7 Types of Corporate Events [+ Virtual Event Ideas]

One of my favorite episodes of "The Office" is called Launch Party. During this episode, Dunder Mifflin hosts a corporate party, plus several satellite parties when its website launches. Hilarity ensues.

But during your corporate event, you probably don't want to kidnap the pizza delivery person, and you might want to spell launch correctly on the sign.

As a business, you probably have several corporate events on the horizon, whether it's a team-building event or a seminar.

In this post, we'll learn about the different types of corporate events, plus give your party planning committee a few virtual event ideas.

Corporate Events

Corporate events are any events that are sponsored and put on by a company. You can invite employees, stakeholders, or customers depending on the type of event you host. You could throw a corporate event when you launch a new product or to raise money for charity.

Now, let's dive into the different types of corporate events.

Types of Corporate Events

1. Seminars
2. Retreats
3. Team Building
4. Milestones
5. Launch Party
6. Fundraising
7. Appreciation Events

1. Seminars

A seminar is an event that's focused on educating people, whether it's your customers or employees. It's similar to a conference or a workshop.

A seminar is usually a short event, while a conference might be a several-day event with multiple speakers. On the other hand, a workshop is usually a small, intimate event with only a few registrants.

You might consider hosting a seminar as a way to get leads and introduce people to your company.

2. Retreats

A retreat can be held to simply bond with your team, or you can sell tickets to customers. This is usually a several-day event with several workshops or seminars to attend.

Sometimes the purpose is just to relax, but other times it's to learn, strategize, and plan for the future.

3. Team Building

Team building events are meant to boost team morale, and help people learn how to work together. Usually, these are collaborative events, where teams need to work together to solve something. It could be a ropes course, or perhaps an escape room.

Sometimes these events can even be formal if you'd prefer. For example, you could run a workshop about psychological safety or sensitivity training.

4. Milestones

Has your company just hit a revenue goal? Or perhaps you have a major anniversary coming up? Either way, it's nice to celebrate with a corporate event.

These are similar to appreciation events (more on these below), where you can thank your team for achieving the milestone.

5. Launch Party

A launch party is when you throw a corporate event for the launch of something: your company, a product, a website (like "The Office"), etc.

These are celebratory events that are usually meant to create buzz around the release of something. Think Apple's big product launch announcements.

6. Fundraising

A fundraising event is meant to raise money for charity, usually. Or sometimes it's to help raise money for your company. These are usually concerts, golf tournaments, dinners, or festivals.

7. Appreciation Events

An appreciation event is meant to thank your customers, partners, or employees. These are usually fun events, such as holiday parties, private concerts, or a special dinner.

The goal is to spend informal time showing people how much you appreciate and care about the value they bring to your company.

Best Virtual Corporate Event Ideas

1. Virtual MasterChef Team Building Event
2. Airbnb Online Experience Appreciation Event
3. Mystery Dinner Partner Event
4. Professional Development Workshop
5. Splash Webinar

1. Virtual MasterChef Team Building Event

A great corporate team building event is to host a virtual MasterChef. To do this, you can have one person host and send out a list of ingredients (or modified ingredients for dietary restrictions) and supplies.

On the night that you host the event, everyone will dial into Zoom and cook the same meal as the host walks them through the recipe.

When everyone is done cooking, you can have a virtual dinner party together. This is a great informal team-building event for your team to hang out and get to know each other.

2. Airbnb Online Experience Appreciation Event

One of my favorite virtual corporate events that I've researched is the Airbnb Experiences. On Airbnb, hosts put on virtual events that you can book for your team.

This is a great appreciation event idea for any team, customer, or partner. There are scavenger hunts, drag shows, and even remote escape rooms.

3. Mystery Dinner Partner Event

Mystery dinners are a fun way to treat your partners. You can have partners sign up to be a part of mystery dinners. Every month, you can select a partner randomly, and then host those partners to a mystery dinner party.

This could even be virtual if need be, and it's a great way to show appreciation for your partners and to get to know them.

4. Professional Development Workshop

The classic corporate event is a professional development workshop. You can find workshops like the Disney Institute and have your team learn something from the experts. This shows appreciation, but also is a great learning opportunity.

5. Splash Webinar

If you need software to host a virtual corporate event, then Splash is a great product for you. Let's say you want to host a webinar? You can do so on Splash. This helps with the registration process, invitations, virtual waiting rooms, and even post-event content. Everything you need for a corporate webinar is on this software.

Hosting a corporate event is a great way to boost morale, get to know your team, show appreciation, and even develop your company. Plus, hosting virtual events has never been easier.