My name is Jeff Holmes. I’m the Creative Director at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.
What was it about Event Tech that kept you coming back?
When you’re looking for people you want to partner with, especially on a continued basis where you’re doing event after event after event, what you’re really looking for is someone who can make your life easy, and that’s what Event Tech does. You can call them up, explain your situation, and they’ll come ready with solutions, and you don’t have to get in the weeds and worry about, “Are they going to be thinking about this detail or that detail?” They will be thinking about it, and that’s what I love about working with Event Tech.
What were functions and meetings like before using Event Tech?
Before we started working with Event Tech, production value was not a primary concern of our events. We tended to work with a lot of internal staff, and as a result, the quality just wasn’t where you wanted it to be. So, when we made the decision we really want these to look and feel a certain way, we want the guest experience to be good, if we’re releasing them online, we want that experience to be top-notch. That’s why we came to Event Tech, and they’ve delivered on that.
What do you like most about working with Event Tech?
Often, I have sort of half-baked ideas. So, I have a sense of what I want, but it’s not fully there. If I’m talking with Bill or someone else on the phone, I explain what I need, and they can usually take that half-baked idea and then make it a fully-realized concept. That’s what I really like is that process of it going from this half-baked idea in my head to something that’s going to exist in the world and be a great show.
If you were recommending Event Tech to someone else, what would you tell them?
I would tell them if you’re looking for events that look and sound and feel great, both for the guest and if you’re looking to do events that are released online or shows that are released online, if you want to feel safe and secure in the knowledge that it’s going to look and sound great and reflect your company or organization very well. That’s part one.
Part two is, they’re just going to make your life easier. You get to look like a hero. You call up Event Tech, they’re going to do so much of the work, and then you get to take all the credit for it when the show goes well without a hitch.
When were you most thankful that Event Tech was there?
We were putting on a live show at the end of January, and a couple of weeks before the show, it looked like, “Well, we might get some weather.” Then that “Maybe we’ll get some weather” turns into “It might be one of the biggest snowstorms that D.C. has seen in the past – who knows, decades.
So, there was a venue change potentially. There were Plan Bs, and Cs, and Ds. There were multiple stakeholders involved. The logistics were going to be super challenging. On top of that, this was over the weekend when most people wouldn’t be working, and we had just a couple of days to get this thing together and figure out a plan in the midst of what did turn out to be one of D.C.’s biggest snowstorms.
We had plans in place. The fact that even in the midst of a super snowstorm, we were able to put on that show and have good attendance. Everything went off without a hitch. That was, to me, the biggest moment where – that’s when you want to work with someone like Event Tech.
That could have so easily turned into what was going to be a high-profile event, with a very high-profile guest. It would have been a canceled show if we hadn’t had the right partners. But because we had the right partners like Event Tech, we were able to put on that show, and it’s been one of our most successful of the series.
