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Untouched by Light

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Basic Event Information

Date: October 1, 2020
Location: Gornja Radgona Slovenia and ONLINE
Organizer: Bruketa&Zinic&Grey
Client: Radgonske Gorice
Event Type: Press event

EVENT CATEGORY: DIGITAL EVENTS | Hybrid event – MULTI HUB EVENT


Event description and key objectives

Research shows the wine’s exposure to light decreases the quality of its aromas. Untouched by Light (UBL) is the world’s first sparkling wine made, sold and tasted in complete darkness. Night vision goggles are used during night harvest, bottle rotation and packaging. The bottle is 99% black and wrapped in black foil to additionally protect the wine from light and air contact. To launch this unique product by Radgonske gorice (RG) on the global market we needed wine writers all over the world, as well as RG’s international distributors, to taste the wine in order to spread the word and boost sales. But due to the pandemic, we were not able to gather them all in Gornja Radgona or anywhere else for that matter. So we decided to go online and bring the wine as well as the Untouched by Light experience to their homes. But we also invited several local journalists and partners to Radgona, as many as it was allowed due to the pandemic. So we had ourselves not one, but two simultaneous events, one in Radgona and the other online. Not only that, we decided to turn to the dark side again and make the central part of the event in complete darkness

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Key challenges

The big lunch event was initially planned to happen in April 2020 during the Glass of Bubbly – London’s biggest annual trade & press tasting. To create a memorable experience, we planned to build a darkroom where a blind sommelier would serve the wine. But then COVID-19 happened so our first challenge was to monitor the pandemic daily and think of a new and flexible launch plan which could be implemented quickly. The pre-launch campaign in 2019 has already created a hype around the product, so our new plan had to also live up to those expectations. End of August we decided to organize the event on October 1 and to invite 100 wine writers and RG’s international distributors to participate online, as well as 30 local ones (maximum allowed) to physically come to Radgona. We needed their RSVP-s ASAP so that the sample packages could get to them on time for the event, weather they lived in California or Hong Kong, and especially because of the air traffic reductions due to COVID. Another challenge was to provide a high-quality sound and vision online signal from the Radgona cave, where the central part of the event happened. But the biggest challenge was to create the Untouched by Light experience as well as a smooth event flow both on the spot and online at the same time and in 10 different time zones.

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Creativity

The life of each Untouched by Light sparkling wine is spent entirely in the dark, all the way from the night harvest, to bottle rotation, packaging, transport, sales and up until the tasting. This is why we decided to also do the tasting part of the event in complete darkness of a natural cave, where the wine ages. To transfer the same experience online, our online guests received instructions on how to prepare for the tasting at home. They needed to dim the lights, decrease screen brightness and invite someone they like to share the experience

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Innovation

We used thermal cameras during the tasting in the cave for guests to be able to follow the event online. The thermal cameras showed the sommelier who was explaining how to open, serve and taste the wine in complete darkness. The sommelier and the hostesses wore military night vision goggles to be able to see, open, taste and serve the sparkling wine to guests on the spot.

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Execution

The program kicked-off with the moderator of the event greeting the guests on the spot and online from the Dom Penine’s (The House of Sparkling Wine) garden in Gornja Radgona, a small town on the Mura river, the border of Slovenia and Austria, where the product is made. Then we screened a film about the town so the international guests could get a sense of where we are. After the welcoming speech of RG’s and UBL’s winemaker, there was a live musical performance followed by a film about the creation of the product, all of which was screened to online guests. During the performance and the film screening, the guests who were on the spot moved from the garden inside the cave, the place where the wine ages and the premiere tasting was about to happen. The sommelier had the honour of being the first one in the world to taste and comment on the wine and he invited all guests to do the same. Each online participant received a product sample for tasting prior to the event, and the guests in Radgona were served in complete darkness by the hostesses with night vision goggles. In the final part of the event we organized a Q&A session back in the garden, with the winemaker, RG’s sales representative and the sommelier. The moderator was reading out the questions and comments the online participants have been writing down via Zoom chat and some of them even joined us live via camera.

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Measurable results

In 2 months after the event the client reached 25% of total stock sales, including distributor’s orders from China, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Liechtenstein, as well as a new distributor deal in Austria and currently negotiating distribution to Japan, Canada and Belgium.

