Planning a corporate event in London and not sure where to start with the AV? This guide covers everything — what equipment you need, how to brief your AV company, what questions to ask, and how to make sure the day runs without a hitch.
Corporate events are high stakes. Whether it’s a conference for 400 delegates, an AGM with shareholders in the room, or a product launch with press and clients watching, the AV has to work. Not mostly work. Not work until it doesn’t. Work, reliably, from the moment the first guest walks in to the moment the last one leaves.
Getting that right isn’t complicated if you plan properly and work with the right people. This guide walks you through everything you need to know, from choosing the right equipment for your event type to managing the AV on the day itself.
Why AV matters more than most people think
It’s easy to treat AV as a logistical box to tick. Book the venue, sort the catering, get some screens and speakers in. But the reality is that AV shapes how an event feels from the moment it starts.
Poor sound makes speakers hard to follow and audiences switch off quickly. A screen that’s too small means people at the back can’t read the slides. Lighting that’s too flat makes a room feel like a meeting rather than an occasion. And when things go wrong technically — a mic that cuts out, a video that won’t play, a presentation that freezes — it’s not just embarrassing. It undermines confidence in the whole event.
Good AV does the opposite. It makes everything feel considered and professional. It keeps the audience engaged. And it lets your speakers, presenters, and entertainment do their best work without fighting against the environment.
The Chartered Institute of Marketing has long recognised that live events are one of the most effective ways to build brand trust and audience engagement. But that only holds true when the experience lands properly. AV is a big part of what makes it land.
The equipment you’ll actually need
Every corporate event is different, but most draw from the same core set of AV equipment. Here’s what each element does and when you need it.
Sound and PA systems
Sound is the foundation. If people can’t hear clearly, nothing else matters.
For corporate events, the PA system needs to handle speech intelligibly across the whole room, manage multiple microphone inputs simultaneously, and be controlled by someone who can respond in real time if something changes. A panel discussion with five speakers on stage, each with their own microphone, needs careful management. A keynote with a lapel mic and a backing track needs a completely different approach.
The size of the system should match the room. A small portable PA works well for seminars and boardroom presentations under around 100 people. Mid-range systems suit conferences and award dinners from 100 to 300 guests. Larger line array systems are needed for anything above that or for rooms with challenging acoustics.
You can read more about choosing the right size system in our PA system hire guide, which covers everything from small portable setups to large-scale line arrays.
Microphones
Microphone choice depends entirely on how the event is structured.
Lapel or clip-on microphones work well for presenters who move around the stage. Handheld wireless mics are good for more informal presentations and panel handovers. Lectern microphones suit formal speeches where the presenter stays in one place. For Q&A sessions, roving handheld mics or fixed floor mics in the audience area are usually the best solution.
Get the microphone setup wrong and even the best PA system in the world won’t save you. Always discuss your exact mic requirements with your AV company before they quote.
Screens and projection
Screens are how your audience sees your content. The choice between projection and LED display affects image quality, brightness, and cost.
Projected images work well in rooms where ambient light can be controlled. They’re cost-effective for presentations and work across a wide range of screen sizes. But in rooms with large windows or strong overhead lighting, projected images can wash out badly. In those cases, LED screens are a better choice. They’re brighter, sharper, and work in any lighting condition.
For larger events with multiple screen positions, confidence monitors facing the stage (so presenters can see their slides without turning their back on the audience) and IMAG screens (showing a live camera feed of the speaker) both add significantly to the professional feel of an event.
Our screen and projection hire page has more detail on what’s available and what works best in different room types.
LED video walls
LED video walls have become a standard feature of high-end corporate events. They deliver stunning visual impact, work brilliantly in any lighting condition, and can be configured in almost any size or shape to suit the stage design.
They’re particularly effective for product launches, award ceremonies, and flagship conferences where the visual presentation is a core part of the event’s identity. Content looks sharp, colours are vivid, and the overall effect elevates the production quality considerably.
The trade-off is cost. LED video walls are more expensive than projection. But for events where first impressions genuinely matter, the investment is almost always worth it. Take a look at our LED video wall hire page for more information.
Lighting
Lighting is the element that most transforms how a room feels, and the one that’s most often underestimated in corporate event planning.
