Producer Partnership: A Memo to Meeting Planners in Event Production
What a Producer Brings to the Table for Meeting Planners
We in production know you, as a meeting planner, have your hands full. From venue sourcing to travel coordination, project management, food & beverage, registration, attendee management, entertainment, decor, etc. – you’re a walking, talking checklist and more.
Many of you already know what I’m about to share, but others are still learning.
We are here to help!
The we I’m referring to are producers (executive and the like). This is an outreach from a community of experts. We want you to know the producer can be your best friend. Once you embrace the partnership, you won’t let go.
How can a producer be so helpful you ask? The following is a general overview and just scratching the surface. The deep dive details will come from your producer partner (or maybe me if you reach out).
Venue Sourcing Nuances: Where the Producer Makes the Difference
Venue sourcing is your specialty, copy that. Where a producer can help is multi-fold including but not limited to projecting the proper dimensions to pursue in your RFP. A simple listing of the PAX count, stage size and seating style is a pathway to disappointment. While it is understandable your client likely has not determined all there is to know about the program in question, there can be a safe approach a producer can employ to support your search.
This will include:
Square footage range
Ceiling height minimum
Feasibility layout created and dropped in the returned ballrooms/spaces for round two analysis
Understanding minimum space is important and the Producer can help with that but providing a range allows you to not shut yourself out of venues by having the minimum space be too large. As you get closer to contracting, you will be able to hone in on the right size based on the net return and working with your producer.
What Meeting Planners Need to Know About In-House Services
Speaking of venue contracts, nobody understands many of the in-house services as well as the producer and their tech team. These services include but are not limited to:
Audio Visual
Wifi
Power
Rigging
These are all services the producer knows intimately and are offered in different ways depending on the venue. It’s critical to know which services are truly exclusive and those that are preferred. Many times the venue will include preferred services at a discount. This can excite the meeting planner and their client, because it feels like a win.
The producer knows, however, they can often source these services using a known partner providing proven performance and potentially at a lower cost. As for the exclusive services, the producer is experienced in negotiating concessions for these but it’s harder to do that once you have a signed contract. So, another reason to partner with your producer early.
Load-In Timing: The Producer's POV Changes Everything
Another part of the contract that is hard to revisit once you’ve signed, is the function space grid and more specifically, load-In (and out) timing. If you’re being honest, you’ve had a producer, technical director or even a client ask you (after you’ve gone to contract) if they can access the ballroom any earlier.
If you engage a producer ahead of contracting, you can eliminate having to deliver bad news on timing because the producer will understand the needs and the time required. Not having enough time at the front or back end adds stress, added labor, and overtime.
Of course budget and availability often drive these decisions. I’m just suggesting to at least have the producer’s voice included.
Room Layouts That Actually Reflect Reality
Once you do have a contract and all of these elements have been navigated – with or without the help of a producer – program planning will depend on technical expertise the producer and team can provide i.e. reliable room layouts. Initial space estimates and room drawings are approximations. They often don’t have the full picture of what is needed in the room. True layouts take many factors into consideration including (but not limited to):
Sight lines
Backstage Equipment and Staff Footprint
Front of House
Pillars
Activations
Scenic
Seating
Fire Code
Rigging points etc.
This expert level detail leads to – wait for it – no surprises! Just flawless technical execution.
Staffing a Production With the Right People in the Right Roles
The last item I’ll cover here, but not the last we could cover, is labor. Every good producer knows the level of competence required for each position. This is why we rely on known resources. There are many positions to fill including (but not limited to):
Designers
Technical Directors
Creative Operators
Skilled Operators
Technicians
Carpentry
Electricians
Stagehands
Manual Support and Assistance
Understanding which positions to fill with trusted resources puts you in the driver's seat toward a successful production. If you hand all of those roles over to an in-house provider, you lose that control. They may very well have a phenomenal team. However, a producer will know how to staff each position and who can be picked up locally. We understand budget is always part of it and a good producer can find the right fit but it’s important to have sacred cows or the show can be compromised.
The Partnership That Makes Every Program Run Better
This is meant as a supportive guide. Again, I have the utmost respect for Meeting Planners who are THE experts in planning and have significant experience and credentials. I work with many of the best planners in the business and they all embrace the partnership with production knowing we each have a lane but together we thrive. My challenge for you is to recognize if a gap exists, and have a producer fill it.
You can thank me later or just thank your new best friend.
Ted Rockett is the Principal of Straits Creative, a premium global corporate event creation and production company.