RISK-001 Single-Source AV Vendor for Live Activations

Context

Every live activation on the current calendar (see RUNBOOK-001-live-event-ops) books the same AV/rigging contractor for stage, sound and lighting. They were selected two seasons ago on price and turnaround, and no second vendor has ever been vetted or trialed since. Ops has room on the calendar this quarter to fix that; it hasn’t happened yet because the primary vendor has never actually failed to deliver — the risk is invisible until the day it isn’t.

Impact

• A single no-show, equipment failure, or scheduling conflict on the vendor’s side on event day cancels or degrades a load-in with under 6 hours’ notice (see “Event day” in the runbook) — there is no fallback crew or equipment source in the region on that timeline.
• Financial exposure is the full activation budget for that date plus any client make-good, not just the AV line item.
• Reputational exposure is highest for flagship activations with press/influencer attendance.

Mitigation

• Identify and trial a second AV/rigging vendor on a lower-stakes activation this quarter.
• Add a “vendor confirmed + backup contact on file” checklist item to the runbook’s pre-event (T-7) section once a second vendor exists.
• Until a second vendor is qualified, require written day-of contact + equipment manifest confirmation from the primary vendor at T-3 days, not just T-7.

Owner

Events Operations — tracking vendor trial through Q3.