Here is our list of the best corporate event ideas.
Corporate event ideas are games and activities you can organize at a business event to make it fun and engaging for the attendees. Examples include movie nights, funny photo booths, and mixology classes. The purpose of these activities is to promote team building among employees through interactive games and activities. If the corporate event is for customers, then the games and activities enhance customer loyalty and increase their engagement.
To plan a great corporate event, check out these event planning tips and virtual event planning ideas. After the get-together, you can hire corporate gift companies to give event attendee gifts.
This list includes:
- business event ideas
- corporate dinner ideas
- corporate event ideas for customers
- corporate social event ideas
- creative corporate event ideas
- indoor corporate event ideas
Here we go!
Business event ideas
Business events tend to focus on the stakeholders and employees. Therefore, the activities you plan for these events should encourage collaboration and team building. Here is our list of some of the best business event ideas.
1. Fruit picking
For a great seasonal activity, consider hosting your next business event at an orchard and participating in some fruit picking. Depending on the time of year, you can hold your get-together at an apple, strawberry, or blueberry orchard. During the event, hand out baskets, and have employees pick their favorite fruits for a fun and engaging experience.
This activity is an excellent way to get your staff members outdoors and in the sunshine. Being outdoors in nature can boost morale and promote a positive workplace culture. Additionally, attendees will leave with fresh fruits, a delicious participation gift! Plus, an orchard provides a beautiful backdrop for company photos, making it a memorable venue.
To turn this idea into a second team building event, consider hosting a baking competition using the fresh fruits you picked. To prepare, select a recipe, choose a date, and have colleagues bring in their desserts. You can ask a few employees or local chefs to judge the competition, and the baker with the best treat wins! This competition encourages teamwork and provides a fun way to bond over food and creativity.
2. Foraging
For a unique take on outdoor corporate event ideas, consider hosting a foraging event! Foraging is an excellent option for any outdoor event near a natural area, like a forest. Depending on your location and season, your attendees can forage for plants such as mushrooms, berries, and herbs.
To begin planning your foraging event, research foraging resources in your area. These resources could include books, pamphlets, articles, or videos. It is important to ensure your guests find plants that are safe to eat, so make sure to provide plenty of pictures to show what to grab and what to avoid.
Next, invite a local foraging expert to your function. This expert can instruct guests on safe foraging practices, show them where to collect plants, and explain how to cook the foraged goods. Working with a knowledgeable guide will ensure a safe and educational experience.
After gathering your bounty, enjoy the fruits and vegetables of your labor! You can incorporate the foraged food into your attendees’ meals or snacks, providing a unique and sustainable dining experience.
Overall, a foraging event is a great way to connect with nature, learn about local plant life, and provide your guests with an exciting experience.
3. Escape room
An escape room is among the best corporate social event ideas because it combines fun and creativity to give members an interactive experience.
You can do the escape room game during or after the business event. The game masters will explain the game’s rules, and the participants will work in teams. Members will interact and communicate to find clues and solve puzzles to help them escape.
The best feature of an escape room is you can host one for in-person and remote settings. However, consulting a professional platform that organizes escape rooms is also helpful. Professionals design the room’s games and scenarios, and they have plenty of experience planning an engaging puzzle.
4. Name the tune
Name the tune is a fun and interactive game for business events.
Here is how to play the game:
- Divide members into groups of five.
- Play the beginning of a song.
- Each group will get their turn to guess the name of the song.
- If the group guesses the correct answer, then they get a point.
- If the answer is wrong, then another group gets the chance to answer. If that group answers correctly, then they get an extra point.
- Whichever team gets the most points wins.
For a variation, you can give a buzzer to each team. When you play the tune, the team that presses the buzzer first will get to respond. If that team answers incorrectly, then the team that pressed the buzzer second will get the chance to answer.
Be sure to play songs from different genres so all members can participate.
5. Murder mystery
A murder mystery game is among the best corporate dinner ideas. You can ask a professional firm to host a murder mystery dinner for you. In this dinner, the actors will act out a scenario explaining the murder scene’s plot.
The participants will closely observe the story, and after the murder is committed, participants will divide into groups to find the culprit. The team members will find the clues and collaborate to solve hints and find the culprit.
A murder mystery dinner is an excellent business dinner idea to ensure team building among employees and enhance their critical thinking skills.
6. Company trivia
Company trivia is among the best indoor corporate event ideas. If your event focuses on internal employees, then conducting company trivia is a great idea.
