How to create kind impact with corporate events
Corporate events are ten a penny in the UK.
No, seriously.
Each year there are 1.3 million business events held in the UK. Yes, just the UK.
Not only is that a lot of event merch, stuffy networking sessions and unsatisfying conference catering, these events are also jam-packed with examples of greenwashing in action.
Rife with buzzwords like ‘impact’, ‘purpose’, ‘vision’, and ‘sustainability’, the majority of corporate events will invest a lot of money in trying to look like a kind business, rather than investing just as much effort into creating real kind impact with their event. But despite the speakers they invite, and agenda filled presentations they include, and the overwhelming urge to end up buying something from a speaker’s business or sponsor by the end of the event, how much real impact do events like this create on society?
Creating a truly impactful kind event is about more than just making your business stand out from a crowd of kindwashers. It’s about doing the right thing for the people who will be affected by the existence of your business, not just those who will profit off your success.
Let’s take a look at some questions and key points you can ask yourself when you’re planning your event, to ensure that it’s as impactful and purpose driven as possible.
Who are the key stakeholders of your event?
There’s a difference between who you want at your event, and who your event is designed to benefit or impact. It’s easy for lots of corporate event planners to focus too much on the first group, and almost entirely neglect the group that the event was designed to benefit in the first place. There are a few different ways for corporations and large businesses to overcome this obstacle to a truly impactful event:
Ensure your impact group is being discussed and remembered during key decision making processes.
Speak to people from your impact group, and reflect their needs and wishes in your event experience.
Whilst you want to create an enriching event experience for your guests, a truly kind corporate event shouldn’t compromise on creating real social impact. Whether your event is virtual or in person, you have a captive audience. Use this opportunity to create some real change and start sparking some meaningful conversations.
What are your key messages?
Let’s face it, no one hosts an event for no reason, and it’s important that the experience delivers the key messages of your business to your attendees. So let’s get specific: what are the messages you want your attendees to walk away from your event with?
When we talk about event messages, there are different categories of message that deliver different levels of impact across our society. There are the events solely focused on direct conversions, driving purchases and increasing engagement around their brand. Then you have the corporations who are passionate about championing the issues they truly care about.
At the beginning of your event planning process, get together in your teams or with a kind advisor to consolidate your key event messages and the stakeholders they impact. When it comes to executing or approving the final concept of your event, you’ll be able to clearly see which messages are present throughout your event experience, and which areas of impact you’ve compromised on.
Which voices are you championing?
Speaker sessions, seminars and workshops can be a great opportunity to highlight voices of different areas of expertise and backgrounds to create a truly impactful event. But when your panellists all look the same, sound the same, and have a homogenous perspective of the human experience, it will be difficult for your panellists to strike a real chord with your audience.
Showcasing real people during your event is a huge opportunity to create real connection with your audiences through the power of storytelling. Consider the key messages of your event and designate speakers who are experienced or have something to say associated with those messages. Not just the people who have paid to be there.
Add real kindness to your event: Kind Corporate Events
If you’re looking to add a dose of disruption to your event and really create some impact on the areas of society that matter to your event, send Kind Currency a message at hello@kindcurrency.co.uk.
We work with privileged individuals and large corporations, encouraging and incentivising them to use their position to create more kindness in the world.
Our kind Founder Michelle Jones will chat with you to find out what you want to achieve with your event, and help you create a plan to make it happen.