The Ultimate Guide to Seamless Event Production: Tips and Tricks

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Galina Drankovich

Head of HR at Rent For Event

Galina Drankovich

Head of HR at Rent For Event

We offer audio visual rental, event support, and full AV production at Rent For Event, and we provide these services across the country. Our aim is to support businesses or event planners in having the best events possible. To assist with it, only cutting edge solutions are used by our qualified team.

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April 16, 2024
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Whether you’re a seasoned or beginner event planner, keeping up with an event’s needs can be challenging. Each client has different expectations and every event has its unique set of audience. Not to mention that you have to deal with budgeting, finding vendors, venue selection, and the list goes on.

But before you get overwhelmed, we’ve prepared some event production tips here to help improve your planning process. Read the ultimate event planning guide to learn more!

10 tips for a seamless event planning

In the past years, we’ve worked with hundreds of event planners for a wide range of events. And for the most part, they encounter similar challenges that could’ve been prevented by the following tips:

1. 'Test drive' your event staff

If you’re expanding your event staff with new hires, it’s best to assign them on smaller events first. This way, they can learn and adapt to your process without the overwhelming pressure of a big event.

At the same time, it will help assess their performance and see where they can improve. ‘Test driving’ your event staff will also prevent guesswork during bigger gatherings.

Also, if you’re bringing in new staff to your next event, you should assign them a more experienced supervisor or team leader. This will help thew newbies learn the ropes of the event planning process.

2. Watch your budget

One of the most important event production strategies is ensuring you stay within the budget. This way, you’ll have a profitable event and avoid hurting your reputation as an event planner.

Take note that many beginner event planners– and sometimes even experienced ones – fall victim to ‘scope creep’. This happens when the event goes beyond its original financial scope. Before the event planner knows it, they are already overspending, which can spell trouble if their client is working on a tight budget.

With this, it’s important that you create an effective event budget. You can use your past events’ data for a starting estimate as well as a list of expenses that need allocations on your budget.

Also, it’s important to adjust and re-check your budget throughout the event planning phase. We suggest taking stock of your budget every week, especially when you’re anticipating or already spent on large expenses.

3. Have a vendor backup

A vendor cancelling on short notice is every event planner’s nightmare. Not only will it mess up your planning process, but also put the entire event in jeopardy.

On the off chance that a vendor cancels, it’s best to have a backup plan ready. This way, your event will go off without a hitch regardless of any cancellations.

From the very start, we suggest finding a reliable AV company with a good reputation. This way, you’ll have confidence that they will deliver during your event.

You should shop around for at least three vendors to serve as layers of backup for your event. Aside from that, confirm if these vendors are available during your event in case you need to contact them for last-minute bookings.

Another good move is to make vendors pay a late or cancellation fee. You can ask this to be included in the contract to protect your event from financial losses.

4. Streamline your event’s communications

Managing a large event production can be a mess if you don’t have an organized platform for your team’s communications.

For example, instead of hopping from one platform to another, you can sign up for a custom event services solution. This way, you’ll have all documents, calendars, messaging, and project statuses all in one place.

Aside from that, you should assign someone to monitor specific areas of your communication. For example, there should be someone assigned to answer client or attendee emails as well as correspondence with sponsors and vendors.

Doing this will help you save time on your event planning process. On top of that, you’ll avoid miscommunication, especially on a large-scale event.

5. Automate some parts of your event

You can also explore the latest event technology trends to make your planning phase easier. Aside from that, these technologies can also make your event stand out from competitors.

For example, you can implement a contactless check-in using a scannable QR code or NFC technology. Those hosting bigger events also develop their own mobile app where attendees can access all event-related materials, announcements, and so on.

This will also help you save time as manual check-ins tend to be slow, which only leads to long lines at the venue’s entrance.

In terms of event management tricks, you can also use AI to simplify other tasks. For example, you can automate social media posts, event data analysis, ticketing, and so on. This will help you save more time and resources, be it for small or large event.

6. Prepare a confirmation checklist

A guide to event production won’t be complete with a series of event planning checklist. One of the essentials you shouldn’t forget is a confirmation checklist that include all the involved parties on your event – from the vendors to the guests.

