Corporate events often come with a specific purpose. Whether you want to foster company culture, boost sales or launch a product, it’s vital that everything runs smoothly. A huge part of this is having reliable audio-visual production.

The reality is that audio-visual production is not something you generally notice unless something goes wrong. When it does, it can be hugely damaging to the event and can ruin all that planning and preparation.

The quality of your audio visual production is vital to how successful the event feels. It’s the foundation of how you engage with your audience. Here you’ll see its importance but also the risks involved if everything goes wrong.

Common Corporate Event AV Failures

Many issues can arise at a corporate event, some worse than others. Here are the types of mishaps you want to avoid:

Presentation Glitches – Any presentation needs to be seamless but issues such as slides failing to load, animation freezes or videos missing audio can ruin that.

Incompatible File Formats – This is a common issue when AV is organized by a non-expert. Wrong aspect ratios or files not playing can prevent information from being displayed.

Failed Live Streams – Live streams are an ever-increasing part of corporate events. Issues with lagging or sound can be embarrassing.

Microphone Failures – You want keynote speakers to have impact. Feedback loops, squealing and audio loss can often cause annoying disturbances.

Poor Visuals – A common issue can be projectors not being bright enough or having poor contrast, leading to people being unable to read the information.

Awkward Pauses – Delayed transitions from walk-ons to speaking or presenting can cause awkward pauses as input sources are switched.

These are some of the common issues but there can be a lot more, such as power failures, equipment malfunctions, not having a sound check or poor lighting. Read on, as you’ll see in greater detail why good AV is so important.

Clear Communication and Audience Engagement

It can present itself in different ways, but corporate events ultimately come down to communication. Depending on the type of event, you will either be sharing information, ideas, vision, or a combination of these three.

You need to focus on what the attendees are going to remember. High-quality AV means they will remember it for the right reasons. Your message will be delivered clearly and without any distractions caused by technical issues.

If the microphones are crisp, the screens are bright and the transitions are seamless, everyone will be able to fully focus on what is being said. This will improve engagement and make the event feel more immersive for all involved.

With high quality corporate audio visual, people are more likely to participate and respond positively.  In contrast, poor quality AV can make even the strongest content look bad if it can’t be delivered properly.

Professional Image and Brand Perception

Word gets around quickly. A bad corporate event can be damaging to a company’s reputation and brand power. With technical mistakes, people will be talking about how bad the event was rather than being wowed by a creative and engaging event.

You want the event to be a representation of your brand. If you are able to run a slick and well-oiled event with no hiccups, it presents an image of strength. One of a company with strong priorities and capable of a high level of professionalism and attention to detail.

This is helped by providing clean visuals, reliable sound and consistent branding. Technical issues can quickly undermine all of that. Problems can be quickly associated with your brand and showcase an inability to pay attention to the details.

This is perhaps unfair but it’s how issues are often perceived. Great AV protects your reputation and strengthens your message. It gives a strong brand consistency and ensures people leave the event talking about the right things and not technical mishaps.

Reliability and Risk Management

There is little room for error with corporate events. You often run tight schedules, have multiple speakers and have high expectations. If something goes wrong, it can put strain on the whole event. You want to mitigate against this.

For example, you may have a keynote speaker whose microphone fails. This can be embarrassing if they either need to cancel the speech or speak without one. Alternatively, if this was mitigated against with a backup microphone, what would have been a major disruption can be a minor hiccup no one remembers.

Things go wrong; it happens. That’s where risk management can be crucial to prevent what should be small issues from developing into something bigger. It can even show an impressive level of preparedness and show the company can act swiftly and efficiently if something goes wrong.

This also gives you peace of mind. There is so much to plan with a corporate event that you want to have confidence in your audio visual set up. That confidence will translate into a strong event where everything works like a well-oiled machine.

When Audio-Visual Production Goes Wrong

There have been many instances of audio visual issues, especially in large concerts. One of many examples is Radiohead leaving the stage at Coachella twice in 2017 due to severe audio issues. It was also seen recently in the Grammys, as Alex Warren’s in-ear monitors malfunctioned.

In these instances, it can leave fans angry or disappointed about the money they spend going to waste. At corporate events, it can make the whole purpose of the event feel meaningless. Any message you were trying to get across can be easily lost.

There are many things you may wish to get out of a corporate event. A well-run event can create a lasting impression. It will create positive publicity and can have other benefits such as improving morale, networking, relationships and engagement.

With this in mind, it’s important to see audio visual production as a cornerstone of an event. It’s not something to be overlooked or be complacent about while you focus on other areas of the event. When you can rely on world-class AV, the whole event is much more likely to go smoothly and have the desired outcome you’re looking for.