Production Value Matters: The Business Event Podcast · 2025-08-19 · 11 min
Key moments - from our scoring
Substance score
32 / 100
Five dimensions, 20 points each
This on-location episode captures candid perspectives from event professionals on what actually moves the needle in event production versus what drains budgets without return. Connection and collaboration emerged as the dominant themes - professionals emphasized creating space for genuine human interaction, lowering ambient noise so attendees can talk, and fostering a collaborative vendor mindset rather than competitive one. The emotional impact guests leave with ranked far higher than physical details: memorable experiences, thoughtful AV execution, and stage design that evokes emotion consistently beat expensive decor, celebrity speakers without context, or elaborate tablescape. Specific waste items drew universal skepticism: overpriced hotel WiFi and coffee, cookie-cutter designs (like "scenic package number three"), non-functional event apps, generic swag destined for landfills, and performance gimmicks like fire breathers. Speakers included Alessandra from Classique Event Planning and Catering, who emphasized how attendees feel throughout the planning-to-post-event journey. The episode offers B2B event operators a clear ROI framework: prioritize experience design, vendor expertise, and intentional choice-making over surface-level production value.
Human connection and collaboration rank highest - creating space for genuine conversation, lowering sound levels so attendees can interact, and fostering a communal vendor mindset where everyone helps each other win rather than competing.
Overpriced hotel WiFi and coffee, generic decor packages, non-functional event apps, tablescape, fire breathers/dancers, and mass-produced swag destined for landfills should be eliminated or minimized.
Focus on stage design and AV execution that evokes emotion in attendees, intentional swag or none at all, and thoughtful experience design over exterior details like ceiling treatments or celebrity speakers without strategic integration.
The shift from competitive RFP bidding wars to a communal mindset where vendors help each other deliver excellence creates win-win outcomes and better overall event quality for both organizers and attendees.
Intentional design means custom, creative choices aligned with attendee experience and brand messaging; wasteful design is off-the-shelf packages like 'scenic package number three' that lack thought and originality.
Our reviewer’s read on each dimension, with quotes from the episode.
The episode consists primarily of surface-level vignettes from event professionals repeating similar platitudes about 'connection,' 'experience,' and 'emotion' without substantive explanation or novel frameworks. While some specific critiques emerge (hotel Wi-Fi costs, tablescape waste, non-functional apps), the majority of content is motivational padding that operators already understand - make people feel good, avoid boring decor, be intentional with spending. There is minimal density of actionable or unexpected insights per minute.
People are always gonna remember how you made them feel, so make it count at every opportunity.
The most valuable thing is connection
The core thesis - that authentic human connection and emotional experience matter more than budget line items - is a well-worn standard in event marketing discourse and offers no contrarian or first-principles challenge. The recycled phrases ('make them feel,' 'memorable experience,' 'be intentional') circulate freely across the industry. A few specific gripes (hotel Wi-Fi pricing, tablescape) provide minor texture but do not constitute original thinking.
Connection and collaboration. Whether it's giving people space to talk, lowering the music, or creating a sense of community, event professionals were laser focused on making human interaction more the real roi.
People are always gonna remember how you made them feel
The episode features practitioners with real operational experience (event planners, AV professionals, venue designers, catering leaders) rather than pure thought-leaders or celebrities, which is appropriate for the subject. However, none are identified by company scale, years managing budgets, or specific track records of success; they appear as rapid-fire booth interviews without background. The caliber is solid mid-market event professional but lacks depth of seniority signal or evidence of operating at meaningful scale.
I'm Alessandra from Classique Event Planning and Catering
I'm in entertainment and the entertainment scene
The episode avoids most quantitative claims and instead relies on general assertions. A few concrete negatives appear ('hotel Wi-Fi costs,' 'scenic package number three,' 'water bottle swag'), but no actual budgets, ROI metrics, attendance figures, or measurable outcomes are provided. Statements like 'people will remember how you made them feel' lack supporting data, case studies, or even anecdotal evidence beyond the speakers' assertions. The specificity bar is low throughout.
From cookie cutter designs to overpriced coffee. Here are some of the things they'd cut without a second thought.
I think decor can be a little bit of a waste of a big expense
The host asks open-ended prompting questions ('What's truly valuable?' 'What's a waste?') but rarely follows up with challenging or probing questions. Speakers deliver their takes largely uninterrupted and without pushback; the host mostly nods and transitions. There is no productive disagreement, no testing of claims, and no attempt to dig into the 'why' or 'how much' behind the assertions. The format is transactional booth interviews rather than substantive dialogue.
