What does it take to create a truly successful corporate event? How can you align everything and everyone so that attendees have an unforgettable experience? How should you plan to ensure that your corporate event production process achieves your goals?
The Challenge of Producing a Great Corporate Event
Most companies and organizations struggle with producing powerful events, because event production is complex, time-consuming and logistically intense. It requires the management of multiple people, companies, partners and components. And everything needs to come together ‘just right’ so that the guest experience is flawless.
It takes so much effort just to ensure that the mechanics of a corporate event work out, that event planners and marketing managers often stop short of giving much time or effort to the creative vision or strategies that could create a truly memorable result. Put a different way: Producing a passable but error-free event is a common real-world goal for most corporate marketing teams, who far prefer staid and stodgy over the risk of event production failure.
Closing the Gap Between Expectations and Execution
However, this “avoid risk, focus on fundamentals” tendency does not meet the bar of what corporate CEOs, association executives or nonprofit directors are expecting. They want – and in many cases depend – on a truly stellar experience to fuel audience engagement in a critical business priority. Sometimes, it’s a new product launch. Other times, it’s a new fundraising drive. Regardless, the business goal needs to be exceeded and a powerful event is critical to that effort.
This gap – the gap between the time, effort and risk that marketing teams are usually prepared to accept and the demanding strategic business objectives of the event – needs to be closed. The best method available for closing the gap is Strategic Creative.
The Power of Strategic Creative
There is creative. And then there is Strategic Creative. A truly capable corporate event production specialist will focus on providing a dynamic experience for the client’s audience. They will ask the right questions to elicit the key messages, emotions and actions that the event must communicate.
Strategic creative then involves transforming the message into a theatrical event which truly impacts the emotions of the audience, and motivates them to take an action. This action may be making a donation; promoting a brand; supporting a public policy goal; purchasing a product; or otherwise engaging in activities that they would not do (or do as thoroughly, or with as much commitment) otherwise.
Strategic creative is not simply creative. It is not simply technical. It is a complex strategy utilizing tried-and-true methods of getting through to people on an emotional level. What strategic creatives do and the way we do it requires that we know the audience, the stakeholders and the message. Then there are multiple levels of engagement (or layers) to achieve success.
Begin Planning Your Next Corporate Event Today
Research demonstrates that events built on the platform of strategic creative are more likely to achieve the intended business result; more likely to achieve execution without technical problems; and more likely to set the stage for ongoing post-event activities that your corporate events or association/nonprofit events team can build on for months and years to come.
By taking an integrated, business-focused and holistic approach, professional corporate event production companies who practice strategic creative are in a better position to lead your event to success.
Learn more about corporate event production in Baltimore and Washington DC by contacting TalkingTree Creative today. Call us at 240.252.1200 or email Craig Weisbaum, President & CEO at craig@talkingtreecreative.com.
About TalkingTree Creative
Talking Tree Creative is an event production company that creates memorable experiences and lasting impressions on screen, on stage, and online. Headquartered in Washington D.C., TalkingTree Creative serves clients in the corporate, non-profit, association and government sectors as a leader in the event production field, infusing its work with elements of creativity, entertainment and engagement. For more information, please visit talkingtreecreative.com. Follow TalkingTree Creative on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn to stay up to date with our latest projects. Get a dose of visual inspiration by checking us out on YouTube and Pinterest as well.
