Corporate Events: The Theme Makes the Meeting

​Businesses have long histories of hosting special meetings to increase sales, reward employees, and convey information to potential clients in interesting and inviting ways. The special event venue and the theme of the overall gathering are important to the success of the affair.
 
Deciding on a theme can be a process that takes a few hours or weeks depending on the path you take to get there.  How do you make a decision on an enjoyable theme that can be executed flawlessly making your corporate event a cohesive unit?  Following are some suggestions on how to gather ideas and pick a theme for your next corporate meeting.
 
Ways to Gather Ideas for Corporate Events
Gathering ideas takes some willingness to explore many subject areas and to suspend judgment until it is decision-making time. Here are some sources to look to for idea generation:

• Ask your employees. They’re the ones who will be attending and they will have thoughts on what will be an attention-getting theme.
• Watch the news. Current events are topical themes in the making.
• Look at lifestyles and culture in the area where your venue is located. Carrying out a theme based on location is especially welcome for local staff members who can share the heart of their community without of state attendees.
• Read the mission of your company and examine the culture of your business. Lock in on a keyword that can be used to develop a theme and propel your companies reason for being into the minds of attendees throughout the duration of the occasion.
• Pay attention to what’s popular in theatres and on television.  Those high ratings happen for a reason.  If it’s being watched and talked about, chances are it could be a great theme.
• Check the calendar. If you’ve set the date, look to see if there are national holidays or events happening around that time.  Obscure holidays and observances can be lots of fun and get people looking forward to the date.  Date not set yet?  Consider setting it during or on the tail end of a special day or time.

Coming up with lots of avenues for ideas will get them flowing. As the ideas are flowing, make a list of anything mentioned.  Each idea captured won’t be used but having a large list makes it easier to narrow down choices that will make for a great event.
 
Ideas for Themes for Corporate Events
Here are a few ideas generated from going to the sources suggested above:
When employees where asked:

• Nerds—Information Technology (IT) employees in one corporation wanted to use a Nerd Theme for a corporate gathering.  There was a best nerdy glasses contest, a Sci-Fi movie night, and the latest technological advances presented from “nerd” peers.
• Old-Fashioned Family Picnic—Employees many times look at fellow employees as their work family. This theme allowed them to relax, play some games, and talk about interactions on a different level. 
• From watching the news:
• Take Flight—a story about the airlines prompted one company to have a three-day corporate event where participants “flew” to different locations. Programs looked like a boarding pass, everyone got to fly in first class, and yes, peanuts were distributed from their “flight attendants”.
• Our Top Story Tonight—the corporation holding the event actually became the Newsmakers of the Day.  Reporters and a news set became a part of the theme and different segments of the company were interviewed in real time with other participants getting to see how newsworthy the business they work for is.
• Ideas for where a venue is located:
• Big Fun of the Bayou—holding an event in Louisiana allows for all type of Cajun fun and adventures. From food, to dance, to mindset, a bayou theme lends itself to both casual and upscale happenings.
• The Heart of Cajun Country—having an event in Lafayette, Louisiana allows you to draw on references about living in Heart of Acadiana and how the heart of your business keeps the community flowing.

 
From a company mission statement:

• Delivering the Best—the theme became two days of messages, food, flowers, and special “mail” being delivered with flourishes throughout the event. Wonderfully used to explain how delivering the best customer experience kept the company of top.
• Caring for the Community—when caring became a theme for a business event, masseuses, hairstylists, trainers, and chefs were brought in to first care for the employees. Employees were sent back to their divisions and home offices with gift certificates that they were to distribute to random citizens to do something nice and demonstrate caring on behalf of their employer.
• Themes from movies and television shows:
• The Greatest Show on Earth—three rings set up in an exhibition hall holding new products helped bring this theme inspired by P.T. Barnum and the movie The Greatest Showman to life.
• This Is Us: (Insert Your Company Name Here)—basically a re-introduction to a corporation based on activities, meetings, and culinary experiences that led to discoveries while looking at each member of a work family.
• Themes from looking at a calendar:
• Going for the Gold—this corporate themed event is on the calendar for 2020 during the Summer Olympics. It will be further based on sales goal for the following year.
• Hula in the Coola—every February 1st, this day is celebrated by donning grass skirts, Hawaiian shirts, dancing the Hula, and thinking of warmer weather to come. A corporate event themed this way allows for a Luau, tropical drinks, and perhaps a prize trip to our 50th State for high performers.

Which ever theme you choose for your corporate event, you want to hold it at a venue that will impress your employees and guest. Le Pavillon is the just the place.

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