attending your event is worth it. Speakers have an incredible influence on attendees.

Suppliers and Local Government Event Promotion

While we know how paid speakers and performers can be valuable to help promote an event, especially on social media, we often forget about suppliers that already signed up to attend. You’re also bringing business and revenue to your event destination.  Leverage your supplier network, CVBs, DMOs and local government (or business authority, chamber of commerce, or tourism board) to help promote your event by creating specific collateral and messaging that they can use on their social channels..

Sustainable Giveaways

If used effectively, giveaways can be an effective marketing tool that increases customer engagement and brand awareness. Too often, though, giveaways are used without regard to their environmental impact. If your organization is looking to become more environmentally conscious, consider opting for a sustainable giveaway. Promotional companies now offer items made from sustainable materials (for example, totes made from recycled plastics or bamboo pens) or that encourage attendees to conserve waste (for example, reusable straws, glass water bottles, etc.).

Host Meetups

In the lead up to the event you should nurture your local community with monthly meetups to keep the interest alive in the topic of your event. You need to invest in your core community if you want them to act as ambassadors once the big event comes. If you don’t have time to run your own, sponsor some little events with similar attendee profiles, especially if they are user run. You can get incredible value by tapping in the actual audience that will attend the event.

Step up your press factor

Do you have a press strategy for your event? Local news stations are always on the lookout for the event of the day. You really need to make sure you reach out to local press to the best of your ability. It is vital to secure as much free coverage as possible. One mention in one outlet could mean a disproportionate amount of tickets sold. Therefore make sure you reach out to local stations with a good pitch that has a story built inside. Don’t just send press releases, send a story to cover. That can be one of your performers, the type of the event.

Step up your social media game

Many many times, social media handles for events wake up a couple of months before the event, only to go to sleep a month after the event is gone. In modern days, you will lose your algorithm influence on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. While it was possible in the past to keep your influence at all times, that is not the case anymore. With the recent announcements Facebook made, either you keep an ongoing strategy all year long or you are out! Other social networks are catching up so keep yourself up to date.

Use content marketing strategically

If you want to rank higher on Google and convert attendees that may search for events, you need to sort out your SEO strategy. Read this comprehensive event marketing guide with hundreds of event marketing tactics to keep you on top of things.

Behind-the-Scenes Build-up Videos

Post videos of the set-up or exclusive clips behind-the-scenes during the day to generate a buzz. Audiences love to “see behind the curtain” so give them a glimpse of what your event has taken to get them the end result they love.

Pre-event Q&A for Attendees

Some attendees may be turned off by some unknowns and you haven’t been as communicative as you could have. Hosting a Q&A that is event specific not only allows you to promote the line-up and key features but can give you the option to answer any logistical questions “straight from the horse’s mouth.”

Radio

Some may argue that radio is dead but it shouldn’t be underestimated. For local events, the local station can key into your target audience and raise awareness while national radio, although more expensive has a much wider reach. It is important to remember that well-known stations are used regularly by motorists so securing a top rush-hour spot will have your event heard by thousands in the car, not just for those listening at home. So, if you have the budget it is worth tapping into. Also, invite a station to cover your event live for exclusive access and fun promotion!

Giveaways

Run a giveaway to build event hype with the prize including event tickets or a VIP experience for guests! This will get everyone sharing before the event and encourages guests to follow up, plus you would hope the winner would share their experience too for a bit of FOMO!

Snapchat Lenses

Make these ahead of time or encourage sponsored lenses at your event so that attendees can augment their reality. These lenses allow users to create layers that interact with real-life so you could make several elements or props animated when viewed through the lens. This gets attendees interacting via Snapchat and sharing all over social media for promotion.

Ambassadors

This could be anyone from an industry professional to a celebrity or influencer but this involves paying them to promote your event. Use technology tools to involve your core fans to share and get a commission on each ticket sold. There are tools available to generate codes and share your event with the top contacts that may purchase a ticket. Be specific with your ambassador program.

Want more ideas on how to promote an event?

There’s nothing quite like a community event for creating a local call to arms or bringing people together over a common cause. Whether trying to affect local change, raise funds or simply bring a group of people together, community events can be the best way to do this if done correctly.

For more on the importance of community in hybrid working environments, check out our latest report — Designing for Connection: How to create meetings and events that build culture and community.

Like any event, organizing a community event comes with its own pitfalls and challenges. People need to be informed, engaged and motivated; and like any event, attendee security and safety are paramount.

If you want to organize better community events, you’ve come to the right place. These tips and event ideas will help you inspire your attendees and create amazing community events.

3 Considerations of Community Events:

Protect Yourself

There can be increased liability with community events and this is something you’ll need to consider while planning, to make sure you can have the event that you have in mind!

• Research insurance. You will often need special types of permits and insurance when dealing with the public and the liability that goes with it so do all of your research to keep completely protected.
• Collate your paperwork. Request and create risk assessments for certain activities e.g. those that involve risk, kids or fireworks. Ensure your paperwork is in order BEFORE the event, if you don’t you could leave yourself liable.
• Do further health and safety checks on the day to make sure everything is operating as it should be. For larger events have a dedicated health and safety officer.

Create a Team

They say it “takes a village” and community events have a village at their disposal so don’t be afraid to ask for help.

• Find the specialists. Is there someone in the community is a catering expert? Ask their advice for the best deals in town or who to bring in for mobile catering options. The joy of communities is that you have a network of information to tap into. Use it.
• Get together a passionate team. The downside to community organizing is that it can snowball and you’ll find yourself with too much work or many people to manage, so keep things tight knit and delegate what you can, within reason.
• After every meeting make sure that everyone is clear on their own specific actions and deadlines.