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Communication

The event was attended by 60 major international wine writers (NYT, Washington Post, Independent, Forbes, Bloomberg, Decanter…) followed by over 100 media mentions internationally since the launch in October.

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#TFROMHOME

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Basic Event Information

Date: 20.3.2020 – 29.5.2020
Location: ONLINE
Organizer: CREATIVE PRO (KE) s.r.o.
Client: T-Systems Slovakia
Event Type: Online campaign

EVENT CATEGORY: DIGITAL EVENTS | Online event – LIVE STREAM


Event description and key objectives

Only in 6 days after lockdown, over few nights we have proved flexibility by creating and starting a long-term and complex online internal/external communication program called #TFROMHOME to support the corporate culture as well as the human aspect that crises brought up: the importance of togetherness. In March 2020 in Slovakia, people end up locked down in their homes. Companies were suddenly facing a new reality with all their employees working remotely from home. How to communicate and stay positive appeared to be the biggest challenge for everybody. With a limited budget and immediate action, we have designed a properly structured long-term program full of content that inspired people on how to live in a new normal, motivated them being more productive, supported stability, and brought people together digitally.

T-Systems Slovakia is a company with a strong brand positioning and a positive image. It is also one of the biggest employers in Kosice. Fast reaction and flexibility to the lockdown crises was naturally coming from their DNA.

Objectives:

  1. Inspire on how to live in a new normal and to keep the positivity
  2. Motivate for better productivity
  3. Maintain work-life balance
  4. Support corporate culture and evoke a feeling of stability – company cares, people matter
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Key challenges

  • Fast reaction to restriction and creation of proper substitution to the cancelation of the physical event.
  • Limited budget.
  • Work during strict hygienic restrictions and find the right solutions for producing our program
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Creativity

Creativity and innovation were brought by several perspectives.
We put together a community that created, communicated, engaged towards keep connected and socialized digitally.
The program was live-streamed directly via various social media channels of T-Systems Slovakia to households both internal and external audience.

From a dramaturgical perspective:
We wanted this new concept of internal/external communication to be sincerely crafted with a human touch. We co-created content pretty intuitively and spontaneously where inspirations came from both us as agency, management and employees. This flexibility, proactivity and reactivity to the community led to a well-balanced and unique content for our audience.

Playful challenges were bringing us to the homes of employees who let us get closer and more personal. The authentic custom-made fairy tale was designed based on the everyday life of the T-Systems employees.

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Innovation

From a production perspective, we designed a greenfield, straight forward solution in a lockdown environment.  Only in 6 days we were able to transform from live events to online events communication company, which deliver outstanding and customized content for both internal and external audience. With a limited budget and limited time for realization, we offered 35 performers for live concerts, 10 local speakers for talks, 10 management leaders for live cooking,5 coaches for healthy mornings and 10 celebrities for early learnings.

We put together a community that created, communicated, engaged towards keep connected and socialized digitally.

Execution

#TFROMHOME was an online internal/external communication campaign run for 10 weeks on social media platforms of T-Systems Slovakia. It offered various program structured in several blocks. Each program had a unique concept and dramaturgy. From entertainment, healthy lifestyle to the educational program.

  • Monday Early Learning – an educational program for children.
  • Employee Challenge – to share homes and be open with their private lifestyle
  • Tuesdays LIVE cooking – performance by management of the company
  • Thursdays LIVE talk show – with interesting guests on current topics 
  • Fridays LIVE Concerts – with famous Slovak bands and singers

From a communication perspective, we created an original design for each block of the program, to keep program clearly and smartly organized and communicated, that people can differentiate which program is coming, and get used its regularity and incorporate it to their schedules.

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Measurable results

The biggest success is the community spirit that was created around T-Systems Slovakia. We pulled together a community of employees, family members and friends of T-Systems Slovakia who spent 10 weeks together digitally and created a bond in several layers. Thanks to that, the employee branding image grew massively. We measured a visible increase of interest in the T-Systems Slovakia Brand in region / Slovakia and abroad. On top of that, we noticed visible results in HR where employee fluctuation decreased by 36 percent.

