Business conferences are very important events in any company’s calendar. Apart from the fact that they help to boost your employees’ morale, they can also help to pass on strong corporate messages and forge stronger links with potential and existing clients. Most companies would spare no cost to throw a spectacular business conference, not because they have lots of money to throw around, but because they understand the potential benefits of hosting a well-planned event.
However, many corporate event planners still get it wrong. They throw such crappy events that leave the reputation of the company in a worse state than it was before the event. This is not something you want, I guess. You want to plan spectacular events that would promote your brand reputation and be memorable for your guests.
Therefore you must pay utmost attention to your event location, food and of course, entertainment for your business conference can make difference between a boring event and a memorable one. But before selecting entertainment ideas you have put the following factors into consideration:
Choosing a Conference Entertainment idea – 3 Factors to Consider
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Age of your guests
The age of your guests has a lot to do with your entertainment plan. If you are organizing a conference for 40-60 year olds, for instance, having a musician like Justin Bieber come to entertain your guests might not make much sense. Hence, you have to go with age appropriate entertainment ideas.
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Budget
You must also carefully consider how much you have and are willing to spend on entertainment for the events. There are entertainment ideas that wouldn’t even cost you a dime. And there are also a lot of budget-breaking ones. So which one you would choose depends largely on how much you can afford.
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Location and Size of your venue
You should also consider your venue, space and activities that can be conveniently held in the location. Some great ideas for your business conference entertainment include:
10 Cost Effective Business Conference Entertainment Ideas
1. Comedy shows
Like they always say, “Laughter is the best medicine”. A little bit of humor never hurt anyone. Having a comedian reel out funny stories that would make your guests relaxed and less tensed is not a bad idea. However, you have to be mindful of the type of comedians you invite; no lewd or rude comedians. For corporate events, go with comedians who can relate with your brand.
2. Magicians and Illusionists
Another good idea is to hire magicians or illusionist to come and perform at the event.
3. Talent Shows
By talent shows, I don’t mean bringing in outsiders to come and display their talents. Imagine how much fun it would be to have your guests showcase some of the talents no one knew they had. This would be an even more interesting idea for employee conferences.
4. Local talents
You can also spin things around a little bit and perform some of your corporate social responsibility by giving local talents an opportunity to showcase their talents and get some recognition for their work. Don’t forget to reward them handsomely too.
5. Celebrity appearances
Inviting celebrity guest speakers can also do the trick. It would definitely be a great experience for your guests to have the opportunity to socialize, network and take pictures with their favorite celebrity.
6. Exhibitions
You can also organize exhibitions as an entertainment for your business conference. It could be brand exhibitions, art exhibitions or book exhibitions. Exhibitions are also a good way to get other brands to support your event.
7. Dance groups
I love dance shows a lot, and I’m certain that there are many people out there who love it as much as I do. If you have enough space in your venue for it, and you feel that it would fit well into the theme of the event, then you should consider hiring some dance groups to perform at the event.
8. Debates
If you don’t want to spend too much on entertainment, you can organize a debate amongst guests.
9. Group games
Another idea that won’t cost you much money is to organize fun games that guests can play. To make it more interesting, you can separate the guests into groups and have them play against one another.
10. Good food and drinks
Trust me, a great menu can make your event more memorable for your guests than any other activity you might have planned.
There you have it! Ten great entertainment ideas for you. Feel free to choose one or more, but always remember to plan entertainments in line with the theme of the event.