Guarding Your AV Spend

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Video Transcript:

Really what I wanted to talk about  is, guarding your audio visual spend. What I feel, being in this business a very long time is the (AV) price value relationship has deteriorated over the years. So the prices have gone up, you’re paying a lot more for audio visual than you did in the past and the challenge with that is the product that you’re getting isn’t in relationship to the price you’re paying. So that’s something that we feel should change.

Fair Prices & Great Value for AV

You should be able to pay a fair price, but you should also have a great value. And that experience you get when you’re at the venue, in your event should be something that’s spectacular. At Clarity, we call that remarkable. We like to make our events a remarkable place to be for the attendees, for the meeting planners, for the presenters, and even for the hotel contacts we have and the other partners we work with. We really want to make that event remarkable. We want to bring the fun back to audio visual, and make it something you enjoy working on rather than something you dread working on, or you’re afraid you’re going to get price gauged, or you’re afraid that a lot of your budget is going to be sucked up on the AV side. What we like to do is, we like to say, “Hey let’s bring the fun back, let’s make this a great experience, let’s have a great time, and let’s make sure when you leave the value you have for the spend that you had is remarkable.

AV Spend that Impacts Your Event

What we have learned also is that the spend you have has a great impact on the event. What you want to do is you want to take a look at how much you’re spending on the audio visual side and what is the AV impact you need for your audience. For example, what’s your audience there for? Are they there for a sales rally? Are they there for a management meeting? Are they there to learn, is it an education session? Are they there to share ideas, like what’s the purpose of the event, and why are the attendees there? And then make sure your AV spend is impacting that overall experience. So, what we like to do at Clarity is make sure that if we are putting money into part of the production, it’s having a big impact for you and the attendees. So, when you look at your company, you look at your experience you’re having now, how do you feel about it, right? Do you feel that the price, you’re paying is kind of getting the value that you’re getting? Do you feel that the price is way higher and outweighing the value? Or do you feel that the value is awesome and the price you are getting is great? So, if you think through that with your AV spend, bring the AV spend to a higher part of your overall discussion when you think about your event.

Apples Aren't Oranges

 One of the things we’ve experienced recently is the need to get multiple proposals and to understand, what is out there in the market and that’s great to do. A lot of our long term 10+ year customers are required to get bids from other providers. What we’ve learned in working with them through that is that “apples aren’t oranges.” So, when you get the quotes you try to line them up. You know, I got the same number of operators, I’ve got the same labor, I’ve got the same equipment. What’s different then? Did I really get a great comparison between those 2 providers and you know the truth is you probably didn’t. And that’s because the equipment doesn’t make up the experience. What makes up the experience is how that company puts that show together how those operators and how those engineers use that equipment. How the cues happen, how the room feels. So, unfortunately just getting and lining up your AV quotes isn’t going to give you the ability to give you an apples to apples comparison. So, it’s going to take a little more effort, a little more homework. You may ask how can you, how can you get a good comparison between what’s out there? And what we’ve learned is that you need to get to know the companies, so  rather than looking for 8 or 10 companies to put in a bid, narrow that down to a couple and then spend time with them. Invite them to talk to you about their company. Allow them to meet with you in person and share with you  what they do. Go to one of their events, meet one of their customers,  get that first-hand experience, because you’re never going to get a great comparison when you’re just comparing what’s on the bid template or what’s on the quote or what the line item AV equipment is. So, it’s really all about what happens on that event the magic that happens the experience that happens and that’s something that Clarity very much focuses on and we’re bring that back to the AV industry and bringing that excitement and fun back to all of your events and to your planners.

Fear of Changing AV Providers

The other challenge that we face when we talk about your overall AV spend is protecting that, but also not being so concerned that you’re afraid to make a change. It’s a very important part of your event the overall experience that you have in regard to putting on a fantastic event it’s a live event and you have a one-time opportunity to make it go well. So, there is often a lot of concern about making a change or using another provider. What we want to let you know is that it is ok to consider using another provider and if you talk with them ahead of time, and you put the work in you can feel very confident about making that change and increasing your overall experience. If you like we have plenty of customers who would love to talk through that with you and give you an example of their fear of change that they had and then when they selected Clarity as an example they were able to really have an experience they didn’t expect. And so, we hope that you look at your overall AV spend, your overall AV experience. Unfortunately, there are a lot of challenges out there. You know some companies aren’t that great, other companies are fantastic and it’s really up to you to navigate those waters and really find that great partner for you event.

Get the Most Out of AV with Clarity Experiences

We want to bring the fun back to AV at your events and help you create a remarkable experience for your attendees. If you're ready for a change or just curious, get the conversation started, our team is just one click away.