From the communication perspective growth of FB Likes +35%, growth of FB followers: + 50% and posts reached over 470.000 unique users on Facebook who has created 95.200 interactions with our posts. Also, we’ve recorded over 240.000 views on videos assumption of campaign reach during the campaign 1 mil unique users on social media platforms. On top of that noticed more than 684.800 minutes of views of our content which means 1 year and 110 days of constant watching.

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Communication

Communication was divided into several phases.

1.         Teasing campaign (duration one week ahead of) about the upcoming program
2.         Streaming of LIVE events/program – engagement from employees via shares, comments, and likes
3.         Recap (1day afterwards) we celebrated results, shared pictures and comments
4.         Several PR articles were shared both in marketing media and local media

The media campaign was running on T-systems social media channels Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Organizers and performers shared their unique stories and their individual approaches to the program, inviting people to participate and engage while employees, family members and friends reshared via their own posts.

The use of sustainable practices

Everything was online, 0 waste attitude was included in the communication too.

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Kurzschluss #PARTYATHOME

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Basic Event Information

Date: 20 March – 1 May 2020, once per week
Location: ONLINE
Organizer: Black Pony d.o.o. and FM agency d.o.o.
Client: Kurzschluss
Event Type: Online music event // online concert

EVENT CATEGORY: DIGITAL EVENTS | Online Event – LIVE STREAM

WATCH THE EVENT VIDEOhttps://vimeo.com/491751771/6d9f26b146


Event description and key objectives

Slovenia, like the rest of the world, had to implement preventative measures to limit the spread of the Covid 19 amongst its population and protect the most vulnerable of its community. Self-isolation was one of the key preventative measures to limit the spread of the virus, but was more likely not to be taken as seriously by active population, especially younger people who oftentimes felt the virus didn’t pose as big of a threat to them.*As one of the biggest entertainment brands in Slovenia, Kurzschluss had direct access to more than 35.000 people aged between 18 to 45 through social media channels and emails. We decided to start an initiative to encourage active population and young(er) people to stay home through hosting free weekly live stream music experiences every Friday when the temptation for socializing was at it’s highest. Our key objectives were to convince as many people to attend our online parties from their home as we did to visit our live events in the past (approx 4000/event) and to raise awareness about the importance of social-distancing by reaching at least 50% of people aged 18 to 45 through earned media. On 20th of March, when quarantine was officially declared in Slovenia, we launched #ŽURAMDOMA, a series of 7 online events, hosting Slovenia’s most renowned DJs.

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Key challenges

Although Kurzschluss hosted over 230 internationally awarded DJ’s, acts and musicians and counted over 250.000 visitors, organized over 60 events in different experimental venues (from warehouses to rooftops), this was the first time Kurzschluss organized a series of online music events. The key challenges were:

1. Time to market
We had to act fast to use our influence as a party brand and encourage young people to help limit the spread of the virus. We had to secure all of the DJ bookings, production teams and equipment needed to implement a live broadcast from artist’s homes that were not originally intended for such events.

2. Keep our brand promise
We wanted to stay true to our commitment of providing best-in-class clubbing and music entertainment even without a venue and no option of a full-service experience with an extensive venue and production infrastructure (technical support, amplification, hostesses, catering, bartending, etc.)

3. Influence young people
Convincing young people to attend and stay at home wasn’t an easy task. Government and medical experts had a hard time getting their attention, so we needed to find a way to get them to listen. Literally.

4. Safe production
How to organize and coordinate the whole team (DJ, cameras, photographer) in one room, but still respect all precaution measures?

Creativity

1. #ŽURAMDOMA
We named the project #ŽURAMDOMA (eng. #PARTYATHOME); an intentional spin-off of a slogan #STAYHOME to encourage safe partying while promoting social distancing.

2. Creative Communication approach with 200 euros budget
#ŽURAMDOMA was free to attend since it was designed as a social responsibility project. Since we didn’t generate any revenue, we were limited expenses wise and only had 200 euros to invest in advertising. We had to be creative to reach a broader audience, so we made custom video invitations with DJs, where every artist invited fans to participate in the movement and used these videos to generate publications. To increase media coverage we generated multiple press releases with custom articles and approached media one by one. We encouraged the use of a hashtag #ŽURAMDOMA that helped spread the word of a safe online party every Friday night without a financial investment.

