Along with so many features of the event planning and experimental marketing industries, the face of corporate entertainment and team building has changed significantly over the last decade. Whereas formal evening gatherings and gala dinners dominated this market space in previous years, increasing competition in the events industry has created a host of new and creative ideas for brands to treat their most discerning of clients. While traditional event formats are still widely used, businesses today have a far greater range of options in terms of organizing client entertainment and rewarding their hard working staff members.

The Top 3 Trends in Client and Staff Entertainment

With this in mind, what are the 3 most significant trends in corporate entertainment for the immediate future, and how are events companies incorporating them into their range of products?

• Themed Quiz Events: The huge range of television channels now accessible to consumers has popularized a string of 1980’s and 1990’s quiz favourites, and these add a genuine sense of occasion to the traditional quiz night format. National favourites such Family Fortunes, the Generation Game and Catchphrase are capturing the imagination of a new generation of television viewers, and this has provided forward thinking event planners with the opportunity to capitalize and replicate these formats in the form of live client and staff entertainment. This trend is also reflected in the popularity of outlets such as the Comedy Carnival among business owners, as laughter also helps to forge bonds and driver higher levels of interaction and morale.

• Recreational Pub Sport Challenges: The continued revitalization of much loved pub sports is gathering genuine pace, as activities such as darts and snooker are experiencing a renaissance beneath the gaze of the public eye. They are therefore also entering the modern event planners conscience, with the result that ‘the pub game Olympics’ is becoming a rewarding way to entertain clients while tapping into their competitive nature. This all contributes towards delivering an overall guest and attendee experience, and one that challenges participants as well as satisfying them.

• Creative Arts and Activities: Another theme that is becoming increasingly prevalent in the events industry is crafts and the creative arts, where groups are encouraged to learn a skill and make something that can stand as a memento of the occasion. Again this is provides something of a unique experience, and in terms of corporate entertainment this will afford them the opportunity to enjoy an activity that might otherwise remain beyond them. The Concoction of fragrances and cocktails are the most popular examples of this, and these challenges also foster a great deal of team work and unity among all participants.