Contracting The “Right” Corporate Entertainment

The Passing Zone

For additional information on corporate entertainment visit the PM Productions website at www.pmproductions.com

Options! In the past 10 years, entertainment options has increased ten fold.

From jugglers, like the Pass Zone to the bizarre antics of comedian Gallagher, just about anything and anyone is promoting themselves as a corporate entertainer.  How do you sort through all the options and find the right entertainment for your corporate event?

Internet searches has become the number one source for research. Going direct to the talent seems like a great idea to save money and find exactly what you’re looking for. The only problem with this is although the entertainer or talent has a great looking website and video, do you really know much about the act? Are they dependable; will they do or say anything on stage that is inapproriate; are there details in their rider that could strain the budget that could be eliminated?

Unless you are a seasoned planner and have experience buying talent, our suggestion is to interview a few local entertainment companies and utilize their service. Make sure you do a through job interviewing the company. Here is a list of starter questions to ask:

1. How long has your company been in business?
2. How long have you been contracting entertainment?
3. Are you and/or the talent insured?
4. How often do you work with the talent that I’m interested in?
5. Can you give me some recent referrals?

The above questions are important because what has happened the past few years is some entertainers have been passing themselves off as entertainment producers. The last thing you need is a pianist from Chicago recommending talent to your group just because he saw them last week at a gig!

Another benefit with working with a reliable entertainment or talent agency (especially in the current economic state) is negoiations. Because agencies work with talent throughout the year they have better negoiating leverage when budgets are lean.  Yes, talent will negoiate directly with you but you’ll need to catch them when they are home or not performing. Again, a trustworthy agency will have those answers for you immediately and your telent can be secured.

The last benefit of working with an experienced entertainment agency comes back to options. There are so many acts and entertainers vying for work how would an unexperienced buyer know which one is best suited for their event? The agency can narrow those options based on questions he or she will ask about your event. Questions such as:

1. What are your goals?
2. Do you have a message or branding you would like to entertainer to relay?
3. Who is in attendence (demographics)?
4. What entertainment have you had in the past and was it successful?
5. What is your budget including any production costs?

Working with an experienced event company could save you money but they will definately find you the right entertainment for your event, explain rider requirements and give you the peace of mind that the entertainer(s) will be reliable and professional.

Beach Boys Tribute Band, Papa Do Run Run

A side note, PM Productions, Inc has been providing social and corporate entertainment since 1992. Services include celebrity and nationally recognized entertainers as well as local talent in Chicago and twelve major markets throughout North America including Montreal, Barbados and Honolulu.