I get calls on a regular basis from people who are trying to find things for their corporate group to do while in Chicago for meetings. It can seem like a monumental task to try to keep an entire group entertained, even for the most experienced event planner, not to mention the many that are faced with it for the first time. I’m about to give you the tools to make your job a whole lot easier.
You should know that I have 15 years experience working with corporate groups of all sizes, from all parts of the world, as an event coordinator and entertainment supplier in the Chicagoland area. Chicago has been one of the top destinations for corporate meetings and events for, well, as long as companies have been having them. The “Windy City” is one of the most beautiful and vibrant places in the whole world. It really does have its own pulse with more than its share of world famous restaurants, spectacular museums, luxurious hotels and first class shopping. Chicago’s got The Magnificent Mile, the Sears Tower, The Art Institute, Navy Pier, Wrigley Field, the new Millennium Park and, of course, Lake Michigan and it’s stunning lakefront.
It’s very easy to see Chicago on your own, but seeing it with a group can create quite a challenge for you, the event planner. There is a tremendous amount of work that goes into putting hundreds of people onto several busses and sending them around town for an afternoon. It’s just too easy for something to go wrong with this group option simply because of the complicated logistics involved. Not to mention the time restraints that group outings suffer from. The bottom line is people don’t like to be rushed, especially while seeing new things for the first time. Chicago should really be experienced at your own pace.
My goal is to give you a simple, yet powerful alternative that will bring your group closer together, as well as excite, stimulate and entertain them. Let’s call it The Ultimate Intimate Corporate Bash! This is how it works. Many groups that are in Chicago for meetings are based in other cities and quite often from several different cities. Odds are these geographically challenged corporate employees are meeting their coworkers for the first time face to face. I find it ironic that these corporate meetings aren’t really meetings in the true sense of the word. They’re generally not designed to introduce someone from the Seattle office to someone from the San Francisco office. These meetings are meticulously scheduled and don’t leave a lot of time for friendly chit chat. I feel that’s a shame and the Ultimate Intimate Corporate Bash is designed to stimulate interaction between coworkers both familiar and unfamiliar with each other. Its purpose is to create bonds and relationships between employees who are, in all actuality, just a really big family. This is accomplished by creating an environment in a ballroom of your hotel that’s conducive to bringing people, who are for the most part strangers, together not for work, but for the sole purpose of play. What a simple yet truly functional concept, don’t you agree?
The Ultimate Intimate Corporate Bash usually takes place after the last day of those grueling two a day meetings and no one has very far to go to finally decompress. That’s because your spectacular event is in the ballroom of the very hotel you’re staying in. When your guests arrive they’ll be amazed by the visuals of this stuffy ballroom that’s been transformed into their own private corporate sponsored play land. There’s dance music playing and lights flashing. There are arcade games lined up against one of the walls with the original arcade version of Pac Man looking for its first ghost gobbler of the evening. Electronic Dart Machines stand ready like obedient soldiers, wanting and willing to give some lucky guest the opportunity to show off his or her bulls-eye throwing skills. The Air Hockey Tables that many haven’t seen since college fill up quickly with a guy from Texas ready to take on his newly befriended corporate cousin from California. In the middle of the room a couple of ladies are going to teach two guys from their office how to play 8-Ball on one of the two Pool Tables. Pinball Machines are already going ballistic with flippers flipping as the sounds of bells and whistles fill the air. It looks like someone is actually going to try to beat the boss at the Electronic Golf Game. It might be a good idea to let him win. The VP is already eyeing the Wii Gaming Stations hooked up to big screen televisions, anxiously looking forward to showing off his Guitar Hero riffs that he perfected while playing with his 10 year old son at home. This place is really starting to really fill up. There’s a group from Ohio talking to a couple of guys from the local Chicago office while they wait patiently for a partners match on one of the Foosball Tables. Wait a minute, is that what you think it is? Yes it is, in the middle of the room slowly moving back and forth and up and down is the Mechanical Bull. Looking ominous but welcoming at the same time. I bet you can’t wait to try that. I could go on, but I think you get the concept.
I’m hoping that I was able to paint a picture that comes close to the actual experience that will, without a doubt, be the most talked about event that your company has seen in recent years. The concept is simple yet incredibly successful in accomplishing a couple things. For one, the stress of the week’s meetings has been magically lifted in a way that’s designed to let’s adults be kids again. Secondly and not least importantly, you’ve succeeded in bringing your corporate family together in one fun filled room, for one very special evening that will be talked about for a long time to come. Welcome to Chicago!
Rich Diamond is the President of Chicago Sports Games Plus, which offers meeting and event planners proven ideas guaranteed to entertain and contain your target group, such as national or local “after meeting get-togethers” encouraging employee interaction, product launches, office parties, etc. Chicago Sports Games Plus is a Planner Preferred Vendor on Hereschicago.com, Chicago's Online Resource Directory. 
