Creative Ideas for Awards Ceremonies
There are active event-goers, and then there are people who haven’t attended any events since their high school prom 10 years ago. Whatever group your event is catering to, your target audience most definitely knows what a great awards ceremony should look like, if for no other reason than because we all watch the Oscars. To make your awards event an exciting experience for both participants and observers, make sure there’s a good balance of creative entertainment and frictionless organisation.
The challenge of recognition events is mainly related to engagement practices. While keeping nominees engaged is super simple, the non-participating audience can get bored quickly. To learn how you can create that “excitement in the air” atmosphere for everyone in attendance, check out the best ideas for reviving your next awards ceremony.
Pick a great venue
This might sound odd, but we encourage you to forget about luxurious hotel facilities here. An awesome venue for your awards ceremony isn’t about accessibility and space only; it’s pretty much about unconventional, exciting solutions. Have you ever thought about setting up a recognition event in a forest? Or maybe you could transform your company’s office into a casino setting. Thinking outside the box is the gold standard of event planning these days. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t set your mind on practical things though. The audience size, event budget, and other considerations are still the key factors that should guide your decision making.
Create unique invitations
When it comes to inviting your guests to an awards ceremony, there are usually two main options: email campaigns and traditional invitations. Whatever choice you make, we have some things you might want to consider.
For digital invitations:
- Make it simple. Use a powerful email marketing machine that will help you automate the blasting.
- Refine the message. Depending on what you think might be of interest to your target audience, incorporate some attention-grabbing content. This might be a short bio of a keynote speaker, nominees’ photos, or an engaging event recap video.
- Personalise. Modern email marketing solutions will help you craft targeted messages for every audience segment based on detailed analytics and behaviour tracking modules.
For tangible invitations:
- Go further than paper. Let your imagination soar when crafting unique awards ceremony invitations. VR headsets will work great as an invite for a tech event, and vinyl records will emphasise the spirit of a music ceremony. To get your creative juices flowing, check out the top eight 3-D event invitation ideas from BizBash.
- Showcase branding. You can align awards ceremony decoration ideas with the event invites to facilitate better on-brand experiences.
Build an exciting program
Whether it’s an employee recognition event or an industry competition, your awards ceremony is a celebration. This means it’s your responsibility to make sure people have fun! To create an event program that doesn’t let any boredom creep in, follow this simple plan:
- Keep it short. When you ask someone what the main problem with awards ceremonies is, you’ll most likely hear that they are too long. It’s definitely impossible to keep the engagement high if your event is tedious and long. Cut down the number of awards, and have a detailed timeline for all speeches to keep the ceremony short.
- Offer extra value. The focal point of any awards event is the award announcement itself, but you can always spice it up through additional engagement activities. Invite some industry leaders to speak at the ceremony, or create a live polling activity to boost onsite networking.
- Keep the expectations in mind. A pre-event survey will help you craft a targeted program. Ask people what type of event entertainment they enjoy, what value they hope to derive from attending your ceremony, or any other questions related to awards ceremony program ideas.
Choose a theme
Thematic events sell better than no-name awards ceremonies. By adding a theme to your awards show, you wrap the program of the event into one specific idea that resonates with your audience. Whether it’s a casino night event or a unique yoga party, the great thing about ceremony themes is that they prompt people to create mental shortcuts about the event. In other words, themes make awards events memorable.
If you’re searching for some exciting award ceremony theme ideas, check out this blog post.
Entertain
Seriously, awards ceremonies are often taken too seriously. Build a set of activities that both participants and observers can engage in during your event. If possible, align entertainment with an event theme to make the journey complete. Obviously, casino games make the right fit for a Vegas party, but you can also take it a bit further by aligning online and onsite activities. For instance, if the theme of your event is a green lifestyle, create discussions on topics like sustainable driving or organic food on social media before the event, and encourage interactions on the ground through social media walls. To drive active engagement, you could also incorporate some fun contest giveaways.
Create a delicious menu
Remember, an awards ceremony is a celebration! Not only is it important to keep the audience satiated, but you should cater to the fact that many guests will want to have a drink with a winner or discuss the most exciting speeches with a colleague over a cocktail. Provide a full-course dinner if a ceremony will last over four hours, and make sure there are some refreshments available during the event as well as setting up a bar where people can grab a drink.
Optimize your budget
An awards ceremony is a complicated arrangement of numerous tiny details, each of which usually costs money. Just because you have a very tight budget, you shouldn’t deprive your guests of good cocktails and entertainment. Here are three sure-fire ways to expand your awards ceremony budget:
- Invite speakers to speak at your event for free in exchange for publicity, or recruit volunteers to cut costs on onsite staff.
- Attract sponsors that can provide extra funding for the ceremony.
- Negotiate the venue price, and ask vendors for discounts on technology, catering, etc.
Conclusion
Unique corporate awards ceremony ideas add flavour to the experiences that your guests have onsite. From creative invitations to thematic entertainment activities, use awards planning with Judgify to make sure that every piece of your event puzzle has at least a pinch of creativity.