RENTAL & STAGING SYSTEMS
August 2002
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From Grassroots Company to
International Enterprise

STAGING PROFILE
BY CAROLYN HEINZE

As staging technology becomes increasingly accessible to almost all corporate budgets, rental and staging companies cannot rely solely on offering the latest and greatest gear to differentiate themselves from the competition.

“The equipment is leveling out to some degree,” observes Steve Alford, president of Alford Media Services, a rental and staging firm headquartered in Coppell, Texas, near Dallas. “I think that the projector, which had been the cash cow over the last ten years for rental and staging companies, has become less of a differentiating factor. Service is going to be even more important – it is the intangible that a company can bring to the client.”
An Alford technician tweaks levels at a major corporation's annual meeting.
Alford began in 1984 as the sole proprietor of Alford Media Services, but the company soon became a family affair. In 1989, brother Tom Alford joined the newly incorporated firm as partner, alongside family friend Danny Harris. Two years later, a sister company was born: Alford Media Sales, Inc. This addition, which focused on audiovisual sales and installations, was sold to EISI in 1998.

In 1997, Alford Media Services opened branch offices in Alpharetta, Georgia (outside of Atlanta), and Irvine, CA. In 1999, Alford Media became a member of Stellar Event and Presentation Resources, Inc., a holding company of various event service firms. Today, Alford Media Services continues to operate out of Dallas and Atlanta, employing 85 full-time employees and a stable of approximately 100 independent contractors. Boasting an event roster that features the likes of Aventis, Coca-Cola, Exxon-Mobil, Frito Lay, General Motors, IBM, Lennox, Microsoft, PepsiCo, RadioShack, Sherwin-Williams, and Southwest Airlines. Alford stages events nationally and internationally including locations as diverse as Tokyo, Taipei, Buenos Aires and Milan.
Alford Media's two principals, general manager Tom Alford (left) and president Steve Alford, have built the company into an international staging force.

“We don’t do any production or creative work, so our client base is largely comprised of production companies and independent producers around the country,” Alford explains. “When we incorporated in 1989, we started to do things as if we were a national staging company, not a local company that did national work. Our systems and our employees are based all over the country. Our main focus is the ‘big tent event,’ but we have branched out to handle some technically challenging trade show booths, tours and some larger breakout rooms that are in conjunction with the main tent event.”

Despite its large inventory of high tech equipment, Alford believes that his company’s most valuable asset is its personnel. “Our people are the primary difference,” he said. “We have developed a culture that attracts the top engineers, technicians and support staff in the industry. We are known for our outrageous service – not for being the cheapest kid on the block, which we are not. We are like an insurance policy for [companies throwing] large events. They don’t have to worry about the technical side of it if we are in their corner.”

Apparently, Alford isn’t the only person to think so. Both the CEO Institute and the Caruth Institute of Owner-Managed Business (at Southern Methodist University), both based in Dallas, recognized Alford Media as one of the fastest-growing companies in the DFW Metroplex. In 1997, the Baylor University Institute for Family Business in Waco recognized Alford Media as the Outstanding Family-Owned Business in Texas.

In an effort to maximize their service offerings, the executives at Alford Media have implemented a number of processes and systems, including a proprietary software program that is used for job tracking. Developed over 10 years ago
Alford Media's most valued asset: its people.
and continually improved upon, Alford maintains that this system enables the company to be more efficient. “It is better than anything else out there,” he declared. “It allows us to respond to large proposal requests within 24 hours. It allows us to see what all of our sales coordinators are doing at any time. It is a very open system, at least internally. It gives us a history of all of the companies that we have worked for, and details on our contacts down to their favorite drinks and snack foods. It is a real competitive advantage for us.”

Alford believes that the company’s “show facilitator” position also gives his firm a competitive advantage. Instead of having the account executive/salesperson present at an event, Alford Media enlists their show facilitator – someone whose sole purpose is to cater to the clients every need. “Our facilitators are full-time staff people who drive our equipment to venues across the country. After overseeing the unloading of the truck, they are available to do whatever is needed. They are not on headset during rehearsals so they can float and help us and the client out. They get food for the crew if the crew has been ignored; they pick up executives at the airport for the client, or any number of things,” Alford explained. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, the salesperson will stay at the office. Having our facilitator on site is a bigger bang for the buck, than having a suit there that gets between the crew and the client.”

Stellar’s involvement in Alford Media has enabled the Alford brothers and other members of the management their leadership team to focus on running the business, leaving back-office tasks like accounting, dealing with banks and negotiating with insurance companies to the holding company. “We can spend more time mentoring our employees and being available to our clients, and knowing what is going on at shows,” Alford said. “Our clients know that they can call us any time they need to and we will be available to them.”

While Alford Media Services began as a video company, it quickly embraced new technologies and integrated
Alford excels at widescreen video. At this major insurance company event, four Barco R12 projectors were used for a 20x60' screen, with seamless switching via a Vista Screenmaster II.
them into the service roster. That philosophy still rings clear today, according to Alford. “I started out doing multi-image in the old days and then in the late ‘80s it quickly evolved into video. When we first incorporated, we did more cross rental of audio and lighting,” he reflects. “We quickly added an audio department, and then in the mid 1990s, a lighting department that was designed specifically for corporate needs – not rock ‘n’ roll. More recently, we purchased our first indoor LED product, and we wouldn’t have anticipated that a few years ago. The market has changed such that we need to provide it."

“We are also involved in some high end corporate trade shows, so plasma displays come into play there,” Alford continues. “We use plasmas in ballrooms for tele-prompting, tech support or as set pieces. Because we have branched out and pursued more trade show work, we’ve got plasma as well as LED technology. We didn’t anticipate three years ago that we would be using it as heavily as we are now.”

Alongside LED and plasma technology, Alford predicts a growing demand for Web casting, wireless, and a variety of other technologies. “Web casting and teleconferencing will continue to grow as meeting options,” he stated. “Bluetooth and Wi-Fi wireless technology will present us with numerous opportunities and challenges. We foresee a day when each attendees laptop or PDA will be another display device and/or recorder incorporated into the meeting or event. Conversely, we may be commissioned to disable personal wireless technologies so as not to interfere with technologies in the ballroom. Satellite links and/or teleporting systems will bring executives and celebrities to meetings around the world. Audience interaction will play a larger and larger role in high tech corporate events.”

And clients, who are now more sophisticated in their knowledge of technology and its capabilities will continue to grow more demanding. “It’s more difficult to ‘wow’ the end client,” Alford noted. “The client is more sophisticated; they know what the graphics should look like, what projection should look like, and what good audio sounds like. The client notices little glitches much more. We try to provide a flawless show, and that is what folks expect. From proposal through the show, our goal is to exceed expectations and provide a great experience for our clients. It takes a lot to really ‘wow’ them, but we still take pride in doing it.”

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