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Three Principals for Planning an Effective Corporate Conference – FASTSIGNS

Monday 24. June 2013 - Even with today's real-time video collaboration so slick it feels like you're actually there, nobody would dispute the value of a face-to-face summit. Getting everyone in a room together is still one of the best ways to generate ideas, foster big thinking and plot out future success.

So how do you pull off an effective corporate conference that keeps attendees focused and engaged in the tasks at hand? Read on to uncover three basic principals that will bring fresh inspiration to your next conference, from meet and greet to final wrap-up.
Choose a Unifying Theme
Think about your theme like you would a beautiful floral centerpiece you’d place on the head table at the opening reception. Everything will circle back to your theme. Ideally you want to tie into a key corporate focus or future initiatives in the works. When developing your theme, remember the marketing basics: make it simple, make it powerful, and creativity certainly helps.
Once your theme is set, start thinking about ways to translate it into subsequent visual elements. Which colors will bring it to life? How can you intertwine parts of the theme into logos, teaser lines and short message blurbs? Then, mastermind all of the ways to express your theme on items such as a welcome banner, giveaways and gifts — even shirts, hats, jackets or other apparel. If you want to venture way outside the box, think about a headliner to help introduce your theme, such as a musical act or comic. Just because it’s corporate doesn’t mean it can’t be creative.
Communicate Effectively
Make sure you scope out the conference venue ahead of time to get a lay of the land. Then, make a plan for getting people to the right areas at the right times with clearly marked directional signage. In a larger venue, you might want to consider digital kiosks to display important meeting times and directions. Additionally, at the beginning of each session, open with a clear agenda and subsequently close with a strong call to action.
A key thing to remember when planning your conference is making sure employees get something meaningful out of the event. If you want to know what they want, just ask. You might be surprised at some of the creative and fun ideas they come up with for interesting activities.
Engage and Interact
Everyone’s attention span wanders from time to time. The best way to keep people glued to the agenda is by continually engaging them. Contests are one way to get people to pay attention. Offering a personal challenge is another. Speakers should be careful not to deliver a one-way dialogue but instead ask questions and encourage audience participation as much as possible.
Here’s an interesting idea utilizing social media at your event. Set up a personalized photo booth where staffers take pictures and upload and tag them on Facebook and Instagram. Another idea is to create an event hashtag and stream user comments on a digital kiosk, for everyone to read.
Corporate conferences pose a major opportunity for morale building and goal-setting. Incorporate these strategies into your planning checklist, and you’ll have all the bases covered for a first-class event.