How to Choose the Right Entertainment for Your Corporate Event
Darryl Scotti 15 July 2018
Have you ever been to a corporate event where the guests had to listen to drawn-out speeches and all they did was yawn throughout the mandatory event? Most, but not all, corporate events are like that. And that is the reason why people don’t like to attend them.
When organizing a corporate event for your guests, you want the end result to be exciting and memorable, right? Unfortunately, that cannot happen if you force the guests to listen to boring speeches. Corporate events can be way better than this. All that is required is the right entertainment that will not only appeal to your guests, but also keep them engaged in important aspects of your event like product promotion. How do you choose the right entertainment for your corporate event?
Consider the Budget
You can bring the moon and stars to your corporate event, but it is your budget that’ll ultimately determine the kind of entertainment you can afford. You can’t go overboard with entertainment as this will affect how you plan other essential things like venue, theme, décor, food and drinks.
Whether you wish to hire a star artist or give a few new performers a chance, you must plan according to your budget.
Consider the Purpose of Your Event
When choosing the entertainment for your corporate event, you should also consider the purpose of your event. Every corporate event is unique and has a different requirement. Whether you are planning celebrity dinner or awards night for your employees, a brand launch or team building event, the entertainment you choose should align with your event. For example, comedians would be great for an award night event as they will keep your employees entertained throughout the event.
Consider the Theme
If you have chosen a theme for your corporate event, then you must make sure that the entertainment connects with the theme of your event. The audience should be able to sense the connection between the entertainment and the theme. This will heighten their experience and make your chosen entertainment more engaging.
Consider the Audience
This is another important factor that you must consider when choosing an entertainment for the corporate event. The act you select should cater to the preferences of your audience. For instance, you can’t hire a rock band to perform at a gathering of senior executives. A good idea is to provide two to three options for entertainment with the invitation and allow your audience to vote. Then, choose the entertainment that gets the most votes.
Evaluating Entertainers
The entertainers you are planning to hire for your event will likely have certain requirements related to stage layouts, props, sound and lighting equipment, among others. Licenses may also be required for some entertainment and acts. You should evaluate these kinds of requirements beforehand and also audition entertainers to determine whether they are right for your corporate event.
These are all the factors that you must consider when choosing an entertainment for your corporate event. Now, let’s take a look at a few entertainment ideas that you can use for your corporate event.
Entertainment Ideas for Corporate Events
1. Photo Booths
People love photo booths, so why not add them to your corporate event? We recommend that you add social photo booths at your corporate event so your guests can capture stills, GIFs and videos and share them directly on to their social media. This will increase the popularity of your corporate event and make your company appear larger than life.
2. Contests
A friendly competition is a great way to increase the engagement of your guests at a corporate event. Some exciting ideas include a caption contest, quiz-style game or scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt is our personal favorite because it gives everyone a chance to test their clue cracking skills.
3. Celebrity Impersonators
A celebrity impersonator can spice up your corporate event. These entertainers and actors are skilled at making events exciting and fun, whether it is through putting on an incredible show or just mingling with the guests.
4. Magician
Illusionists and magicians were once only hired for birthday parties, but, now they have become a popular choice for professional events. With their mind-boggling tricks, magicians will amaze your guests and keep them interested in your corporate event.
5. Comedians
Comedians can keep the evening fun and interesting through their jokes and funny stories. Hire comedians who perform for corporate events and can entertain the crowd with their corporate gigs without crossing the line and entering into the offensive zone.
6. Fire Performers
Whether it is a fire-dancer, juggler or eater, fire performers can really ignite your event. If you wish to add extra drama and sizzle to your corporate event, fire performers are the best bet. Great thing about fire performers is that their acts are truly photo-worthy. Your guests will share those incredible acts on their social profiles, making your event more popular.
7. Circus Show
Like magicians and comedians, circus performers have also become a popular choice for corporate events. You may have already seen circus shows being used in corporate events to make them more engaging. You can also increase the appeal of your corporate event by hiring aerial performers, acrobats and contortionists that will wow your guests.
8. Breakdancers
Breakdancers can energize and amaze your attendees with their sizzling moves. If you want your guests to get out of their seats and truly engage at your corporate event, breakdancers can make that happen. When you’ll see your guests dancing to the beat, you will know that the breakdancers you hired have done their job!
9. Graffiti Artist
If the budget allows, consider hiring a graffiti artist to present his/her brilliant work of art to your audience. This will prove fruitful if your event audience comprises senior corporate executives who don’t want extra drama or unique acts and want things to stay formal.
10. Caricaturist
Caricaturists are great for any event. If you are planning a large conference, make sure to choose a caricaturist that works with higher tech. These artists can draw through tablets and the completed masterpiece can be projected onto a screen to entertain the formal attendees.
11. Rock Band
A rock band will work fine for your corporate event if your attendees are below 40. For instance, you can hire a rock band if you are planning an award event for your employees. Your employees will love to hear the rock music by a professional band and their energy levels will stay high throughout the event.
12. Dueling Pianos
Two professionals playing a piano on stage can surely liven up your corporate event. Your pockets must be full of cash if you wish to plan this type of entertainment, but it will definitely provide your guests with a great experience.
13. Casino
Casino is last on our list of entertainment ideas. Turn your corporate event into a live casino with casino game tables, professional dealers and slot machines to provide a unique entertainment to your guests. There are many casino party planners out there who can help you plan casino entertainment at your corporate event.
These entertainment ideas can help you make your event more appealing, entertaining and memorable. Although all these entertainment ideas are great and we have provided the best selection of ideas of your corporate event, they won’t work if you don’t consider the theme, the audience and the purpose of your event when selecting them.
For example, if you are planning a team-building event, dueling pianos would be a poor pick since it won’t aid your agenda in any way. Similarly, you can’t choose a rock band as entertainment for a conference where most attendees are old aged corporate executives. You must be careful when choosing an entertainment for your event as picking the wrong one can turn your corporate event a disastrous one.
Hopefully, you will consider all the important things we have highlighted when selecting an entertainment for your corporate event. If you still find it hard to choose the right entertainment for your corporate event, seek help from professional event planners. A professional event planner can help you pick the right entertainment that aligns with the purpose and theme of your event and appeals to your event audience. Where do you find a professional to help you select the right entertainment for your corporate event?
If you are reading this post, it means that you have already found a professional event planner. At The Great Event, we take great pride in producing cutting edge event experiences for corporate firms. We provide an excellent variety of artists from virtually every entertainment genre to fulfill your company’s entertainment needs. Our nationwide contacts with major professional agencies allow you for a complete list of popular entertainers.
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