Although participants can play individually, it is better to divide them into groups to enhance team building. Also, playing in groups is a better choice if you have more than ten participants.
As a host, you will ask company-related questions from each team.
Here are some examples:
- Who is the founder of our company?
- What is the total number of employees in the company?
- What is the name of the youngest employee in the company?
- What is the company’s largest department?
If any team fails to answer correctly, then the other team will get the chance. If the other team answers correctly, then they will get an extra point.
Company trivia will also increase employees’ knowledge of your organization.
7. Movie night
You can plan a movie night for in-person or remote events, which makes it among the best corporate social event ideas.
On a movie night, participants can watch their favorite movie with their coworkers after the day’s activities. Creating a complete movie setup for an in-person corporate event is a great idea. For example, you can hang up a huge screen with a projector and arrange snacks and popcorn to make participants feel like they are sitting in a cinema.
Virtual corporate events can also enjoy a movie night. Members can join a Zoom meeting, arrange their movie setup, and watch the movie while exchanging their views over the video call.
8. Scavenger hunt
An office scavenger hunt is among the best indoor corporate event ideas for employees.
As the employees might get bored sitting and listening to the lecture, a scavenger hunt will involve them in physical activity and help them communicate and interact.
Here is how to play the game:
- Prepare a list of items in the office beforehand. The list should include out-of-sight items so the employees must move other objects to find them.
- Divide the members into groups.
- Name one item to find at a time.
- Teams will search for it.
- The team that finds the object first will get a point.
- Repeat steps three through five for the whole list.
- The team with the most points wins.
You can also bring a twist to the traditional version of the game by capturing funny pictures of employees while they are finding items. For example, you can take photos of the members going under the table to look for clues. In the end, you can show these pictures to all teams.
9. Funny photo booth
Creating a photo booth for attendees is a great corporate event idea. You can prepare funny props like wigs, large sunglasses, and huge pom-poms.
After the meetings, colleagues can get together to take a group photo. Coworkers will use the props to look funny, while others can make silly faces. The members wearing props while dressed up in formal attire will make attendees laugh.
After the group photo, you can also conduct a contest of who looked the funniest in the group photo. Optionally, you can give the winner a prize, like glasses with a nose on them.
10. Awards ceremony
An awards ceremony is a great idea to keep the fun alive at the event while recognizing employees’ individual achievements. The awards will go to outstanding office employees. In this ceremony, you can give awards for different categories.
Some examples are:
- Best performance
- Always on time
- Most hard-working
- Rising star
You can also incorporate a comical element in the show and give funny titles.
For example:
- DJ of the office
- Always attending a meeting
- BTS performer
- Loudest typist
- Joke master
These titles will make the employees laugh and give them a sense of recognition. In addition, the award show will show the team your appreciation for their successes and encourage them to perform better. You can also ask members to deliver short speeches after receiving their awards.
11. Board games
Playing board games is a great idea if you have a small group and want to include nonwork-related activities in the event.
Here are some board games you can play:
- Carom
- Monopoly
- Snakes and ladders
- Ludo
- Checkers
These board games require four or more players, which makes them ideal for small groups. Playing a board game will also promote collaboration and communication among coworkers and gives them a sense of competition.
12. Paint and sip
Paint and sip is among the top creative corporate event ideas in which participants learn new skills.
In this activity, your employees will enjoy a relaxed experience with their coworkers. You will arrange a sitting place for the members and provide them with some canvases and paints. The best aspect about this activity is that the members also get drinks to enjoy while painting.
You can either give a topic for painting, provide an item to sketch, or give members the freedom to draw whatever they want. Giving a longer time limit of at least one hour is also better so members do not have to paint quickly.
You can also hold this game as a competition rather than an activity. The player with the best painting at the end wins.
Corporate event ideas for customers
Corporate events also include games and activities for their clients and customers. The purpose of these activities is to keep the audience engaged. Here is our list of some of the best business event ideas for customers and clients.
1. Craft sale
Hosting a craft sale is a great way to showcase your company’s product and your employees’ talents outside of work.
Here is how to host a corporate craft sale:
- Create a sign-up sheet to see how many employees are interested. You can also contact local artisans to see if they want to attend.
- Based on interest, find a suitable venue for the sale, like a park or event center.
- Market the event through fliers, emails, and social media.
- Optionally, sell entrance tickets at a reasonable price.
- Gather set-up materials, such as tables, chairs, and pop-up canopies.