This way, you can get a final confirmation before your event takes place. Usually, this includes the following items:

Venue

All vendors

Speakers

Performers (if there are any)

Attendees

Transportation and accommodation

Security

Equipment and supplies

You can add more items to this list, depending on the specific needs of your event. Also, make sure that you ask a written confirmation, especially for your event vendors.

7. Document your event

Documentation is one of the most overlooked event planning hacks. Never skip photography and video production for your event since you can use these resources for your future event marketing tactics.

You should consider having multiple cameras set up throughout the venue even if you’re not doing a virtual event.

You can post professional photo and video materials of your event online to engage your attendees further. This is one of the most effective way to maximize event engagement tips that you’re already doing.

For this, you can hire video production company for stunning and professional shots. They can also process the materials in various formats, so it will be ready for posting right after your event.

8. Hire a full-service AV company

For a seamless event production, it’s a smart choice to partner with a full-service AV company like Rent For Event. Instead of calling multiple contractors, you’ll only deal with one expert team for all of your event’s audiovisual needs.

A professional AV production company know efficient event setup tricks that match your budget and needs. Depending on your event requirements, AV companies like us can deliver complete solutions that include the following:

LED video wall rental. Available in any shape, size, and resolution, including indoor and outdoor options. Our LED walls are perfect for all types of events, especially conferences, concerts, festivals, summits, and more.
Projector & screen rental. We also provide large-scale projection mapping as well as projector screens for all kinds of presentations.
TV & monitor rental. We have a large inventory of high-definition TVs, confidence monitors, and more for events of all sizes. We can provide hundreds of TVs for your event all at once!
DJ equipment rental. We provide professional digital mixers, speakers, subwoofers, lighting, DJ booth, and more.
Lighting rental. Our team will deliver a custom lighting setup for all events, be it a small workshop or a stadium-sized sports event.
Audio equipment rental. We also deliver world-class L-Acoustics sound system for up to thousands of guests. Rest assured that your guests will enjoy clear and crisp listening experience.
Pipe and drape rental. Turn any wall into a sophisticated background with our large inventory of drapery. All our drapes are fire-retardant and available in custom heights and colors.

Want to see how these equipment rentals work? See how we bring all these AV solutions to life in Amagi’s LA FAST Conference 2023 at Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows in Santa Monica, California:

9. Hire professional technicians

Mastering event production doesn’t mean you have to do everything on your own. When it comes to the technical aspects of your event, it’s best to tap the help of licensed technicians to operate your AV system.

This way, you’ll have of mind knowing that there are experts operating your event. They can also fix any technical glitch before it affects the entire event experience.

The good thing is that you don’t have to look elsewhere if you’re hiring AV technicians. At Rent For Event, we can provide an onsite AV team for all your event who will deliver, set up, operate, and tear down everything. In short, you don’t have to think about anything when you choose us as your AV provider.

10. Prepare for last-minute changes

Lastly, you should also be prepared for the worst. The event industry has its share of challenges, which can put your planning skills to the test.

For this, your complete guide to event management should include a contingency plan. This includes situations such as the following:

Inclement weather. This is especially important for outdoor events. Make sure you have a backup venue in case the weather doesn’t permit your original setup.
Staffing shortage. Members of your team could get sick or have an emergency during the event. For this, make sure you have extra team members on stand by and ready to take over.
Low attendee turnout. If your ticket sales are low on days leading to the event, you’ll need to boost your marketing efforts to attract more people. You should also consider setting up a walk-in ticket booth to increase your sales.

Power outage. This is one of the biggest enemies of any event. At Rent For Event, we always bring backup power sources to ensure that your event will go on without a hitch.

Partner with Rent For Event for a successful event production!

If you want a seamless AV production for your event, Rent For Event is the perfect partner you’re looking for. We provide full-service AV production and equipment for events of all sizes.

Big brands like Netflix, BET TV, CBS, and TikTok trust our AV expertise, a solid proof to the quality of our work. Also, we have a national reach and we can bring your event to life anywhere in the United States.

Aside from that, we have a large inventory of audiovisual equipment to meet your event’s requirements. Be it a private dinner or a music festival, we’re fully equipped to deliver a world-class setup.

Not only that: our elite AV team will handle everything for you. From conceptualizing, planning, and execution, we got you covered.

Already have a quote from another AV company? Send it to us, and we’ll give you a better offer!