Picking entertainment for a work event is harder than it looks. You're booking for a crowd you didn't choose, with a budget somebody else signed off, in a venue with rules you only found out about last week. And whatever you pick, someone will tell you they'd have gone for something else.
So here's a list of corporate entertainment ideas that tend to go down well, with honest notes on where each one works and where it doesn't. Some suit a black-tie dinner, some suit a field and a barbecue. Pick what fits your crowd.
Start with your crowd, not the act
Before you look at a single act, think about who's in the room. A sales team on an incentive weekend wants something very different from a board dinner with important clients. Will people be standing or seated? Do they already know each other? How much will they have had to drink by the time the entertainment starts? Those answers rule out half the options straight away.
Then think about the job you need the entertainment to do. Break the ice at the start. Fill an awkward gap while the room is turned round. Give the evening a proper centrepiece. Get people up and dancing at the end. Each of those needs a different kind of act, and plenty of good events use two or three.
Ideas for drinks receptions and networking
This is the bit of the evening where people are standing around, often with strangers, waiting for something to happen. Entertainment here should be easy to dip in and out of and shouldn't drown out conversation.
Close-up magic. A classic for a reason. A magician moving between small groups gives strangers something to talk about, and it works in almost any space. If your crowd has seen plenty of card tricks, a tech-based act might feel fresher. Close-up tech magic from The Digital Magician uses phones and iPads, often the guests' own, instead of cards and coins.
Caricaturists. Guests get a souvenir to take home, and the queue becomes its own little social spot. Works best when there's somewhere for people to wait that doesn't block the bar.
Live background music. A jazz trio, a string quartet or an acoustic duo sets the tone without demanding attention. Keep the volume down if networking is the point.
Walkabout characters. Stilt walkers, living statues and themed characters suit bigger venues and themed nights. They're great for photos but don't always get people talking to each other.
Ideas for after dinner
Once everyone's seated and fed, you've got a captive audience for a short while. This is the slot for something the whole room watches together.
After-dinner speakers. A good speaker can tie the evening to a theme, whether that's leadership, sport or just a well-told story. Brief them properly on your audience.
Comedians. Brilliant when it works, painful when it doesn't. Corporate crowds are mixed, so check the material and be clear about anything that's off limits.
Stage magic. A short show gives the room a shared moment. In a big room, screens help everyone see. The Digital Magician's stage show puts the action on screens and cameras so the back tables get the same view as the front.
A short live performance. A singer, a choir, a dance act. Ten or fifteen minutes is often plenty before people want to get up and move.
Ideas for the party end of the night
- A live band that can play a wide range of crowd-pleasers, not just one genre
- A DJ who takes requests and reads the room rather than playing their own favourites
- Fun casino tables with play money, good for people who don't dance
- A photo booth with props, which keeps going quietly in the corner all night
- Silent disco headphones, handy if the venue has a noise curfew
Ideas for team days and daytime events
Daytime events are a different beast. People are sober, often in work clothes, and might be more self-conscious. Activities where teams do something together tend to beat anything where they just watch.
Cocktail or mocktail masterclasses, cookery challenges, escape rooms, outdoor games, team quizzes and treasure hunts all work well. Pick something that doesn't rely on physical fitness, and always have a role for people who'd rather not be centre stage. A good host or facilitator makes a huge difference.
Ideas that carry your brand
Sometimes the entertainment needs to do more than entertain. At a launch, a conference or an exhibition, you might want it to carry a message too. Branded photo booths, custom quizzes about your company and bespoke reveals all fall into this bucket.
A magic reveal built around a logo, app or product is one way of doing it, and it can make a launch moment land far better than a slide. Have a look at product launch magic if that sounds like your kind of thing.
Practical tips before you book anything
A few things that save a lot of headaches later:
- Check the venue's rules on noise, power, open flames and set-up times before you fall in love with an act
- Share your running order with every act, so nobody's surprised by a speech in the middle of their slot
- Ask what each act needs from you: space, power, a dressing room, screens, a parking space
- If there's an AV company, introduce them to any act using screens or sound well before the day
- Think about guests who don't drink, don't dance or don't like loud music, and make sure there's something for them
- Book popular dates early, especially Fridays and Saturdays in December
Mixing and matching
Some of the best corporate events use a couple of different acts that each do one job well. Roaming entertainment while people arrive, something for the whole room after dinner, then music to finish. It's not about cramming the night full. Leave gaps for people to talk, because that's half of why they came.
If you're still weighing things up, our page on corporate events has more on how The Digital Magician fits into a running order. And if you'd like a hand, pop us a message.