Matthew Byrne, Byrne Production Services
TOP TECH PRODUCTION TRENDS YOU’RE BETTING ON FOR 2025?
For the years leading up to the pandemic the buzz word was always “what’s new and next!” 2024 saw a trend towards “how can I use the existing in new and interesting ways” We are seeing more creative problem solving and flexibility around using existing inventory and technology to create more interesting experiences for audiences. I definitely think this will continue in 2025.
HOW ARE YOU BRINGING AI TO THE EVENT INDUSTRY?
AI is becoming an essential tool in creating production design for large scale events. By using image generating tools and large language models we are cutting down on the inefficient back and forth and hit and miss approach that used to kill potential ideas. By integrating AI into the purpose of our process to explore, evaluate and engineer solutions for our clients’ biggest events, we use this amazing technology to help communicate ideas and refine concepts. That way, by the time we need one of our design team to put pencil to paper (or mouse to vectorworks… ha), we are starting from a solid foundation, led by the client.
HOW SHOULD EVENT MARKETERS BE LOOKING AT PRODUCTION BUDGETS IN 2025?
We all know that it is harder for event marketers to get their brand messaging and experience to resonate with their target audience without framing the event in an elevated amount of production value. Most people look at the rising costs of AV and lighting production, paired with a sentence like “Production Value” and assume it is going to mean a larger expense. Remember that production value is not about what you spend on your event, but how you spend it. Going back to the purpose, objective and what resonates with your target audience and building a priority list around anything that supports that is always going to be key to getting your value out of your production.
BIGGEST EVENT TECH MISTAKES YOU STILL SEE? BE HONEST. THIS IS A SAFE PLACE.
To be honest, from a production point of view, I think there is still a large knowledge gap on how production works in relation to in house providers. Multiple sources are pointing out that post-pandemic, around 70% of people working in this industry have been doing so for less than 5 years. That is a lot of institutional knowledge we lost. Now when they hear intimidating sales pitches from in house providers, the hotels and convention facilities that have a vested interest in that sale, a lot of newer event teams admit that they think they have no choice in the matter.
If I was to see a repeating mistake, is that event marketers and organizers are not asking valid questions when negotiating their venue contracts. Somewhere along the line they were told they couldn’t ask questions. They absolutely can. What does exclusive mean? What departments does that cover? Is the venue willing to lose a booking from you to hold on to that exclusivity?
BIGGEST PRODUCTION PROBLEMS YOU ARE TRYING TO FIX?
As I mentioned above, most event marketers, planners and organizers feel they are beholden to an industry wide monopoly for “Exclusive” in house services. I am dedicated to helping professionals in this industry understand how we got to this, what the biggest risks we all take to let this happen and where we can go from here.
