One of the biggest challenges professionals in the event and production space deal with is marrying expectations of “vision” (both on the event hosting as well as the participants’ side) with the reality of what can be done. Toss a global pandemic into the mix, in-person events having to be transitioned to online, along with learning new technologies and platforms to facilitate them, and things get pretty complex pretty fast!
Virtual events not only have different formats (e.g. virtual conferences, virtual meetings/webinars, virtual webcasts), there are also different event goals, sizes, and budgets at play. Given that so much of the virtual event space is newer for organizations and event coordinators, not all these variables are explicitly accounted for when the event’s initial framework is devised. Instead, there are often intentions that are high-level and we, as the technical service and solution providers, are presented with the opportunity to realize these ideas by employing and suggesting the right tools.
When it comes to the events we handle, there are three main parts to making the event successful. The first step is truly understanding the client’s vision. At Baldwin Audio/Visual Solutions we work directly with our clients to understand what they are looking to get out of their event and figure out the technical requirements needed to achieve it. We take the time and listen to our clients’ visions rather than just giving a checklist of options/features they can choose from.
It’s obviously important for us to be able to itemize what’s needed for an event — and this was an easier process when everything was in-person — but with virtual events, there are so many platforms (each with unique capabilities) and so much of this space is new for people. As a result, we know how important it is to engage event organizers in conversation to understand their event needs and even address parts that they might not have considered.
Oftentimes, they’ll let us know the number of people expected to attend the event and the general flow or style of the virtual event but are then looking to us to help advise on elements like production and accessibility. We engage our clients in meetings to assess and understand the event’s needs, ask questions to make sure we’ve accounted for all items, bring up other possibilities we feel might be relevant based on the event, and then build out a quote that is reflective and fully encompassing of the actual event — no surprises here!
It’s always rewarding getting to have these discussions of what the event should accomplish and what the audience experience should be. We not only get a better understanding of the event, which helps us deliver the technical sides easier, but we gethttps://baldwinav.com/contact/ to see the excitement and passion behind the event. Finding ways to turn a vision into a precise reality is like putting together a puzzle. Our clients present us with the intended cover that the puzzle should look like and it’s on us to help come up with the pieces and put them together in the right way.
Contact us today to learn more about our virtual solutions and how we can help make your event everything you envision it to be!
Please click here to read Part 2: https://baldwinav.com/successful-project-management-and-virtual-event-coordination/