We asked one simple question directly to event professionals from across this industry. What's truly valuable in event production and what's just a waste of time, money or energy?
Uh, I think the most valuable thing is just providing points for connection
Computed from the transcript - who did the talking, and the words that came up most.
In this special on-site edition of Production Value Matters, host Matthew Byrne takes the mic straight to the show floor at CMEE 2025 to ask one question: What’s truly valuable in event production and what’s just a waste of time, money, or energy? Event pros from across the industry share candid, rapid-fire takes on what they’d keep, what they’d cut, and what actually makes an event memorable. From collaboration mindsets and intentional stage design to overpriced coffee, pointless apps, and tired entertainment trends, nothing is off-limits. What you’ll hear: • The most valuable elements event pros won’t compromise on • Budget-busting wastes they’d cut tomorrow • Why connection beats décor every time • The role of collaboration in modern events • What’s next for creating meaningful attendee experiences If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify . Host LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/matthewbyrnecsep For additional resources for #eventprofs visit Matthew Byrne is the Founder of Byrne Production Services and host of the Production Value Matters podcast.
Transcribed and scored by The B2B Podcast Index.
Speaker A: Planning a multi day event or conference, then you know how chaotic managing show content can get. Version issues, last minute changes, and the post show scramble to send out IMAG recordings. Show Sync is built to fix that. It's your central hub for managing presentations, media and video recordings across your event without the mess of cloud folders or lost file links. With Show Sync, your show content stays organized, your crew stays in sync, and your post show video files are delivered faster and cheaper so you can move on to the next big thing without chasing down drives. Learn more @showsync ca because your content should work as hard as you do
Speaker B: now we have more of a communal sort of environment where people are helping each other to win.
Speaker C: People are always gonna remember how you made them feel, so make it count at every opportunity.
Speaker D: Decor can be a little bit of a waste of a big expense when
Speaker E: you don't put enough into the design of the event. When you're just like, I want scenic package number three, it's boring. Let's make events more fun m more creative.
Speaker F: Welcome to this special on location edition of Production Value Matters. I'm Matthew Byrne, your host and today we're taking you right to the show floor of Canadian Meetings and Events Expo where we set up a interview booth to interview some of the great event professionals that were stopping by to see us. We asked one simple question directly to event professionals from across this industry. What's truly valuable in event production and what's just a waste of time, money or energy? The answers we received were candid, surprising, and sometimes very specific. And if you like this content and all the things that we do on the podcast, don't forget to subscribe@productionvaluematters.com Leave us a comment a uh, like or share it with one of your colleagues. Let's dive in. Two words kept coming up again and again on the show floor. Connection and collaboration. Whether it's giving people space to talk, lowering the music, or creating a sense of community, event professionals were laser focused on making human interaction more the real roi.
Speaker G: We're asking people right now what they think is the most valuable in events and what they think might be the biggest waste of time or money. And I'd love your take.
Speaker D: Uh, I think the most valuable thing is just providing points for connection. I mean, that's the whole point of these events. It's a reason, it's a big reason why people even host them. So I just. And that could just mean like having the sound levels at a reasonable level so people can talk to each other. I Think that's just a really valuable thing, um, probably the most important.
Speaker B: So I think the most valuable thing in events right now is actually the collaboration mindset that events has these days. We've come a long way from the era of competition where if you're outbidding someone else in an rfp, you're gonna do everything to outbid them to get the show to win, to get them out. But now we have more of a communal sort of environment where people are helping each other to win. And so it's a win win for everybody.
Speaker G: What I think is most valuable right now is space, allowing space for connection, adding space into events for people to have genuine connection, genuine time to reflect and absorb what's happening before or after.
Speaker F: So what do you think is actually
Speaker B: valuable in events and what do you
Speaker F: think is a waste of time and money?
Speaker D: I think what could be, what is very valuable is, uh, working with, um, vendors that are very knowledgeable about their area and expertise, experts in that area.
Speaker E: My take is that the most valuable thing is the collaboration we get to experience, especially on the creative side as we're coming up with designs, coming up with, you know, different experiences we want attendees to go through. I like that collaboration, working with people.
Speaker F: For many event professionals, the real win is leaving guests with a lasting feeling, an experience they'll talk about long after the show comes down. The theme was a no brainer, worth it for these event professionals.
Speaker H: Uh, I think that it's extremely valuable to ensure that you are creating impactful and memorable experiences so that uh, the event is providing the most memorable, um, connections for attendees and so that they leave there feeling, uh, invigorated and educated on new ways to um, move forward in whatever area they're looking to move forward in.
