Corporate events fail on timeline, not on creativity. This is the working checklist we use for conferences, dealer meets, product launches and AGMs across Kolkata's convention and hotel inventory.
Day 90 to 75 — Objective and venue
Lock the business objective and the single measurable outcome. Fix delegate count bands, date and budget envelope.
Shortlist venues with comparative costs: Biswa Bangla Convention Centre and the New Town belt for scale, ITC Royal Bengal, JW Marriott, Taj Bengal and Hyatt Regency for premium mid-size, and Sector V properties for compact sessions. Recce all shortlists in person.
Day 75 to 55 — Creative and budget approval
Approve the creative direction with stage renders, branding placements and a draft run-of-show. Approve the line-item rupee budget. Issue the venue contract and pay the holding advance.
Day 55 to 35 — Technical and content
Freeze the technical rider: line-array audio, LED dimensions, lighting plot, show control, teleprompter, translation and hybrid streaming. Confirm power load and DG backup.
Start speaker coordination and content deck collection — this is the single most common cause of last-week chaos.
Day 35 to 15 — Delegates, hospitality, permits
Open registration and badging. Block hotel rooms and plan airport transfers. Confirm F&B menus after tasting. File any permits, fire clearances and insurance documentation. Confirm entertainment and anchors.
Day 15 to 1 — Rehearsal and contingencies
Circulate the final run sheet with vendor call times. Hold a full technical rehearsal with speakers. Walk the contingency plan: power failure, speaker no-show, weather, AV failure and medical incident. Print the show-caller script.
Show day and after
Bump-in with a manned production desk, cue-to-cue show calling, floor managers on each zone, and a runner for the client's leadership team.
Within seven days: photo and video delivery, delegate feedback summary and spend reconciliation against the approved budget.
The takeaway
Ninety days, five checkpoints, one rehearsal. Corporate events in Kolkata run cleanly when the timeline is treated as the deliverable.