Re: Bids?
It is virtually impossible to tell someone what something is worth. There either has to be a lot of trust, or personal experience; usually derived from previous failures.
One of two things will happen:
1. They will go with the lowest bidder and the event will be a failure at least at some level, resulting in some education, and hopefully a change in the future
2. They will go with the lowest bidder with the 20 year old equipment, and it will be fine.
In the short run, everybody loses in scenario 1. The upside is that a few folks who are likely to go on to plan future events will have a data point about what is required to get the job done.
Scenario 2 is in a way more interesting. What if they're happy? Generally speaking, folks aren't good at appreciating good audio (or lighting, production, musical talent, etc.) If the event truly can be done with less, then at least we've established the proper, though low, level of production required. There's no winning against the free market - either find new clients, or find a way to do it for less.
