Tips and Trends for Awards Dinner

For most corporate companies, small businesses, or nonprofit organizations, awards dinners best help celebrate the success of an employee, industry, or company. This type of celebration dinner honors exemplary achievements by showing appreciation for a unique individual or group. The dedicated event planners at The Manor proudly share tips and trends necessary for planning a proper awards dinner. From hosting the awards dinner at a stunning venue to a full itinerary to entertain attendees, these tips will ensure both an impressive and memorable event.

Incorporate Social Media

When hosting an awards dinner, companies can document the celebration with social media to ensure all the memories can be shared. Now more than ever, companies utilize social media to market brand across Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. Consider using this honorary event from a PR standpoint. To easily streamline all event photos, companies should create an event hashtag specifically for the awards reception. To market their hashtag properly, place the fun phrase on invitations and e-vites, banners, and power point presentations. Encourage attendees to tag and mention the company for optimal reach and brand recognition. Unite coworkers by featuring a social media stream on projectors throughout the reception area.

Featured Motivational Speakers

Honoring an individual’s accomplishment is monumental in the life of that respected person. To further motivate your team, companies can choose to hire an industry thought leader, best-selling author, or inspiring keynote speaker. It’s best to appoint a speaker from a previous honoree or someone closely linked to the focus of the award. This speaker can positively add an intellectual element to the awards dinner and change the way individuals perceive their career goals, thus motivating others to accomplish what is being honored. This talented and respected leader can eloquently tie various messages and themes into their speech, giving guests a renewed confidence and dedication to the company to drive success. Ideally, the keynote speaker should speak between cocktail hour and dinner.

Hire A Photographer

What better way to display an award than by capturing that moment of the recipient receiving their award. Photographers can provide an upscale touch and add a lasting element of appreciation with their work. Companies can choose to brand their business by creating a step and repeat pop-up wall, featuring a reprint backdrop of the company logo. Honorees and attendees alike will get excited to pose for pictures. In addition, doing so will also promote employees and guests to use their professional photographs on their social media accounts such as LinkedIn.

Set A Dress Code

Set the standard for a lavish event from the moment guests receive the invitation. A dress code implies the tone of the event and ensures all attendees will look the part. An appropriate formal or black tie attire dress code will have all employees dressing to impress. Companies can even offer tux rentals and measure employees for an upcoming big event.

Promote Networking

Larger scale events are an ideal time to connect and mingle with new or visiting employees and guests. Networking opportunities are sought after in nearly every industry and it is customary to provide nametags upon arrival and during cocktail hour. Also, assigned table planning allows companies to pair guests accordingly, thus fostering conversation during dinner and in between the ceremony. Hosts can announce a time for attendees to move about and formally introduce themselves or lead the group in a fun icebreaker.

Don’t Be the Traditionalist

When planning an awards ceremony, setting a lasting impression for the recipients and guests begins with keen party planning. By cultivating an atmosphere for networking, including social media to promote business, and having guests look and feel valuable companies will create an unmatched event and build fond memories that leave all guests motivated for future success. Event planners at The Manor welcome parties from all industries and can accommodate all sized gatherings, planning an impressive awards dinner.