Think Community During Planning

It’s important to remember the primary objective of a community event and that is usually to benefit the community! With this in mind, aim for local sustainability and keep this in the forefront.

Thoughtful planning:

• Supply from local businesses. It’s for a local cause and you’re more likely to get excellent rates because the event will directly benefit them. Even better, see what they can contribute and provide.
• Consult with the community. What do they actually want from the event and how could it be achieved?
• Think about how local schools, youth groups, churches, sports teams, local interest groups and activities can have a platform at the event.
• 20 Community Event Ideas

20 Community Event Ideas

Ready to produce a fantastic community celebration? Here are 20 ideas that are guaranteed to be popular….

Potluck

A fantastic community catering idea that involves each attendee bringing a food item to contribute to the buffet table. A variation on a traditional potluck can involve hosting an outdoor BBQ, where a designated griller makes the entrees and other neighbors are responsible for sides and fixings. For larger events, you want to make sure you have everything from starters to sweets so you can allocate meal (or drink) types to groups of people who can then organize with each other what they are going to specifically bring. This is an excellent way of bringing people together and starts a conversation on what everyone has brought.

Cardboard Boat Regatta

If you have access to a lake or even a large pool, a cardboard boat regatta is really fun way to engage the community. Teams work together to design and construct their boats using only cardboard, duct tape, and paint and then race their boats in a tournament style competition. You can use the event as a fundraising tool by charging a fee to enter the race, selling merchandise, or by having teams seek out sponsorships.

Bake-off

Offer cooking classes and workshops with the attendees being able to add their creations to the buffet (or sell them for fundraising.) Local restaurants could set-up a pop-up stand to accommodate in exchange for signage as an interesting sponsorship idea. Of course, you could also make it a competition too.

Street Party/Block Party

While these can be difficult to get permits for (if you need to close the street), they are excellent and memorable because they involve bringing neighbors together so are more likely to become recurring. These traditions help to create safer neighborhoods and give children an opportunity for a warmer environment to grow up in.

Pancake Breakfast

How best to get everyone motivated for a morning event than serving a pancake breakfast? It’s delicious and fairly cost effective because you can offer a variety of topping but don’t need to worry about other catering options.

Local Walking Tours

Add a walking tour to your event so that attendees can see some of the best community sites. This could be themed such as restaurants, breweries and local cuisine or opt for historical or cultural significance.

Crowd Activated Interactive Games

Enhanced technology means that you can use large digital screens to display games that are controlled by audience participation. For example, audience voice activated arm wrestling involves splitting the crowd in half and giving them, two separate sounds e.g. clapping or shouting. The software picks up the sounds and the loudest sounds win the game. This results in the digital display showing it as an arm wrestling match. There are plenty of other options, from table tennis to soccer on screen, with different interaction techniques but it is bound to get the crowd pumping.

Community Clean Up

The benefits of a community clean up are two-fold. First, neighbors get out into community spaces, connecting and working toward a common goal. Second, the entire community benefits from having well-maintained gardens, parks, and public spaces. You can make a community clean up even more fun by creating t-shirts, offering refreshments, and awarding prizes to those who collect the most trash, plant the most trees, trim the most shrubs, etc.

Fitness Workshop

With attendees putting increasing importance on health, fitness workshops or those ideas with healthy undertones can always be a hit. Have a leader on stage taking the crowd through the warmup and exercises, play some upbeat music and get everyone moving. Although this is most effective with large open areas (festivals are also quite compatible) you can still make this work with limited space by adapting the type of exercises and opting for intermittent high-intensity moves on the spot.

Home Tours

Admit it. We all want to know what the inside of our neighbors’ houses look like. Home tours give proud homeowners the chance to show off their digs and curious visitors the opportunity to see how their neighbors live, get home design ideas, and connect and network with others in the community. A home tour is also an easy event to turn into a fundraiser, as you can charge a fee for tickets.

Community Drive

Give back to the community by incorporating a drive for something that directly benefits them. For example, blast some music and get everyone picking litter in the local park before being rewarded with event fun and games. It adds a sense of community pride and the work gets done much faster (and cheaper) than if the local authority has to deal with it.

Craft Stations

Adding a participatory idea such as craft stations offer a shortstop for the creative types which could be turned into a memento from the day. You could make this extra sustainable by sourcing from the local art and craft store or working towards a community initiative like these throwing and painting bowls that aim to raise money to fight hunger in the community.

Credit: Food Bank For Larimer County

Giant Garden Games

Tug on the nostalgia and create a family games day where you can divide into teams to play oversized games such as chess, connect 4 or Jenga.

Open Air Movie Screen

Organise a drive-in screening of an old movie, where cars can pull up but still be waited on and have their orders taken by staff. It’s a great way to bring everyone together but allow them their own space, perfect for the introverted community.

Gardening

Invest in the local scenery by starting a gardening community event where you aim to spruce up the public areas, take care of the existing plants and potentially plant more trees. You could create “swag” with potted plants and seeds for attendees to take home and grow in line with some of the garden plants!

Dance-a-Thon

Use music to make your event emotive and have an eclectic mix from all genres to appeal to everyone. Offer a dance-a-thon alongside your event that couples can enter or simply have non-stop music until the party ends. Make this more interesting by having duelling bands or pianos or a skilled MC to mix things up and try new musical combinations of classical and current music.

Mobile Drinks

Order a drinks or food truck to cater your event. It’s informal but you can have sophisticated options and bespoke drinks that can park up and leave at the end of the day. Alternatively, you could opt for carts or cycling stations that can roam your event, particularly useful on a summer day in the park.

