Decor vs. Entertainment Value in Corporate Event Planning

In the however-many years you've been involved with corporate event management, have you ever had an attendee at one of your company's events tell you, years later, that they'll never forget the choice of flowers you draped around the stage for your presentation? Neither have we. Those flowers undoubtedly made an important contribution to the overall appeal of the event, as did the rest of the decor. But if you're sinking all of your money into cosmetic considerations as opposed to entertainment value, something's wrong.

Make no mistake; your event must look wonderful. We count on our vendor partners to help us create a lively, lovingly crafted yet professionally appropriate visual impression for every event we manage. All too often we see companies pour their entire budget into the physical trappings -- the potted plants, the flowers, the stage set and so on. The results may be gorgeous, but how long will the audience remember them after the event is over, the set is packed and everyone has gone home? Decor does make an impact, but it's a passive impact by its very nature.

For active impact that draws immediate attention to the event itself, you must direct a significant chunk of your budget toward meaningful, memorable entertainment. Choose acts that complement the theme of the event and work them into the event itself -- a dance act or "splash artist" between the courses of a festive dinner perhaps, or a band playing songs that relate to the event topics. And why not hire an emcee that doubles as a standup comedian? (It works for the Oscars, doesn't it?) Keep people riveted by the event's entertainment features and you'll find that they stay riveted for the other stuff -- while the decor continues to do its job too.