Whether you’re organising a product launch, a company awards evening, a conference, or a summer party, corporate marquee hire gives you something a traditional venue simply can’t: complete flexibility over space, date, location, and look. As an award-winning, B Corp certified marquee hire company with over a decade of experience, we’ve helped hundreds of businesses across London and the South East create standout corporate events and we’ve learnt a great deal along the way.
Below are our top tips for planning a successful corporate event in a marquee, from setting your goals to getting the finishing details just right.
Define the purpose of your event
Before any venue planning begins, be clear on what you’re trying to achieve. Is this a product launch, a team building day, a client hospitality event, or a company celebration? Your goals will shape every other decision, the size of the space, the format, the budget, and the tone.
Corporate events broadly fall into two categories: those that promote or market the business externally, and those that foster culture and togetherness internally. Keep this at the front of your mind throughout, and every decision becomes easier.
Build your event team early
Get the right people involved from the start. Ideally one person should take overall responsibility, with others owning specific areas: décor, catering, AV and tech, branding, guest communications, and logistics. Dividing responsibility early prevents tasks from falling through the cracks as the date approaches.
Set and stick to your budget
Your budget has the biggest single impact on the look and feel of your event. Draw up a list of everything you’d like to include, in order of priority, so you can allocate funds to the most important elements first and make informed compromises further down the list. A corporate marquee can be elegant and high-spec, or relaxed and cost-effective. The flexibility is entirely yours.
Choose a date and location. Then choose a marquee
One of the biggest advantages of corporate marquee hire is that you’re not reliant on a venue’s availability or calendar. We can erect a marquee on your company’s grounds, in a car park, on a field, or at a chosen outdoor location exactly when you need it and often within 24 hours. That means no compromising on date, and no competing with other events happening in the same building.
We work with clients across London, Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire, Sussex and throughout the South East. If you don’t have an obvious site in mind, our team can help you think through suitable options in your area.
Don’t forget the practical essentials
A well-planned corporate marquee is fitted out to your exact specification. That includes:
- Flooring: from matting to levelled hard flooring.
- Lighting: chandeliers, LED lighting, fairy lights, and starlit roof panels to suit the occasion
- Heating or air conditioning: for year-round comfort in any weather
- WiFi and AV: projectors, screens, microphones, and livestreaming capability
- Toilet facilities: if there are no suitable facilities on site
Getting the practical elements right is what separates a good event from a great one.
Make it look and feel like your brand
A marquee is a blank canvas, and that’s one of its greatest strengths. We can incorporate branded signage at the entrance, printed tunnel entrances showcasing your products or key messages, coloured roof overlays and swags in your brand colours, and customised bunting, flags, and banners throughout the space. A well-branded marquee makes an immediate impression and gives clients or colleagues a real sense of your company’s character from the moment they arrive.
Plan your tech requirements
Think carefully about what technology your event needs. Projectors and screens allow you to present content, run video clips, or display live social feeds. If there are speeches, you’ll need microphones, a stage, and possibly a lectern. WiFi is increasingly expected by guests, particularly for events with live-streamed content. Work through your AV requirements early, as they affect the layout of the entire space.
Food, drink, and the guest experience
One of the great advantages of a corporate marquee is the freedom it gives you with catering. Unlike a traditional venue, you’re not tied to a preferred supplier list. You can choose exactly the caterer, format, and style that suits your event and your budget.
For training days and conferences, simple refreshments: tea, coffee, and a working lunch, these are often all that’s needed. For an awards evening or Christmas party, a buffet is a popular and cost-effective choice: less formal than a sit-down dinner and far more conducive to networking. You can also add a dedicated bar area, cocktail station, or pop-up street food setup.
Entertainment and the finishing touches
The extras are what guests remember. Great music: a live band, a DJ, or a carefully curated playlist sets the tone for the evening. Additional touches like a professional photographer, a photo booth, a red carpet arrival, or a roaming magician give your event a sense of occasion that people will talk about long after the night is over. Branded merchandise is a nice final touch, giving attendees a lasting reminder of the event.
Ready to get started?
Planning a corporate event in a marquee doesn’t need to be complicated especially when you have an experienced team behind you. We’ve been helping businesses across London and the South East create memorable corporate events since 2011, and we’re here to guide you through every stage of the process.
Well, we hope we’ve given you some great ideas on how to plan your corporate event. Our expert team are just at the other end of the phone if you have any queries about choosing the right marquee. Why not get started with our clever Marquee Calculator, to get a rough idea of costs. Then give us a call on 01932 620060 to chat further about your specific needs and let us find you the right marquee at the right price.
