Corporate event: what to lock down in production and tech

A corporate event isn't just "play music and light the room". It's the presentation part, the programme, catering, guests arriving and leaving, and often an artist's performance too — and all of it has to fit together.

1. Brief first, budget second

What's the goal of the event, how many guests, what's the space, what happens on stage and how late does the music run. Without that, the price is just guesswork. The sooner you have these answers, the better you can split the budget between tech, programme and production.

2. Sound for presentations and speeches

Sound for talks, panels and hosting has different needs than a party — you need speech intelligibility, lapel or headset mics, monitors for the speakers and a reliable link to the presentation laptop. Sort this before you think about dance music.

Guests forgive average catering. They don't forgive a speaker you can't understand, or a mic that squeals in the middle of the CEO's address.

3. Stage, screens and rig

An LED screen or projection, stage lighting, truss, branding lit in the company colours — scale it to the space and the guest count. A smaller anniversary is fine with one system; a bigger gala needs a full stage and rig.

4. A programme suited to the event

A conference needs quiet direction that holds the timeline. A gala evening can take a host, musical interludes and an artist's set. Team-building is about energy and interaction. The entertainment programme should come from what you want out of the night — not from what's "usually done".

5. Booking artists and performers

If you want a known name, deal with it well ahead — good artists are booked out months in advance, and a set comes with a technical rider (sound, lighting, backline requirements). It's practical to have one vendor coordinate that alongside the rest of the production.

6. Coordinating vendors

Catering, decor, photographer, hosts, security — each has their own schedule. One timeline and one person on site coordinating the tech, the programme and the other vendors saves the most stress.

7. Timeline and a plan B

Write a minute-by-minute schedule from guest arrival to the end, plus what happens if the power drops, the presentation won't open or a speaker is late. Good production has backups for every critical point.

In short

• Brief first (goal, guests, space, programme), budget second.
• Sort sound for speech before dance music.
• Stage, screens and lighting scaled to the event.
• Book artists months ahead, rider included.
• One timeline, one coordinator and a plan B for critical points.

See what we do for corporate events — from tech and programme to full production — or just message us.

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