10 Types of Hybrid and Virtual Corporate Events
Corporate events allow you to meet prospective clients, build relationships and sell more products or services. They also give you the opportunity to recognise and reward your employees, thus helping employee retention. By hosting corporate events you’re also able to boost your brand awareness and create PR and social media engagement.
Now more than ever we have seen the importance that face-to-face events have in the corporate world. We have created 10 hybrid and virtual corporate events to help you get started on your corporate event ideas for this year!
Hybrid Corporate Events
When we are given the clearance to return to ‘live’ events, hybrid looks to be the way forward. It will allow for a greater audience at all events and give attendees the opportunity to make their own safety decision.
Corporate Conference
Corporate conferences allow for the opportunity for businesses to share information, network and celebrate achievements.
Iconic London venues such as Kings Place, Tobacco Dock and Barbican have now adapted their venues with technology that now allows for easier use for both an in-person and virtual audience for your next corporate conference.
Tobacco Dock for instance has transitioned their venue to include a virtual platform and live broadcasting. So while in-person attendees can enjoy the event with safety measures in place, you can also expand your reach with a virtual audience.
The virtual portal offers the opportunity for pre-event communication, sponsorship, virtual exhibitions, delegate networking (individuals or groups), discussion forums and more, helping to retain online participant engagement throughout the event.
Training & workshops
Many employees will be needing to attend new training or workshops when we are lifted out of lockdown, whether it be for new COVID-safe policies or business updates.
London venues such as etc. venues, CCT Venues and QEII Centre have spent the last year preparing their training, workshop, meeting and conference spaces to be ready for hybrid events. Venues are now able to offer live streaming or event recording for delegates attending the training online but also a safe and COVID-secure venue for those attending in-person.
With cleaning for touchpoints, social distancing regulations and capacity requirements in place, venues will be able to welcome back in-person attendees safely for corporate training workshops.
Company celebrations and team building events
There will be a lot to celebrate when we all come face-to-face again! Recognise and reward your team members for all their hard work.
Keep track of your team’s achievements while they have been working from home so that each team member can feel valued for their hard work and reflect on all they have been able to achieve for the year.
Create team-building and a company celebration such as a corporate event at The Crystal Challenge, a team cooking challenge at The Cooking Academy or #speaktosleek for more company team building and celebration ideas!
Networking Events
We are all looking forward to in-person networking again, there is nothing quite like it! Host your networking event to connect, interact, strengthen and build relationships with your contacts.
Hosting networking events can also result in your business being seen as an industry leader and help to identify your employees as thought leaders.
Launch Party
Ready to launch your company or a new product in London? Do it in style with a launch party! Invite employees, prospective clients, media and more to celebrate your exciting moment! Launch parties are a great way to create buzz and interest around your brand or product!
Read our case study on how we launched Outreach into the UK!
Virtual Corporate Events
Virtual Team Building Activities
Approaching a year now with limited face-to-face contact with our team members, corporate team building activities are essential to keep morale high, communication open and to help the team to keep working together (although from individuals homes).
Team building activities to consider can be:
A virtual tasting - gin, coffee, chocolate, wine (whatever your team loves the most!)
Virtual cooking class
An escape room
Pub quiz night
Virtual Conference
Transitioning to a virtual conference from an in-person event has been the go-to option for most companies over the past year. With platforms such as Hopin, Zoom and CrowdComms developing even more ways to make virtual conferences engaging and interactive. It allows for your virtual conference to be able to host keynotes, panel discussions, live entertainment, educational sessions, sales kick-offs, industry thought leadership, product training and more.
Your conference objectives of lead generation, brand awareness, and relationship building will still be able to be achieved virtually.
Read our case study on how we transformed AWS Community Day Dublin from in-person to virtual.
Virtual Corporate Networking Events
Networking is still vital while we all continue to work from home. Businesses still need to continue to develop sales connections and leads as well as build and maintain relationships with corporate partners. Virtual corporate networking can be made simple but engaging by:
Host an inspirational guest speaker
Does your industry have a speaker that everyone would love to hear from? Invite your prospective leads or VIP accounts to join your team to listen to a talk. You can make this event more engaging by sending event bags with snacks, drinks and swag!
Virtual happy hour
This can be done on different levels and can be made as simple or VIP as you would like. Send a cocktail kit and have a cocktail mixologist to host the event or send a simple cocktail list with drinks that need to be purchased for the event. Use a platform that has breakout rooms for even more networking opportunities.
Offer a unique experience
Many museums, galleries, zoos’ and famous tourist destinations are offering virtual tours. Create an amazing networking event around The British Museum, London Zoo and more and then continue on with a coffee catch up or happy hour afterwards to keep the event going!
Catch up on our blog on engaging virtual networking events for even more tips!
Training & Webinars
Webinars give you the chance to build a more personal relationship with your audience, delve deeper into the topics that concern them and build your brand as a place people can come to for important information.
With the ease of platforms such as GoToWebinar, ON24 and LiveWebinar team training or hosting corporate webinars becomes a straightforward way to connect, learn and upskill your audience.
Continuing to ensure professional development is available will help to keep your employees and business on track while we all continue to work in separate spaces.
Company Celebrations
Now more than ever it is important to continue to celebrate and recognise company and employee achievements. Whether it is a business or employee sales success bringing your team together virtually can be done by:
Monthly team member recognition and gift packs
Setting monthly goals for team members to hit and celebrate with a virtual activity!
#SpeaktoSleek
Looking at planning a corporate event this year? Speak to Sleek. Our event experts are ready to talk through your idea’s and help to create both virtual and hybrid plans to ensure your event can take place in either scenario and still be engaging and interactive. Contact us today for a free consultation.