56% off the original quotes, and a summit that came together in under three months.
A film industry association took its annual gathering of film commissioners onto working Hollywood studio lots for a new summit format. CTC came on with under three months to go. Four days and five venues later, the line items CTC renegotiated had come in 56% below their original quotes, and early-bird registrations had beaten their target by 57%.
Film industry associationFilm & EntertainmentStudio summit, four days, five venues2026Hollywood, CA
56%
Below the original quotes, on the line items CTC renegotiated
+57%
Early-bird registrations against target
88%
Of full-summit registrants attended
01 – The brief
A new format, five venues, and the clock already running.
The association brings film commissioners from around the world together with the production industry. For 2026 it moved the gathering onto Hollywood studio lots: member meetings, two studio days, an industry day and an evening reception, across five venues in four days. Some early planning was done when CTC came on, with under three months to go. The goals were to:
- Create high-value connections that lead to meetings, site visits and projects after the event
- Hit the sponsorship and early-registration targets
- Deliver an experience attendees rate highly in post-event surveys
- Run four days across five venues on schedule, inside the budget
02 – What we did
Question every quote, then run every venue.
CTC took on venue and vendor management, catering, audio visual, registration and badging, signage, the stage program and onsite management across every venue. Four things did most of the work.
Push back on every quote. Seven line items, from beverage service to lighting and transportation, came in 56% below what was first quoted.
Use the studio’s own crew. On the first studio day, the studio’s in-house technicians ran projection and sound, at 64% less than the original audio visual quote.
Build a program worth the trip. Twenty-six sessions ran on four stages, including a series of cinema-style sessions that became a highlight of the industry day.
Order to the count. Catering guarantees matched actual attendance at five of the six catered functions, so nothing was over-ordered.
03 – The results
Under the quotes, over the target.
A new format, delivered in under three months, with the numbers to show for it.
- 56% below the original quotes, on the seven line items CTC renegotiated
- Early-bird registrations 57% over target
- 88% of full-summit registrants attended
- Sponsorship goal met, for the new summit format
- 83% rated the organization good or excellent in post-event surveys
- 78% of surveyed attendees likely or very likely to return
04 – Services
What CTC delivered.
- Onsite Management
- Registration
- Venue Management
- Vendor Management
- Food & Beverage
- Audio Visual Management
- Stage Management
- Event Branding
- Event Signage
- Housing & Room Blocks
- Financial Management
- Post Event Report
05 – More case studies
2x the sponsorship and 41% more exhibit revenue for WTUI’s 35th
Two years into the partnership, the WTUI Annual Conference in Long Beach drew more than twice the sponsorship revenue and 41% more exhibit revenue than the year before CTC.
Attendance doubled, and engagement up 92%
Five days of hybrid community meetings for the Los Angeles County Development Authority: attendance doubled, interactions up 92%, and every session interpreted in Vietnamese, Spanish and ASL.
A festival that beat its attendance target, on a tight budget
West Basin's 2024 Water Harvest Community Festival beat its attendance target with 92% of the crowd from the local service area, 10% growth from outside it, and strong program sign-ups - on a tight budget.
06 – Start here
Tell us the date and the budget.
We will tell you what is possible.
A summit on studio lots, 56% under its original quotes, started with one conversation about what could still be done in under three months.