Beyond the Conference: Incorporate Festival Tactics into Your Corporate Events

How often have you walked into a corporate conference and seen this kind of setup: a bland beige carpet, a bare stage with only a single podium, a sea of attendees wandering in lanyards, and a coffee station that’s completely empty by 10AM? Over the course of the conference, you probably saw some people spending their breaks checking their phones with their heads down. You likely saw these same people checking their phones during the presentations as well.

No one leaves this kind of event feeling particularly inspired; it’s just one more forgettable event in the books that doesn’t leave much of an impact. Festivals, on the other hand, don’t have these sorts of problems.

Festivals create immersive experiences that allow for a mix of freedom, choice, and significance. Coachella is a great example of this. The staff at the Coachella festival don’t give you a schedule and tell you where to sit and stand. Instead, they welcome you to a field full of art, sound, and surprises. From there, they let you wander around and explore so you can find and actively participate in the aspects of the festival that call to your specific interests. Organizers for corporate events would do well to learn from that structure, and a growing number of brands already are.

That said, you don’t have to completely forego the formality of keynote speeches and breakout sessions. However, if you want your next conference to stand out so it sticks in attendees’ minds well after it ends, you should consider going for more of a festival-style corporate event. To accomplish this, you should incorporate the following festival-style activation ideas into your experiential event planning and design.

Navigation Based Around Discovery, Not Directions  

Immersive brand activations are just that – immersive. That means the second people arrive, they should feel like they are stepping into an experience they can take an active part in. How you move people through your space is important, which is why it's important to think about how you handle your event’s signage. Traditional signage tells people exactly where to go and makes people feel like have to follow directions. Discovery-based layouts, on the other hand, give people the option to explore at their leisure. The latter type of layout borrows from festival design, where wandering around the event space becomes part of the fun.

To achieve that festival feel, try scattering activations around a venue, instead of offering a basic printed map with arrows for guests to follow. By doing this, guests can bounce from a listening room to a tasting table to the lounge without having to continuously consult a map or follow a set schedule. It keeps them feeling like they are choosing their own adventure rather than being pushed along a set path.

This kind of setup works especially well in venues with multiple floors, courtyards, or unconventional layouts.

Art Installations That Stop People in Their Tracks  

Banners add very little value when it comes to sparking conversations and making a cultural impact. On the other hand, large-scale art installations give people a reason to pause between activities instead of immediately disappearing into their phones. These installations become talking points that inspire conversations between strangers. They can also serve as unique photo opportunities and make for clear meeting points, offering more potential for connection and memorable moments than any branded banner ever could. Plus, incorporating the artwork of local and independent artists brings a unique flavor that generic stock decor could never replicate.

Surprise Performances That Delight Attendees  

A scheduled performance, no matter how unique, still feels like basic programming. An unscheduled event, however, feels like magic. Create a chill vibe with a soundtrack featuring low-ley beats from a DJ spinning at the intro to a networking session. Throw in some delight with flash mobs that break out into dance in the main hall between panels. Add in a touch of class with a string quartet at the bar for happy hour. No matter what you choose, the key is timing – they should interrupt a lull rather than compete with a planned performance.

Want to keep costs down? You should book local talent, as doing so is usually less expensive than hiring a headlining act that you’d have to fly in.

Food That’s So Much More Than Fuel 

If you’ve ever been to a restaurant with subpar food, then you know that what you serve can profoundly affect what people think of your brand. This is why food should never be an afterthought at your event. It should taste great and accentuate the experience in new and interesting ways, all while keeping the energy and flow going from start to finish. 

Skip the buffet lines and the same tiring menu choices. Instead, consider mobile carts and live plating stations serving menu options that follow the theme of your event and allow people to mix and mingle as they grab something to munch on. You want to balance easy access with delicious taste. Good food goes a long way not just with regards to keeping people nourished, but also in fostering positive memories around your event and your brand.   

Partnering with an Expert to Bring Your Vision to Life 

Coordinating any event is no easy feat, but this is especially true when combining elements of a festival with a more traditional conference. Layering art, movement, food, and unscripted performances into one cohesive experience takes production skills, artist relationships, and a real understanding of how people move through a physical space. You must get the blend just right, which is why having an experiential events agency like EEG on call will ensure your event runs flawlessly from start to finish. 

Experiential event design is one of our specialties at EEG. We know how to time everything so it lands just right, while building a floor plan that creates curiosity rather than confusion. We provide the type of top-level coordination and logistical know-how that separates memorable activations from mediocre, chaotic events. If you decide that a festival-style corporate event is right for your brand, we’ll ensure it is unforgettable for all the right reasons. 

Reach out to us and let’s build something great together.

Contact Our Team Today!