Corporate events like company get-togethers, conferences, galas, or product launches are a strategic way to foster engagement and connections within an organisation or industry. These events boost employee morale, reinforce company culture, and promote brand awareness, allowing organisations to retain and attract top talent, and/ or establish new business collaborations.
Event themes enliven corporate gatherings, giving attendees something to look forward to and remember. The theme for your corporate event must both be enjoyable and relevant to the overall goal, setting, and organisational values. To help you brainstorm, we listed 12 corporate event themes and ideas you can try.
12 Corporate Event Themes and Ideas
- Organise a Cinematic Experience
- Tropical Luau
- Take Advantage of Seasonal Themes
- Heroes vs. Villains
- Throw an Outdoor Cookout
- Enchanted Forest
- Unwind in a Wellness Retreat
- Luxury and Glamour Awards Night
- Create a Cultural Mosaic
- Groovy Retro Party
- Design a Virtual Reality Experience for Product Launches
- Arrange for an Outreach Event
1. Organise a Cinematic Experience
Organising a cinematic experience can give teams and/ or clients a fun and relaxed break from the usual work and strengthen internal and external business relationships. For this type of corporate event to be successful, you’ll need to find or build a communal setting where people can enjoy watching a film together, bond over movie trivia games, and treat themselves to munchies.
Select a film that aligns with your organisational values. In terms of venue, you can book a cinema, corporate event hall, or an outdoor space you can fill with bean bags. Aside from AV technology, comfortable seating options for lounging and dining are also paramount.
2. Tropical Luau
In a hot and humid location like Dubai, tropical luaus are always one of the casual and timeless corporate event themes and ideas you can never go wrong with. It can be arranged as a poolside event or a boho-chic beach party.
When planning for an outdoor corporate event, be sure to provide guests with weather protection like parasols or tents. Rattan-inspired furniture, upcycled tables and lounging options, as well as cool and unique bars, will also help solidify a tropical luau event theme.
3. Take Advantage of Seasonal Themes
An office holiday party will allow employees to bond, contributing to camaraderie and teamwork. You can always refer to national holidays for seasonal corporate event themes and ideas.
During the warm summer months, you can decorate your event venue to resemble an upscale night in Ibiza with dynamically lit furniture. Then, around December, you can challenge yourself to build a winter wonderland with white sofas and use intelligent event lighting to project snowflakes.
4. Heroes vs. Villains
A heroes vs. villains party is among the top corporate event themes and ideas for team building, introducing thrill, playful banter, and friendly competition. Encouraging attendees to arrive dressed up as their favourite hero or villain from movies, comics, literature, or folklore will create buzz and excitement around your event.
Team building activities that suit a heroes vs. villains party include scavenger hunts, mini-Olympics, or an amazing race with riddles, challenges, and a worthy prize for the winners. For visual impact, get creative with backdrops and centrepieces.
5. Throw an Outdoor Cookout
Throwing an outdoor cookout is a great idea for corporate events aimed towards networking. The look, smell, and taste of a sumptuous variety of food will surely spice up interesting discussions.
Our pro tip for outdoor cookouts is to provide cosy lounge areas where people can comfortably eat, relax, and talk. Also, remember to arrange for fun ambient music to help keep conversations flowing.
6. Enchanted Forest
For formal corporate events like fundraisers, an enchanted forest theme would be exciting. It would also be appropriate to discuss and be transparent about the organisation’s growth, progress, and sustainability efforts. An enchanted forest event theme cultivates an atmosphere where people are mystified by their surroundings and feel connected to a shared cause or purpose.
To transform your corporate event space into an enchanted forest, you can display lush foliage in different areas and illuminate it with hanging lights or lanterns to add depth. You can also maximise whimsical table lights to brighten and decorate various surfaces.
7. Unwind in a Wellness Retreat
To nurture work-life balance, make time for a wellness retreat where employees can de-stress, set aside work, and focus entirely on their mental and physical health. Offering this as a job benefit reflects an organisation that prioritises employee well-being, which helps attract and retain talent and ultimately increases productivity upon returning to work.
Planning a wellness retreat can include fitness and nutrition classes, as well as other activities that encourage the practise of mindfulness. Ensure that the event rental provider has enough tables and chairs to accommodate your team, and request that common areas be furnished or decorated in a way that aligns with your theme and company message.
8. Luxury and Glamour Awards Night
Inviting employees to a luxurious and glamorous awards night will reinforce an organisation that acknowledges and values employee dedication, efforts, and contributions. These corporate events raise employee engagement and persistence.
To manifest luxury and glamour, integrate gold and elaborate accents in your event decorations and lighting. You can also ask attendees to wear their most stylish gowns and suits.
9. Create a Cultural Mosaic
Creating a cultural mosaic in corporate events involves celebrating diversity in the workforce while promoting a company culture of inclusivity. This is ideal for organisations in industries and business landscapes with professionals from different walks of life and ethnicities.
Enable employees to be proud of their culture and heritage by dressing in attires or bringing food that reminds them of their hometowns. Corporate event themes and ideas that fit a cultural mosaic could be Arabian Nights with an elegant take on the traditional Arabic Majlis seating.
10. Groovy Retro or Vintage Party
A groovy retro party is a fun corporate event theme and idea that will evoke feelings of nostalgia among attendees, giving way to colleagues sharing and exchanging stories of their past experiences or hobbies. To help initiate interactions, energise your event with dance-offs or karaoke.
Our pro tip for styling groovy retro parties is to pick a specific era and choose music and decorations that transport you back to that time period. For corporate events set in the 60s, you’ll definitely want to check out our party vehicles, which could serve as a food and beverage bar or souvenir section.
11. Design a Virtual Reality Experience
Corporate event themes and ideas that perfectly apply to product launches are virtual reality (VR) experiences that will encapsulate your organisation’s vision for future success. High-tech and immersive VR experiences will undoubtedly bring forth a sense of wonder and curiosity, which can attract potential stakeholders while inspiring innovation in the workforce.
Furnishing your venue with black-and-white or colour-coordinated LED furniture can complement a futuristic and sleek product launch. We can also recommend industrial-style tables and chairs for a stunning contrast of steel and wood frames that match urban and rustic settings.
12. Arrange for an Outreach Event
A corporate outreach event helps instil corporate social responsibility, boosting employee engagement and demonstrating goodwill as the organisation gives back to the community. It also enhances brand visibility and company reputation.
You can arrange for catering services and have food and refreshments laid out on vast buffet tables. To make employees feel more involved in the corporate outreach event, assign teams and departments to spearhead different activities or parts of the programme.
Final Thoughts on Corporate Event Theme Ideas
Event themes are fun and exciting ideas that can elevate the experience of your corporate event, making it memorable and successful. Take inspiration from corporate event themes and ideas that suit the personality of your attendees and align with your company values or event objective. Plus, it streamlines event planning and decision-making as you choose furniture and decor that builds on a cohesive look and feel.
Should you need any assistance with event styling, please get in touch with our events team at Desert River. We will be more than happy to help turn your corporate event idea into a unique setting with high-quality furniture and lighting rentals.