When it comes to organising a corporate or private event, the key to success is planning everything in advance, right down to the very last details. From finding the perfect venue to calculating guest capacity and booking caterers, entertainment and more, defining your event strategy beforehand is essential to making sure that everything runs smoothly on the big day.
To help you start preparing and planning your event well in advance, we’ve put together the ultimate corporate event planning checklist. Whether you’re planning an in-person, a hybrid or a virtual event, our checklist will help you and your team prepare for any eventuality to ensure that your event exceeds guest expectations from start to finish.
PRE-EVENT
1. Define your event strategy:
Before you can even start to think about your budget and venue, you need to think about your event strategy. Issues to think about include defining the type of event and your target audience. From product launches to corporate Christmas parties or team building exercises, you’ll need to focus on how best to make an impact on your guests which will then help you determine all the other aspects of your event.
2. Put a team together:
Once you’ve established your event strategy, you’ll want to start assigning roles to your team to make sure they know exactly who’s supposed to be in charge of marketing, budgeting and catering the event. You could also start thinking about any external staff you’ll need to bring onboard for the day of the event including temporary labourers to set up/take down any rental equipment, caterers, waiting staff, DJs and more.
3. Timeline:
The easiest way to keep your whole team in the loop during the pre-event planning sessions is to draw up a detailed timeline for your project. Start with a loose timeline to give yourself an overall picture then add in key dates for decisions and deliveries to make sure that everyone knows exactly what will be happening during the run-up to the big day.
4. Determine your budget:
Creating a budget for your event beforehand will help you avoid expensive surprises later down the line. When drawing up your budget you’ll need to think about all the costs associated with setting up the event including:
- Venue hire
- Marketing
- Decor
- Sound and entertainment equipment
- Catering
- Staff
- Guest transport
- Photography and videography
- HSE equipment (hand gels, antibacterial wipes etc)
Start requesting quotes from your service providers as soon as you can and then you can update and refine your budget once you accept offers to turn your projected budget into an actual budget where you can track your expenditure and your net income.
5. Theme:
Following on from setting up your budget, you will also want to pick a cohesive theme for your big day to cover event decor, food, music etc. Depending on the type of event you’re organising you may find it easier to centre the theme around your venue or your brand, so this is one decision you can tweak along the way.
6. Location, location, location
As an event organiser, you know that a great location is key to planning a successful corporate event. If your guests are coming in from overseas, you’ll need a location with easy access to an airport or transportation, while you may also need a full range of activities to keep attendees busy during their stay.
Set against the backdrop of breathtaking landscapes and blessed with a mild sunny climate both the French Riviera and the Provence region are ideally situated for hosting corporate events. With direct access from the Nice or Toulon airports, plus a wide range of creative venues available to rent throughout the year, the South of France is the perfect location to host an unforgettable corporate event.
Take a look at our selection of various spaces for your corporate events:
Magnifique villa on the hills
Magnifique villa at the city
7. Sourcing a venue
Native Spaces can help you organise your events thanks to its knowledge of the events market, both for unusual venues and for quality service providers.
One of the most important decisions you’ll make when planning your corporate event, sourcing your venue will be determined by several factors including:
- Number of guests
- Indoor/outdoor space requirements
- Style of venue -private or commercial space
- Venue layout
- Onsite accommodation and amenities
- Disabled access
- Parking
- Public transport options
By hosting your event in a private property on Native Spaces rather than a commercial venue $, you will be able to rent a unique space which sets the tone for your brand. Offering a wide range of amenities from rooftop terraces to infinity pools, firepits, home cinemas and more, hiring a private villa or apartment for the evening will give your event a more intimate setting whilst impressing your guests with more space to be creative.
Additionally, Native Spaces offers many private spaces available to rent for events also offer accommodation onsite which will ensure that guests coming in from overseas won’t need to book a hotel during their stay.
8. Select a date
Selecting the final date for your event may well be influenced by your choice of venue but you will also need to take into consideration any other industry events which may be taking place at the same time and any major holidays that occur during the same timeframe as factors like this may make it harder for your guests to attend your event.
9. Staging your event
Now you’ve selected and confirmed your venue, you’ll probably want to start thinking about how you want to stage your event. From planning where you want your guest speakers to stand to setting up breakout rooms or transforming the terrace as an outdoor lounge/cocktail bar, it’s important to think about the flow of the event in order to make sure you create an atmosphere that best reflects your corporate identity.
10. Branding your event
Once you confirm the key factors of where and when to hold your event, it’s time to keep things consistent by branding it. By creating a distinctive look for your event, you can establish your brand and your company message as you start sending out invitations and promotional material to your guests in addition to using your brand for marketing and social media purposes. By building engagement with your attendees during the planning stages, you’re also giving them a great first impression of your event before they even arrive at the venue.
11. Registering your guests
To keep things simple in the event planning stages, we recommend setting up a registration website for guest management. By using a registration site, you can easily keep track of your attendees whilst collecting their contact information and any special requirements they may have during the event. A registration website can also help you send out useful information such as the venue address and event times and will also allow you to update your guests quickly and easily in the event of any last minute changes to the schedule.
12. Logistics
From choosing a catering company to hiring a DJ or band, once the event date is set, you will need to confirm all the logistical details with both your external service providers and the venue itself. Items to take into account include:
- Menu options taking into account any special dietary requirements
- Technical/AV set-up and checks
- Venue parking
- Licence agreements
- Security requirements
- Accessibility requirements
- Delivery times
So there you have it, it’s time to take your corporate event to the next level with a little help from our ultimate corporate event planning checklist. For more information or for any questions you might have about finding the perfect venue for your next event, simply reach out to the Native Spaces team here.