How to Make Truly Memorable Corporate Events
30 November 2023
Making your event memorable
Whatever type of event you’re planning, whether it’s a product launch, drinks reception, sit-down dinner, team building away day or corporate party, one of the main objectives for you as an event organiser is to make your event memorable. There are lots of different reasons that an event might make a lasting impression on its guests, and here at Merlin Venues, we’ve helped host hundreds of events and have learned what separates the good from the great. We’ve put together a handful of our top tips for anyone looking to host an event that will stay in the memories of their guests for years to come.
Choose a Unique Venue
Selecting a venue with a ‘wow factor’ can significantly influence the memorability of your event. Consider these striking options:
- London SEALIFE Aquarium: Marvel at sharks gliding beneath your feet as you enjoy canapés.
- London Dungeon: Experience the thrill of a ‘drop ride’ that will leave your guests talking.
- Madame Tussauds: Mingle with A-list celebrities in wax form for an unforgettable evening.
The added bonus of booking a unique event venue like these is that once you’ve ticked ‘choose venue’ off your to do list, you can also tick ‘entertainment’ off, too. With Merlin Venues you’re getting so much more than your run-of-the-mill corporate event venue and a guarantee that your entertainment will be world-class.
Opt for an immersive, interactive experience
Taking an active role in an event is going to create stronger, deeper memories than simply attending a gathering in a passive capacity. Choosing a Merlin Venues space will mean your guests will be committing to your event in a way that goes beyond your average drinks or dinner party.
- Thrill-seekers: The London Dungeon awaits with its spine-tingling adventures.
- Movie enthusiasts: Movies at Madame Tussauds offers a cinematic escapade.
- The playful at heart: Shrek’s Adventure! provides a whimsical retreat.
Our venues vary widely in terms of the type of interaction they offer guests, which means you as an organiser can choose the experience to best suit your colleagues. Thrill-seekers might choose the London Dungeon, Marvel fans the Movies at Madame Tussauds or big kids Shrek’s Adventure!
Shareable moments
Lots of your guests are going to want to share their experience of your event on their social media channels. If you can build in lots of photo opportunities throughout your venue you’ll be encouraging your invitees to not only tell their friends about what a fabulous time they’re having, but those memories will be saved forever as pictures.
As you can imagine, our unique London venues already lend themselves to fabulous photographs, but a little encouragement from you wouldn’t go amiss. Challenging your guests to a ‘caption competition’ or simply offering a prize for ‘best pic’ will ensure your event gets documented, shared and therefore, remembered long after your event is over.
Create an emotional experience
Studies have shown that emotions have an effect on memory, with positive emotions leading to people being more likely to remember information. Therefore, it stands to reason that if you can create a more intense, positive, emotional response from your invitees, then the memories themselves are going to be more deeply ingrained.
The experiences at Merlin Venues can provoke a range of positive emotions in visitors, because of their unique characteristics. As an organiser, you’ll know your guestlist and have an idea of what sort of experience you want for your invitees. If you’re not sure which of our experiences would be best for you, here’s a snapshot of our attractions.
- Shrek’s Adventure! – fun and frivolous
- London SEALIFE Aquarium – awe-inspiring and moving
- Madam Tussauds – glamorous and fantastical
- London Dungeon – thrilling and spine-tingling
Whichever venue you choose, you can be sure the emotions our experiences will trigger in your guests will help cement the memory of your event for some time to come.
Encourage bonding through team-building
One of the most valuable outcomes of a corporate event is the bonding it initiates between your guests. If you’re hosting a party or team building away day for colleagues, simply taking staff out of the office and putting them in a completely different setting can really help break down barriers between departments and management levels. Offering unusual talking points can further encourage these new relationships – we find sting rays, A-list celebrities and Dickensian criminals tend to do the trick.
To enhance office bonds even further, consider holding some team-building or ice-breaker games at your event. Pushing your colleagues to step out of their comfort zones and displays skills and sides of their personalities that don’t usually get seen at work will inject new life into your team dynamic, and create new, lasting memories.
Food, food, glorious food
Never underestimate the importance of food at a corporate event. We reckon about 50% of all post-event chat is centred around the food and drink that was served – get this right, and you’re guaranteed to be remembered and talked about. Our catering partner, Seasoned, is renowned for its restaurant-quality event food. Their chefs, who work in-house at each of our London venues, have curated a wide range of seasonal menus for sit-down dinners, bowl food receptions, drinks and canapes parties and everything in between.
New menus are put together twice a year, but if there are any particular dishes or ingredients you’d like to include at your event, our chefs are always happy to sit down and collaborate on a bespoke menu. Whichever option you choose, we’re confident that your guests will be served memorable food and drink that they’ll feel compelled to tell their friends about.
Your next corporate event at a Merlin Venue
By taking your guests on a journey to another world, we create unforgettable events – events which inspire, thrill and sometimes, challenge. If you’re looking for a truly unique, immersive experience give our events team a call on 020 7487 0224 or email via events@merlinvenues.com. We can talk you through the packages we have on offer and check our capacities and dairy to see if we can accommodate your requirements.