Almost everything will be determined by your venue choice. The needs of a hotel conference room are very different than the needs of a blank canvas warehouse and your office boardroom.
What you need to know about your Venue:
Power supply: What is the number of plug sockets? How much is the power capacity? This is boring, however, it is not a sight to run out of power during your presentation.
Current equipment: Are there in-house projectors, screens or sound systems at the venue? Are they any good? At some point venue gear is genius, at other times it’s 2005 temperamental garbage. Find out before you commit.
Acoustics: The hard floors and glass walls appear contemporary but they pose issues of echo. Sound is better absorbed with curtained rooms having a carpet cover. This impacts on your requirement of microphones and the best style of speakers.
Natural light: Windows are beautiful until the time you need to present something on a screen and you cannot see it. Can you black out the windows? Do you need to?
Load-in access: What is the loading access to the space? Wide doctor opening floor is best. Third floor, having a small lift and staircase… is not so good. This impacts on setup time and possible cost.
Limitations: There are sound limiters (of particular concern in hotels) and time restrictions, or restrictions on what you may and may not do. Get to know, before you set your plan, that it will not be permitted.
Great Audio Visual Equipment: What You really need.
This is whereby individuals tend to excessively spend or, in an almost similar occurrence, spend less and regrets it. Here’s the breakdown.
Visual Equipment
Projectors vs large screens:
Screen size is important: As a rule of thumb your screen width must be at least a sixth of the distance to the last viewer. So you need a minimum wide-screen of 2metres in case your back row is 12 metres away. Bigger is usually better.
Confidence monitors: these monitor screens displayed in front of the presenter that appear as your current and next slide. Show-stopper of a game should you be presenting. Does not allow you to turn your back on the audience to view what slide you are on.
Live Streaming
After the pandemic, there is a hybrid event everywhere. Here’s what you need to know:
Simple live streaming.
- One camera
Professional live streaming.
Suggestion: As long as your live stream is the nice-to-have of people who are not able to make it, basic can work. Do it right, if it really matters (gone to the investors, they are recording it to train, they are listening to the customers). A questionable stream may turn your company into a sham.
Lighting: It is an Easy Thing to Ignore, and Yet a Good Thing to Have.
Corporate events typically do not require theatrical lighting, however, good lighting is a plus to everything. Here’s what to consider:
Backdrop and Staging
Strong branded backdrop: When they are taking photographs or you are live-streaming, a clean branded backdrop behind the speakers appears a million times more professional than haphazard office wall or generic hotel curtain.
Stage or platform: In audiences of more than 80 individuals, sightlines are assisted by putting speakers on a raise. In a smaller group, it is normally not necessary and may lead to the awkward sense of us and them.
Props and Decor
Corporate does not necessarily mean boring.
In the case of product launches:
For conferences:
- Branded table centres
For celebrations:
- Themed table settings
- Feature centrepieces
- Decorative lighting
Cheque reality: Do not theme just because. The conference of a healthcare company does not require huge syringes scattered around. Always be professional and relevant.
Mistakes (And How to avoid them).
Error 1: The failure to pay a visit to the site.
Although you might have visited the venue previously, go there again. The furniture may have been rearranged, that wall of partition may not rest where it was, the projector may have been replaced by a worse one.
Error 2:Failure to test technology.
Your laptop is good when at your desk. It may not appreciate the projection set up of the venue. Cheque it a day before, where possible, or give time before the visitors come.
Error 3: Not remembering food service noise.
When one is sitting at lunch at a time another is giving a presentation the cutlery, serving and clearing can be distracting. Make plans on the basis of food service, but not during it.
Error 4: Minimising the time to set up.
See the timings section above. Always add buffer time.
error 5: lack of backup plans.
What if the Wi-Fi fails? What if the projector dies? What is to be done in case the laptop used by the speaker is not connecting? Prepare contingency plans on key aspects.
Error 6: Dressing up, not dressing down.
The fact that you have an impressive LED wall does not matter when your microphones are not functioning and no one is listening to what you are saying.
Error number 7: failure to brief technical staff adequately.
When you are recruiting an operator and you are giving the running order, you are telling them what is important, explain some of the special needs. Don’t think that they are going to know.
Sustainability Considerations
Yes, sustainability is an issue. However, do not allow good to be the enemy of perfect. One event that results in individuals involved in your message is more successful than cancelation due to the inability to make it a completely zero-waste event.
Final Thoughts
It does not have to be a big ordeal in planning a corporate event. Begin with whatever you are attempting to accomplish, know your facility, spend on good sound, and ensure that you even have the capability of seeing what is on the screen. It is refinement all the rest.
The fact that most event planners do not want to share with you: Your attendants will not recall fancy lights or expensive props. They will recall whether they could hear good, see the content and whether the event proceeded as it was smooth. Again, get those basics correct before you are too concerned about anything.
And have you the technical side to worry about? That’s normal. It is also precisely the reason why there are equipment hire companies. The most appropriate choice is to realise what you do not need to be bothered about yourself sometimes.
Need Help With Your Corporate Event?
You need to plan a small group presentation, or a big conference, we have the experience and equipment to assist. Staging, av systems, lighting, props, whatever you need to run your event smoothly, we can offer it.