Cleaning Wakeboarding

Is your community or event near water? A new popular trend is to take paddleboards or small boats out and collect litter from waterways to keep them clean and be sustainable. You can have volunteers on hand to help raise awareness and educate passers-by in terms of the damage rubbish can do to local wildlife and habitats. You could print signage and leaflets or work with a local charity who already has these resources.

Treasure Hunts

Turn a communal or local public area into the perfect place for treasure hunts! These could be innovative with QR codes offering digital rewards or something simpler such as sweet treats for the players. It could be another idea for local sponsorship ideas with community suppliers offering prizes to find.

Quizzes

Encouraging teams at a community event can encourage more guests to attend and adds a competitive element that most enjoy. You could raise funds by making it a pay to play trivia where the teams chip in some money to play shorter versions of a pub quiz throughout the day and then see how their scores tally up.

All work and no play can make your event a dull place. Boring company events leave attendees feeling tired and more likely to walk away feeling like they have learned nothing.

Time has run out on boring company events. If attendees are disengaged, they aren’t retaining information. This has to change. It’s time to think beyond “death by powerpoint” and create an event that will excite and engage delegates while keeping the boss happy too.

For insights on how hybrid work is transforming company events, check out our latest report — Designing for Connection: How to create meetings and events that build culture and community.

We’ve got everything you need to bring your company events to life. Here are some ideas and tips to take your company events to the next level.

3 Top Tips For Creating Exciting Company Events

Creative Theming

Give your guests a break from the glass and steel world of business and dress your event to impress. Design your meetings to wow your attendees.

• Consider using creative themes that relate to the to topic of the day
• Take inspiration from local landmarks, scenery and customs. For business guests flying in from afar, local themes can be a big hit.
• Take time to assess all aspects of meeting design. Use creative seating layouts to promote engagement between attendees.

Gamification and Competition

Use eventtech to add excitement and create some healthy competition between staff. Get groups to work together collectively and get to know new colleagues and departments.

• Allocate points to reward behavior you want to encourage, such as connecting with other staff, visiting exhibitors, completing a survey, sharing on social media.
• Incorporating a leaderboard will ensure that the battle for the top spots is fierce.
• If your company supports a charity the points earned by attendees could be turned into a donation to the cause and encourage greater participation.

Food and Drink

Food and drink can be a big part of the event experience and it can be a unique opportunity to add a touch of luxury or additional branding to the event.

• The menu for food and beverage – and the display and service of them – are excellent opportunities to reflect your brand. Walking service and food stations might be a lot more appealing than a 3-course dinner.
• Make sure you have plenty of options for all allergies, dietary preferences, religious beliefs and health choices. Ask in advance for staff to share their dietary requirements.
• For small group events consider a participatory experience where teams have to create dishes on the menu and then come together for a feast afterwards. This can be a great team bonding activity.

20 Company Event Ideas

Need some advice on company event ideas that your boss and staff will love? Here are 20 as a starter.

Corporate Flash Mob

Add a sophisticated corporate twist to the traditional flash mob to surprise VIP guests. This Charleston flash mob was definitely entertaining and memorable.

Credit: Unika Dance Events, Nic Roland’s Inaugural UK Sunset Polo & Gatsby Party

Hashtag Mosaics

Hashtag Mosaics allow guests to participate more deeply in your event by engaging on social media and contributing to the creation of an event mural. Here’s how it works: attendees take a picture at your event and then post the photo on Twitter or Instagram using your event hashtag. The photo is then printed out as a sticker, which the attendee then places onto the larger mural. Attendees experience the excitement and satisfaction of watching an artwork they contributed to take shape.

Credit: Luster

Zorbing

Another adrenaline filled idea that can utilize open space and be an incredible experience. For team building alternatives you can try zorb football which involves hilarious attempts at football while strapped into a giant zorb ball.

Escape Room

Growing in popularity, the escape room is a problem-solving idea that puts teams under pressure which is good practice for the working world and gauging who can handle it, and who can’t!

Food Tours

Get out of the office, eat delicious food, and experience the culture and history of your city on a food tour. On a food tour, attendees meet at a pre-determined location and then set out to explore the city, stopping for food tastings along the way. A food tour gives your attendees the opportunity to get out into the community, engage with one another, and create lasting memories.

Roundtable Discussion

An excellent way to get rid of titles to help generate ideas and brainstorming at a corporate event. Roundtables are exactly as they insinuate and allow everyone the chance to speak freely, making innovation more likely and strengthening teams.

Walk-a-Mile

Particularly fun at corporate retreats, attendees have to partner up with someone with a different job role or department (the more different the better.) They then spend half a day each performing tasks from each other’s’ jobs to give an idea of what it’s like to walk a mile in each other’s shoes.

Chocolate Making

An interesting alternative to cooking workshops is a sweet treat that many can’t turn down. It allows for chocolate decoration and bespoke packages such as tours of a chocolate factory (and chocolate tasting). Will be a huge yes for those with a sweet tooth.

5K’s

This sporting trend is becoming an excellent addition to conferences, offering a healthy activity that gives a sense of achievement for many. Increase the difficulty by turning it into an obstacle course or mud run and turn it into a fundraiser by getting pledges for finishing within a certain time or guessing the finishing times.

Live Stream

For those who can’t make it but still want to benefit from the keynote or influential speaker,s you can set up a company live stream at the event, exclusive to employees or those who still purchase tickets.

Guess The Baby

A hilarious icebreaker that helps to break the barriers between management levels is to guess the baby. Everyone brings in a picture of them between 1 and 3 years old, everyone has to try and match the baby to the photo!

Ax Throwing

Axes aren’t just for lumberjacks anymore. You can now enjoy delicious snacks and drinks as you and your company try ax throwing – think a game of darts, but with axes. Private ax throwing events can include renting out lanes or the entire range, private instruction, and more. There are now even mobile ranges that will set up at your location to allow for maximum convenience.

