Corporate Events

[Frog Genius]

Well, I am doing a small census to find out how mcuh scope there is for a new company to do lights/lighting for corporate events, I.e confereces,seminars ect.

All views welcome!

FG

(I have searched but nothing that I wanted came up!?)

[Guest lightnix]

There are already a couple of threads on starting businesses here and here. Although they may not be directly relevant to your question, but there's a lot of useful info contained in them about starting a business in general. Whatever the nature of the enterprise you are planning, there are certain things you need to do first, like a proper Business Plan and Business Link should be one of your first ports of call, along with the bank and an accountant.

 

To be brutally honest (and I've said this before), the last sort of business I'd want to start now is a lighting hire company. The market is already grossly oversupplied, book prices haven't really moved in fifteen years or more and you'll basically have to invest a huge amount of capital for very little return.

 

Also, spending on corporate events has contracted considerably over the last two decades, from what was arguably it's peak in the mid-late eighties. Word on the street last year was that there was quite a bit of thumb-twiddling going on at some of the larger-scale prod co's. At that time (when I was first starting out freelancing), it was not uncommon for the chippies to completely deck out a venue as the bridge of a starship, a medieval banqueting hall or an entire rainforest. These days it's mostly a wall of grey flats and the lighting generally consists of: lectern, top table / chat, central area (all in O/W), a colour wash or two, a couple of spots for logos and maybe a gobo or two if they're big spenders. Occasionally they'll go mad and you'll get six movers to play with, but you'll rarely have the time to program a great deal into them.

 

Corporate clients can also be the most awkward, nit-picking, choosy, completely-change-their-minds-at-the-last-minute, bunch of #*&!/%s going - worse than luvvies and rock stars put together. They generally have the lowest level of understanding about "what we do" and are the least likely to care, too. They've bought and paid for you, your problems are not theirs, "Yes" is the only acceptable answer and nothing less than a full-on Rolls Royce service will do, even though they've beaten your price down to the point where blowing a couple of bulbs could make a noticable difference to your margin.

 

OK, there are exceptions, but they seem to be fewer and further between than ever before. Creativity has largely deserted the corporate event arena :)

 

My advice, if you want to make your living out of the corporate sector, is to do it as an individual, unencumbered by vast amounts of kit. Start out by working for companies that do mainly corporate work. Maybe go freelance after a few years and put yourself around a bit. All being well you should eventually build up the contacts who may offer you more design / production type work and it's at that point (maybe in 20-25 years time) that you might want to think again about becoming more of a corporate entity yourself and be better equipped to do it.

[MikeR]

Once again the definitive answer from Lightnix. I could put it no better, and would probably do a lot worse, myself.

[mac.calder]

If the corporate scene is anything like the one in Australia - the companies that DO want tonnes of creative things, who will challenge you and who will pay go to places with a large office, large number of employees and an ESTABLISHED NAME.

 

I am on the books for a couple of companies that do corporate gigs - I have done nothing more than a few bump-ins last year for conferences and exhabitions. These were relatively big things, for the largest, the bump-in team was about 80 people and it took 8 hours, and the full time crew for that gig was around the 15 mark. There were (IIRC) 9 or 10 semi-trailers and each time the full time crew had visisted the venue (about 10 each) they had filled their van with stuff. I know a great deal of kit was hired from elsewhere, but all of the things brought in before hand (in the vans) along with (I think) 2 semi-trailer loads of 'stuff' had their stamp on it. That company employed about 70 techs full time in Victoria alone.

 

The smallest company I worked for had 20 staff members, and the majority of gigs they got were not very exciting at all according to the owner. The odd themed corporate dinner was the most exciting, and the themes were usually fairly boring (ie '80's disco' or 'dark side of the moon') where they had little to no creative scope.

 

So if you want to have an interesting time in the event management/corporate arena - you need to be able to A) Get a name for yourself and B) be financially stable enough to source a heap of people (which means you need to establish a 'book', which means you need to advertise) and C) be versatile - AV is probably the largest part of any corporate event. Most like to appear projected behind themselves or have slides or something of the sort.

[Bobbsy]

Lightnix has saved me the trouble of typing a long message. I've been involved in corporate work (first through working for a large company that had a corporate event division and later on my own as a freelance) for 15+ years and agree with everything he says. My involvement has been mainly on the sound and comms side but I'm sure lighting is the same.

 

Bob

[Guest lightnix]

...the definitive answer from Lightnix...

Lightnix has saved me the trouble of typing a long message...

Why thank you, gentlemen and there I was, wondering if it was just another rant. It's always nice to know you're not alone :)

...AV is probably the largest part of any corporate event. Most like to appear projected behind themselves or have slides or something of the sort.

Very good observation. What happens on the screen(s) is generally the number one priority on a corporate show, closely followed by the clarity of the sound, comfiness of the chairs, quality of the set, layout of the seating, etc. Lighting is usually a long way down the list and the only time they worry about it is if...

