The Freelancer's Guide to Corporate Event Design: From Technology Fundamentals to Scenic and Environmental Design

Troy Halsey

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781136084379
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Theatre

Freelancer's Guide to Corporate Theatre and Event Production (tentative title) will bring you up to speed on the ever changing and growing industry of Corporate Theatre. Written by one of the industry's leading designers, this book uses a candid and straight-forward style to guide you through the process of designing a successful event. Learn the fundamentals of venue selection, rigging, lighting, audio, video, and scenic design with informative diagrams and detailed illustrations. With the help of this book you will learn how to plan, design, and execute events of any size. Additionally, you will be armed with a strong knowledge of common mistakes, tips and tricks, and industry standards that will allow you to build and train a production team prepared for just about anything.

CHAPTER 1

An Overview

WHAT IS A CORPORATE EVENT?

The phrase corporate events covers a wide variety of meetings and events, and the use of the word corporate can be misleading. The craft is not limited only to corporate meetings; it can also be applied to association gatherings, large nonprofit meetings, speaking engagements, training seminars, and any number of special events. The craft of corporate events has also been referred to as business theater; corporate theater; and conference, seminar, or event planning. Although each name can describe a specific element of the trade, the names are often used interchangeably.

The inclusion of the word theater, such as in business and corporate theater, may seem odd to traditionally educated thespians, but there are many similarities between corporate and traditional theater. Both traditional and corporate theater have audiences, performers or speakers, scenery or decoration, and typically some form of specialized lighting and sound equipment. In fact, the only real differences between the two would have to be their intentions and their locations. Whereas the intention of traditional theater is to entertain, corporate theater aims to inform or sell. Traditional theater typically occurs in a designated theater building or space; corporate events occur in hotel ballrooms and convention halls and are thereby required to supply their own lights, sound, and production controls. In an effort to alleviate confusion, for the remainder of this book, we will use the phrase corporate event(s) to encompass any form of large organization or corporate gathering.

Types of Corporate Events

We will refer to several forms of corporate events throughout this book, but any attempt to classify every possible scenario would be a volume of work in itself. Instead, corporate events are generally classified by either the type of host producing the event or the type of audience attending. Generally speaking, two entities host corporate events: corporations and associations.

CORPORATE EVENTS

Corporate events are primarily internal meetings in which executives present company initiatives, policies, and reports to a targeted sector of their workforce. What separates a corporate event from other events is that audiences are composed primarily of internal employees who are required to attend. Sales conferences, training seminars, and manager meetings are the most common examples of corporate events.

These events host a vast collection of executive presentations, motivational speakers, and entertainment acts all aimed to inform and motivate the audience. As a result, corporate events typically have larger production budgets than association meetings and more elaborate theme development, which in turn dictates the overall design of the event.

To an outside observer, it may seem odd for a company to invest so heavily in a corporate event. Even employees may ask at times if the money spent wouldn’t be better served divided among their paychecks. However, addressing employees in person, rather than through an email or video, is still the most effective way to deliver a message. Sales conferences, especially, serve as a form of pep talk before starting a new year, similar to coaches addressing their players before a big game. Training seminars provide a way for employees to receive important education without the distractions of their daily routine. Finally, manager meetings permit peers to exchange advice and tactics regarding effective management styles.

From an executive standpoint, the value of a successful corporate event greatly outweighs the production costs. And as implied previously, these production costs can become quite exorbitant – so much so that it is estimated the business of producing corporate events has evolved into a multibillion dollar industry.

ASSOCIATION EVENTS

Associations consist of members in a similar trade or specialty such as cardiologists, school teachers, or automotive workers, to name a few. The intention of association events is to provide further education and networking opportunities for the association’s members.

Most associations are not-for-profit. This does not mean they do not take in revenue; they must generate income to pay their staff and keep the lights on. What is interesting is these types of meetings do not make their money on registration, but rather on selling booth space on the exhibit floor.

Exhibit floors are big business in this industry. They essentially allow vendors to target their message, brand, and/or product to a focused group of potential customers. The association hosting the event makes most of its bankroll by charging these vendors very high rates to set up shop on the exhibit floor. The exhibitors or vendors happily pay the fee because nowhere else would they get such a focused group to listen to their sales pitch. Imagine a company that sells a $5 million MRI machine exhibiting at a medical conference of over a thousand doctors. There would really be no other way for the company to have such one-on-one access to so many potential customers who are out of their office, lacking distractions, and ready to learn or kick the tires of a new MRI machine. This event truly creates a win-win situation for both the association and vendor.

In essence, then, the real dynamic of association meetings is to provide education and networking opportunities for members, while marketing the exhibit floor to potential vendors. And what a sales pitch they have: “We will be bringing together 10,000 doctors that you would never otherwise have an opportunity to meet with face to face; are you interested in renting booth space for our event?”

Associations are easy to identify, as stereotypically their names begin with either American or National and end with Association. In addition, their budgets are typically smaller than corporate events, and motivational meaning is minimal. This is not to say that association meetings are less production intensive. In fact, being membership-based organizations, associations have the added stress of ensuring that their attendees enjoy the event experience and will want to attend the following year and continue their membership with the organization.

Ironically, a common request to production designers from association hosts is that they want an exciting and professional event without it looking as though it cost a lot of money. This request also stems from the fact that associations are membership-based, and their primary income sources are from membership fees. The fear is that association members may feel their financial contributions could have been better spent elsewhere than on elaborate scenery that served as merely eye candy.

