When a political action committee holds an event for a political party’s rising star, they need absolute certainty that everything will go smoothly and confidence that the production team can handle last-minute national press attention.
The Background
Tucson, Arizona was the location for a Political Action Committee’s event designed to showcase a former governor and administrator of the DEA. Although the in-person attendance was intended to be intimate, the potential for the event to be covered nationally by the press was significant. The event coordinator wanted a production company that would inspire total confidence that every technical aspect of the event would be executed flawlessly, and knew from our previous work that we were up to the task. This meant working with our team from the beginning and trusting us to manage most aspects of the event, from audio/visual to stage setup to graphic design.
Challenges and Results
The event began at 8:00 am, but the space wasn’t available for setup until 5:00 pm the previous day. Normally, this would mean the client would be up all night watching to make sure all was done correctly. After watching our team for a short time, though, the client had confidence that we had everything covered. Complicated or fast-turnaround setups can be cause for concern, but we make it a priority to master that process so that success is standard regardless of the challenges.
Usually, the flow of an event is fairly predictable, but in this case, our client was hoping for a pivot. National media coverage is rarely a variable that can be fully anticipated, because the who/when/hows of the coverage are often last minute. Our team has experience with this and was prepared, so when the media did become involved we were able to incorporate their participation seamlessly and successfully, which made the political action committee and its guest look great.
Reflections/Takeaways
Even though this event seemed fairly straightforward, the short setup time and the essential ability to incorporate national media coverage meant that there was no room for error. Our familiarity with similar events, along with our emphasis on preparedness, efficiency, and flexibility, meant that the event planner could have an unusual level of trust in our team, which allowed him to participate more fully and effectively during the event.
