It’s official: humans now have shorter attention spans than goldfish. Coinciding with the explosion in popularity of mobile phones, a recent study by Microsoft has revealed the average time a human can hold a thought has fallen from 12 to eight seconds since 2000. For the record, without the same technological distractions, goldfish have preserved an attention span of approximately nine seconds.
Framed in this context, it’s easy to understand why it can be so difficult to retain the interest of large audiences. With that thought in mind, we’ve decided to compile a list of five fun ideas you can use to inspire your next corporate event, ensuring your attendees leave feeling the full force of the ‘wow factor’.
1. Old School, New Rules – Create a Sense of Nostalgia
You only have to look at the number of fully grown adults currently playing Pokémon Go for proof that nostalgia sells. In this light, organising activities that recreate a ‘blast from the past’ or help to bring out the inner child are proving a massive hit at corporate events.
Alternatively, if your business is celebrating a landmark anniversary, you could try matching the music, décor and food for your event to that year. And, to really sell the illusion, you can get your attendees to dress in the fashion of the era.
2. The GIFs That Keep on Giving – GIF Booths
In recent years, photo booths have become increasingly popular at corporate events. They are simple to set up and help to promote your event by providing attendees with right here, right now snaps they can share across social media.
In the fast moving corporate event space, however, photo booths have become yesterday’s news. If, as they say, a picture paints a thousand words, then what must a video be worth? Taking this into account, GIF booths, which take multiple images and instantly turn them into an animated video clip, have taken the idea of the photo booth to its next logical level.
3. Make Art Not War – Creative Icebreaker Sessions
A fantastic idea for a corporate event activity that mixes work and play is creating your own art piece. The Ribena Colouring Café recently took this idea and used it to great effect, proving you don’t have to be a great artist to have fun with colour. Setting your team an art-themed challenge will help bring them together at the same time as igniting their creative spirit and instilling a real sense of achievement. Plus, you never know – if the final piece is good enough, you might be able to take the resulting masterpiece back to hang in your office.
4. Glitz and Glamour – Host an Awards Ceremony
If you’re struggling for corporate event ideas, hosting an awards ceremony is a great way to recognise and celebrate the hard work your staff have put into making your business a success. A common practice for businesses within the same industry or niche is to host an inter-company awards ceremony. Pooling your resources with like-minded businesses in this manner will allow you to share costs such as hiring a venue and putting on entertainment, while also increasing opportunities for gaining media attention and PR coverage.
5. Make Double the Difference – Combine with Charity
If you want to include team building activities in your corporate event, finding something that gets all participants pumped up and ready to go can sometimes be a challenge. On that note, incorporating a good cause into the heart of any activity often acts as an effective motivator.
Ideas include charity auctions, cringe-worthy dance competitions, treasure hunts and more. In addition to encouraging enthusiastic participation, raising money during an event can also help boost your brand’s corporate social responsibility offering. As a result, it’s a win-win situation.
How Can Royal Horticultural Halls Help?
Royal Horticultural Halls, also known as The Lindley Hall, is a world-leading event venue situated in the heart of London.
With a total floor space of 875 square metres and the latest event technology on-site, the Hall is a versatile space that can transform into whatever your heart desires. What’s more, to make things easier for you, we’ll provide a dedicated event planner to help keep things on track and tailored to your exact vision.
To find out more about holding a corporate event at Royal Horticultural Halls, contact our helpful team by calling us today on 020 7821 3650, or email us at [email protected]. Alternatively, for a closer look at the Hall right now, you can take a 360-degree virtual tour of our event space here.