What should you ask an event production company before you hire them?

Most production pitches look good. The showreel is polished, the credentials are strong and everyone in the room is likeable. None of that tells you what happens when the keynote speaker's flight is cancelled, or the venue's internet drops ten minutes before you go live.

These are the ten questions we'd ask if we were on your side of the table, and what a good answer sounds like.

1. Who will actually be running my event on the day?

You want names, not a department. The people in the pitch aren't always the people in the gallery. A good partner will tell you who your producer is and let you meet them before you sign.

2. What happens if something fails?

Ask about the stream, the power, the presenter's laptop and the main screen. Every one of them can fail, and a professional production has a backup for each. If the answer is "that won't happen", keep looking.

3. Have you delivered something like this, at this scale?

Not the same sector necessarily, but the same shape: the same number of delegates, the same number of locations, the same mix of in the room and online. Ask what went wrong on that job and how they handled it. The honest answer is more useful than the case study.

4. How do you test the stream?

The right answer involves watching it from outside the venue, on a normal connection, the way your audience will. Testing that the signal leaves the building tells you very little.

5. What's included in the price, and what isn't?

Crew overtime, travel, rehearsal days, edits after the event and changes to the run of show are where budgets drift. A clear quote lists them. A vague one leaves them for later.

6. How many suppliers will be involved?

Venue, AV, staging, filming, streaming, graphics, print. Every extra supplier is another handoff where something can slip. Find out who's accountable for the whole thing, not just their part of it.

7. What will we have when the event is over?

The event lasts a day. The content can last a year. Ask what's being recorded, in what form, and what it will take to turn it into highlights, on demand sessions and social clips. If nobody's planned it, it won't happen.

8. How do you handle speakers and VIPs?

Senior speakers need briefing, rehearsal and someone looking after them who knows what they're doing. Ask who that is, and how they handle the speaker who wants to change their slides an hour before going on.

9. Can you work across countries and time zones?

If your audience is international, ask about local crews, permits, connectivity and language versions. Cross border events catch out teams who haven't done them before.

10. What will you need from us, and when?

A good partner tells you what they need, from you and by when, to deliver well. A partner who says "nothing, leave it with us" is either very good or hasn't thought about it yet.

What a good answer sounds like

Specific, calm and a little cautious. The best production partners talk about what could go wrong, because they've planned for it. If you're comparing companies now, these ten questions will tell you more than any showreel.

If you'd like to put them to us, tell us about your event.

Frequently asked questions

How do I choose an event production company? Look for a team that has delivered events of a similar scale and shape, can name who will run yours on the day, has a backup for every critical system, and can explain clearly what's in the price and what isn't.

What's the difference between an event production company and an AV company? An AV company supplies and runs the equipment. An event production company shapes and delivers the whole event: the staging, the technology, the content, the filming and how it reaches people who aren't in the room.

When should I hire an event production company? As early as possible, ideally while the format and venue are still being decided. Production decisions affect the venue, the budget and what you can do with the content afterwards.