An anniversary deserves to be celebrated! Whether your firm is a multinational corporation, a mid-sized company or a small business, a corporate anniversary party is a great event opportunity for employees and partners. It is also a great time to share your values, your achievements and your vision for the future. Here are seven rules to make this corporate event a success.
1. Write a clear, thorough brief
The agency should be briefed with as much information as possible. The essentials include:
- Company history and values
- Key employees, speakers ans partners who will attend
- Goals, themes and messages to convey
- Previous events organized (anniversaries, if any)
- And of course, practical information: location (if the agency is not deciding), planned date, budget, available materials, etc.
2. Resist the urge to imitate a successful event
Replicating a great event you attended in the past is very tempting, but it is definitely not the best approach. This type of anniversary event is, by definition, closely tied to the company itself. This means you to invent your own model that aligns with the culture, history and people that make your business unique.
3. Plan personalized activities
The activities on offer at a company anniversary event are usually related to the corporate identity. An agribusiness company may arrange a tasting of fresh products, while a video game publisher may demonstrate a virtual reality headset. But is it always a good idea to do exactly what people expect from you? An original, offbeat or disruptive theme could be the key to a successful anniversary event.
4. Avoid performance overload (art, culture, sports, etc.)
It's better to have a simplified, effective and well organized event than to pile on the performances. The guiding principle: do less, but do it well! And make it flawless – it is a celebration, after all.
5. Develop an appropriate theme
The running theme of your event is what links the parts of the program to on another. It is important to ensure that the agenda has a good flow: limit speeches to a reasonable length and strike a balance between "corporate" presentations, high points, fun activities, breaks, meals and so on.
6. Build to a crescendo
A successful evening must be perfectly orchestrated. The secret to success is to gradually raise the level of intensity to reach a memorable conclusion. At a company anniversary event, the climax should be extraordinary.
7. The big day: stay on schedule
Schedules are made to be followed. This requires a certain amount of discipline on the day of the event. Organizers must closely manage the duration of each segment to maintain the pace that was originally planned. Glitches are the enemy!
If you follow these seven rules, you are sure to have a successful event. But remember that the best guarantee is the right internal and external team, who will work together to properly prepare, organize and execute your event. The team should be coherent, experienced and innovative.
