How To Choose A Theme For Your Corporate Event
Your CEO tells you fun times are brewing in your corporate neck of the woods and you get to lead the event planning team. It’s time to choose a theme for your corporate event. This along with choosing a venue should be the first steps you take when planning what could be the best corporate party of the year!
Everyone wants to have a party of the year bragging rights, right? Adding a theme, one that is fun, inclusive, and corporate-appropriate will make for a very memorable event.
If you are looking for the hows in choosing a corporate theme, keep scrolling for a few tips on the right fit for that upcoming corporate event.
What’s the Occasion for this corporate event?
Why is your company hosting this party? Is it a holiday or seasonal party? Is it a morale-boosting event for having an amazing Q2, or Q4? Perhaps it’s a client and vendor mixer. Is your corporation hosting a charity fundraising event, a community block party, or a team-building event?
Ask questions that pertain to your company’s agenda for this corporate soiree. This will help narrow down your theme selections and keep them corporate-appropriate.
Who Is Your Audience?
Start figuring out your target guest list. Who will be invited? Will the party consist only of office team members, office team members, and their significant others? Will children be invited? Will the clients or vendors be invited as well?
If the party includes families, will an age limit be set? All of these are factors to consider and will help guide you in the direction of the best theme for your event.
If this is a family-inclusive corporate event you may not be able to host a casino night or a cocktail-tasting event. You might want to keep your event for adults only for some themes. You may need to shift gears towards a more family-inclusive type of party. Examples of this include a beach luau theme, or perhaps a futuristic, intergalactic theme. This will also help with your venue shopping as you will need to know your approximate guest count.
The Date, Season and Forecast:
You will need to choose a date. If it’s a holiday party, depending on where you are located geographically might narrow down your theme choices as well. This does not mean that your fabulous theme must match the season. It might be fun hosting an indoor beach party in the dead of winter. However, if you are planning on hosting an outdoor event, consider weather conditions. The weather will play a part in selecting a theme so remember to keep that in mind when brainstorming ideas with your team.
For example, if you are planning a beach theme for your Christmas party in NYC winter, you will need to find a venue that will help you host an indoor beach-themed event. Venues and their event managers will even be able to assist with this.
The Venue:
Choosing the right venue for your event can make or break your theme planning. Let’s say you are dead set on using a beach theme party for your event, and the venue won’t allow it because of the sand. A venue might even be able to assist in choosing your theme, or narrowing down what is doable in their space. They may even suggest sister venues if they can not accommodate the elements you want to include for your corporate event.
Your venue and your theme should complement each other, enhancing your theme not taking away from it. Remember to think broader when it comes to your venue selection. Your first choice does not have to be your local hotel ballroom or dining room. Depending on the weather you might be able to host a beach luau or a lake-side picnic. You might even be able to rent out a gorgeous Airbnb and a performance space. Keep your options open and be creative.
Budget Considerations For Your Event
That dreaded concept of having a budget to work with might also interfere with a theme selection. You may not be able to host an over-the-top Cirque du Soleil-esque theme party with aerialists swinging from the ceiling. Maybe you wanted to hire that pricey mentalist you saw on Brain Games for your Hollywood glam night.
If you have a larger budget to work with you will have more opportunities for an over-the-top soiree. You can even think further out of the box and rent a performance venue or rent out your favorite hotel lounge. Another option may be an escape-the-room experience. With a larger budget to work with, it’s easier to choose a theme for your event.
Please keep in mind that you can have an event almost anywhere these days; you do not have to break the bank to host a fabulously themed corporate event. If budget is of concern, as it is for many of us, you might consider hosting a small color-themed gathering in the backyard, (depending on the guest count.) For a company field day, you can always choose a nice park, perhaps a corporate volleyball picnic at the beach. You will still have options even if you are on a tight budget. You can still have memorable and fun-themed corporate events.