Hosting a dinner for customers or prospects requires finesse. It needs to be tastefully branded, thoughtfully planned, and within your budget. You need to make sure that whatever your company’s goal or objective, is achieved by the end of your event. To ensure the night is memorable for everyone you’ll want to utilize a variety of elements that will appeal to all of the senses. The next morning you want everyone talking about not just the dinner, but your brand.
Ideas for these types of corporate dinners are plentiful. It’s the execution that’s critical - it will need to be memorable, sophisticated, and fun. To get started, here are a few thoughts to consider for your corporate dinner ideas.
Themes
Whatever the reason for your dinner, you’ll want to find ways to tie in a theme that won’t overwhelm your guests. For holidays, this could mean going with a color scheme, or if your company is launching a new product, getting creative with decor or specialty menu items and cocktails. If the focus of the evening is to acknowledge employee accomplishments, create an “awards” kind of night like the Oscars or Golden Globes - you can get people excited by incorporating these themes into the invitations all the way through the follow up after the event. The goal is to keep your guests aware of the theme without being overwhelmed, so less is more.
Games
If you want to add some extra excitement, or activity during your evening, incorporate some games. Games are a fantastic way to let your guests have fun and interact. You can tie these into the theme as well - such as having some casino games if you are going for a “Vegas” theme.
Karaoke is another activity that tends to play well with groups. Karaoke bars and karaoke nights are extremely popular entertainment all over the world. Set up the latest state-of-the-art equipment and watch the balladeers rush the stage.
If you are looking for a more lowkey way for attendees to interact, come up with some icebreaker games, or conversation starter cards you can leave on the table. This will work well for attendees who may not know each other that well and can help get the conversation started.
Music
Music is another way to create a memorable experience. Look into having a musician, band, or DJ perform. Whichever option you choose, keep it lively and inspire dancing as there’s no better way to create a good time. Your theme may inspire the type of music and performer you decide on.
Interactive Entertainment
Live or interactive entertainment is the one addition to a corporate event that will really make it stand out for a long time. There are a wide variety of acts or activities to choose from Depending on your budget, you can go the entertainment route and get a dance act, comedian, or artist who can paint a picture during your event (you can even auction it off at the end!) Or, for more of an interactive route, get a palm reader, caricature artist, a poem writer, or handwriting analyst! Guests will also get to take something home at the end of the night as a keepsake.
What else have you done at your corporate dinner? We want to hear your ideas and what your co-workers enjoyed? Leave us a comment below or let us know on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest!
