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Refresh an Annual Event Without an Increased Budget

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Refresh an Annual Event Without an Increased BudgetAttending an annual corporate event is standard practice for many professionals. Year after year, the experience becomes familiar and predictable, taking place at the same time each year, in the same venue, with the same sponsors, content, and presenters. BORING! But it doesn’t have to be this way.

With a little innovation, great planning, and some attention dedicated toward the re-marketing of the event, these annual events can generate plenty of enthusiasm for attendees, and deliver added value for sponsors and stakeholders. Here are some suggestions to keep your repeat corporate events from getting stale, without increasing your budget:

Pursue the New

The process of recreating and redefining a recurring event, particularly a conference, requires energy, creativity, research, and above all, a commitment to delivering something better than the previous year.

  • Even if the speakers are different from year to year, try altering the format of the day.
  • There are always new and exciting entertainers, different approaches, and improved ways of doing things. At one event we planned at TCG Events, we literally turned drink service on its head by having an aerialist serve champagne upside down!
  • Make sure you highlight what has changed to your guests or potential attendees in your invitation in bold print too.

Use Social Media

Be sure to use social media to promote (and if necessary, re-launch) your next annual corporate event.

  • Create a presence for your annual event on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn – wherever your potential guests and attendees will be looking for information – it’s an easy way to publicize your event to the audience, that won’t break the bank.
  • Encourage attendees to share the event with their contacts, and guests can comment about the event, creating even more exposure.

Ask for Feedback

One of your best sources for ideas on what to do, or what not to repeat, can come from the very audience you are hoping to reach.

  • Follow up on feedback from previous years is a great way to start.
  • Solicit new ideas from past or future participants. This keeps that momentum moving forward, and makes attendees feel more invested in the outcome.
  • Consider creating a round-table made up of conference stakeholders and brainstorm the future of your event together.

Annual corporate events shouldn’t have to get stale, and no one should have to settle for a re-run of last year’s event. With a little ingenuity and budget-conscious planning, your next annual event will be a wow and have attendees eagerly anticipating what’s to come next year!

Pecha Kucha: An Alternative to the boring PowerPoint

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Anyone who has attended a corporate event has experienced the grinding boredom of a seemingly endless PowerPoint. It’s an experience that has inspired a new way of presenting, a new kind of event: moving away from hour-long lecture-style presentations and toward an interactive, engaging atmosphere. The prime example: Pecha Kucha, which is Japanese for “the sound of conversation.”

Pecha Kucha is a simple presentation format, showing 20 images for 20 seconds each totaling 6 minutes 40 seconds. The images are presented without text, meaning the presenter must speak to each image instead of reading off the screen. The slides advance automatically, forcing the presenter to create a choreographed presentation that is concise – and ideally, compelling.

Creating Memorable Business Presentations

The reasons behind the success of Pecha Kucha are no mystery. According to a recent study from the National Training and Learning Institute, attendees retain only 5% of what is heard in lecture-style presentations. In contrast with traditional, long-form PowerPoint presentations, the Pecha Kucha length and style is much easier on the brain. Pecha Kucha creates a highly entertaining atmosphere and generates awareness to stimulate thought and action on the subject presented.

Pecha Kucha Nights started in Tokyo in 2003 and are now happening in more than 600 cities around the world. These informal and fun gatherings attract a diverse range of creative people as both attendees and presenters, from sculptors and musicians to chefs and architects, to event professionals.  The presentations tend to lean toward personal moments of enlightenment or important causes and are not always directly about a specific “work” related issue.

As you embark on your next round of business event planning, call or contact TCG Events. Our expert event planners can help you incorporate the fun, fresh concepts of Pecha Kucha!