3. Creating a space for connection
We designed a virtual dancefloor, where attendees could join in a live broadcast, show their dance moves, and encouraged attendants to participate in a live debate, that allowed people to interact and be a part of a community even though they were home alone.

4. Branding the virtual stage
We upgraded the experience from first shows with the use of new front layer, that reflected the overall graphic image and stage at offline Kurzschluss events. It was used to communicate the values of Kurzschluss to the followers through custom made messages.

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Innovation

We launched the campaign on the day lockdown was set in Slovenia and were the first promotor in Slovenia that launched free and safe parties with electronic music via live stream with renowned Slovenian DJ’s. We designed a branded virtual dancefloor, where the attendees could join in a live broadcast and show their dance moves and gave the attendees a chance to share their opinion and codesign our lineup for upcoming online events.

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Execution

#ŽURAMDOMA launched on March 20, on the day that lockdown was officially declared in Slovenia. Live streaming was held up every Friday at 8.00 p.m. for 7 consecutive weeks of lockdown on our official Facebook page. The first one hosted legendary DJ Umek, whose 2-hour live stream generated more than 5000 users, 8000 comments and reached more than 400.000 Facebook users in the following days. Next in line were Ian Sound, Damir Hoffman, DJ Shark, DJ Psiho, Tim Urbanya and Brina Knauss. The realization of the initiative was a great challenge from the technical, production and logistical point of view during the lockdown. For high-quality live stream production, which in most cases took place with three cameras, it was necessary to ensure a sufficiently high data transfer rate in locations and spaces that were not originally intended for such events. As we wanted to give our fans more than just an ordinary live stream experience, we came up with an idea and implemented a technical solution to communicate the vision and values of Kurzschluss and to engage fans with the help of Zoom in a live stream. During the broadcast, the moderator took care of the communication with the fans in the chat room and at a remote location, a small team took care of the production.

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Measurable results

From March 8 until May 1 #ŽURAMDOMA online events cumulatively reached 683.442 Facebook users*, 635.175 (92 %) of the people reached were aged between 18 and 45. Seven online events #ŽURAMDOMA generated 380.500 views, 12.196 comments and 1.232 shares. Keeping in mind that Slovenia has a population of 2.1 million people and 700.569**people aged betweed 18 – 45, we reached 90% of Slovenians in the target group. With 8 press releases in 7 weeks we reached a value of 34.461 € media coverage (AVE). Our Return on investment**** was a staggering 2774 %. Most importantly: Thanks to #ŽURAMDOMA Kurzschluss saved the party!

*Total sum of People reached through all 7 online videos; keep in mind that 1 person could attend more than 1 event.

**Source: https://www.stat.si/StatWeb/

***Total sum of People reached in a time period (March 19-May 10); keep in mind that 1 person could be reached through multiple media channels.

**** Method ROI was calculated = ((Final Value of Investment− Initial Value of Investment) / Cost of Investment ) × 100%. Final Value of Investment consists of sum AVE, reach and views value, comments value and shares value. Initial Value of Investment and Cost of Investment consists of sum costs of media buying, costs of purchasing and renting equipment, costs of clipping.

Communication

We registered 83 press publications (75 in digital, 5 in print and 3 in TV media) and cumulatively reached 5.048.140* people. Press releases were not only promotion/product-oriented but focused mainly on the social aspect of Covid 19, spreading awareness about prevention and taking a responsible precaution on limiting the spread of the virus by staying home, even on a Friday night. With a 200 euro investment in media buy and a key objective of spreading awareness about the importance of safe and responsible social-distancing gatherings during the quarantine we surpassed our primary goal of reaching at least 50 % of people aged 18 to 45 through earned media. That was a big challenge primarily among our target group, whereas the younger generation was more likely to take government and experts advice less seriously**. Using popular DJ’s as their role models in a campaign that involved their point of interest (parties), we got their attention and could convey a more serious and important message.

*Total sum of People reached in a time period (March 19-May 10); keep in mind that 1 person could be reached through multiple media channels and multiple times.

