Froggy Events
A corporate event is any event a company organises with a specific business goal: bringing staff together and motivating them, aligning a team, celebrating, presenting something or strengthening relationships with clients.
The most common examples are the annual convention, the sales kick-off, team building, the Christmas party, the family day, the offsite, incentives, product launches, conferences and online events. Below are 14 types with what each one is and a real example, plus how to choose the right venue.
What is a corporate event?
The difference between a corporate event and an ordinary meeting is the goal: an event is organised to achieve something the day-to-day does not. It can be internal (for staff) or external (for clients, partners or the press), in person, online or hybrid, and last anywhere from an hour and a half to several days.
That is why the first question is never “what shall we do?”, but “what should be different afterwards?”. The format, length, venue and budget all follow from that answer.
Internal and external events
14 corporate event examples
Annual company convention
A meeting of the whole company (or a division) to review the year, present the strategy and celebrate. Usually half a day or a full day, with a plenary session, a meal and, more and more often, a team activity.
Sales kick-off
The start of the year or quarter for the sales team: targets, product news, recognition and energy to get going. The risk is that it ends up as one long meeting.
Leadership or board meeting
The management team meets away from the day-to-day to take strategic decisions. What matters most is the venue (discreet, easy to reach, with a proper working room) and an agenda that leaves time to think.
Team building
An activity designed so a team works better together: communication, trust, coordination. It can be the event itself or one block within a bigger one. We explain it in what is team building.
Christmas or end-of-year party
The classic end-of-year event. It works best when an activity before or during the meal breaks the usual dinner format.
Family day
A day when employees bring their families, with activities for children and adults. Few formats build a sense of belonging as well.
Offsite or away day
One or several days away from the office, sometimes in another city, mixing work sessions, activities, meals and accommodation. Common for international teams.
Incentive event or trip
An experience to reward a team that has hit its targets, usually in sales. The goal is that it feels like a reward, not one more obligation.
Product launch or presentation
An event to present a product, a brand or a strategy, internally or externally. Audiovisual production and making the message memorable matter most.
Conferences and industry days
Events with talks, usually for a sector and with attendees from several companies. They need registration, rooms and AV management.
Client events
Events to strengthen relationships with clients or partners: a day, a dinner or a shared activity. They work when they don’t feel like a sales pitch.
Company anniversary
Celebrating a milestone: years in business, an opening or a record. A good reason to bring the whole company together with something different.
Charity or CSR event
An activity that combines teamwork with a social purpose. It makes a company’s CSR policy visible in practice.
Online and hybrid events
For teams spread across cities or working remotely. It is not an in-person event moved to a video call: it has to be designed to work remotely.
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Request a proposal →How to choose the type of event
Corporate event and team building venues
The venue shapes the format, the capacity and a good part of the budget. These are the main types and the events they suit best:
A practical rule for team building venues: the capacity in the brochure is usually for a standing reception. For an active day with tables and teams moving around, plan for noticeably fewer people than the stated figure, and visit the space before you sign if the group is large. If you prefer us to find the venue and coordinate it with the catering and the activity, we do that in our corporate events.
Who organises corporate events
- In-house, by HR, internal communications or an events office. It works for small, recurring formats, but it takes a lot of hours from someone who has another job.
- An event agency, which designs the proposal and subcontracts the delivery to different suppliers.
- An event production company, which designs and delivers with its own team. That gives more direct control on the day, because the people running the event work for the company that signed the quote.
How much a corporate event costs
It depends on the number of attendees, the format, the length and the services. As a reference in Madrid: from around €40 per person (excluding VAT) for the activity only, at your office or a space you already have, and around €120 per person for a full-day event with venue, catering, AV and activity. The usual minimum budget is around €1,000 per event, and large conventions can go beyond €60,000. More detail in how much team building in Madrid costs.