 

1. It's too bright for the presenter (which is usually).

2. It's too dim for the cameras (which is usually, because you've just turned it down for the presenter).

3. Your chosen gel colours don't precisely match the Pantone®-referenced shades of their company logo / letterhead.

4. Some made-up reason.

 

There is still some money to be made from corporate events, but not from providing the technical services. In most cases, the actual show is a very minor part of the event as a whole and in some, practically an afterthought. Most of the time, effort and budget spent on a large conference (and the profit made from it), goes on arranging travel, accommodation and generally sorting the logistics of moving, feeding and watering a large number of people efficiently. If you want to make a decent living out of conferencing (or any show, really), then production is probably a better way to go.

[David Lee]

Couldn't agree more with the previous posts. Way to many commpanies out there already and it is a cut throat market with tight budgets. The prod. companies I freelance for still put interesting sets in though, rather than just to grey/ blue back wall of flats.

 

Its a good market to freelance in but I wouldn't want to be a hire co. up against the big boys at the moment. (Maybe wait until the Olympics when they are all fighting for that work. They may not chase the small corp. gigs.)

[damian666]

Mr Cooke says it all really. I have never bought kit for those reasons. If you want to do the corporate events thing, it's much less nail-biting to turn up, do your sh#t and leave! Design for people, pre-plan for someone else by all means, but getting into the kit stock region is not as good an idea as it may sound.

[paulears]

The trouble with corporate is that they only deal with corporates? As in, if you are wearing black with a utility belt - you don't get talked to, in a suit and tie, you know your stuff. I never had much luck with corporate gigs (apart from as a member of the crew) until I had an office where people could come. It's totally stupid what a difference a pot plant and plasma screen make to these people. They have their priorities screwed up to the extent that they are willing to spend thousands on a stage set covered in sand, dressed as a beach with palm trees, yet won't have an extra radio mic as it wasn't in the budget proposal! Yet when you get their, theyd emand one for the MD who now needs a 3 minute meet and greet spot!

 

Kit wise, unless you have huge stocks, sub hire is the only way. The snag, as I found it, is that trying to use just the kit you have (most profit) reduces your 'vision' - so making the pitch is more difficult.

 

As Lightnix said - now is not the time for another hire company. Unless you can guarantee the gear is out more than in, your accountant will laugh at you - why spend your own money when you can spend others. Sub hire is expensive, and you can only mark up a small amount, but it doesn't really cost you anything, and once the gig is over, you never have to use it again. If you keep using the same item, that's when you buy it.

[JohnPartridge]

Everythings been covered by other members , just 1 last point from me.

 

You say you searched for company's who would deal with conferences/ seminars and you found nothing.

 

Well even though you might have not found anything on the web allmost 99% of companys are going to do a show regardless of what it is , so even though you didnt find a company who SPECIALISES in conference lighting you will find that allmost any other company will be able to cater for conferance lighting requirements.

 

And as mac.calder said , AV is what everyone looks at , if you want to be involved in conferences your best bet is AV

 

Hope that helped

John Partridge

[Pete McCrea]

I wouldn't bother with AV.....(having just started an AV Hire company- I don't want any more competition!!) :) :** laughs out loud **:

 

That said it is a cut thoat market. IF you really do decide to do it, then sub the kit you need until you can buy it out right. So the first tip would be to find a company that will give you a decent subhire rate.

[Stewart Newlands]

Location and contacts: two things you will find it hard to live without, when I was in Scotland it was noticeable the number of times the local outfits never got a look in and production came from London (even for "Scottish" brand names). If you can support a nice office in Soho and take the Marketing Director of one the FT top 500 out for lunch every working day for two years you just may get the odd job say 1% cold sales that's 5 gigs or 2 1/2 gigs a year.

[Jivemaster]

Re-read Lightnix's post, then I'll add

1/ You need contacts

2/ you need some business prospects

3/ you need to be NEAR head offices of prospective client companies.

 

Dont set up another store of kit that hasnt been out since it's last pat test, there are too many of those already. Read L&SI for a year see who does what well. There is soo much kit waiting for a use that you can hire in most of what you will ever need. What you cannot hire is technical, artistic, business and interpersonal skill, IF you have that you can sell it again and again.

[Frog Genius]

Thanks for al your advice

 

sorry, it is my fault entirely for not making it clear,

I was more wondering about the organisation side rather than the hire side, (no need to worry little DJ)

Currently our "company"do the organisation of the actual conference but we dont really use much AV stuff for them, we were thinking about expanding into this area, designing,ordering ect the eqipment and overseeing the operation.

So we would do this for our own companys conferences and for others

so we do the main event AND the AV ect

XXX company does the main event AND we do the AV ect

 

Hope that clears some stuff up!

www.powerseminars.co.uk

[MikeR]

Ahhh the usual story prodco sees alternative means of fulfillment - read lower costs, higher margins. In my experience most of the companies I have seen try this have failed miserably because they really don't know what they're doing ( how hard can it be they think) and have lost clients and accounts and Ive seen some big accounts closed and invoices unpaid. Most recently a £2M (approx) invoice refused. Don't do it would be my honest and only response though I realise that it will only sound like sour grapes for want of better words.