Corporate events are supposed to bring some joy and refreshment to your workforce - but anyone can agree that a boring and uncomfortable corporate affair is the last thing most people want to go to.

Event planning has faced considerable developments and significant changes in recent years. New event trends bring about fresh opportunities and challenges. These recent trends in corporate events will help yours outshine every work party that came before, and will make your staff eager for the next one.

While there may be no such thing as a stupid question, there is a correlation between the smarter the question, the more in depth and valuable the answer will potentially be. That’s why when someone asks you to plan a meeting, regardless of how large or for whom, your first question needs to be, ‘What’s the goal of the meeting?’

Bizzabo recently surveyed over 400 mid- to senior-level event marketers about the future of the industry. The result is Event Marketing 2018: Benchmarks and Trends.

With contemporary digital marketing practices, brands have the ability to reach more people with more targeted strategies than ever before. Yet at the same time, nothing can quite compare to a face-to-face conversation. This isn’t a nostalgic longing for simpler days. It’s what the data says.

When it comes to building strong connections between a brand and an audience, there’s nothing quite like brand experience.

The medium combines several different elements — physical space, digital technology, interpersonal communication, and community — all to create a powerful and engaging marketing tool. In fact, nearly two-thirds of marketers say brand experience helps creating ongoing relationships with key audiences and make them feel valued.

Does an event like CEMA Summit even need an introduction?

This annual conference by the Corporate Event Marketing Association (CEMA) attracts event marketers of all tenure for learning, networking, and soaking up best practices.

Spreading the word has, thankfully, evolved beyond smoke signals and an elaborately dressed town crier shouting “hear ye, hear ye” in the town square. It’s no secret that one of the easiest ways to get your message to the masses is via online social media. And you are no longer limited to text or pre-recorded video. You can record your event live in the all-encompassing networks of social media and it’s remarkably effortless. No campfire or voice projection required, just a smartphone and a little know-how.

The Basics

Today (September 29) is National Coffee Day.

I started drinking coffee when I was in college. It was summertime, and I had a temp job doing data entry. The office where I was working was overly air-conditioned, and no matter how many layers I put on my hands would always be cold. There was a small office kitchen which was stocked with boxes upon boxes of Swiss Miss cocoa packets.

Nothing ruins an outdoor event faster than severe weather. However, intentional planning for weather conditions is key for a successful outdoor event or meeting. Weather can be tricky and hard to predict, but with a little insight and a few tips, any event planner can be prepared for what’s in the forecast.

Organising a business conference can seem like a daunting task as you start out; there are usually lots of ever changing factors to take into consideration so it can sometimes feel as if you are chasing your tail.  However, if correctly planned for and if process is taken one step at a time, it can be easier than you first think and before you know it you’re a professional conference organiser running a successful event!  Here are some of my tips for running a smooth event:

Venue

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Hillary Neumann, meeting and events coordinator at Celanese, to discuss some of the challenges unique to corporate planning. She helped identify three challenges that every corporate meeting planner faces, and provided insights into how her team overcomes these challenges.

1. Buy-in from the executive team