360 Staging

Allow for more attendees and an engaging seating layout where they are spoken to in the round. It feels more intimate and if you choose your speaker right it is far more memorable. Plus, it’s an excellent idea to promote discussion and free-thinking

Credit:Encore Live

Sweepstakes

Friendly betting on sporting events or outcomes can add a competitive atmosphere and gets everyone talking and interacting in participation. In office sweepstakes, you can bid on the outcome of anything, from when a baby is due to what the weather will be like on a certain day, the winner gets to keep half of the final pot.

Outing to a Local Sporting Event

If you live in a city that has local sports teams, an outing to a sports arena is always a popular company event. Attendees can relax, enjoy a beer and snacks, and bond over their love for the home team. Sporting events are also a surprisingly flexible option, enabling you to select the package that best fits your budget. For instance, you can do everything from renting out a box and offering catering to just reserving a block of seats in the nose bleeders.

Orienteering

Add team-building exercises such as orienteering to your agenda because it also promotes problem solving and creativity which are all elements you want from your working team.

Dress The Boss

A corporate fundraising idea that could be adapted for the event if a team meets their sales targets! Everyone votes on the costume and when the milestone is reached, the boss has to wear the costume in the office for the day. The boss has the option to defer, for a huge sum to the employee of their choice (who can also do the same.)

Table Tea

Offering food and drink on the table means that professionals can focus on their conversations and discussions with food being an aside. This idea of guests being able to pour their own tea and cut their own snacks adds a level of informality that makes the group more comfortable.

Credit:Helen K. Li Purel

Masquerade

Offer the air of mystery by creating a corporate event such as a gala or awards dinner with the masquerade theme. It helps allow everyone to feel comfortable and ignoring roles or titles for the evening.

Modern Conference Venues

Don’t want your conference to look like a conference? Use sleek or modern venues that are usually suited to black tie affairs and give them a spruce to meet the essentials you need. This way you get the atmosphere you want with the logistics you need.

Credit:Qvistgaard & Co.,SKT. Petri Hotel

Hosting an event in public can strike fear into the heart of event the hardiest of event planners. In an uncontrolled, unfamiliar environment the number of things that can go wrong can increase considerably.

Don’t worry, EventMB has come to the rescue with a public event toolkit full of ideas that will help you get the best out of your public events. We’ve got ideas to inspire and excite attendees and tips to help you get your public events totally on point.

3 Tips For Producing a Public Event

Confirm Permissions and Public Safety

In public spaces, you may need permits or a license to host an event. Work with the relevant authorities and services to ensure you are doing everything you should be, as this will vary depending on the company you are operating in and according to the state/area/region the event is taking place.

• Lead times for public events can be long. Check on any extra paperwork you need to complete and the deadlines for it.
• Do you need to close roads? Do you need to have a police presence? Who will provide first aid cover?
• There may be a requirement to attend safety meetings with the relevant blue light services.

Communication is Key

Think about communication between staff on site. Event radios are likely to be the best method of communication for a public event. Ensure all radio holders are fully trained in operating the devices.

• Sign radios in and out so you keep track and don’t misplace any.
• Charge radios up fully before the event and every evening. Have spares available.
• Provide headsets for staff that want them, particularly those working in noisy or quiet areas.
• For larger events, have an event control room and keep a log of all radio activity.
• [emb_numbered_subtitle number="3." text_color="" number_color="" font_size="100"] Manage Attendance Numbers[/emb_numbered_subtitle]

Manage Attendance Numbers

How will you monitor numbers and safety on site? If it is a ticketed event with a clear event perimeter you have control over the flow and number of people on site. If overcrowding is likely to be a concern this needs to be addressed within the event risk assessment.

• Even if it is a free event consider making it a requirement to register for a ticket, to control numbers.
• Use clever programming to control audience movement and avoid one element becoming too overcrowded.
• Have systems in place to manage a “one out, one in” process if any areas get too busy.

20 Public Event Ideas

Want to attract maximum numbers to your public event? Here are some event ideas to inspire you.

Tethered Hot Air Balloon

This works two-fold because it creates an experience at your event that many won’t have tried, allowing attendees a ride while also being a massive promotional or signage opportunity to draw attention to the event!

Open Mic Night

From poetry slams to karaoke and musical talent showcasing their original music, an open mic can accompany a variety of events and help bring a public event indoors to transition to the evening. Just be sure to book some good musicians in between to perk things up if the submissions aren’t great!

Helpful Booths

Add a booth that can offer free (or minimally charged) helpful services that guests can’t always access. For example, a free baby car seat check, oil test or tire pressure which can be an excellent sponsorship idea for public events.

Wishing Tree

This involves placing notes or ornaments on a tree and making a wish. This can be a fundraising option for public events as well as a unique alternative to a guestbook if you have guests sign cards to add.

Coffee Morning

Offer an opportunity for informal chats and collaborate with venues with a message, you get people in the door with free coffee (or tea) and then wow them with other events or campaigns. Plus, they become the perfect focal point for parents with young children or the elderly.

Local Art Exhibitions

Create an open house for aspiring artists to showcase their work easily. Open spots for different mediums from photography, sculpture and painting to make the selection more diverse and offer it as the participatory part of your event.

Recycling Parties

Repurposing is an increasing trend and one that is quite popular so move your focus towards crafts and exciting projects. Tell attendees to bring certain recyclable materials and these can be turned into beneficial alternatives e.g. public bird feeders!

