Terrific Tips To Help You Search For An Audiovisual Company

Are you in need of an audiovisual (AV) company for your next event? If so, you are probably hoping to find a reputable company to be able to provide the best services for your in-person, hybrid or virtual event. To help you with your search, we’ve put together some tips that can make your search for the perfect AV company a little easier!

Work Out Your Event Details

Before you start looking for an AV company, you need to make sure you have all of the details figured out for your event. This can include: 

• How many attendees you are expecting
• Your full budget
• An agenda (at least mostly finished) 
• What elements you will need
• How much space you will need
• The number of sponsors you may need
• What type of event you will be hosting

You can also check out our post on How To Find The Right Hybrid Event Venue to learn more about venue hunting. 

Before we get into some of the best ways to find these audiovisual companies, let’s chat about what might be needed for the type of event you are hosting. This will help you get an idea of what you might want to look for in your search! 

In-Person Events

If you are hosting an in-person event, you’ll most likely need to find an audiovisual company that can have a larger team if needed. This also depends on the type of event you will be hosting, but having an av team that won’t be short-handed on the day of will help take the stress you might have away! 

Although events don’t come in one-size-fits-all, some of the things you may want to include in your AV search for an average-sized conference may include:  

Audio

A company to take care of and plan the correct placement and combination of speakers to ensure the best possible sound throughout the space. No matter what the message is, there is nothing worse than a sound that is too loud, too soft or distorted!

Video

Whether you are hosting an event for 20 people in a boardroom or 1000 people in a conference centre, find a company that can find video solutions that will fit your needs and budget.

Lighting

Make sure to find a company that can carry a full line of lighting solutions for your event. From simple spotlighting to full stage wash and interactive moving light shows, the AV company should be able to design the light show that will set the perfect mood for your event.

Webcasting

If you are looking to combine your in-person event with a virtual one, make sure that you are looking for a company that can also work with hybrid events. When hosting a hybrid event, you may want to record just the audio, or both the audio and video components of any presentation, to be used later for archival or training uses. So have a chat with your AV company searches to see if they can do this for you as well! 

Virtual Events

When hosting a virtual event, typically this can require less staff than an in-person event. But they don’t need fewer requirements! At a minimum, virtual events require:

A Virtual Event Platform

Whatever the type of event, you will need some sort of virtual platform to host your virtual event. Depending on the type of event you are hosting, you’ll want a platform that can give your event a smooth and seamless experience (not just Zoom or Microsoft Teams), like our VX platform! 

Someone To Manage The Back End Of Your Virtual Event

Yes, you will need your audiovisual company to build, manage and run the backend of your virtual event platform! This can also include speaker management, including audio and video testing, rehearsals, Q&A, breakout rooms and ensuring presentations are ready for delivery.

Engagement Elements

There are tons of ways to include engagement in your virtual event. It doesn’t mean you have to include all of them, but excluding them all is not recommended for your virtual event! When searching for an AV company with a virtual platform, ask about adding these below: 

• Online Registration
• Infrastructure & Platform Setup
• Exceptional Sponsor Exposure
• Gamification
• Breakout Rooms
• Content Creation
• Streaming
• Translation

Start Searching For AV Companies!

Once you know your budget and the responsibilities you need to staff for, it’s time to begin your search. But where do you look for team members? Read on for a rundown of some of the most common sources.

Look At Your Current Staff 

Before you get started in looking for an AV company for your next event, look at who you already have on your team who might be able to help! Sourcing people from your team that may have some of the skills and resources you need can help you with the workload, but also save you some money as well. 

Ask Colleagues For Recommendations

Have a friend or colleague that may know a person or company who may be able to help? Or maybe you attended a conference in the past that had a great AV team? Ask around and see what companies have stood out to people you know, they usually have your best interest at heart, and will most likely be honest in their review!

Do A Quick Google Search

This may seem pretty obvious, but if all fails and you still can’t find or hear about a single audiovisual company from your colleagues or past events, in doubt, there’s always Google! 

Check out some of the reviews and past clients on their websites, but also reviews on their Google My Business (the popup on the right side when you search a company on Google). If you want to take is a step further (which we highly recommend), take a look at some of their social media channels and past events they have worked on! 

Hire A Professional Company 

When planning your event, making sure that an AV company’s services are high-quality, professional, and have the right skills, is very important as it can make or break your event! 

As a full-service audio-visual company, Impact AV Solutions is committed to the success of your event. At Impact AV Solutions, we have an extensive list of services including lighting, audio, video, webcasting, virtual event services, and more! 

We want you to have the most cost-effective and personalized service possible and are always looking forward to seeing your event come to life!