- Provide staff with POS systems to facilitate transactions, such as Square Readers.
- On the day of the event, set up each booth as needed.
- To create an inviting atmosphere, you can also decorate and play music.
- Be sure to include a booth for your business’s product or service.
Additionally, you can put a portion of your proceeds toward a charity of your choice. Craft sales foster a community spirit, advertise your product, and showcase your team.
2. Workshops
A workshop is an excellent idea to keep the audience engaged and increase their knowledge through hands-on experience.
You can even give customers the option to select a development class of their choice. The course will expand attendees’ knowledge of your products and business. First, the customers will perform different tasks and collaborate with others to learn new information about the organization and its products. Then, depending on the workshop’s purpose, the members will brainstorm ideas and provide solutions to problems. A workshop aims to provide hands-on knowledge by teaching about real-life problems. Then, participants develop solutions by implementing the knowledge they have learned in the session.
3. Auctions
Holding a live auction is a great idea to encourage customers to bid on items that sponsors donate. You can hold an online or in-person auction. If you want to conceal bidders’ identities, then you can conduct the auction digitally by assigning secret identities to customers and giving them access through a computer or mobile phone.
Organizations can also hold an auction to help customers purchase their products.
Here is how to host this activity:
- Choose some products your company sells, and place them one by one on the table. You can also set out sponsored items if you have any.
- The customers will bid for each item.
- You can start the bidding with a lower amount to make the customers feel they are getting a good deal.
- After a set amount of time, close the bidding, and give each attendee the items they purchased.
This activity will help encourage event attendees to buy your business’s products. As a bonus, you can donate some of the profits to charity, showing your firm cares about the community.
4. Food trucks
Arranging for food sponsors or asking nearby restaurants to put their stalls at the corporate event is a great idea. Customers love eating delicious food after sitting for a whole event. To engage your audience, ensure the menu is current and includes Instagram-worthy dishes.
The trucks can serve food such as:
- Shakes and ice cream
- Coffee and tea
- Sandwiches
- Burgers and pizza
- Pasta
These dishes and beverages are an exciting part of the event and encourage customers to try new foods. You can also ask restaurants to cook unique and famous dishes to increase excitement and satisfy the customers.
5. Charity event
Businesses can hold a charity session at the end of an event. This activity will encourage the participants to give back to society.
To host this activity, you can hold a fundraiser or donation drive. Fundraisers can include bake sales, auctions, or marathons. The customers will donate as much as they would like. However, it is important to tell the audience about where you will spend the donated amount.
6. Live music
Music is always in style. Live music is a great idea to bring life to your business event.
The company can book a singer or band to perform live. The singer will fill the air with their great music, and the audience will enjoy the beats. The singer can also include songs from different genres so all guests can enjoy the music.
Another idea is to encourage the audience members to take the stage and impress others with their own singing skills. Be sure to have a dance floor ready for any attendees who want to groove to the beat!
7. Mixology class
A mixology class is great for in-person and virtual corporate events. You can call a professional to host the mixology class and guide the participants throughout the session.
The mixologist will teach the art of making different cocktails, adding garnishes, and pairing the cocktails with other food items. Although the participants can bring the ingredients, providing them with cocktail kits is better.
Mixology classes are suitable for small and large groups. The customers will learn a new experience together and feel energized after attending the mixology class.
A mixology class typically lasts for 30 minutes to one hour. At the end of the event, the participants will enjoy and sip their own drinks with the other members.
8. Comedy show
You can host a comedy show at the end of your corporate event to keep the fun alive and members engaged. It is best to call a professional comedian to host the show. Comedians have a unique approach to communicating with attendees, ensuring every guest participates in the session. The best part of a comedy show is that you can host one either in-person or online.
During the event, the comedian will share great humor and give attendees a lighthearted laugh. Therefore, a comedy show is a great idea to freshen up the participants and bring the show’s pace from a formal to a fun event.
Conclusion
While corporate events generally discuss information on work-related topics, you should also change the flow and include fun games and activities. Adding corporate event ideas and activities into your session will boost the morale and confidence of the participants and encourage them to be a part of the next event as well. Corporate events should have fun activity sessions and collaborative games to help participants bond better. Events organized for customers should also focus on games that can act as a marketing campaign for the brand and increase customer loyalty.
Employees and customers will actively participate in nonwork-related activities and games, and these exercises make them a part of fun events.
For more event inspiration, check out our lists of company contest ideas, event team building games, and virtual event kits.
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