Radio, AV & PA System Hire: The ‘Three Kings’ of Every Successful Christmas Event!

It’s that time of year again when the nights draw in, the temperatures drop and we could all do with something to look forward to. And that means turning our thoughts to Christmas!

With the festive season just a matter of weeks away, any business or organisation planning a special Christmas event needs to get cracking. Whether it’s a lights switch on, a Santa’s grotto, an in-store Winter Wonderland, a school nativity play, a Christmas market or office party, pulling off a memorable seasonal show takes time and effort.

Luckily for you, MTECH Brentwood has one important aspect of event planning completely covered. Communications systems play a crucial role in events for multiple reasons, from safety and security to levelling up the entertainment value. And we provide it all, with flexible hire terms for two-way radios, audio-visual (AV) equipment, and public address (PA) systems.

In this article, we explain why these ‘three kings’ are the gifts that keep on giving for Christmas event organisers – and how having a convenient one-stop hire solution for them all makes your event planning that much easier.

Two-Way Radios: The Gold Standard for Clear Communication

The smooth and successful running of any event depends on effective communication and coordination. Two-way radios have been trusted by events organisers for decades for providing just that. Even after other forms of wireless mobile communication emerged on the scene, two-way radio remains the gold standard in event communication because it is reliable, resilient and, just as importantly, very easy to use.

As well as effective coordination on the go, another reason to supply your team with two-way radios at your Christmas event is crowd safety and security. This has taken on renewed importance with the introduction of Martyns Law, the legislation introduced in the wake of the 2017 Manchester Arena terrorist attack that places increased public safety obligations on events and venues.

If you expect to have more than 200 attendees at your Christmas event, there’s now a legal requirement to have a safety plan in place detailing how you would minimise harm to the public in the event of a terrorist incident. This covers things like evacuation and/or lockdown protocols, but also how you would communicate the threat (see PA systems below) and coordinate the response – a role radios can certainly fulfill.

What to look for in two-way radios for events?

The priority with events radio is ensuring everyone stays connected and can hear conversations and messages in busy, noisy environments. Look for high-spec audio and a good signal range. Digital radio offers better performance than traditional analogue walkie-talkies in this regard, with more powerful output and features like noise cancelling that ensure clear, clean audio whatever the environment.

Many radio models these days feature safety and security features like one-touch emergency buttons and emergency call override so urgent messages always get through. It’s also worth considering portability and ease of use. You don’t want your staff or volunteers struggling with larger devices and complex controls. Choose a compact, lightweight, basic model that is easy to use straight out the box. And look for features like VOX voice operation, or consider microphone and earpiece headsets, for convenient hands-free use.

AV Equipment: Bring the Christmas Magic to Life

Audio visual equipment is how you add a wow factor to your event. It’s all about screens, video feeds, projections, atmospheric sounds, lighting hire and more.

AV equipment is a fabulous tool for setting the mood and providing entertainment at your event. It’s an invitation to get creative and leave an impression. Some fabulous ideas for what you can achieve include projection mapping, or projecting images, animations or even videos on any available surfaces for an immersive effect, backed up with complementary soundscapes (it’s your choice whether you want to go down the Christmas song route or not!)

Another great idea is thinking of ways you can use AV to create interactive experiences. This might take the form of interactive digital walls, where LED displays respond to touch or people’s movement, or creating ‘gamified’ zones with video games on touchscreen panels, or running live polls and quizzes via large-scale screens.

What to look for in AV hire equipment for events?

However creative you want to get with AV, the most important thing is to ensure you have the right controls to manage it all. This partly depends on having a suitable integrated control system for the solutions you choose. But it also depends on having the right set up, on how you connect all the different devices into a single seamless control system with cables and routers, and also how you segregate and zone equipment, so you can, for example, have different audio in different areas.

PA Systems: Frankly Good Sense For Every Stage!

Finally, as well as crystal clear communication between your teams to ensure your event runs smoothly, you may also want a public address system for interactions with guests. PA systems often form a crucial part of the entertainment (think comperes, performers, presentations), but they also have an important role to play in relaying information to attendees. Safety and security management is an important part of this, so again Martyn’s Law is relevant.