Food Festivals

Food festivals are huge at the moment, particularly those focused on specialty foods, themes and local produce, such as Farmer’s Markets. Offer a variety of food options at stalls from providers with taster samples as well as offerings to purchase as a unique public event catering idea. Ensure variety by limiting the stalls selling different foods to maximize interest and profit for all involved. Don’t forget to ensure that different diets are catered for and provide health-conscious alternatives. Even the displays, service and method of service can be exciting. The big craze at the moment is for food trucks, with camper vans, double decker buses and bicycle trucks, just some of the ideas you may find.

“Nearly New” Sales

These fairs are designed to help communities waste less by selling on the items they no longer want or need and they are often particularly successful for children and baby items that are worn less frequently.

Polar Bear Swim

Not for the faint of heart, a polar bear swim is a fun and exciting way to get your community to come out when the weather turns cold. A polar bear swim generally involves participants taking a quick plunge into the ocean, a lake, or an outdoor pool. These events are a great opportunity to raise money for a specific charity or cause. Be sure to provide warming blankets and take precautions to ensure participant safety, including having emergency workers on standby.

Pop-Up Shops

Keep the community on their toes by having pop-up shops that cater to needs on the fly. A fun idea is an outdoor pizzeria that rolls around once a month to cook stone-baked pizza in the open air. It creates a meeting point and gets everyone chatting!

Car Show

Give the public a chance to show off their sweet rides with a car show, an event that can be hosted on a fairly modest budget. For example, you can save money on your venue by hosting it in a public or school parking lot, large field, etc., though you will need to provide traffic control and bathroom facilities. Other ideas that make for a stand out car show include live music, food trucks, and prizes for best in show.

Local Services Training

Kids (and adults) love a fire truck or police car up close and you could incorporate fun activities and learning at the same time. Have demonstrations by your local services to raise awareness and create better relationships with communities at the same time.

Blood Van

We all know the importance of giving blood, so invite the blood drive van to your event to park up and offer incentives such as freebies, swag or free food to everyone who donates. If nothing else it will raise awareness so it’s a win-win.

Seasonal Festivals

Seasonal festivals are fantastic events to draw in the public and create a sense of community. Seasonal festivals can be as simple or elaborate as your budget allows and can be customized to suit your venue and community. Just a few ideas include holding an ice sculpting contest for a winter festival, hosting a May Day celebration and gardening workshops for a spring festival, having a carnival in the summer, and featuring a fall festival with pumpkin carving, a cider press, and apple butter making.

Music on the Green

Community Officials

Invite the mayor or local government officials to your event to run a Q&A or panel session so that attendees can build community relationships while also getting vital information they need to keep them informed!

Health Fairs

These are extremely beneficial in communities with lower health rates and could include the local nurse or dentist popping along to your event and offering free health or dental checks, taking blood pressure or offering advice. Be aware these are very popular so you may want to invite other professionals too.

Endurance Events

Host a sporting event such as a swim or bikeathon (on stationary bikes) that keeps going throughout the day. There could be a distance goal to get to or instant motivation such as powering something electronic with the energy to an immediate result.

Local Business Show

Do something simple by inviting local businesses to an outdoor, informal trade show that allows them to offer free products, interact with the public and make an impression. Add participatory activities as well as entertainment and charge attendees for tickets and business owners for a booth stand.

Music on the Green

If you have access to a town green or a local park, a concert (or concert series) is a fabulous option to bring out guests with their lawn chairs and picnic blankets for an evening of local music.  Music on the Green can work well during spring, summer, and fall (and even winter, depending on your location.) Offering rental space for local food trucks or selling drinks or merchandise can help you offset or even entirely cover the costs.

Nothing grabs people’s attention like being surprised. By using the psychology of surprise, you can turn your event into a memorable experience that will have your attendees reminiscing for years to come.

Use innovation to create moments that your attendees will want to share. By giving them something they have never seen before, you’ll be giving them a unique and memorable experience.

If you’re looking for some inspiration to be cutting edge in your events, look no further. We’ve got just what you need right here.

3 Tips to Create an Innovative Event

Innovate for the Right Reasons

• Never be innovative just for the sake of being innovative. Otherwise, your attempt at innovation could seem gimmicky and disjointed from the focus of the event.
• It is important to keep sight of your true event objectives and think about how you can work differently, and in exciting ways to achieve them.
• Take small steps. Completely revamping an annual event and losing all previous elements of its identity is probably too drastic for your loyal attendees.
• Don’t worry about the competition, just focus on your own priorities.

Innovate to Strengthen the Brand

Think about your brand or organization. What does it represent? This could spark ideas for how to be innovative around your true values.

• Brainstorm ideas big and small.
• Get your whole team involved in the process and commitment to innovate.
• This approach should shine through in your event communications too.

Innovate with Technology

Technology is often a great way to be recognized as a truly innovative brand. There are lots of exciting developments in event technology and those that resonate with your audience and help you to understand them better can bring lots of benefits.

• Use the expertise of event technology providers and ask them for innovative solutions to your objectives and challenges.
• If you have a limited budget there are still some free and freemium products available, so don’t discount the use of technology until you have explored the options.
• Check the venue WiFi can hold up to your plans.

20 of the Best Innovative Event Ideas

If you want your next events to be cutting edge, here are 20 ideas to lead the way.

Inception Events

Credit: What Kelli Does

Augmented Mazes

Credit: 1up Events, Minna Sf

Flip Disc Display

Designate Play Zones

Designate areas of your conference specifically for open play at all times to not-so-subtly promote play. Giant nostalgia games like Jenga, Connect Four, and Twister are becoming a staple at large receptions, on trade show floors, and at outdoor events. These oversized games are like beautiful interactive decor that helps people network while they play in a unique way. They can be grouped together in fun ‘zones’ so they don’t disturb the other components of the program.

More independent Play Zones with sheets of adult coloring book pages, kitschy craft stations, video games, or collaborative mural painting are another way to promote playfulness, and can be enjoyed independently or with friends.