**Source: https://www.rtvslo.si/zdravje/logarjeva-okuzbe-med-mladimi-ker-bolezni-covid-19-ne-jemljejo-resno/533199

The use of sustainable practices

When hosting original offline Kurzschluss events, with approx 4000 visitors per night, we have to consider not only the logistics of getting international artists to the event venue but also the logistics of visitors within the city of Ljubljana and from other parts of Slovenia, the amount of plastic waste like straws, cups and plastic bags for rubbish waste, created every day of the event and venue energy. With online events #ŽURAMDOMA we still have achieved the engagement and results we wanted but without the environmental impact, measured by carbon footprint.

Managing Financing and Costing of Pension System Reforms

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Managing Financing Pension System Reforms CEF

Basic Event Information

Date: February 5–7, 2020
Location: CEF -Center of Excellence in Finance, Ljubljana
Organizer: CEF-Center of Excellence in Finance
Client: CEF-Center of Excellence in Finance
Event Type: Educational Event / Training
Photo gallery: https://cefbox.cef-see.org/index.php/apps/gallery/s/cVuGb7UUhgfHeZV

EVENT CATEGORY: B2B | Best Educational Event / Training


Event description and key objectives

The learning initiative “Managing Financing and Costing of Pension System Reforms” was designed and delivered in the format of a face-to-face workshop. Its key objectives were to:

  • address possible approaches to improving the costing and financing of pension system reforms and reducing sector specific fiscal risks
  • give an overview of the most common factors causing large inefficiencies of social security and pension schemes
  • examine how reforms could respond to the challenges faced

Growing population age, impending retirement of the baby boom generation, increases in life expectancy, and labour market dynamics, which bring new employment formats and career instabilities, create pressures for governments to revise the rules of their pension systems.

At this workshop, we outlined the relationship between pension system reforms and the achievement of countries’ overall fiscal objectives and assessed possible tools for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of this type of public expenditures. We also reviewed the specifics of pension system financing, prospects for the improvement of its coverage and spending efficiency, and coordination of funds at different national levels to ensure the desired policy outcomes. The event combined both theoretical and empirical approaches to pension reforms, with a special emphasis on behavioural economics and analytical tools that can support evidence-based policymaking.

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Managing Financing and Costing of Pension System Reforms CEF

Key challenges

We introduced a new learning format to boost the experience of our participants. We named it impro-drama play.

One of the key challenges was to write a scenario for this game. The making of the scenario is in detail reflected in a blog post of Janez Šušteršič, so we will just highlight some basic features.

• The participants were divided into five groups, presenting the most important stakeholders in enforcing a pension reform: the Government, trade unions, business associations, members of parliament, and the public.
• The scenario included two formal negotiation rounds, staged as meetings of the Social and Economic Council and the Parliamentary Committee.

The main challenges:

1. Dividing the participants into different stakeholder groups based on their real professional background.
Each group had its interests, motivation, and political objectives. These were announced and explained on the first day of the workshop, giving participants enough time to prepare and think about it while listening to the lectures and the roundtable.
2. Overseeing the meeting by game facilitators to ensure a dynamic and intriguing debate among the participants, thus making it as realistic as possible.
3. Designing the game setup and providing incentives for different groups to actually negotiate between themselves.
4. Creating a specific and technically equipped environment in the classroom that would fit a TV show setting and stimulate political debates among the participants.

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Managing Financing Pension System Reforms CEF

Creativity

The group exercise that involved all participants was aimed at a realistic demonstration of a typical process of negotiations between different stakeholders on a certain pension reform that would respond to the critical situation that their country is facing. The activities of this 4-hour long exercise were sequenced in a way that promoted the exchange of ideas, negotiation over different options, creating alliances, creativity, and making compromises.

The idea behind the game was to encourage the creativity of each individual in perusing their role’s objectives. We have gathered some participants’ impressions and views on how they were provoked by the game and what they learned.

  • Their feedback is summarized in a Value Creation Story.
  • The group exercise combined creativity and innovation.
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Managing Financing Pension System Reforms CEF

Innovation

This format teaches each player how to connect the topic of the game (technical knowledge) with complex interpersonal relationships (soft skills), which are highly important when enforcing new ideas in institutions and wider. One learns how to work with a certain concrete goal – as a motivator in the process – while taking into account the roles, goals, and arguments of other players. In this context, the most important things are the content of the play, addressing a certain topic at the right level of technical knowledge, and the scenario, as realistic as possible, giving the framework of the play, while leaving enough space for improvisation.