What to look for in PA hire systems for events: PA sound systems are made up of speakers, microphones, amplifiers and other sound equipment such as mixing desks which collectively broadcast audio over your event space so guests can hear clearly. The first consideration is therefore choosing a PA system that is suitable for your venue. Too small a PA system and audio won’t be loud enough for everyone to hear easily. But pick one too powerful for your space and you risk issues such as feedback.

If you are also running AV equipment at your event, you will want tight integration between the visual side and the audio/PA – you should in effect treat these as part of the same system. If a PA system is to form part of your safety and security protocols, it’s worth considering whether it should be beneficial to connect your internal radio network. This might, for example, involve having a dedicated supervisor’s channel connected to the PA so senior team members can make emergency announcements straight from their radio handsets.

Planning To Make Your Christmas Event Production Unforgettable?

So that’s an overview of the comms equipment choices available for your event. Next step is deciding what you need, and putting together a plan that covers all your priorities: from providing a basis for coordinating everything smoothly, to looking after the safety and security of your guests, and creating a fun-filled, memorable experience that lights up the festive season.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to pulling everything together.

• Define the communication goals for your event: Or, to put it another way, what do you need comms equipment for? Understanding whether it’s for entertainment, guest satisfaction, coordination etc (or very likely what the balance between all three is for your event), will go a long way to informing your choice of solutions.
• Create a comms team: As getting communication right is such an important part of event planning, it deserves a dedicated team. There are plenty of roles to fill, from choosing and sourcing equipment, liaising with suppliers and coordinating set up on site, to key in-event responsibilities like controlling the AV and PA systems, guest liaison, supervising radios etc. It’s advisable to appoint a project lead with overarching responsibility across all of these areas.
• Create an implementation plan: Once you have a team in place, you should create a project timeline to map out everything that needs doing and when. There needs to be a logical progression (e.g. choose a supplier, conduct site visits, choose equipment, arrange technical setup/installation) and shared deadlines and milestones across the team (including external partners).
• Prepare a contingency plan: One of the golden rules of event planning is to prepare for the unexpected. Whether it’s equipment failure, severe weather or an accident of some kind, you can guarantee that some little hiccup will disrupt your best laid plans. The key is to be ready for all eventualities, such as having back-up equipment in reserve, technical support on stand-by, reserve power supplies etc.
• Choose your suppliers carefully: Finally, the right comms supplier can do a lot more than just provide the equipment you need. They can be an invaluable partner in making your whole event a success, from sharing technical and logistical expertise to being on hand to support you before, during and after the event.

Why Choosing MTECH Brentwood System Hire Packages is the Smart Move for Every Christmas Event?

If you’re wondering where to find a comms partner for your event that combines the best equipment on the market with decades of expertise and world-class support, look no further than MTECH Brentwood. We’ve been supplying comms solutions to event organisers for 50 years. We stock only the very best equipment from leading manufacturers proven to deliver for busy high capacity events. Our technical team will not only help you choose exactly the right solutions for your needs, they will also help you integrate everything seamlessly into your venue and event setup, and provide ongoing technical support from delivery to shutdown.

On top of these credentials, we provide a one-stop shop for all two-way radio, AV equipment and PA system needs, and we have an extensive catalogue of equipment available on flexible short-term hire terms. With radio hire starting from as little as £3 per handset per week, all of our hire packages include maintenance, repairs and rapid replacements in the event of any issues.

Get in touch with us to find out more.

FAQs

Can I hire equipment for just one night, or do I need to book it for several days?

We have no minimum hire term for our equipment, though for larger deployments like AV and PA systems, it’s advisable to factor in time for setup and staging into how long you hire equipment for.

What happens if equipment fails during the Christmas event?

We include repairs and replacements in all of our hire contracts, as well as on-site support from our team of expert engineers. If something goes wrong with any equipment you hire for your Christmas event, we promise to resolve the issue with minimum disruption.

Can outdoor Christmas events use the same equipment as indoor?

For outdoor events, we recommend using equipment with a suitable IP rating for water resistance to ensure it can withstand the potential effects of the weather.