Hire A Meeting Learning Coach

A combination of an expert facilitator and MC who in an ideal world also has a background in education and professional speaking. This person will not just give housekeeping notes, introduce speakers, and give out awards – he/she should (like your participants) have an active role in the program. Your coach should help you train your speakers to be more engaging, curate and facilitate your content, and lead your participants in thought-provoking and knowledge-sharing discussions that reiterate your most important objectives for the conference.

Beacons

Beacons aren’t just for the B2C world anymore. This innovative technology is revolutionizing the way event organizers interact with their attendees during and after their event.

Beacons use RFID chips embedded in attendees’ name tags to track the flow of people throughout your event. You can use this information to push customized messages or promotions to attendees. It can also help you understand which attendees attended which session. You can then use that information to get a clear picture about which sessions were most popular, which customers are interested in a particular topic or product, how those clients should be followed up with, etc.

Silent Conference

LED Robots

3D Photo Booth

Credit:Twenty156 Events

Projection Mapping

Take your event staging to the next level with projection mapping. Projection mapping takes the physical features and contours of your space and turns them into a display surface for video content. You can wow your attendees and create a buzz around your event by using projection mapping to create an immersive guest experience.

Fishbowl Chats

This is a new dynamic at conferences for brainstorming whereby a center circle of attendees sit and discuss a topic at length, while an outer circle observes! The outer circle can contribute if they have an idea but it’s an interesting way to include introverts and extroverts in planning and activities.

Sustainable Trade Shows

For trade shows or exhibition, the cardboard booth is becoming popular. Not only does it showcase CSR for a brand but they are also quirky, easy to sign and highly adaptable for space and needs. Plus, they are easy to transport yourself to the event.

Video Booths

If you need content for the event highlight reel, a video booth is the perfect way to capture sentiment that attendees can record. It can then be edited together or used as the perfect video testimonial, just let attendees know how you intend to use it.

Speed It Up

Attendees have short attention spans and it is becoming important for events and brands to get the point across quickly. Speed presentations are becoming a favorite format where speakers get a set amount of slides or time to complete their presentation in 5 minutes or less! No more long keynotes and space for a variety of speakers.

Gamify Sponsorship Activations

Showcase your sponsors in fun, playful ways by incorporating interactive ways for them to showcase their product or service. Think giant vending machines to give away swag, fun ball pit chill-out spots, or even CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) give-back stations (think building a bike for kids or making care packages for the needy). Guests passing by your sponsorship areas should feel compelled to get involved and play while they are exposed to your sponsor’s services.

Give Everyone A Voice

Putting the power in the hands of the participants leaves all kinds of room for fun and playful design formats for education. Consider using fun tools like throwable microphones to promote interactive sessions or polling apps to determine which content is presented next. You could also use fun physical props like giant foam fingers and noisemakers for voting or betting on correct answers. Putting more demand for active participation in fun ways will make your participants be more willing to let their voice be heard in a playful way.

Augmented Booth Tours

Provide touchscreens and headphones to give an augmented reality booth tour and add fun elements like in this example which brings the backdrop and booth walls to life. It not only increases time spent at your booth but also saves staff from needing to show visitors around, allowing them to have their own experience and dwell on the parts that they want to, freeing other staff to answer questions and interact elsewhere.

Giant Touch Screens

We are all so used to smartphones and touch screens but these jumbo versions that take more than one attendee to operate are going to wow them and draw them in. Having games and activities on a large scale that encourage others to work together makes them reliant on each other and more invested than the passing visitor, making them commit more and be fully immersed in the task at hand.

Mixed Reality Photo Opps

Give attendees a memorable token to take away from the event in the form of a mixed-reality photo. The options for scenarios are endless and you can seamlessly integrate products, branding, and sponsorship into the end result.

Augmented Reality Thrills

Part of creating an immersive experience is appealing to different emotions, so using augmented reality to add a fear or thrill element takes it up a notch. Using big LED screens and a focal standing point, you can create opportunities to immerse attendees into certain situations. This monster example shows a simulation where attendees have to narrowly avoid oncoming cars. Scaling this down and adding some walls can make this more effective and remove the outside distractions, making it even more Immersive.

Creating connections between attendees is a key objective for many events but getting people to make those connections is often easier said than done.

For events of this type, the onus is on the event planner to make sure the right wheels are greased to make connections and conversations happen. It’s time to think outside the box and create an atmosphere that makes people feel comfortable and promotes engagement.

Once you’ve got the right environment, it’s time to get creative and think about creating opportunities for your guests to connect. We’ve compiled a list of the most effective tips and tricks to get attendees connected at your events. Read on to find out more…

3 Tips to Producing a Networking Focused Event

Encourage Pre-Event Chatter

Do everything you can to reduce nervousness and ensure that everyone has connected with someone in advance of the event.

• Having active social channels and providing Twitter chats for those attending for the first time will help attendees to feel more relaxed.
• Discussions around a topic or subject area can naturally bring out affinities or interesting debate and better identify who to connect with.
• Encourage those attending for the first time to arrive half an hour earlier to meet others in the same situation.

Think of Your Audience

Understand that not everyone is confident or comfortable in networking situations. Some attendees need more support and encouragement than others. Whether your attendees and extrovert or introvert, try to maximize the opportunities to make new contacts for everyone attending.

• Introverts will appreciate more structured and facilitated networking, or anything that can aid the connection process. This could include being matched with someone with similar interests and letting both parties know that they should talk.
• Group work can be a discreet way of getting people to chat
• Have dedicated staff looking out for anyone that looks uncomfortable and be ready to strike up a conversation or introduce them to someone new.

