The importance of creativity in corporate events

We’ve all been to a corporate function that feels dry, repetitive and garners very little engagement from attendees. In the world of corporate events, where first impressions and lasting memories matter, how do you engage, delight and make a mark?

In our experience, embracing creativity is the key to unlocking the full potential of corporate events.

By infusing creativity into every aspect of event design, from icebreakers to virtual team building experiences, creative corporate events can become transformative experiences that inspire, connect, and leave a lasting legacy. 

Find out why creativity is an essential game-changer for corporate events.

How do you create a corporate event with impact?

In our experience, creativity is the most pivotal force, eclipsing all other elements when it comes to corporate events.

Corporate events are all about creating a brand immersion experience to transport employees or potential customers into a perfectly curated environment that tells the brand story. Creativity and innovation are essential layers over an event, providing the wonder and connection that facilitates networking, delights attendees and accelerates long term loyalty and engagement.

The benefits of creative corporate events

Ensuring your corporate events are memorable and beautiful creative experiences will leave an indelible mark, and bring a number of other benefits.

Whether it’s a themed dinner, a mixed reality team-building activity, or an interactive workshop, infusing creativity into the event design ensures that participants leave with a sense of awe.

• Enhance employee engagement – corporate events are an invaluable opportunity to boost internal morale. When employees feel inspired and connected, it’s reflected in their productivity and job satisfaction.
• Brand loyalty – every company has a unique story to tell, and corporate events provide the perfect canvas for brand storytelling. Creative elements can seamlessly weave the brand narrative into every aspect of the event, from aesthetics to atmosphere. This not only reinforces brand identity but also creates an emotional connection with the audience, fostering brand loyalty and advocacy.
• Inspire innovation – creativity is a catalyst for inspiring innovation. Corporate events are the ideal platform to host thought-provoking sessions that challenge conventional thinking and ignite fresh ideas. From dynamic keynote speakers to interactive panel discussions, defining and embracing a strong creative storytelling theme ensures that attendees leave with a renewed sense of motivation and a reservoir of innovative concepts.

Whether there are 50 people or 50,000 – we encourage our clients to make every event the best possible experience it can be.

Why is creativity important in corporate events?

While there is no fixed solution for everyone, here are some of the ways we delight clients and audiences alike…

Connecting people through shared experiences

Building shared moments at events that connect to people on a human level boosts serotonin, cements the brand story in people’s minds and, as a result, delivers greater return on investment.
We can create long term memories through a trigger moment of awe and wonder. These key, memorable moments could be a piece of theatre, an immersive environment or a destination that makes people forget the world around them as they become fully immersed in the event design.

From a behavioural science perspective, plugging into attendees’ dopamine with shock-factor sensation only leads to quick bursts of adrenaline. On the other hand, stimulating people’s serotonin levels by connecting on a deeper, emotional level makes the experience last longer in people’s collective memories. 

“When dreaming up the concept for the first New Year’s Eve fireworks event in London after the pandemic the question we asked ourselves was this; what’s the one emotion people missed during Covid? And what we landed on was love. We wanted to craft an event that was all about embracing the world and connecting people on a human level.” – Dan Colborne

Inspire awe and wonder through unique experiences

In short, serotonin is networking goldust. It makes people feel empowered, nurtured and ready to connect with each other. 

To build long term loyalty and ensure team members feel part of a shared future, it’s vital to dial up the experience factor. 

For example, we delivered a senior leadership team meeting for a large corporate bank. To avoid ‘death by PowerPoint’ we took them to a place that no one else had – taking them off the stage and into the round. By changing the seating arrangements three times in two days, we created an intimate event venue inside a colossal warehouse. 

The effect of these unique seating arrangements, one day as roundtables, another as a catwalk runway, was to expose their senior people to the entire team, giving them a new 360° vantage point to inspire connection, embrace creative ideas and be more human in their approach. The feedback received after the event was that the ripple effect of this experience had the whole team talking and behaving in a different way.

Engaging audiences through multi-sensory experiences

Stimulating all the senses through visual, audio and sensory elements can have a powerful effect, inviting people to experience multi-faceted emotions simultaneously. 

Going back to NYE, at the 2023 event we started by laying down an incredibly detailed soundtrack with culturally relevant soundbites. Discerning audiences will have heard a snippet from Barbie while the sky exploded above in a celebration of pink. 

