There is so much more to quality AV than just technology. But that doesn’t mean quality AV has to be challenging!
Time and time again we hear about how complicated corporate AV can be for customers. Our goal is to make planning and executing your event as seamless as possible by choosing the AV company that’s right for you.
Don’t be tricked into thinking that the in house AV provider is your only option. This is rarely the case, and you can usually get much more bang for your buck by bringing in an outside AV vendor. Why? Because most in-house AV companies that partner with venues have to pay 50% (Yes! 50%!) of gross sales directly back to the venue. Plus, these companies operate on 80% margins - in the end only 10% of your money actually goes to pay for the crew and equipment you are getting. Don’t be fooled into paying these inflated prices.
CONFESSIONS FROM AN IN HOUSE AV TECH VIDEO
But don’t be discouraged - follow our tips below and we’re positive you’ll make the right choice when choosing a corporate AV company.
Having trouble selecting the right corporate AV company for you? Keep reading to find out what you should be looking for and contact us here.
A good corporate AV company will:
- Own their own equipment. If they don’t, you’re paying for them to rent it from a third party, PLUS a markup they charge you. When a company owns their own equipment it will probably be high quality and better maintained than equipment rented from a third party.
- Be masters of their craft. Skilled AV workers are certified and have experience. A good AV company will make you feel comfortable that you are in good hands and provide past examples of work they’ve done.
- Have good references. Make sure to check out the company you’rehiring so you can see past events they’ve produced. A good AV company will WANT you to talk to their past customers. (You can see what clients are saying about Catalyst’s work here.)
- Offer to come out to a current event you’re hosting. A quality company will come out to see what’s working and what needs to be fixed, and apply this information the event they produce for you.In event production, learning from the past is important!
- Get involved early on. Your AV partner should be involved in the planning process from the beginning. We hear all too often about clients who sign a contract with an AV company and then don’t hear from the company again until the day before the event. A good AV company will have a solid knowledge of event planning and their role in planning your event.
- Encourage regular communication. Communicating what you want and need from an AV company is incredibly important, and the company you choose should be encourage this communication early and often. At the same time, you should feel that your corporate AV company reaches out regularly to ask you questions and make sure they’re meeting your expectations.
- Offer their own post production services.From onsite recaps, event promos, and more, your event isn’t really over until you’ve reached each and every person who needs to experience your event. Often times, we see companies recording the footage they need for this kind of post production, sending it off to a third party post production company and then never seeing it again. If the AV company you hire offers post production services, they’ll know the footage you need to get during the event, and will encourage you to actually do something with that footage.
A good corporate AV company won’t:
- Make you feel like you’re bothering them or asking too many questions. Corporate AV is a complex topic with many moving parts. Here at Catalyst we invite deep dives into technical conversations! We welcome any and all questions.
- Charge you for something you don’t need or want. Unfortunately, we hear about this happening all too often in our industry. We have put a stop to this practice at Catalyst - it simply isn’t allowed with any of our representatives. We really listen to what our customers want, and work hard to provide that in the best way we can.
- Blame shift or dodge responsibility. If challenges come up onsite we are quick to own them and correct any issues! A good AV company will take responsibility for mistakes and work quickly to fix them.
- Leave anything up for surprise. Planning is everything. An AV company that doesn’t have a plan and a method for executing your event is not the one for you.
Keeping these tips in mind should make choosing a corporate AV company an easy task. At Catalyst, we work to make your dream event a stress-free reality - contact us now to learn more.
We want to help produce your event! Give us a call or send us an email at info@thecatalystcompanies.com - we’re ready to get started!