Utilise Eventtech for Better Connections

If you have an event app encourage people to reach out to others with similar interests so they have people to look out for at the event.

• You can set up meetings via some event apps.
• Gamify the networking process by offering points for every person connected with. This can give a fun and gentle nudge to make people more proactive.
• Consider using AI-powered smart matching apps to ease the process and make better matches.

20 Social Event Ideas

Here are 20 ways to be social at your next event…

Smart Badges

As the name suggests, smart badges are a clever technology to improve networking. Fundamentally they use an app and mobile device to help pinpoint people of similar interests or specifically preset people to talk to and notify or light up when close to a match. These wearable devices can help to avoid the awkward “walking up to people” phase and give an immediate reason to strike up a conversation, as well as prioritizing those you specifically want to talk to.

Personalized Name Tags

For a low-cost and easy idea, you can aim to put extra tidbits of information about the attendee on their name tag. When filling out registration forms merely add an extra box that allows attendees to fill in the information and this allows similarly minded guests to find each other at the event as well as starting interesting talking points to break the ice. Some ideas you could try are:

Describe yourself in 3 words

Talk to me about….

Your most interesting quality

How they take their coffee

Place they would most like to visit in the world

Or you could opt to make it a question about the event theme, their job role or event experience (e.g. previous events that they attended)

Murder Mystery

While it may start making everyone suspicious, they will quickly bond and form relationships using teamwork to guess the murderer! It also creates for perfect conversation post-event, particularly with a murder mystery that is a bit more elaborate.

Invite Storytelling

It’s one thing to tell a story about your event but it’s another to get attendees to share their own. Being open and encouraging storytelling makes deeper connections and memorable networking.

Disable The WiFi

It may sound like a shock and maybe not for the whole event but removing the internet and taking everyone offline can give the perfect opportunity to network and converse “old-school.”

Drinks Receptions

A drinks reception can be used as a transition for attendees if you are using your venue for different purposes and need time to transform it. While this is happening it allows guests to mingle without any restrictions, particularly if you are having a seated dinner.

Lounges

A lounge is an essential for being event social! They offer an informal, comfortable space that is excellent for networking and offering a place for attendees to congregate and converse. Some events are providing themed lounge areas, such as an English tea party or Eastern inspired bazaar, high in terms of photo-sharing opportunities. Whether it is a quiet space to catch up on work or a place where people can connect with like-minded people, having a dedicated space will be appreciated by attendees.

-Athons

Turn a lengthy event into productive fun with a hackathon, designathonor any other -athonyou can think of! You can adapt these to your industry and they are more intense than a roundtable or breakaway and everyone focuses on working together to achieve a common goal.

Fireside Chats

Make presentations more personable with fireside chats which allow an up close conversation that attendees are more likely to learn from. It allows nervous speakers to be more comfortable and therefore engage better with the audience on a personal level, particularly with the questions and answers involved.

Virtually Social

Many people find introducing themselves online to be easier than in person. Connecting your participants via social media can help reduce the anxiety of not knowing anyone else at the event. Create a private event group on Facebook or host a Twitter chat to help people to get to know each other.

Alternatively set up a medium where guests can create their own avatar and customize it to suit them and talk to each other in a virtual world. This is a fun way to transition to a real-world situation and create talking points. Virtual reality networking is now possible.

Picnics

Add a picnic area to your event, it doesn’t have to be outside simply some comfortable blankets or beanbags with floor seating! Picnics transport attendees to summer and socializing so recreate this year-round.

Swap Seats

For large long tables, seat swap part way through the event by having one side of the table move down three seats! It encourages everyone to talk and allows plenty of interaction when you don’t have space for round tables. If it is a particularly long event, you could do this multiple times!

Mini Laser Tag

Adding a sporting element gets everyone’s adrenaline pumping which is particularly good for bonding! Mini laser tag could be incorporated into your event without taking up much space, particularly if you combined it with a virtual or augmented reality element.

Wine/Brewery Tours

Chatting while wine tasting is a given and it’s an excellent facilitator of conversation because it offers something else to discuss, so if the chat dries up, the wine won’t.

Crescent Formats

Create atmospheres that are open to inclusion and discussion by using semi-circles, crescents and U shape table layouts for conferences or breakaways.

Offer Follow-Up Opportunities

Help attendees continue their conversations by offering a way they can follow up, whether this is forms that they can exchange, a list of attendees and companies they came from (make sure you get permission first!) or even a follow-up event or mixer they can attend!

Use Social Media

Of course, you can use social media during an event to encourage attendees to interact. This could be with a competition or live wall where attendees can collaborate together and start a conversation.

Out of Hours

Mix things up and turn an event into an out of hours speakeasy or overnight lock-in! It provides the perfect bonding and socializing opportunity and it’s memorable to be networking overnight!

Open Brainstorming

Have an open area or question that attendees can answer or add to as they are passing through, it encourages collaboration and makes guests stop and think. Using digital whiteboards or touch screens you can record all the comments and get attendees working together to solve issues or brainstorm.

Speed Networking

Take dating out of the equation and build relationships quickly with speed networking designed to ignore those awkward moments (who has the time!) Take your business cards, ask about sectors and industries that could be relevant and note who to talk to at the mixer afterwards, it’s an excellent ice breaker and a quick way to find who is important to you.

When it comes to glitz and glamor, event planners need to be able to turn it up to the max. Your clients want their special event to be spectacular, delivering a unique experience that will leave guests speechless. That’s a lot to ask…

Whether it’s a gala, concert or high-profile award ceremony, it pays to come to the table with a broad range of milestone event ideas that can be used together to create a completely unique experience for those most special occasions.

How To Make Your Event Extra Special

Attendee Journey

To make an event really extra special you need to think about every single touchpoint of the attendee journey.

