A few months ago, Meeting Planners International published an article titled “Why AV in Event Planning is a Priority Over Food Service,” and we agree completely!
Of course, food and beverage is an important part of the event, and an important part of the experience for the attendees, however, it is not the reason for the meeting. The reason for the meeting is the content, and the content is experienced through the production of the event. But, as asked in the MPI article, why start with AV? Here are a few of our reasons:
Site Evaluation
The planning process begins with site selection. Your production partner is here to help determine how the space works for your meeting. Hotel capacity charts are a good starting point, but they do not provide the whole picture and do not take production items like staging and projection, into account. TRG creates room diagrams for our clients that give a full picture of how the stage will look, the room layout with your preferred seating style for the event and how things like chandeliers or other obstructions may affect the space. All of these items are key factors in determining if this is the right space and an important decision at the beginning of the process
Budget Evaluation and Management
The hotel or venue contract is one of the first items to be addressed by the meeting planner. TRG works with meetings planners to help evaluate the contract, which often includes AV packages that are not needed, as well as any surcharges to use an independent production company, and can be negotiated out of the contract before it is signed. As part of the early stages of the site evaluation and space diagrams, TRG can also help determine the needs and costs for items such as power, rigging and internet which are all part of the hotel contract and can help make early budget decisions.
On-going planning and management
As the planning process progresses and content is developed for General Session and Breakouts, your production partner can help determine the AV needs to support the content. From live-streaming an off-site presentation to pyrotechnics and more. TRG has worked with many partners early in the planning process to determine what is possible and how to make it happen, all within the budget.
Attendees will certainly evaluate the food and beverage at the event, but the content is what they will remember, from the music that draws them into the opening session to the re-cap video at the end of the event that reminds them of everything they experienced.
Be the Hero of your next corporate event! See how TRG can help in every stage of the event management. At the end of the day, your success and peace of mind is our priority.