At the NYE 2022 event we connected the sound to the visual delights above – the Queen’s face transitioning into King Charles before a singular firework was launched to bring in a new era. Engaging multiple senses to represent changing moments in time and celebrate community generated pure emotion from the live crowd and those watching from home around the country. This, of course, is at a mass-scale. These same multi-sensorial techniques are applied to all of our events, with the same attention to detail and precision.

It doesn’t have to be complicated. If done well, audiences can feel totally immersed in one simple piece of storytelling. By removing all sense of space and time through sensory overload, you can create a moment in time that lingers in the memory.

Hero the brand moment

Your brand values should be built into the DNA of your event – taking people along a narrative journey. 

What’s the story you want to convey? Where is the engagement factor? World-building is all about creating an event environment which is brand-relevant and built on human experience. 

One way to do this is by identifying points along the event journey to create ‘selfie moments’ that serve as mementos that place the audience at the event. 

For example, projecting logos or other visuals across prominent buildings, stages, stands, or screens, can create a photo-op that resonates around the world through social channels. One powerful large-scale example of this was when we saw the COP28 logo that we designed, projected onto the highest building in the world. While that is a large-scale example, it also serves to show how a human narrative can be projected onto the world, and create an opportunity to capture and share the experience.

When corporate event attendees are compelled to share their experience across social channels, your brand story is strengthened and propelled out into the wider world, becoming a social media sensation. 

Create long-lasting collective memories

Love, loyalty and legacy. These are the key ingredients in any company event we produce. 

At this moment in time, when more people are working remotely than ever before, businesses are looking to build a company culture and a strong sense of community. We’re in the job of helping businesses and brands create a landscape in which these remote employees and communities can come back together.

To turn an audience into a community, you need to understand the cultural fabric in which the event is situated and the aspirations, needs and values of the participants. 

Creating an opportunity for exchange and commonality in which people feel part of something bigger.

Creative corporate event ideas

Creativity transcends physical boundaries and should be conceived and incorporated at the heart of your corporate events.

Explore some ideas for corporate event planning…

What does the future of corporate events look like?

“The world needs a human touch – it’s what we’ve been missing” – Dan Colborne

Often what’s missing when it comes to corporate events is the human touch. As tech accelerates, the need to feel connected as humans grows.

The future of corporate events as we see it involves:

• Simplification and minimalist elegance
• Breaking down boundaries and ‘rules’
• Allowing free movement through spaces
• Thoughtful and considered experiences over meaningless sensationalism

At Identity, it’s all about the human experience. Crafting multi-sensory, multi-channel and multi-faceted experiences with an emotional pull that people crave.

Explore our creative event services to see how we can help you craft a memorable corporate event that transports people into a space that is truly beautiful.

About the authors:

Dan Colborne – Executive Creative Director

Dan is an industry-recognised award-winning creative and brand strategist with a track record for delivering relevant and memorable audience experiences – both live and digital, that have a measurable impact on business growth. Over 25 years of experience building brands – from both the ground up and accelerating customer relevance for some of the world’s biggest brands. From London’s NYE Fireworks to Google’s X, his expertise spans multiple sectors and disciplines. Dan works with the Identity creative team developing storytelling experiences in spaces where brands and people can enjoy strategic creativity, brand behaviour and shifting customer influence.

Robert Andersen – Creative Services Director

Robert is a multi award-winning Creative Services Director with over twenty-five years experience leading creative teams at well-known Global agencies. Roberts knowledge spans organisations from scaling tech start-ups to Global blue chip brands delivering industry recognised, results driven creative solutions. The Identity creative team Robert leads is responsible for developing human experiences that are iconic and innovative that delight customers with truly memorable, dynamic, sustainable and ground-breaking events that deliver tangible, positive outcomes.

Malcolm Ché – Creative Strategist

With over 20 years’ experience, Malcolm is an award-winning creative strategist and TEDx speaker. He leads teams across broadcast, advertising, and metaverse projects, bridging creative concepts and practical execution. Malcolm pioneers storytelling by harnessing emerging technologies like algorithmic video, XR, and the metaverse to deliver impactful work for global brands. Currently pursuing a Design Philosophy master’s, he redefines creativity’s bounds through deep understanding of physical, digital, and Web3 realms, centring human experiences through his multidisciplinary expertise.