How to… Transform Your Office into an Inspiring Events Space

It is relatively easy to turn a stunning events venue into a successful event however, transforming more austere office space is something else altogether. Gone are the days of row upon row of cubicles; offices now reflect the modern nature of the company by providing fun and comfortable spaces for employees.

Comshows was recently hired to produce a pre-event worthy of motivating staff to attend an evening webcast to connect the regional office with the HQ in America for training and updates. Attendance throughout the webcast was ensured by providing a raffle with incredible prizes, such as an Apple Watch, whereby winners would be drawn at the end and presence was necessary to redeem the prize.

**Top Tip** Motivate staff to attend training sessions through a social event rather than obligatory attendance.

This event revolved around the seasonally apt Oktoberfest, whereby we faced the challenge of hosting at the client’s office. Continue reading for Comshows examples and top tips on how to successfully transform office space into an event venue.

Utilising your office space as an event venue works as a great way to keep to a budget whilst creating the necessary ambience through a few other, simple mediums. Due to familiarity with the venue, it is vital that décor plays an important role in transforming a space from one recognised by the employees to a different venue altogether. The difficulty of transforming office space arises through the rigid nature of the building. To avoid this, the use of props and furniture works well to create an informal space where guests feel able to relax. The change in furnishings works to alter the atmosphere of the previously recognisable office space. We, at Comshows, replaced all furnishings with rustic, wooden benches to adorn the office and dissociate the venue with the workplace.

**Top Tip** Soft furnishings easily transform the look of a room. They can act as décor or be draped from the ceilings to create an elegant appearance.

Another way of creating an ambience separate to that of day-to-day office life, is to embrace a theme. When it comes to themed events, think outside of the box. It is essential to incorporate the chosen theme into all aspects of the event however try to avoid the dreaded “tacky” feel. This was successfully achieved through catering by tailoring the food and drink items. Our recent event showcased an array of breads, Bockwursts and pretzels all by an Austrian caterer to add to the authenticity. Event-goers enjoyed the novelty of Austrian beer served in 2-Pint Steins while devouring their sauerkraut Bockwursts. The event could not have been more authentic unless we were in Munich!

Offices tend to have fantastic acoustics for music which works well to create atmosphere especially for themed events. Oompah Brass perfectly complimented the Oktoberfest theme with a contemporary twist through playing familiar songs which successfully maintained enjoyment throughout the performance.

**Top Tip** Consider utilising a temporary PA and Lighting to create the same vibe in even the most difficult of spaces.

How to Get Breakfast Events Off to a Cracking Start

Networking events have never been more important, or more interesting, than now. We all know that businesses are about people, therefore success is about people; so how can we help stimulate interaction between talented people? The latest trend in response to this question is breakfast networking events. Mornings present a time of day when everything is getting started and anything could happen – the potential is infinite. BNEs creating an individualised, human experience are an efficient and productive use of time that can provide a competitive edge and help achieve results.

A few things to keep in mind… A positive start to the day can inspire increased productivity and a confident outlook, but no one wants to be overwhelmed in the morning, we need to be gently eased into the day ahead. Therefore surrounding and atmosphere are key components of a BNE ensuring participants are engaged and yet not overwhelmed. Another vital element is retention of the experience: what use is a networking event if ultimately it has no tangible outcome – follow-up is essential. There are several other tips we have come up with to ensure we put together the most engaging and productive breakfast networking events possible. These are our top ten…

1. Healthy food. Breakfast networking events are centred on food (it’s in the name!), therefore the event must provide an enjoyable selection of food and drink. Healthy food that is high in nutritious value stimulates the brain and body, preparing you for the day ahead. One particularly fun way of doing this is smoothie bikes – pedal your way to make your own breakfast.
2. An exciting and unusual venue. One way to engage participants is through their surroundings. From an aquarium to a river boat to the Ritz – taking people away from their everyday lives will encourage increased curiosity and interest. An added benefit of a morning event is that these venues will not be busy yet.
3. Music. Music is a powerful tool in building an atmosphere and shaping people’s moods. Why not consider a live acoustic event, either as the main attraction or a distinctive background accompaniment. In the morning, people are fresh with a clear mind, nothing distracting them just yet, acoustic guitar or harp music can provide the ideal backdrop to a BNE.
4. Interactive activities. In conjunction with social media, interactive activities are beneficial on many levels and to all parties involved. From location tagging and hashtags to taking a photo with your barista, drawing attention to attendance at a BNE not only spreads the word, but also proves that attendees are proactive and ambitious people, with the motivation and people skills to succeed, regardless of the industry they are in.
5. Innovative and immersive experiences. The most impressive events aren’t the biggest; they’re the most inventive. How memorable an event is will determine how people talk about it and convey its value to others. Recently Comshows organised an event for attendees from around the globe, where, to alleviate jetlag and ensure everyone felt revitalised and dynamic, we hired an oxygen bar at the London Film Museum. This event in an unusual venue received very positive feedback from all who attended and provided an immersive experience unlike any other.
6. Motivational speaker/special guest. What better way to prepare for the day? A motivational speaker or special guest would surely be a significant improvement on the podcast you usually listen to on the way to work. They have the dual ability to provide entertainment and spark conversations. Inspire participants to really utilise what they’ve learnt at the event, go out there and take on the world.
7. Routine, but with a twist. Take an everyday convention and revitalise it into something special. This is a good compromise between striving to be different and maintaining a very grounded, core message. For example, a cook-your-own-breakfast activity, led by a nutrition expert or celebrity chef, will engage participants while remaining structured around a related exercise.
8. Token. This is one way to provide an unforgettable experience that stays with you. Remind participants that though it’s a ‘breakfast networking event’ your involvement with them doesn’t end when the clock chimes 10am. A token provides a small aide-mémoire of the positive experience they participated in.
9. Sponsored events. This is one way to tie together several of the above suggestions, while also creating an opportunity for a new funding source. A particular company may even be interested in particular sets of people, which would incentivise them to contribute and provide an additional networking branch. From a make-your-own-smoothie event to a tea and coffee tasting, the possibilities are endless and can be specifically tailored to your target audience.
10. Return on Investment. Follow-up the event in a semi-formal manner to ensure the networking event reaches its full potential. One possibility could be arranging a scheduled time for participants to engage with one another on social media, facilitating finding each another by sending out links to each social media account for each person – LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter, etc… Additionally, by making this a live, online event, using a countdown and sending alerts, people will continue to actively engage.

