Event Spotlight: S&P OPSCON

Event Spotlight: S&P OPSCON

We were honored to partner up with S&P Global on their OPSCON conference again this past spring! This event is an internal conference that packs lots of content into just a few days, so efficiency & time management are essential to helping it run smoothly!

General Session stage at the Paramount Theater

The general session space was staged at the Paramount Theater, but there were also breakout sessions to account for, which were held at the nearby Omni Charlottesville. Because the group had such a charged schedule, the organizers needed to accomplish a lot in a limited amount of time.

There were four breakout sessions that organizers wanted each attendee to participate in, and if the breakouts were spread out across the hotel event spaces, too much time would get lost in transit. To maximize on attendees’ time, we proposed the idea of gathering the entire group in one space and running 4 concurrent sessions. This way, no time would get lost during transitions, and messages could be shared in a concise amount of time.

So how did we achieve this?

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We created an “in the round” stage set with 4 screens, and modular panels dividing each speaker’s area. We utilized Barco HD projectors & screens for a budget-friendly yet high impact solution.

Attendees were provided with in ear monitors and rotated every 20 minutes, allowing them to participate in four separate breakouts within an hour and a half. (Learn more about IEM’s in our last blog post: In-Ear Monitors: The What, When, Why, and How)


This solution met S&P’s goals not only in its efficient delivery of a message to an entire group, but also in keeping the group engaged and unified throughout the entire event. The unique layout & implementation kept attendees interested, and we eliminated potential wasted time by keeping attendees within the same space.

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Looking for an out-of-the-box solution for your upcoming event? 

In-Ear Monitors: The What, When, Why, and How

In-Ear Monitors: The What, When, Why, and How

Ever seen a concert up close & noticed those little headphones that the performers were wearing? These are called “in-ear monitors” and they allow the performer to hear a specific audio mix overtop of the loud ambient noise of what’s going on onstage. 

In-Ear Monitor (n.) : A small and discrete headphone set that relays a personal audio mix. The headphones are connected to a small belt pack receiver, enable the listener to move about without cables.

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Though these are commonly used for musical events, we’ve found some creative ways to use them to benefit a conference! 

Over the past year, we’ve had multiple clients who needed a way for conference speakers to give different presentations during the same time slot - and in the same space. As a solution, we design them a multi-sided stage set, and implement in-ear monitors for their attendees so that they can “tune in” to the presentation they want to listen to at that time. 

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This solution seems to work best for longer or multi-day events, where this kind of presentation format is used as a fun & engaging exception to the rule, breaking up the more traditionally-formatted keynote presentations.

And there are several benefits to this approach! In-ear monitors and the accompanying hardware are discreet and lightweight, not like traditional headphones which can be cumbersome and uncomfortable. They’re easy for attendees to operate, and are pleasant to use.

The main benefit, though, is that the use of in-ear monitors allows for more content to be delivered throughout a conference, AND allows attendees to select which content is going to be most relevant for them, making the best use of their time there.

Curious about how in-ear monitors could benefit your event? Give us a call to learn about the possibilites! 

Event Trends: Hard Sets

Event Trends: Hard Sets

Whether you’re producing a conference, a social event, a festival - you name it! - staging is an important component of your event’s success. At a minimum, your stage likely has some sort of video display on it for presentation material, branded content, ambient graphics, or some combination of the three. But hard sets & stage decor are also becoming an industry standard in live events. Let’s look at why!

LEGITIMACY

At face value, having an impressive stage set helps to boost your event’s legitimacy and credibility. It shows that you’re investing in your attendees’ experience, and that you value the production quality of your event. Bonus points if you’re integrating your event’s or organization’s branding into custom set decor, as this helps to drive home your specific team’s commitment to producing an outstanding & unique event.

ENGAGEMENT

Hard sets also help to improve audience engagement! Think about it - you’re giving them something interesting to take in visually throughout the event. The higher impact your staging, the more excited your attendees will be about what’s being presented there. Engaging sets also help to establish a creative and inspiring atmosphere, helping your audience to think outside of the box and become more open to the content being presented.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT

You’re already going to the trouble (and expense) of hosting your event - so why not take the opportunity to improve your ROI? Hard sets can be used to drive brand awareness, bringing your team’s brand to life & making it even more memorable. By setting the tone for high quality content or a high quality offer, an impactful set can also make your message more compelling and convincing. All of these elements combined make it that much more likely that an audience member will engage with you or your brand following the event - which means a greater return on your investment!

Hard sets are quickly becoming a favorite tool of event designers & staging professionals, so we're busy finding more and more ways to use them creatively and in a unique way! We look forward to helping you incorporate this staging technology to create more engaging events for you and your attendees!

Stay tuned for more profiles on event trends in the coming weeks! (Check out our last trend profile on modular decor panels!)