Stage lighting makes presenters look good on camera and ensures they’re visible from every seat in the room. Uplighting changes the atmosphere of a space instantly. Intelligent moving head fixtures can shift the mood of a room between a formal conference session and an awards dinner without moving a single piece of furniture.
For corporate events, lighting design should always be discussed alongside the rest of the AV setup rather than as an afterthought. The best results come when sound, visuals, and lighting are planned together as a single coherent production.
Staging
A stage gives your speakers presence and makes the event feel structured. Even a modest stage platform of 30cm to 40cm raises a presenter enough to be visible from every seat in a room.
For larger events, staging can incorporate built-in lecterns, presentation screens, custom branding, and tiered platforms for panel discussions. The right staging setup makes a room look purposeful rather than improvised.
Our staging hire page covers the range of options available, from simple modular platforms to fully custom builds.
AV for specific corporate event types
Conferences and seminars
Conferences are the most technically demanding corporate event type. Multiple sessions, multiple speakers, breakout rooms, live Q&A, video content, and often a live stream or recording running alongside the main event — all of it needs to be managed simultaneously by an experienced team.
The key things to nail for a conference are consistent audio quality across the whole day, clear visuals that work for every presentation format (slides, video, live demos), smooth transitions between sessions, and reliable microphone management for panels and audience questions.
Seminars are smaller and simpler, but the same principles apply. Clear sound and a screen that’s appropriately sized for the room are the non-negotiables. Everything else depends on the format.
The Event Industry News regularly covers best practice in conference production and is worth reading if you’re planning a large-scale conference for the first time.
Award ceremonies
Award ceremonies need atmosphere. The production quality of the event is part of what makes the awards feel meaningful. If the room looks flat and the sound is patchy, it takes the shine off even the most prestigious accolades.
For award ceremonies, stage lighting is critical. Spotlighting winners as they walk up, washing the stage in brand colours during the announcement, and creating a sense of occasion with carefully designed lighting states all make a significant difference to how the event lands.
Screen content matters too. Category graphics, winner reveals, video reels, and live camera feeds of the stage all need to be cued and operated precisely. A single dropped transition or wrong graphic at the wrong moment can puncture the atmosphere. Experienced operators who’ve been fully briefed on the run of show are essential.
Product launches
A product launch has one job: to make your product look and feel unmissable. The AV is a major part of how that happens.
Strong visual presentation, impactful sound design, and lighting that builds anticipation all contribute to a reveal that lands properly. LED video walls work particularly well for product launches because they allow full-bleed branded visuals that command the whole room’s attention.
Work with your AV company early in the planning process so the technical setup can be designed around your creative vision rather than retrofitted around it. The best product launch productions happen when the AV team is part of the creative conversation from the start.
AGMs
AGMs are formal events with specific technical requirements. Shareholders and board members are in the room. Presentations need to be clear, professional, and glitch-free. Voting systems, if used, need to integrate with the AV setup. Q&A sessions from the floor need careful microphone management.
Recording and streaming are increasingly common at AGMs, particularly since hybrid formats became the norm post-pandemic. If you’re streaming to remote shareholders, the quality of the stream reflects directly on the organisation. It needs to be done properly.
The Financial Reporting Council sets out guidance on AGM best practice, and many of the recommendations around accessibility and clear communication have direct AV implications.
Hybrid and virtual events
Hybrid events are now a permanent part of the corporate events landscape. Getting them right is genuinely more complex than running either a fully in-person or fully virtual event, because you’re effectively producing two events simultaneously.
The in-room audience needs the full live experience. The virtual audience needs a clean, well-produced broadcast that holds their attention through a screen. Balancing both requires cameras positioned to capture the stage clearly, a reliable encoding and streaming setup, strong internet connectivity at the venue, and an operator who understands both the live production and the broadcast side.
Sound is particularly critical for hybrid events. The mix for the room and the mix for the stream are different. What sounds natural in the room can sound odd on a stream if it’s not managed correctly. An experienced hybrid event technician understands this distinction and manages both outputs simultaneously.
Our hybrid and virtual events page covers the full range of solutions we provide for events with both in-person and remote audiences.
How to brief your AV company properly
A good AV company will ask you a lot of questions before they quote. But the more information you can bring to that first conversation, the better the quote will be and the smoother the whole process will go.