The exercise was designed in close cooperation with experts Janez Šušteršič, Saša Jazbec, and Aljuš Pertinač. The delivery was led and facilitated by Janez Šušteršič, Aljuš Pertinač, Nina Agić, Tara Vasiljević, and Ivana Gašparac.

The experience gained in the design and delivery of this exercise was very valuable for the CEF team. The feedback from participants clearly confirms that such a learning format is highly welcomed, encouraging the organisers to incorporate it also in upcoming events. We feel confident to say that this new learning format was an innovation to our existing learning approaches and a significant step forward in designing capacity development learning initiatives for public officials.

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Managing Financing Pension System Reforms CEF

Execution

The CEF team made sure that the learning initiative was delivered effectively and according to the schedule and outline. We also coordinated the recruitment process, administration of participants and event-related costs, travel arrangements for all funded participants, and event catering, and we created a well-balanced social program (a walking tour in the city) that stimulated networking among all participants and provided a pleasant and favourable atmosphere.

Around four months before the delivery of the workshop, the CEF team performed an extensive analysis of the desired target audience: the relevant contacts and institutions in this area. The CEF team also conducted participant selection, ensured timely receival of all the necessary information, led the design of the workshop program and agenda, facilitated its delivery, and engaged the participants to actively contribute during the workshop. We targeted optimal learning outcomes with time management and stimulating information exchange among participants and the faculty on learning aspirations and processes, allowing reflections on the lessons learned, and feeding the expressed feedback into the delivery of the workshop.

The event brought together finance and policy officials working at ministries of finance and line ministries. The topic arose great interest, which was evident from a high number of applications and positive feedback after the event.

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Managing Financing Pension System Reforms CEF

Measurable results

  • 32 participants from 11 SEE countries and 11 lecturers from the EU
  • 21 participant institutions

The evaluation approach applied for this event is based on Kirkpatrick’s model of training evaluation, inspired by World Bank’s Independent Evaluation Group and ITC ILO. The method was adjusted to fit the CEF’s approach to learning. In total, 30 online evaluation forms were submitted by the participants and experts at the conclusion of the event, which comprise the 97 percent response rate and the basis of this report. Scores were allocated on a scale of 1 (poor or strongly disagree) to 5 (good or strongly agree), with an option to express no opinion. According to the American Society for Training and Development, a score of 4.2 or higher is considered the benchmark of the high quality of training.

  • In general, participants were very satisfied with the workshop, rating it with an average score of 4.6.
  • The event met their expectations (4.6), while also the quality of the event organization was high (4.9).
  • The overall quality of the CEF staff’s support and responsiveness during the event was also at the highest level, scoring 4.9.
  • These opinions coincide with the readiness of participants to recommend this learning initiative to their colleagues (4.8).
  • Participants considered the workshop useful for their work (4.7), confirmed that they gained new information (Q3–5: 4.3), and emphasized that they felt motivated to use new knowledge and skills at their work (4.5).
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Managing Financing Pension System Reforms CEF

Communication

Communication channels:

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The use of sustainable practices

We provided all the learning materials online. There was no need for printing handouts, recycling materials, or organizing transfers.
The CEF serves as a platform for connecting key decision-makers to help create positive changes.

We are one of the official channels for implementing Slovenia’s international development cooperation, and we are stepping up our efforts to support our constituent countries in domestic resource mobilization as a key means for attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). In light of the implementation of SDGs, our learning initiatives contribute to the realization of SDG Number 17: Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.

This learning initiative was delivered as part of the EU funded multi-country three-year project “Strengthening line ministries’ capacities to assess fiscal implications of structural reforms” (see more at www.cef-see.org/fisr), implemented by the CEF. Complementary funding was provided by the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Slovakia

First Autumn Allergology Days

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Basic Event Information

Date: 19-21 November 2020
Location: ONLINE
Organizer: Mercury97 Conferences&Events
Client: Bulgarian Society of Allergology
Event Type: Online conference

EVENT CATEGORY: DIGITAL EVENTS | Online Events – Online Conference


Event description and key objectives

In the next few years, medical innovations will fundamentally revolutionize the healthcare system, with the goal of improving peoples’ quality of life. This year’s Conference motto suggests that the society will not only present state-of-the-art knowledge in allergy and clinical immunology but will go beyond this, bridging it with the most contemporary, inspiring and creative processes and ideas diffused and adapted to the needs of patients.

