The Corporate Event AV Brief: What Your Supplier Needs From You

Corporate event managers tell us the same thing repeatedly: getting AV quotes is frustrating because every supplier returns a different number for what looks like the same job. That is almost always a briefing problem rather than a pricing problem. When suppliers are guessing, they either pad the quote to protect themselves or quote low and add extras later. Neither helps you defend the spend internally.

Here is exactly what we need in order to send back a firm, comparable quote within 24 hours.

1. Date, venue and access times

The venue determines almost everything: power, ceiling height, load-in access, lift availability and whether we can rig overhead. Access times matter just as much. A venue that only releases the room two hours before doors needs a different plan, and often more crew, than one we can build in the morning.

2. Final or expected guest count

This sizes the sound system and nothing else does. A room of 80 and a room of 300 are different technical jobs, not the same job scaled. An approximate number is fine, but tell us if it might swing significantly.

3. The run sheet, even a rough one

This is the single most useful document you can send. Arrival, dinner service, speeches, awards, any video playback, and the point where the room turns into a party. It tells us how many microphones we need, when they need to be live, where playback has to be cued and how many crew are needed on the floor.

4. Speeches, presentations and awards

Say clearly whether there are speeches, how many speakers, and whether anyone presents from slides or video. Speech audio is where corporate events are judged. A gala with six speakers needs more microphones, a technician on the desk and a rehearsed handover, and that is a real cost line rather than an afterthought.

5. Branding requirements

Logos on screens, a branded DJ facade, company colours in the uplighting, a logo projection on the wall. All achievable, all easier when we know in advance. Send artwork in a vector format if you have it.

6. Who else is working the event

Your venue AV contact, event planner, photographer and any production company. Coordinating directly with them saves you being a messenger, and it stops the classic problem of two suppliers assuming the other is providing the screen.

7. Compliance requirements

Tell us up front what procurement needs. We supply full VAT invoices, public liability insurance certificates, PAT test certificates and risk assessments as standard, but knowing your deadline for the paperwork means it arrives with the quote rather than the week of the event.

8. Budget range

Corporate clients are often reluctant to share this, and it works against you. A range lets us design the strongest possible event at your number instead of guessing. If your budget is fixed at a level we cannot deliver well, we will tell you honestly rather than cutting corners quietly.

Why this matters for comparing quotes

Once suppliers are working from the same eight points, quotes become genuinely comparable and you can see who has actually understood the event. Send us those details and your quote comes back within 24 hours, scoped to your run sheet rather than to a template.