Start Planning Your Next Event

Request a Quote

The post Edge ShowTek is now AV Chicago appeared first on AV Chicago®.

The need for the meetings and events industry to have a true presence on the hill was never more apparent than during the 2008 recession. A few associations had been working towards this in DC, but we (as an industry) were still caught on our heels. We hadn’t been talking enough about our importance to the world economy.

Enter Meetings Mean Business. This organization is comprised of professionals from all the event industry associations—50 member organizations in total. It’s about advocating for the importance of what we do, but it’s also about recognizing and celebrating it.

Global Meetings Industry Day

Last year, Meetings Mean Business launched the first annual Global Meetings Industry Day (GMID). A day to toot our own horn! A day to celebrate what we do! Sort of like every day should be Valentine’s Day, it’s important to toot our horn more than once per year, but this day is still an awesome thing.

On April 6th, MPI, PCMA, ILEA, and other association chapters around the world got together to share the successes of our industry, discuss important issues, and celebrate what we do. Of course, meetings in Chicago were celebrated. As a mainstay of the Windy City, AV Chicago knows firsthand how amazing our community is. We also know that we make a difference in this fine city.

In support of GMID, Chicago had an event called Industry XChange, which was hosted at McCormick Place by a collaborative group of meeting and event professionals.

Chicago Recap

Industry Xchange included a panel of industry experts: David Whitaker, the new President and CEO of Choose Chicago, David Kennedy with the new Wintrust Arena and Arie Crown Theater, Jim Goodman with the American Dental Association, Lise Puckorius with the OCL, and Dave Peckinpaugh with Maritz Global Events. It’s important to discuss the challenges and key issues within the industry, in addition to the wins, and this panel did just that.

Go Cubs

It was a pretty exciting year in Chicagoland with the Cubs winning the World Series. The Industry Xchange panel discussed how they approached the celebration in Grant Park. AV Chicago helped support the live video for the event, which was so exciting! The panel was asked how the city planned for the celebration. David Whitaker explained that the Cubs approached them early (not afraid of jinxing it, they really thought they would win it all). This enabled the celebration’s planners to properly arrange for everything, including safety and security.

On Safety and Security

David Kennedy discussed how the safety and security of the participants was the most important element of the event for the city. Jim Goodman shared that they always have a security plan for their events which does not use plain clothes security. He believes a show of force is important to prevent issues.

50% of the room indicated they have an emergency plan in place for their events. Lise Puckorius stated that it’s imperative, and that show managers owe it to their participants to have a plan, and to be educated, calm, and prepared.

On Technology

David Kennedy said that events should provide an “authentic experience.” He feels that technology can enhance the experience, but people should be careful that it doesn’t take away from it.

David Whitaker said “We need to bring the humanity back to meetings.” He explained that people (even event veterans) should be taught not to let technology take over.

Share the Impact Meetings Have

The panel was in agreement that the events industry needs to do a better job of educating the public and newcomers to the industry.

Jim Goodman with ADA said that we need to teach people about the impact meetings have. Newspapers should indicate the economic value of meetings in their local area. When a new hotel or venue is voted on, it would be easier for voters to understand the importance.

David Whitaker believes it’s important to talk about all the jobs created because of meetings and events!

David Kennedy feels that we need to get young people to events like the GMID so they better understand the impact of the industry. Jim went on to say, “We are responsible for getting the next generation in.”

Conclusion

Meetings Mean Business has an app to spread all the latest resources, news, and info in the industry. Global Meetings Industry Day is important, but it’s even more important to share what we do on a regular basis.

Final thoughts from the panel…

Whitaker: “Our best days as an industry are ahead of us. Don’t miss the opportunity to get involved.”

Jim: “We should be proud of what we do. Tell people what we do and how big we are. We work in the greatest industry.”

Lise: “Pass it forward. Take this back to the office. We are privileged to do this!”

Kennedy: “Experience design doesn’t have to be expensive. Meetings mean business, and we have a huge impact around the globe. People say this is a low paying job, but there is room to grow in the industry. Celebrate our industry!”

The post Recapping 2017 Global Meetings Industry Day appeared first on AV Chicago®.

Has this spilled over into our work lives? Does your boss expect everything from you in an instant? Instant gratification is everywhere, but sometimes it’s worth taking our time to get the results we really want. This is especially true when working with vendors in the events industry.

Sometimes events pop up, and a super-quick quote is needed. But usually, we have some advanced notice, so spending some extra time when writing a quote benefits both parties. Do your potential AV partners take the time to ask you questions? It’s impossible to provide a custom solution that will achieve the goals of your event if you and your vendor don’t have real communication. As helpful as RFPs can be, they never give all the necessary information.

Partnerships, Not Products

We had the opportunity to review three different AV quotes for a meeting planner recently. He started out by saying “X production company’s quote was super low, which makes me nervous.” Without having seen the quote yet, we told him “Remember, smaller companies are able to provide lower pricing because they don’t have as much overhead.” It turned out that one of the other quotes was twice as high as the others (!), and the third was somewhere in the middle. The difference between the low-end and high-end quotes, ultimately, was that the lower bid took the time to ask questions to better understand the goals of the event.

Ultimately, X production company wasn’t just trying to fill an order, but create a solution for their client. That’s why it’s valuable to take the time to have a conversation about what’s most important to the audience and the event staff, in addition to what will work best in the venue. Every AV company owns equipment — it’s the relationship you have that makes the difference, and that starts with great communication.

Would you like to be provided products, or would you prefer solutions in a partnership that’s mutually beneficial? The ultimate goal is a successful event, so remember that quicker is not always better.

