The Top 2018 Corporate Event Trends You Need To Know.

If you’re an Executive Assistant, Personal Assistant or Internal Events Organiser looking to refresh your upcoming Corporate Events Agenda, explore our top 3 Corporate Event Trends for 2018 across 4 key categories.

The team at OzParty Events have scoured the latest event trends from thought leaders across Australia and the broader international events industry, to bring you our shortlist of 12 Corporate Event Trends you need to be across for 2018.

Feel free to steal any ideas and don’t worry we won’t tell anyone!

3 Top 2018 Trends in Event Decor and Styling

Video Ref: Pantone Colour Of The Year, CBS

1.1 Purple Power

Pantone colour of the year 2018 is officially Ultra Violet (PANTONE 18-3838). Labelled as “A dramatically provocative and thoughtful purple shade,… communicates originality, ingenuity, and visionary thinking that points us towards the future”. Given the references to discovery, exploration, innovation, vast limitless night skies, we’re foreseeing events that transcend guests to a world beyond our own.

Purple has wide ranging emotional connotations - symbolic of counterculture, unconventionality, and artistic brilliance (think Bowie, Prince and Hendrix), as well as mystical and spiritual qualities, and of course royalty and luxury. 

If your company is passing through a highly transformative period, transcending the brand into the future, elevating performance, doing things differently, pushing boundaries. Purple is a power play this year.

If you have purple, or a complimentary colour in your brand palette such as golds, metallics, greens or greys, this is your year to step out, stand tall and shine.

We’re foreseeing events that transcend guests to a world beyond our own.

Image ref: ANZ Illuminate Retail Gala Awards ~ OzParty Events

1.2 The UnTheme

Popular themes such as decades, movies, countries are not entirely out for 2018. However, we recommend you work with your Event Manager to explore the “why” behind your choice of event theme.

If you’re drawn to Tron Legacy for example, look beyond the shiny metallics, neons and futuristic robotics, and consider if it the concept of digital disruption and futurism is aligned with the journey of digital transformation your organisation is undertaking? Therein lies the sweet spot.

It’s also possible to reverse engineer here. If your 2018 business strategic themes for the coming year are centred around fostering leadership and empowerment, consider how impactful a Sydney-Hobart style catamaran race would be crewed by internal teams? What a magnificent display of leadership, strategy, focus, agility, teamwork and overcoming challenges in a live environment. The race would of course be adapted to localised harbour conditions, and branding may be amplified through team polo shirts or your logo splashed across the main sail!

In short...

... consider the key challenges your organisation is facing as we head into 2018, and how event concepts can be developed and shaped to bring positive life to these.

Image Ref: Erik Black, Live Art Performer - glitter, UV and upside down!

1.3 Live Art

In 2017 we largely observed the death of the floral centerpiece, and the takeover of balloon art. The world-over, artists are manipulating latex in an array of textures, colours and sizes into magnificent balloon sculptures. Check out Charles Pétillon’s 100,000 Balloon Installation in Covent Garden, London for such awe-inspiring examples of custom balloon artistry.

Whilst the balloon art trend will continue into 2018 we’re anticipating a resurgence of more experiential, interactive live art installations.

Imagine dynamic street artists sweeping across a giant graffiti canvas, creating a vivid mural embodying your brand, unfolding in front of your very eyes.

Or enthralling your guests with french glitter painter Erik Black producing a spectacular visual masterpiece of your CEO, whilst painting upside down.

Live art is not only expressive, visually engaging and entertaining. The result culminates in a bespoke, dynamic artistic visual creation of your brand. The live stream potential and capacity for viral reach here is off-the-charts. Regional and cultural traditions may also be woven into the artistic expression, this is particularly high impact for tourism and destination oriented events.

3 Top 2018 Trends in Event Tech & Social

There are some major shifts occurring in global event tech with the introduction of augmented reality, virtual reality and facial recognition into the mainstream. On a more local level here’s 3 event tech trends that will feature heavily in 2018:

2.1 Live streaming

I hear your gasp of utter horror...imagine if the world saw Dave face planting the donut wall at the company christmas bash! 

Yes, live streaming does come with risk, legal and security considerations, however with a well-honed strategy in place, the rewards in terms of consumer #engagement and elevated brand trust can be significant. 

For a more controlled approach at internal events, engage a digital marketing agency who can navigate you through the world of live streaming, or if budget is tight assign a Facebook savvy team member to live stream select aspects of your event.

Focus upon capturing candid moments that bring outside consumers into a more intimate relationship with your organisation. This form of personal connection offers unique opportunity to magnify your #brand transparency and trust across a wide audience. Try to keep the content stream as human and relatable as possible without of course exposing company secrets!

Be sure to check in with marketing and corporate risk to ensure the approach is aligned with the overall brand strategy. But remember when it comes to live streaming remember fortune favours the brave!

If you’re feeling gung ho this year - set an event hashtag and allow guests free reign to crowd stream. This can be particularly effective at client appreciation events to tap into a wider targeted consumer network.

