5 Questions to Ask Your AV Solutions Provider

Welcome to our blog! We are Reaction Audio Visual (RAV). Here you will find helpful information, resources, and links for the busy, time-constrained, corporate event planner, who is looking to partner with a new AV solutions provider for their next event.

As an event planner, you can agree that audio visual technology is a critical part of any event. You want the AV team you hire to be reliable, be able to work the technology successfully and give you the effective support you need. You must ask the important questions first, rather than be surprised during the middle of the process. We have compiled a list of questions that we think are important when choosing the best AV provider for your next event.

1. What additional products/services do you offer?

Some AV providers offer more than just one service. It is in your best interest to find this out as soon as possible. By ordering from a “one-stop shop,” you may end up saving money rather than getting different services from multiple vendors. For example, at Reaction AV we offer many different types of services. We start out working on the entire design process with you including renderings that bring your concept to life. We consult and provide multiple options to fit your client’s budget. Our company then provides a full-service event technology solution that incorporates audio, video, lighting, LED, computers, and so on. We provide all the equipment and professional engineers to bring your event from your imagination to reality. By providing a true one-stop shop experience, your event is executed flawlessly and within budget.

2. What are your specialized services/event types?

All audio visual companies have general services that they offer to everyone. But dig deeper and ask about what types of events they specialize in. This will give you a good idea if they are the right provider that you are looking for. For example, at Reaction AV we specialize in conferences, trade shows, conventions, and large scale corporate events. These events are large with multiple moving parts, exhibit floors, break out rooms, concert stages, and more. It is difficult for smaller AV companies to provide that array of expertise and the equipment to execute them. So it's important to know what your provider specializes in to know whether they are the right fit for your event.

3. What are the advantages of working with you?

With this question, you are basically asking why you should pick one vendor over another amongst multiple competitors. Different companies will offer a variety of strengths or weaknesses in their offerings. The best way to decide is to know exactly what is more important to your event. Is it to save money and come under budget or to make sure that your attendees have the best experience possible? At Reaction AV, we provide all of the above. We have the best technicians in the industry and the best professional equipment possible along with common sense pricing that will keep you under budget.

4. Are you familiar with the venue & will you walk the venue with me?

This is an important question because there are so many venues to have events at and each venue has particular requirements from power to rigging, to union providers, and more. So asking the AV Provider whether they have experience working in that venue is important. In addition, asking if they will do a site inspection with you prior to doing the event is important. This is critical prior to the event to know basics like where and how to load in, what requirements the venue may have, sizing of screens or LED walls, etc. Reaction AV has experience working in almost every major venue in the US and others globally. We also make it a point to do a complimentary on-site inspection on large events with each one of our clients.

Some additional things to ask your AV provider are:

• Do you own your own equipment or just cross-rent from other companies?

• How do you vet your technicians prior to hiring them?

• What if your equipment fails during the show? Do you have a backup plan and does it include “hot swaps” for critical equipment?

• What does your event insurance policy look like if something does go wrong? – because inevitably, it will.

We hope that you find this blog useful and we hope you will continue to come back to learn more about event production and execution with Reaction AV.

If you are looking for a trusted AV solutions provider for your next big event, please reach out to us here or directly via our website to discuss your event needs.

Reaction Audio Visual is a nationwide, single-source provider for your event technology and production needs & our vision is to provide each and every one of our clients with the most personalized and high-end audio visual experience possible — so that they may go on to host a captivating event and further spark their own business success. We pride ourselves in our diverse and superior service and have been serving the event industry for over 14 years.