Anticipating the needs of a new large-scale event site: the case of La Cité du Cinéma

Context

The project consists of a complete reconversion of the site: old film studios and screening rooms are being redesigned to host XXL events – conferences, political conventions, cultural events. The venue nevertheless retains its iconic cinema hall with 450 seats, while opening up vast modular spaces.

En phase de pré-ouverture, l’équipe anticipe une montée en puissance progressive sur les mois à venir. Elle doit s’équiper dès maintenant d’outils adaptés à la complexité de ses futurs événements, tout en préparant la montée en charge des effectifs internes.

In this dynamic, La Cité du Cinéma positions itself as a new major player in the Parisian event management, halfway between a Convention Centre and a premium convention center.

Their goals:

• Control the profitability of each event, in a model based on low frequency but very high volume (large infrequent events).
  
• Anticipate the needs related to the evolution of their teams and the rise in power of the place.
  
• Benefit from human support, in addition to a powerful software, to structure their activity efficiently from the pre-opening phase.
  
• Centralize purchases, financial data, and projections to refine their pricing policy.

The challenge / Issue

Unlike other event structures, La Cité du Cinéma did not have any tools specifically designed for events.

The activity was new, and although tools had been used in previous experiments, they were neither adapted nor sufficiently integrated to meet the challenges of an event site of this magnitude.

A past experience marked by fragmented tools confirmed the importance of starting this time with an all-in-one solution, designed for events, allowing to structure all processes from the start.

Everything had to be thought out, structured and deployed even before hosting the first event.
What made their need complex: a tool immediately operational, but also capable of evolving with the activity, without unnecessary functional overload at startup.

The solution sought had to support the growth of the site, follow the evolution of teams, while providing advanced features in financial management – particularly for monitoring purchases and profitability, in order to control margins project by project and avoid hidden costs.

Above all, the team was not just looking for a tool: it wanted a partner capable of guiding them in structuring choices, advising them and getting involved alongside them in implementation.

Solution provided by Lab Event

The Cité du Cinéma chose Lab Event based on a decisive criterion: the platform had already attracted similar large-scale venues, particularly in the world of Congress Centers, which immediately reassured the team about the tool’s ability to manage large-scale events.

Solution and services used

As part of the project to redeploy La Cité du Cinéma, the team chose to use Lab Event not only as an event production tool, but also as a structuring base for the organization of the venue.

From the first phases, several key modules have been activated, with a logic of preparation for opening and long-term management:

for the organization of events

Lab Event has made it possible to centralize the planning, key documents, to-do and operational monitoring. The tool quickly structured internal exchanges and project management, offering a clear and shared vision of each event, including the stages prior to their commercialization.

For the management of teams

The platform was used to plan human needs on future events. Even in the absence of permanent staff at this phase of the project, the teams were able to anticipate the necessary positions, prepare the schedules and define the profiles to be recruited.

For the management of providers and purchases

Extensive SEO work was conducted. All providers (reception, cleaning, security, etc.) have been integrated into Lab Event, along with their pricing schedules. This will allow for the quick selection of the most suitable providers according to the expected margins and customer requirements.

For the creation of quotes and billing

The team leveraged advanced advance payment management capabilities, very useful for long-term events involving multiple payment steps. To ensure seamless continuity between operations and accounting, data is transmitted simply and efficiently to their accounting management tool.

For commercial support

Customized brochures have been integrated directly into the Lab Event interface in order to quickly produce personalized documents for clients.

For the management of incoming contacts

The website of La Cité du Cinéma has been connected to Lab Event via the API. Contact and registration forms (newsletter, visit requests, etc.) are centralized in the database, and contacts are automatically synchronized with their emailing tool.

Finally, the team demonstrated advanced and innovative use of the platform:

She created monthly fictitious events to integrate fixed charges and recurring expenses (such as EDF invoices, operating costs or structural costs).

This approach allowed them to use Lab Event as a budget simulator, by projecting all the operating costs of the site in the same interface as the event revenues, to refine their overall vision of profitability.

Implementation approach and support

The implementation of Lab Event took place in several phases:

• Three onboarding sessions were organized to lay the groundwork for the project, accompanied by regular meetings with the Lab Event account manager.
  
  
• A custom configuration was carried out upstream to structure the types of services, workflows, documents and data interfaces.
  
  
• Three divisions within La Cité du Cinéma were mobilized from the start: > The commercial department, responsible for project monitoring and budgetary issues. > The operational division, in charge of production, suppliers and field organization
  > The general management, which oversees the overall strategy, indicators and financial management

Each pole uses Lab Event according to its needs. A final training is planned ahead of the official opening scheduled for spring 2026, to support the transition towards real-world operations.

results obtained

The adoption of Lab Event allowed the teams at the Cité du Cinéma to approach their pre-opening phase with great serenity.

Thanks to a structured event management, the centralization of data and a quick handling of the tool, they were able to focus on the real strategic issues: their communication to the general public, the projection of future activities and the optimization of their internal functioning.

The integration of forms on their website connected to Lab Event allowed in particular incoming requests to be automatically centralized and structured, which allows them to feed their communication on the stages of the work, the reopening date and the future types of events welcomed.

Conclusion

By equipping itself early with Lab Event, the Cité du Cinéma has secured a solid operational start, while limiting the risks related to the dispersion of information or subsequent re-entry.

The tool is ready, the teams as well and this offers them valuable peace of mind to calmly approach the opening of the site.

This collaboration illustrates a key lesson: anticipating your event structuring, even before the opening, is a lever for saving time, performance and clarity.

The support will continue with the gradual implementation of new modules (such as team and space management), to continue to evolve the use at the pace of the opening of the place.