• If the event journey can start by providing transport and accommodation to the guest too this can elevate the VIP feeling.
• Add personalized gifts in the hotel room or offer beverages as part of the transfer.
• Capture a picture of every guest on the red carpet and share it with them as a momento after the event.

Strong Theme Throughout

If you have a theme it needs to flow and be noticed by attendees throughout the whole event experience.

• Ensure the invitation hints at the theme, so guests have an idea what is in store.
• The little touches can be really captivating.
• Avoid cliche and overused themes and be original.

The Element of Surprise

Don’t give away everything before the event, keep some details to yourself. The element of surprise will have guests talking about it for long after the event.

• Forget traditions and ceremony and mix everything up. Change the program, timings, way that food and drink are served.
• Use the human element and have specific surprises for guests, to instance to reward and recognize their achievements or hard work.
• Rehearse surprises from the stage with the tech team, host and all key staff to ensure timing is impeccable.

20 Unique Special Event Ideas

We’ve pulled together some of our favorite ideas for bringing glamour, excitement and a touch of class to special events. Never run out of ideas again; add these tips to your special events arsenal now.

Confetti Cannons

Go out with a bang and have confetti cannons over the audience attached to the stage for a finale or to signal the end of the night at a New Year Event. You could exchange these for handheld options and have roaming entertainment let them off at intervals during a special event.

Personalized Gifting

It’s important to get gifts that attendees will remember and cherish, particularly for special or memorialized events and the perfect way to do this is with personalization. This could be an engraving of an employee’s name or nickname as well as something that suits their personality and represents them. They are much more likely to keep and look after it if it is meaningful.

Countdown Clocks

Waiting for something big to happen? Whether it’s the New Year, a new contract or simply the end of tax season for some, incorporate a countdown clock to build suspense! For larger events, you could upscale this to a digital wall projection of the countdown for all to see.

Invite Past and Present

Long-standing employees or figures as part of a company’s history should be invited to celebrate milestones and this would make them realize they are not forgotten about. For corporate events invite retired employees who served longer than 10 years at the company to celebrate their contributions as well as those who are working now. It’s also excellent networking practice for employees of all ages to mingle.

Gourmet Chef

For smaller corporate events have seated service with a gourmet chef who is able to make a menu catered to your company as well as your guest’s preferences. Everyone wants their favorite food so give it to them with a gourmet twist!

Balloon Drop

You may be thinking high school prom but the balloon drop can be adapted for the corporate crowd too! Add balloons of your branding colors in keeping with themes and offer an interesting sponsorship opportunity by having them branded too.

VIP Chauffeur Service

Treat VIPs or important corporate guests to their own chauffeur service to and from your event. It gives them greater flexibility with drinking and avoids having to park, plus being driven somewhere and taken home is a luxurious feeling and avoid much forethought. You could offer a chauffeur service as part of a VIP package too and pick up groups for other special events

Company Achievement Awards

Reward your employees by offering annual awards that keep on giving! The awards could come with prizes such as a trip away, experience or simply exclusive perks at the office (think prime usage of the best parking spot). Rewarding your employees gives them something to strive towards and motivates them year round.

Murals

Commission artwork or have a mural created in honor of your event. It could contain your branding and what makes your business special or stand out as well as key features that define you. It could also depict a significant time for your company e.g an anniversary.

Signage Table Confetti

Make the finer details matter by adding customized table confetti in your tablescaping. Colored confetti that is the name of your brand or a quote is a personal touch that will go down a treat for seated meals.

Videography

Use videos to your advantage as entertainment and for sentimental value. This could include making a company history to showcase or interviewing attendees before the event to compile a video they see on digital screens that will be playing throughout the night.

Iconic Guests

Always wanted a celebrity, influencer or industry-specific spokesperson to attend your event? Now is the time to splash out and get them, it’s a special event and you want to make a huge impact to really mark the occasion!

Open Bar

Free drinks for everyone! An open bar stops attendees having to worry about money and drinks and focusing on the event itself. If you don’t have the budget you could either put a set amount behind the bar or give out free custom cocktails instead.

Look To The Future

Normally special events will be looking to the past to see how things got to where they are and while this is important, use it as a chance to show how much potential you have too. Set goals and unveil milestones or new projects on the way to inspire attendees that there is plenty to look forward to.

Create An Event Time Capsule

Give yourselves something to look forward to for your next milestone and make history at the event by creating a time capsule. Invite attendees to bring a personal item to include or simply have the capsule on display with what will be included which can also have memorabilia from the evening. Just be sure to get permission when using names or personal information in the capsule.

Temporary Rebranding

In commemoration of the event, change your branding colors or create a special logo that will be used for the year of your anniversary. This can highlight progress and spark interest in customers and employees who would welcome a way to spice things up.

Custom Seating

Use seating to make attendees comfortable and give them a unique experience. This could be playful swings, seats with charging ports or massage chairs for relaxation, anything that shows you care!

Paper Invites

It might seem small but in the digital age with everyone receiving e-vites and an emphasis on technology, fancy paper invites with a wax seal on thick paper with calligraphy can show you mean business.

Reward Loyalty

Offer custom rewards for particularly loyal attendees, whether this is a personalized gift for longstanding employees or discounts for guests that attend annual events frequently. Loyalty rewards breed appreciation and recommendation, keeping everyone happy.

Grand Venues

Pick a venue that defines how big the occasion is to leave a lasting impression on your guests. This doesn’t have to be a big historical venue but could also include something like visiting a famous race track and having dinner overlooking the cars or hiring a museum where the exhibits and private tours are on offer.

IN CONCLUSION

Whatever type of event project you are working on, we hope you have found inspiration with these 200 ideas, covering 10 different types of events.

Now onto you:

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