When planning for your event you should expect the most clout for your money from both a quality point of view and more importantly be assured that it will leave a lasting impression on your existing and prospective clients/guests. It is vital that the theme you choose, as well as the supporting graphics and decor elements you set in place, complements your corporate identity and current campaign statements.

Whether you go for something funky and off-beat or suave and sophisticated it is possible that it can all be done very effectively when a holistic stand-point is taken by both branding and decor engineers to ensure that your corporate branding, message, campaigning and decor all work seamlessly together.

An event should be seen as an opportunity to make your brand pop in an environment that can ostensibly be used to take full advantage of all the senses - a way to give personality and verve to your company and/or product through seeing, touching, tasting, hearing and smelling. Remember that your clients are coming to your party willingly and you can take this chance to treat them to a layering of indulgences within the very belly of your brand.

This doesn’t mean to say that there should be an overload of graphics, posters and banners. It means there should be a subtle, yet very much present, flow of branding elements and integration of colours and textures that will have an overall effect of balance, comfort and harmony throughout the design of your environment. This balance, comfort and harmony are close friends with trust which we all know to be one of, if not the key element to good relations both business and personal.

There are numerous papers written on the effect of environments on people’s psyche but the simple truth is we all know how we feel, and the impact it makes on us, when we walk into a beautiful, inspiring, exciting setting. Most of us wouldn’t be able to break it down or put our finger on why exactly it has that effect. It’s all the elements working in symbiosis with the final essential and energetic ingredient being the attending crowd.

Apart from the actual hard branding, the decor elements and the environment, serious consideration must also be given to the choice of personalities and more animated items leading the event i.e. the Master of Ceremonies, the speakers, video presentations and the type of entertainment to make sure that the theme runs contiguously throughout the content. Also, the way key people dress, the playful banter of the MC, the context of the keynote speakers should all be directed to ensure that the production is a resounding, encore-producing triumph.

It really does all lie in the attention to detail...