HYBRID EVENTS

Though they may not be the most common form of event, hybrid events are certainly growing in popularity. Such events are referred to as hybrids because they are hosted by a corporation but intended for customers who attend by choice. Such events may also be referred to as corporate customer events.

Whereas internal corporate events are usually led by an executive team who speak to employees, the hybrid or corporate customer event minimizes executive exposure to avoid looking like an elaborate commercial for the hosting company. Hybrid events typically have only one or two corporate messages, which are then followed by a series of speakers who focus on industry-wide topics. These industry-wide topics are what attendees are seeking to learn more about and thus are what draw them to attend the event. In turn, attendees provide the hosting corporation with an opportunity to advertise new services and products.

The real meat of hybrid events occurs during breakout sessions, where attendees have the opportunity to explore topics that interest them or try out products they may consider purchasing. This opportunity in turn provides the hosting corporation with an indication of what areas of their businesses are apt to grow and where they should be focusing their resources.

Production budgets for hybrid events vary greatly and are hinged primarily on the size of the industry and hosting corporation, as well as the event’s popularity and expected annual attendance. Similar to association events, exhibit floors play a huge role in hybrid events providing both income for hosting corporations and resources for attendees to peruse.

The ingenious element of hybrid or corporate customer events is that often attendees do not realize they are attending what is essentially a multiday sales pitch. They instead believe they are merely attending a training seminar or network opportunity hosted by the leading company of that particular industry. Software and gaming industries, for example, host these types of events several times a year under the guise of training seminars in which attendees have the option to become certified in a particular software package. However, similar to the exhibit floor, hybrid events are truly a win-win for both the hosting company and attendees. Attendees acquire the education and networking opportunities that they seek, and the hosting company strengthens its customer relationships, fortifying its role as an industry leader.

Types of Meetings and Sessions

Without goals and objectives, there would be little point in having corporate events. Furthermore, for goals and objectives to be shared in a meaningful way, they must be organized and presented in a logical manner. To do so, information is distributed among meetings and sessions, with each serving a unique function. Over time several forms of meetings and sessions have evolved as standard in the event industry. Although not every event hosts each type of meeting or session, most contain at least a few of the types described next.

WELCOME OR OPENING SESSIONS

Welcome sessions are generally held either the first evening or morning of a multiday event. During these meetings, the hosting company or organization, as the name implies, welcomes the attendees. Often a video is shown introducing the event’s theme, key speakers, and event highlights or reviewing events that occurred since the group’s last gathering. Most importantly, the primary function of a welcome session is to excite the audience and prepare them for the days to come.

Figure 1.1 Rehearsal of a musical show opening act.

Image courtesy of AMS Pictures (www.amspictures.com)

It is not uncommon in larger events for welcome sessions to be followed by receptions. Welcome receptions can range from conservative cocktail gatherings to full-fledged keg-tapping parties. The style of reception that is held is dependent solely on the culture of the hosting company or organization. Regardless, in its most basic function, a welcome reception provides attendees an opportunity to mingle with their peers and enjoy themselves before an onslaught of meetings.

GENERAL OR PRLENARY SESSIONS

At some point during the event, whether it is held on a single day or over the course of several, the entire body of attendees will be asked to gather for a large group meeting. These meetings are known as general sessions or plenary meetings. Such sessions are often referred to as main tents, harkening back to the traveling circus in which the most exciting performances occurred in the main tent. This nickname applies perfectly because these sessions host the most noteworthy speakers and presentations during the event.

Figure 1.2 Keynote speakers are the stars of general session meetings.

It is most often during these sessions that the audience is addressed by organization or company executives and new products or initiatives are revealed. In essence, if specific information must be shared to everyone attending the event, it is done during a general session. Depending on the bulk of information needing to be shared, several general sessions may occur during the course of the event.

General sessions are the primary focus of this book because they require intense planning and thoughtful design. However, the fundamental knowledge you need to plan and execute a successful general session will carry over easily to other forms of corporate meetings and events you might plan.

BREAKOUT SESSIONS

Breakout sessions are specialized meetings that focus on specific topics, such as corporate procedures or software packages. With several breakout sessions occurring simultaneously, audiences consist of a mere fraction of the entire attendee body. When events are held at large hotels or resorts, smaller meeting rooms throughout the property are typically used to house breakout sessions. Although breakout sessions for corporate events tend to be more evenly distributed due to required attendance, association breakout sessions can vary greatly with audience size depending on the topic’s popularity.

Depending on the size of the event, the number of breakout sessions that occur can range from a mere handful to several hundred over the course of the event. For each breakout session occurring simultaneously, there must be a dedicated speaker or presenter, audio/video equipment, if necessary, and some form of support staff. As you can imagine, organizing and managing the hundreds of presentations and support materials associated with breakout sessions can be quite a daunting task. In response, specialized services called speaker support or presentation management are now offered by most large audio/video providers. These services will be covered in more detail in Chapter 9, “Speaker Support.”

Figure 1.3 Breakout sessions allow attendees to del...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Advance Praise for Freelancer’s Guide to Corporate Event Design
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• 1. An Overview
• 2. Venues
• 3. Staging
• 4. Seating
• 5. Rigging
• 6. Lighting
• 7. Video and Projection
• 8. Audio
• 9. Speaker Support
• 10. Design Teams and Processes
• 11. Designing from the Ground Up
• 12. Developing a Design Palette
• 13. Scenic Design
• 14. Environment Design
• 15. Scenic Materials and Construction
• 16. Presenting Your Design
• Index