Corporate Event Production in NYC: Choosing an A/V Partner

As a corporate event planner in a vibrant market like New York, standing out from the crowd requires you to execute events that are creative, aesthetically pleasing and technologically innovative. Ensuring your event is successful today requires putting a team in place that can work closely with you to achieve your creative vision and meet your event’s goals.

One aspect that can really bring your upcoming event to the next level is creating the perfect environment through the use of audio/video technology. Choosing the right technical event production company partner to handle the technical aspects of your corporate event production in NYC is a huge decision. Asking the right questions can help you find a partner that will check every detail, have the knowledge, experience and expertise to help you to create a successful corporate event production in NYC.

Working With The Best

Your event is important to your business, your brand, your client and their guests. In a market as competitive as New York, you will want to work with a company that has not only been in the industry for a long time, but is respected for having a reputation for excellence. There’s no substitution for experience.

Be sure the companies you interview have worked on a number of different corporate events like yours. A professional company will have an extensive list of references and a portfolio of past events to show you. Corporate event production in NYC requires an equal understanding of the logistics and challenges of planning a production in both familiar and unfamiliar spaces. A well-established company will have experience working in many of the venues in your city. Each venue (like every event) presents a unique set of challenges and an experienced company will understand the particulars for the various venues.

Simplify Your Technical Needs

Keeping track of multiple vendors can be problematic. It makes communication, creative vision and budget control more difficult. By hiring a full-service technical production company for all of your A/V and technical needs, you can eliminate much of your pre-event to do list, while reducing the stress of having to deal with multiple subcontractors.

Full-service means having a single point person and a single invoice. In terms of your creative vision, it means communicating it to a project manager who will work closely with you to meet all of your A/V and technology needs. If you need any additional services like staging, soft goods such as scrims, screens or backdrops or more creative lighting options like special effects, a full-service company has got you covered.

A full-service company will start with design, guide you through the proposal stage, and handle load-in, set-up and operation of your event. They will handle your technical staffing needs by building a team of talented creative professionals to handle every aspect of your corporate event production in NYC, from a crew to load-in and set up to technicians, engineers, designers and a production manager to run it all.

State of the Art Technology

A/V Technology is constantly evolving. You want to work with a company that maintains a large inventory with access to the newest technology and the expertise and creativity to deploy it in breathtaking ways. Whether it’s moving lights or projectors, every piece of gear is checked and prepped before it ever leaves the warehouse. A professional company will also work to precisely map out the load in plan and prep gear accordingly before it’s loaded onto the trucks.

Ask The Right Questions

The internet is a great resource for finding a technical partner for your corporate event production in NYC. In fact, you’ll probably get several pages of results. You will need to do a bit of due diligence to narrow down the field to your top candidates. At this point, it’s important to determine their qualifications, and more importantly, see if they are a good fit with your corporate team.

Since you will be working closely with whomever you choose it’s important to have a strong working relationship. They will need to share your creative vision and be adaptable to the challenges that may arise during the course of your corporate event. You need to be able to count on them in the event that issues arise (and they always do!) on the day of your event. They should be flexible and experienced enough to resolve any day-of issues your event experiences.

Any company you partner with should be able to provide you with a single point of contact to answer any questions you may have. They should also have a large enough pool of staff to be able to build a team to staff your event from load in and set up, through the load out after the event is over. When considering any potential candidates always ask:

• For references – Any legitimate company will be more than happy to provide you with a list of past and current clients.
• Request case studies- Take a look at some of their past projects to make sure you are impressed with their work.
• Always ask for a full proposal – Most will offer, but make sure you receive a detailed proposal of exactly what you will receive for your budget. Make sure it includes contingencies for additional equipment and how they charge for staff (most will charge a day rate with a specific time factor for overtime).
• Make sure their experience is relevant – If you’re planning a corporate event and your prospect’s list is full of weddings or concerts, they might not be a great fit.

Asking the right questions during the searching process will save a lot of time and worry, help to build confidence with your event team and ensure a successful event. Your technical event production company can be one of your most valuable assets as you organize and mount your corporate event production in NYC. Take the time, do your research and choose wisely.