Video Ref: Throwable Mic by Catchbox

2.2 Throwable Microphone

The best innovations are often the most simple. The throwable mic by catchbox is just that - simple but highly effective!

Designed to encourage audience #participation and engagement, the throwable mic can be tossed around the room in its brightly coloured padded cube box without fear of injury, breakage or compromise of sound quality.

Catchbox can be customised to align with your brand colours and logo, and can range up to 90 metres (model dependent). It’s novel, quirky, a great ice breaker and a fun and dynamic way to enhance audience sharing and participation at your next event.

Video Ref: Dom Perignon Lumiere Dinner with Projection Mapping by Staging Connections

2.3 Digital Projection

The projection mapping phenomenon is creating buzz across the globe with brands and marketeers transforming buildings, landmark architecture, retail stores, cars, just about any surface you can think of into mind-blowing, immersive visual spectacles.

Closer to home, the potential for large scale 3D projection mapping to engage, immerse and #inspire audiences, hit the stratosphere on Australian shores with the advent of Sydney’s VIVID Festival. 

Bringing the scale down a few notches, innovative projection mapping tech may serve to transform your next corporate dining experience into a dazzling feast for the eyes.

Immerse your guests with the unique story of your brand conveyed in front of their very eyes through innovative custom table animations. Punctuate courses with bespoke animated light shows highlighting key aspects of your brand heritage and superlative messaging. Even have your main course prepared by a the world’s tiniest chef right on your plate! 

Projection mapping may also be used to initiate guests into the world of your brand. Logo's and key messaging can be projected onto walls, ceilings and floors throughout the space. Unlike static banners and signs, digital projection allows for dynamic animation of your brand assets, with options for bold and dramatic or more subliminal and subtle effects.

3 Top 2018 Trends in Event Venues 

Video Ref: Dinner in the Sky, Insider

3.1 Pop Ups / Public Spaces

If generating an avalanche of social activity, off-the-charts media frenzy and serious buzz is part of your M.O, choose a unique, weird, wonderful or ‘never been seen before’ venue or experience.

The global Dinner in the Sky experience launched in Sydney this year, with plans to roll out to Melbourne, Auckland, Perth, Byron Bay and Tasmania in coming months. Treat your executive team, VIP clients or top performers to an unparalleled dining experience, featuring michelin prepared cuisine, served up 13 storeys high over the sails of the Sydney Opera House.

A second quirky pop-up is the Pool at Pier One, Sydney. Open for the 2018 Sydney summer season, the pool features a floating pontoon decked out with astroturf, colourful parasols, deck chairs and water toys. Brands channeling the ‘feel-good’ summer vibes such as Sunny Life have leveraged off this unique pop-up opportunity. 

If sustainability is high on the corporate agenda, hosting a pop-up at your local botanical gardens or parklands, serving guests locally sourced organic produce, with dynamic performances from Junkyard Beats using recyclable household items masterfully transformed into musical instruments!

Venturing into Sydney's suburbs, we also love the Freedom hub in Waterloo for it’s pop-up warehouse style, blank canvas potential. A favourite of major brands including Facebook, this warehouse style venue pioneers ethical standards and sustainable practices in its stance to fight to end global slavery.

Image Ref: Google Event at Kensington Collective

3.2 Host at HQ / Establishing a Brand Home

Hosting your event “in the office” offers clients, partners and key sponsors the unique opportunity to “see behind the curtain” and truly experience the lifeblood behind your brand. It can be a uniquely personal experience for visitors, creating a sense of intimacy and trust. However the key takeaways and visitor journey need to be carefully mapped out. 

Top tip - create value by spreading the setup costs across 3 days - #1 Family day for Employees, #2 Customer Brand Experience Day, #3 Partners, Influencers and Sponsors. Tell your brands unique #story through superlative messaging, have key personnel on hand representing life at your organisation, and thread in on-brand interactive visitor experiences. 

Take for example Google, located in their edgy waterside Pyrmont digs. How cool would it be if Google hosted a ‘ Google Nights Sleepover’ to attract eager student talent to the google flock? We're envisaging colourful google tipis set in a glowing field of augmented reality with a 3D stargazing night sky mapping google communication satellite movement in real time! Throw in surprise virtual nighttime visitors from local Australian wildlife, and dreamtime stories from google global execs. Where do we sign up?!

Or consider KPMG, who described their recent move to their new Barangaroo tower in Sydney as a giant ‘sandpit’ for testing new ideas. Cue the KPMG Brand Day, complete with giant sandpit, massage stations, juice bars and playful, exploratory 'think-tank' sessions in KPMG's ‘neighbourhoods’. An event hosted in-house, intentionally designed to symbolise the investment banks shift from traditionally conservative methodologies commonplace in the industry, to a more innovative, experimental approach, underpinned by collaborative work environments, playful learning and a culture of health and wellbeing. Really get into the bones of what it means to work, be a valued client or partner of KPMG.

