Corporate event formats: which one to choose according to your objectives
Organizing a corporate event is not just about choosing a date and a venue: it’s about designing an experience that enhances your brand, connects your community, and generates real opportunities. But how do you know if you should organize a conference, a meetup, a workshop, or an executive dinner?
The key is to understand what you need to achieve with the event and choose the corporate event format that best suits those objectives.
What do you want to achieve?
Before deciding if you need a large conference or an intimate session with decision-makers, define precisely what you expect to achieve: generate leads? high-level networking? position your team as a benchmark? train internal talent? activate a community?
Each objective has an optimal format:
- To position yourself as a benchmark, conferences or summits give you visibility and authority in your sector.
- If you are looking to train talent, an immersive bootcamp or workshop is the way to go.
- To accelerate networking among key profiles, opt for executive dinners or tech cocktails.
- And if your focus is on building community, periodic meetups or hackathons will allow you to keep the engagement alive.
What type of event is right for your company?
Here is a strategic guide with real examples of formats we use at My Tech Plan, designed to solve different business and positioning challenges:
🔹 Summit or Sector Conference
Tech companies, consultancies, or hubs seeking visibility and authority can greatly benefit from this format. The summit solves the lack of positioning and allows you to attract qualified profiles. The result: more leads, more awareness, and more business opportunities. A clear example is the Gen AI Summit Europe, the meeting point of the technical ecosystem of generative AI in Europe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvQ9hbwnC9A
🔹 Immersive Workshop or Bootcamp
Ideal for corporations that need to train their teams in new technologies or methodologies. It solves resistance to change and the lack of real practice. The benefit? Enhanced corporate culture, aligned teams, and ready to execute with confidence.
🔹 Tech Cocktail or Afterwork Networking
This format fits with startups or B2B companies that need to open new business relationships without the rigidity of a formal event. It helps to break the ice, generate connections in informal and authentic environments, and create a community around a product, brand, or service.
🔹 Technical Leaders Forum or Executive Roundtable
Recommended for SaaS or scaling companies seeking strategic feedback or deep conversations with key profiles. It is an intimate and powerful space to sow long-term relationships. An example of this is the Tech Lead Forum.
🔹 Hackathon or Open Challenge
Designed to activate communities, generate open innovation, or attract talent. An event in which in just a couple of days you can have prototypes, fresh ideas, and a huge buzz around your brand, or as in gamified hiring hackathons, do a massive technical test in one day and save your HR team hours of work.
One of our success stories: SIKA Hackathon
More than 50 industrial engineering students participate each year in this hybrid competition, where they solve fantastic challenges such as trains that travel around the world in a few hours or how to transport mammoths from Spain to their new home in the Arctic. With mentoring in AI, materials of the future, and the support for +3 years of the UPM and the UPV, industrial engineering students meet in Madrid, get to know the company in a fun way, and participate for €6,000 in prizes. This organic evolution of the classic - and with +20 years of experience - Sika Prontuario Awards, has managed to connect young talent with the industry since 2022, combining creativity, training, and brand visibility. Its next edition is on October 17, 2025, in Madrid. If you would like to have the opportunity to see how this dynamic would work with your company, do not hesitate to consult us.
The experience counts more than the content
Yes, having good speakers is important, but what your attendees will remember is how they felt. Did they have interesting conversations? Did they discover something new? Did they make useful connections?
Design the event thinking about those micro-experiences: rest areas with good coffee, informal conversation moments, dynamics that encourage participation. Even details like the music or the design of the space communicate who you are as a brand.
**Professional tip: start from the end ** A technique we use at My Tech Plan is to start by imagining the “after” of the event. What do you want attendees to say when they talk about it? From there, we design the ideal format, content, speakers, and logistics to make that happen.