The post Why is Faster, Better? appeared first on AV Chicago®.

This “AV” industry we’re in is part live events, part “integration” (permanent installations of the equipment). Every now and then, the @AVHashtag twitter account will start a hashtag that everyone responds to, and this fall a good one was #avPSA – the task was to post advice you’d like everyone to learn, and the responses were funny! Mark Coxon, for example, posted a video plea…

The above post got the highest engagement, with just cause!

Our industry does a great job of posting really great content – audio, visual, and the written word, so we thought we’d share a list of really great accounts. While we hope our blog will get added to other lists, here are are some of the top blogs and podcasts in the industry.

Podcasts

Event Tech Podcast – http://eventtech.co/

MHO – My Humble Opinion (part of AV Nation) – https://podfanatic.com/podcast/mho

Meetings Podcast – https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/meetings-podcast/id279079583?mt=2

Event Icons – http://helloendless.com/category/eventicons/

rAVe Pubs Radio – http://www.ravepubs.com/rave-pubs/radio/

Blogs

AV Nation – they have a series of very smart podcasts & blogs – https://www.avnation.tv/catego…

Event Manager Blog – http://www.eventmanagerblog.com/

AV Network – http://www.avnetwork.com/blogs

http://www.avbend.com/blog/

Audio Visual Bend – http://www.avbend.com/blog/

EventCollab – https://blog.eventcollab.com/

Endless Entertainment – http://helloendless.com/blog/

Mark Coxon’s blog – http://www.ravepubs.com/author/mark/

Corey Moss’ blog – https://convergenttechblog.com/

Women In AV – http://womeninav.com/blog/

I’ve been most impressed by the consistent shows and blog posts by each of these people and organizations. I always feel more like part of the community when I have the chance to see, hear, and interact with the smart folks who belong to it.

What about you – do you have any favorite blogs or podcasts not on these lists? Anything you’d like us to write about? Let us hear it!

Facebook: @avchicago.inc

Twitter: @avchicago

The post AVTweeps Tickle the Funny Bone appeared first on AV Chicago®.

Enter what is aptly called a “Confidence Monitor”! You might hear it also referred to as a downstage monitor or a “comfort” monitor. It’s placed downstage, facing the presenter, enabling them to see their content and look out at the audience easily. As the name expresses, it helps them remain confident in their presentation by allowing them to quickly confirm their place and anticipate what is coming next.

The AV company and planner should have a discussion around the usage of Confidence Monitors at the beginning of the planning process. It is much more than just an average monitor and has to be taken into consideration in terms of planning and equipment. We’d recommend that one always provides confidence monitors for your big stage presenters.

Here are some key things to discuss when determining what your presenter wants to see on the monitor, and the equipment that goes with.

Speaker only wants to see what the audience is seeing

Be sure to have a video switcher so you can switch between the presenters content and a holding graphic (you might already have a switcher if you have cameras for live video / Image Magnification – or, IMAG)

Be careful, presenters who see them on their confidence monitor can easily become distracted. You do not want to show any camera in the confidence monitor.

Speaker wants to see the slides AND their notes

For this, it’s best to provide two monitors.

Your graphics computers will need two outputs–one for the notes and one for the presentation. Powerpoint allows speakers to put notes with each slide in their presentation. With this feature you only need one computer.

You can also provide two computers. One that is specifically for speaker notes and one that has the presentation slides. Considerations on how the speaker notes and presentation advance needs to be coordinated in advance.

No speaker wants the same thing

Make sure your AV Provider can put differing sources to each monitor during the presentation. Now, each presenter may choose what they would like to see. Make sure each presenter has time to walk the stage in advance of their presentation to make a selection on what they would like to see.

Engage with your AV provider early and see what options are available for you. Allowing for a confidence monitor in your budget will make your presenters more refined and helps enable a polished presentation. Even presenters who have not used one before will thank you.

Whether you call it confidence, comfort, or downstage — we like to call it peace-of-mind. We hope we’ve shed some light on your options surrounding monitors as you plan your next meeting!

The post Give Your Speakers Confidence appeared first on AV Chicago®.

“We are delighted to add Insane Impact mobile LED video screens to our product and service lineup. This partnership allows us to create an unforgettable experience for event attendees,” said Andrew Brode, president of AV Chicago®.

Insane Impact’s mobile LED screens are mounted on finely engineered lifts, which provides flexibility to use larger screens in small spaces. Their products offer efficiencies for event managers, planners and producers while bringing the highest quality screen resolution to the market, with screen pixel pitches ranging from 2.5mm for indoor events to 6mm for outdoor events. Insane Impact boats an impressive lineup of LED screens, including the Impact Jack — the industry’s most versatile 16’ x 9’ mobile unit.

ABOUT INSANE IMPACT

Insane Impact is a cutting-edge mobile LED screen provider. They offer some of the highest quality LED screens in the industry with pixel pitches ranging from 2.5mm for indoor events to 6mm for outdoor events. The company debuted its first product at the Drake Relays on April 27, 2016, and completed nearly 150 events in its first year of business. The company will manage more than 400 events nationwide in its second year including local and regional events such as The Principal Charity Classic, Chicago Marathon and Farm Progress Show. For more information visit the website at www.InsaneImpact.com

ABOUT AV CHICAGO®

With a nearly 35 year history, AV Chicago® provides event planners, producers and marketers with the technical expertise, top equipment, and professional staff to realize their client’s vision. AV Chicago® specializes in custom-fit production technology solutions for events ranging from corporate meetings and gala events to marketing activations and artistic installations. For more information go to www.avchicago.com.

The post AV Chicago® Announces New Partnership appeared first on AV Chicago®.