Key objectives were:

  • program, scope and plan of the conference
  • technology assesment and procurement
  • event identity and design
  • attendee registration and communication
  • content and speaker preparation
  • virtual technology
  • attendee engagement
  • maximising results
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Key challenges

  • Determine the budget in terms of expectations
  • Content strategy
  • Format of sessions
  • To achieve the goals and reach the audience  
  • Identify the speakers and invest in it
  • Choose the right platform for the virtual event
  • Ensure technology knowledge and delivery
  • Encourage the audience
  • Get creative with a theme and visual identity

Creativity

The creativity is in the visual identity of the event: music, videos, graphics, animation. We have created engaging content: prepared speakers, virtual exhibitions and appointments, brainstorming and interactive discussions. We mapped the attendee journey across the lifecycle of the event: invitations, registration process, web site. We had a live studio and created a high value with stage design and the whole environment.

Innovation

Modern times also foster the revival of the old definition of innovation as a synonym for rebellion or revolt. Change is not only about embracing new ideas but also about leaving outdated ones behind, and what better opportunity to do so than taking part in this completely new format of Allergology Conference? The interactive sessions and discussions designed to match the expectations of all participants will provide a platform to stimulate the creativity of a lot of delegates, and the high-throughput screening of viable solutions using the innovative digital format.

Choosing the right platform – CVENT we have conducted in the best way our online conference.

Execution

  • Determined our budget and clear content strategy
  • Created format of the sessions
  • Chose the right platform
  • Identified the speakers
  • Designed the event
  • Installed live studio with high-quality technical equipment
  • Virtual exhibitions with key industry experts exchanged knowledge on critical areas of development and research in allergy
  • Sent invitations to the attendees to register for the event
  • Ensured technology knowledge
  • Prepared for technology glitches
  • Ensured technical support to prevent and manage A/V challenges to be focused on the content
  • Encouraged audience participation and engagement
  • Solicited feedback as a way to make improvements
  • Followed up with our audience to stay connected
  • Analyzed reporting and gained insights
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Measurable results

The conference managed to reach the audience and encouraged participation and engagement. We have made our event convenient, engaging and personalised as possible.  We have received congratulations for the organisation from both sponsors and attendees.  We are inspired for our long term strategy to continue organising events not only face to face, but in digital format, as well.

Communication

We have been always in communication with out client, attendees, suppliers. Without it we would have not reached our goals and to have such a great success of our digital event. Stay always connected with your client and audience!

The use of sustainable practices

As the expectations on corporate responsibility increase, and as transparency becomes more prevalent, companies are recognizing the need to act on sustainability. Professional communications and good intentions are no longer enough. The event executed in digital area,  we were energy efficient, water efficient and reduced waste

#PowerOfLiveEvents

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Basic Event Information

Date: 10 September 2020
Location: Budapest, Hungary
Organizer: Special Effects International; Visual Europe Group; Bo – Live Branding Agency
Client: Budapest Convention Bureau
Event Type: Conference with networking possibilities (non-profit)

EVENT CATEGORY: B2C | Best Non-profit Event


Event description and key objectives

Our main goal was to show that Hungarian event professionals are prepared and able to organize and conduct business in the current situation. The initiative of the event aimed to bring to life the experiences and memories that only live events can bring and to demonstrate that the entire Hungarian event and tourism industry is united and strong, equipped with positive and forward-thinking mindset, ready and prepared to provide safe environment.

  • To introduce Budapest as a safe and welcoming destination for events.
  • To start a conversation about live events which are vital to restart the economy.

Our objective was to showcase how health & safety regulations work in practice and cover local and international best practices and highlight the economic and psychological importance of live events. We desired to deliver this message across borders and to boost business events. Nothing has changed live events are irreplaceable and have certain power!

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Key challenges

This initiative has started as a social media campaign which was launched in an obscure, chaotic period. After introducing the initiative, we needed to start a broad communication campaign to spread the news and to encourage more to join. Our aim was to unite the industry and equipped with a positive and forward-thinking mindset even if most of the companies already had difficulties continuing their operations.