Here’s what to have ready.
The venue. Name, location, and as much detail as you can gather — room dimensions, ceiling height, layout, load-in access, power supply, any noise restrictions, and whether the venue has its own AV infrastructure.
The format. Walk through the event from start to finish. What’s happening in each session? Who’s speaking and how? Is there a panel? A Q&A? Entertainment? Video content? Networking time? The more detailed the run of show, the better.
The headcount. Your best estimate of how many people will be in the room. This drives equipment sizing.
The timeline. When can the AV team access the venue to set up? When do guests arrive? When does the event end? When does the venue need to be cleared?
The creative brief. If you have a visual identity, brand guidelines, or a specific look and feel in mind, share it. Good AV companies can work with your creative direction, not just provide generic equipment.
The budget. Being upfront about your budget isn’t giving away your negotiating position. It’s giving the AV company the information they need to design the best solution within your means. Without a budget figure, you risk getting a quote that’s either way over what you can spend or under-specced for what you actually need.
Questions to ask before you book
Not all AV companies are equal. Before you commit, it’s worth asking a few direct questions.
Do you own your equipment or do you sub-hire? Companies that own their kit know it inside out, maintain it properly, and aren’t dependent on third-party availability. Sub-hiring isn’t always a red flag, but it’s worth knowing.
Who will be on-site on the day? You want to know the experience level of the crew, not just the sales team. Ask whether the people quoting you are the people who’ll be at your event.
Have you worked at this venue before? Familiarity with a venue helps enormously. If they haven’t, ask whether they’ll do a site visit in advance.
Is your equipment PAT tested and insured? Any professional company should be able to answer yes to both without hesitation. If there’s any uncertainty, that tells you something.
What happens if something goes wrong on the day? Equipment fails occasionally. The question is whether the company carries backup kit and has a plan for dealing with technical issues live. Ask directly.
Can you provide references from similar events? A company that’s done hundreds of corporate events should have no trouble pointing you to clients who’ll vouch for them.
Managing AV on the day
Even with the best AV company in the world, there are things you can do as the event organiser to make the day go more smoothly.
Do a proper technical rehearsal. If at all possible, run through the full event with the AV team before guests arrive. Test every microphone, every video file, every slide transition. Find the problems in rehearsal, not in front of your audience.
Share final materials in advance. Presentation files, video content, music, and any other media should be with the AV team the day before the event at the latest. Running changes on the morning of is stressful for everyone and increases the risk of errors.
Have a clear point of contact. The AV team needs one person to go to with questions and decisions on the day. If that person is also running the event, make sure they know to prioritise AV communication when it matters.
Trust your technician. If the AV technician tells you something needs to change — a microphone position, a volume level, a timing adjustment — listen to them. They’re managing the room acoustics and technical picture in real time. That’s their expertise.
Build in buffer time. Things always take slightly longer than planned. Build contingency into your schedule so that a late-arriving speaker or a slightly longer session doesn’t cascade into a technical crisis.
How far in advance should you book?
For most corporate events, three to six weeks in advance is the minimum. For large conferences, award ceremonies, or flagship productions, earlier is always better.
Popular dates in London — particularly end of quarter, pre-Christmas, and Awards season — book up fast. If your event falls on a Friday or Saturday, the same applies. The AV companies with the best equipment and most experienced crew are often the first to fill up.
If you’re planning something at short notice, it’s still worth calling. But don’t be surprised if options are limited.
A final word on getting value
The cheapest AV quote is rarely the best value. Equipment that isn’t right for the room, crew without the experience to manage a live corporate event, or a company that goes quiet when things get complicated — all of these cost you far more than the money you saved on the quote.
Good AV for a corporate event is an investment in how the event is received, how your organisation is perceived, and whether your guests leave with the impression you wanted to create. It’s worth getting right.
If you’re planning a corporate event in London and want to talk through what you need, get in touch with our team. We’ll give you honest advice, a clear quote, and a team that shows up and delivers.
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AV Hire London provides audio visual equipment hire and full event production services for corporate events across London and the UK. From conferences and AGMs to product launches and award ceremonies, we’ve got the equipment and the team to make it work.