Your Guest List
There are a wide range of corporate events that you may need to plan over the years. Some of these events will be small, intimate affairs. For example, you may need to bring together a team of high-level executives for a training event or a sophisticated networking vent. On the other hand, you may have a larger and more elaborate event with hundreds of guests or more. It is important to define your guest list up-front as this will be critical for many other aspects of event planning.
The Venue
The venue that you choose to host your corporate event at will dictate the tone of your affair, and it may also impact the feeling of your guests. For example, a large arena-style venue may be great for presentations, but it can create a less formal and more structured feeling. A smaller lounge-style venue may be better for mingling with appetizers and drinks, and it is more intimate for networking with a smaller group. When a function room is too large for the size of the group that you have invited, it may give the impression that many of your invited guests did not show up or that you did not have enough entertainment or other features. When a space is too small for the size of the group, it will give the area cramped feeling that may be uncomfortable for your guests. Therefore, it is important that you carefully select the venue based on the number of guests that you invite and the overall feeling or ambiance that you want to achieve.
The Goal of the Event
You also should consider the overall goal of your event. For example, you may be planning an awards show to honor those who have made exceptional contributions to your company, a larger or smaller training event, a presentation by the CEO for shareholders or something else altogether. Depending on the type of event you have planned, you may need stadium-style seating, movie-theater style seating, large dining tables, a larger or smaller stage or other features in the room. The goal of the event is an important factor to keep in mind when selecting your function room in the same way that the number of guests that you invite is.
Publicizing the Event
Remember that most corporate events will have some promotional aspect to them. For example, the media may be present at a large corporate function to take pictures and listen to speeches. Even with smaller affairs, you may take a few photos of the event space to post on your website or to share with online publications. The function room that you select should ideally be perfect for the actual event that you have planned, but it also should be one that will photograph well. After all, the images of your event will be viewed for many weeks or even months after the event has taken place.
Corporate event planning may not be easy to do, but you can see that some factors are critical in the overall success of your event. When you focus on these factors early on in your event planning efforts, you will be able to more easily plan a great event.