Speaker I: I'm Alessandra from Classique Event Planning and Catering. Um, I think the most valuable part of any event is the biased, I love to say the food, but it's how you make people feel and that comes from every aspect leading up to the event to post event. So how you make them feel leading up to, through the planning and then the execution and then the post event. AV is very important, especially when it comes to timelines and the production. And I think that this team does an amazing job at that.
Speaker C: The most valuable definitely is really focusing on the experience and the emotion you're invoking, uh, in your attendees. So people are always going to remember how you made them feel. So, so make it count at every opportunity. So don't just throw all of the money at a celebrity speaker, make sure they're walking into the room. Your stage design is really evoking that emotion and it will be super memorable.
Speaker J: So for me, I mean I'm in entertainment and the entertainment scene, so I find experience seems to be probably the most valuable thing. If someone has a unique experience that uh, makes them talk about it to colleagues, partners, friends, family, that usually transcends a little bit more than anything else. I know with our day and age, especially for our, uh, 30 plus millennials, experience is kind of the thing.
Speaker F: Finally, let's talk about the physical details, the pretty extras and take home goodies. Are they worth it or are they
Speaker D: just Landfill Bend what is a waste of time? I think decor can be a little bit of a waste of time, um, and a big expense, um, because if you're working with a beautiful venue, I think that's all you need.
Speaker I: Biggest waste of time, money and effort is tablescape. Tablescape is definitely something that is easily avoidable. There's something so timeless about a white linen, um, and silver, uh, utensils and cutlery that people are just not looking at.
Speaker H: Waste of time. I would say focusing too much on the exterior rather than the, the meat of the event. And what people are going to take home with that. What are they going to leave with over possibly, you know, worrying too much about a ceiling treatment. Really the value is what people are going to remember, what are they going to leave there feeling, um, and just making sure that they have amazing connections and experience throughout the entire time.
Speaker F: 100 agree. Thanks for the answer.
Speaker H: Thank you.
Speaker C: What is a waste of money? Please be intentional if you're going to do swag. I find that a lot of swag. If I get another water bottle, um, it's probably going to end up donated somewhere. Be super intentional with it. Uh, we don't want things ending up in a landfill. You don't want your brand to be in a landfill. So I got make account and I think that's it.
Speaker F: When it comes to what's not worth the time, money or energy. Our on the floor panel didn't hold back. From cookie cutter designs to overpriced coffee. Here are some of the things they'd cut without a second thought.
Speaker B: I would say coffee prices at hotels, uh, Wi fi costs at hotels and not needing to use the in house AV company at hotels and venues should all be wiped out and removed from the industry completely.
Speaker D: Something that's overdone. I don't like the dancers. We need to stop at the dancers. I don't like a fire breather or ah, like, you know, I just, I don't think it's like that great to see at an event. I think it's boring when it comes
Speaker J: to, I would say the least important. Um, I know everybody's got to do the videos, they've got to do the sponsorships, they've got to do all the talks. If there was a way to minimize that in a certain instance without kind of deterring from, let's say a cocktail social event, I think that's probably the least enjoyed aspect of most things. But it also is the most important part. So finding that fine line to executing that without overdoing it I think would be kind of my answer.
Speaker G: Useless Event Apps that Don't Work if you're going to have an app, make sure that it's in intentional and what is the purpose of having it and what is going to be the outcome of using the app? It's going to take up space on my phone and I'm never going to use it. Uh, it's just kind of useless.
Speaker E: Uh, I think the biggest waste of time is. I don't know, I'm going to flip that. When you don't put enough into the design of the event. When you're just like, I want scenic package number three, it's boring. It's been done. Let's make events more fun, more creative.
Speaker F: If there's one thing that stood out from these conversations, it's that the heart of a great event isn't always in the budget line for decor or some celebrity speaker. It's in the connections made, the experience is shared, and the thought you put into each and every choice. A big thanks to everyone who shared this perspective on the floor. Thank you and for you for listening. And don't forget, if you have a take you want to share on what's worth it and what's a waste, or if you have a specific event production question, feel free to leave us a voice message on our website at production value matters.com scroll halfway down the page and you'll see a little widget where you can submit a question or a comment to us live on air for the podcast. The link is in this podcast episode description or join the conversation with me on link until next time. Keep Production value high and the waste
Speaker G: low
Speaker K: Production Value Matters, the business Event Podcast is brought to you by Burn Production Services. To find out more about Burn Production Services and how putting on events can drive value for your business, visit burn productionservices.com make sure to click subscribe so you don't miss any future episodes. And on behalf of the team here at Production Value Matters, thank you so much for listening.
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