If your office isn’t quite as hip as Insta’s, don’t rule this one out. Consider a co-host or takeover of a more 'interesting' affiliates space. Or split the event into two with a kick-start at your office and a finale at a neighbouring venue.

Image Ref: Moroccan themed event built inside a Ballroom ~ Preston Bailey

3.3 Bringing the Outside In

So boring ballrooms may be out for 2018. However, neutral tone, contemporary ballrooms offer a blank canvas for creative design, with the added confidence of onsite banqueting and audio-visual capability.

If you’re hosting for international delegates consider bringing the best bits of your destination city indoors. How could you recreate the distinct architectural, cultural and historical attributes of Sydney or Melbourne's neighbourhoods into the four quadrants of a ballroom?

Or for firms with international offices, consider a destination swap. Create NYC in Sydney and vice versa. Compete for the best event! Clever projection mapping can achieve a spectacular fully immersive visual result. 

3 Top 2018 Trends in Event Experience

Image Ref: Caricature artist, Corporate Christmas Party ~ OzParty Events

4.1 Personalisation

Personalising the attendee experience will remain front of stage during 2018. How can organisations convey key event concepts and messaging to a mass audience, whilst creating a sense of a personalised and unique guest experience. Custom websites and apps play a big role here in creating custom attendee profiles pre-event.

Leaning on more traditional methods, personalised invitations/registration and follow-up for your various audiences across employees, sponsors, partners with custom information capture remains a highly effective medium. Simply lining up a guests favourite drink for arrival can have a huge favourable impact on perception of brand attentiveness and care.

Strategic, well-thought through seating plans and hang-out zones, will aid in grouping like-minded synergistic teams or representatives together.

When hosting international clients, custom table centrepieces, visuals and entertainment representative of the host destination are effective in making guests feel welcomed and connected.

Virtual e-gift bags are a smart way of enabling attendees to choose the area of business they're most interested in, and receive targeted information with bundle offers via text, email, or web link.

Of course in some cases the #intention behind the event may be to create unification and 'oneness'. In which case individual personalisation may not be the primary goal.

How can organisations convey key event concepts and messaging to a mass audience, whilst creating a sense of a personalised and unique guest experience.

Image Ref: Inform Client Appreciation Event ~ OzParty Events

4.2 Interaction and Engagement.

Event interaction and engagement is perhaps one of the biggest momentum builds observed in 2017, and set to continue with gusto in 2018. Explore ways in which events can achieve sensory amplification through colours, textures, scents, taste and visual effects.

Meticulously combining colours and textures will create interest and depth to your event. The latest phenomenon - Scents in events, serves to create immersive experiences with strong memory recall. Food, florals, diffusers, candles and fragrance machines may be used to create evocative scents designed to immerse guests in your brand. Interactive F&B stations such as create your own healthy juice shake or sushi rolls, or blend your own cocktail with takeaway signature recipe or utensils are also innovative and playful.

When selecting appropriate Corporate entertainment, the goal is to heighten engagement and audience interaction whilst amplifying brand. Caricature artists with company logo's printed on the drawing paper are a great, affordable addition to client appreciation events. The latest mirror photo booths with customisable screen overlay and prints appear to be timeless in their popularity. Lastly, a professional emcee is priceless in guiding the attendee event experience, maintaining direction and momentum, and encouraging interaction and engagement.

Image Ref: Blend, Abu Dhabi 2017

4.3 Conferences with a twist

Science is increasingly playing an important role in event design. Connections between play, neuroscience and positive learning are well researched and documented. The days of having attendees sit and listen to monotone lectures for 8 hours are dead. When planning your next conference consider how playful elements may contribute to increased engagement, enhanced learning and a more positive, memorable attendee experience. Round table discussions, hands on workshops, crowd polling, table team competitions, scavenger huts, mindfulness sessions and post-event entertainment can all serve as effective mediums to enhance #learning, add interest and play to an otherwise sedentary conference.

Check out Dreamforce as a fantastic example of trailblazing playful event design on a grand scale.

Connections between play, neuroscience and positive learning are well researched and documented.

We close with an Event Planners plea...to focus on #purpose over trend when your planning your event. Resist that primal urge to adopt a trend, simply because it’s the latest industry or social buzz.

Concentrate on identifying your core event purpose and key messaging, the sense of feeling and emotion you want to elicit from your guests. Then make informed decisions on threading in key trends that are appropriately aligned to enhance those results.

If 2018 is the year of outsourcing your Events to experienced Event Professionals, and freeing up key internal resources to concentrate on more business value adding activities...

Contact us: aimee@ozpartyevents.com | dan@ozpartyevents.com | 1800 697 278

Aimee & Daniel Udall, OzParty Events

Event Styling & Design | Event Management | Venue Sourcing | Staffing & Contractor Engagement | Entertainment & Performers | Photography & Videography | Branding, Promotional Gifts & Merchandise | Travel & Accommodation | Security & Safety

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