Look out for our blog next month with our nutrition experts from Health Embrace who will give us further insight into the variety of opportunities offered by the newfound focus on healthy foods at events. www.comshows.com #comshows

The Insiders Event Planning Guide To Beating Conference Fatigue

Ask yourself: Have your audiences experienced conference fatigue and can’t bear to see one more PowerPoint presentation or worse still participate in a dry monthly hour long conference call?

Have they had enough travelling all the way to a venue three hrs away when they feel that they could have learnt more reading a memo and would have preferred the option to watch the presentation on-line?

The 7 commandments to an engaging event…

1. Know Your Audience – Do research and ensure that your event adds value. Why not ask the audience when they register for the top 3 topics they want covered throughout the day or any burning questions? Most events cover this in the feedback post event when it’s already too late!  It is helpful and advantageous to know the mind set of the audience in advance. It is better to face any issues and address this from the opening speech. Issues raised, such as de-motivation amongst staff due to recent redundancies, can be opened up from the outset with a pre-emptive positive response by the chief executive.

 2. Set clear objectives and goals for your event within the wider scope of your communications strategy. Think! What would people miss out on if it never took place? Never have a meeting just for the sake of it – this really is bad publicity. Choose another avenue of conveying the message and break the routine!

 
 

3. What is the best platform to communicate and engage? A plethora exists! Be it an event, video or on-line forum to name but a few.  Read more >>

Where Next? – The Next Generation of Events

With the onset of the current economic and political climate, event agencies are challenged once again, and not unhappily, to re-evaluate the approach we take with our audiences. This shake-up happens every once in a while, and does wonders for encouraging creativity, innovation and creating a whole new approach within the events industry.

The real question is: how do we do it this time?

Those individuals now entering the work marketplace (and thus our audiences) are the same who have not only grown up with but embraced such diverse online presences as Facebook, Flickr, Bebo, MySpace, Spotify and many, many more. These people are the ones we will be talking to when businesses present to their workforces in the future, therefore engagement cannot simply be a well written registration site…

Read more >>

Very Nice Venues

As an events agency (who provide a free venue finding service!), we are always on the look out for exciting new event spaces that would work for our wide client base. In our 20 years as an agency, we’ve hosted a great number of events including conferences, workshops, receptions & launches, at a multitude of nationwide venues.

Below is a selection of London based venues, that we think deserve a chance in the spotlight – some are old favourites and others we haven’t had a chance to use yet, but that we are think look rather amazing.

So without further ado, and in no particular order, we present, our “Top 5 Venues”…

-          Mary Ward House
quick tip: they have a lovely courtyard which is perfect for summer cocktail receptions!

This picturesque & historic venue in the heart of Bloomsbury has held a number of our events; the service is impeccable & they don’t mind dealing with our relentless last minute requests! It’s idyllic for both exhibitions and events.

“We love working with Comshows as their attention to detail always leaves the client impressed”

http://www.marywardhouse.com/

–          Design Council
quick tip: their award winning in house caterers always have great food on offer – especially the chef’s chocolate brownies!

Read more >>

Puzzles and solutions

We’ve been thinking here at Comshows about how to add value to our clients’ conferencing events, whilst also appreciating that the current climate isn’t exactly bringing the budget for grand gestures to the fore…

We’d love to start a dialogue with clients and fellow event agencies, to talk about what simple ideas would make an event memorable and unique, without costing the earth. We’re happy to share, and hope you are too!

A few ideas include:

– Large-scale messageboards for conferences and exhibitions, in the style of festival boards, to communicate with both the event hosts and other delegates

– Networking opportunities for delegates, both prior to the event and

– Multi-platform events, to drive costs down from hosting several separate events, making each work independently but in an integrated fashion

– Evening events following the day’s conference – re-enforcing themes during introductions etc., and referencing them visually and with content

Now, that’s just a few. We’d love to hear from you – whether your a business that holds events who wants to comment or make suggestions, or an events team who’ve had experience with any of the above and would like to say how it went.