Running the social media campaign for months we concluded that we needed to go live if we wanted to create greater awareness. Due to the ever-changing regulations and the absence of financial support it seemed impossible to organize live events.
Although the Budapest Convention Bureau has finally joined and supported the initiative we faced with limited time-frame due to further tighten preventive measures. On 1st September even stricter border regulations came into force and it became difficult to provide the personal attendance of the foreign speakers.

The implementation of the events demanded huge resources from all the organizers and industry members and companies who have provided their equipment complimentary and workforce for a symbolic amount. Without a doubt the greatest challenge was to rebuild trust among the attendees. Clear and straightforward communication succeeded. Invitees received event invitations and practical operational information along with major safety regulations, as a matter of course only in a contactless digital format.

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Creativity

The initiative has started as a social media campaign to highlight and spread the message: the experience of a live event is irreplaceable. We have united the industry members (clients, organizers, service providers, professional associations) to join forces and collaborate. We have organized a conference with the participation of hundreds of industry members to cover local and international best practices and highlight the economic and psychological importance of live events. Besides discussions, motivational speeches with event professionals we have offered networking opportunities. We have focused on the present situation and the future of events. We have showcased how to blend protective measures and creative ideas to create a contactless and safe environment during the whole guest journey. Following the conference, two social events with concerts were held where guests enjoyed themselves. The most beautiful sights, event locations in the city were lit in blue to raise media awareness.

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Innovation

To rebuild trust in live events, we needed to showcase how to provide a safe, yet comfortable environment for participants. We have examined the complete guest journey cycle and blended visible and invisible solutions to ensure guests’ safety and comfort during the events.

Contactless solutions have been provided all along the way from arrival where visible safety was key to provide the psychological assurance for guests. E.g. a disinfection and thermometer gate was placed at the entry. To emphasize individual responsibility, guests could choose between red and green armbands to show their level of concerns in relation to social distancing and greetings. 

To enable colleagues and friends stay as close as it is safe, we created ‘islands’ of chairs that had an additional pleasant effect both on the layout and the ambience of the room. With similar setup concepts in mind, future organizers can make sure ‘social distancing’ does not necessarily mean a depressing environment. In addition to the live events, the landmarks and event venues of Budapest were lit up in blue to draw attention to Budapest and the Hungarian industry professionals as a great destination marketing tool. Unlike other similar initiatives, our main purpose was to unite each sector of the tourism and the event industry to raise the attention to the importance of live events and the industry members who are ready to provide a safe environment for events

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Execution

  • We have organized a signature event of which is a safe conference.
  • Guests received a digital invitation and practical information about safety.
  • Safety communication was maintained at every point during the event.
  • Contactless solutions have been provided all along. A disinfection and thermometer gate helped to reduce the chance of bringing viruses from outside. Guests could choose between red and green armbands to show whether they are open for a closer greeting.
  • Hand sanitizers stand at every step, visitors could notice the larger distance between each set of furniture. We created ‘islands’ of chairs that had an additional pleasant effect on the ambience as ‘Social distancing’ does not mean a depressing environment.
  • Catering staff wore masks, gloves and served from behind plexiglass. Meals were prepacked.
  • AV equipment used by multiple guests were continuously cleaned and disinfected.
  • AV companies realized the lighting up as their own contribution. All permits were provided by the city for free.
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Measurable results

  • Close to 500 companies and associations have joined the campaign from 28 countries.
  • 600 volunteers have helped during the execution of the live events.
  • The conference accommodated at approx. 400 guests.
  • 40 sighs and event locations were lit up in blue.
  • 100 000+ reach on social media.
  • 144 local and international articles were published about the initiative and events.
  • More than 10 local live events were inspired and realized by ours.
  • 5 industry associations joined and collaborated thanks to #PowerOfLiveEvents Conference.
  • The commercial ad was filmed at the event sights reached more 80 000 viewers at the moment.

Many among the attendees haven’t attended any live event since March because of their fear, yet felt safe during our event. Some said this conference illustrated way higher sense of safety than at any other events or in restaurants or shopping malls.
The international challenge was called, several countries are interested in following our initiative.

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Communication

The social media campaign was launched in May with the participation of the tourism and event industry professionals from all over the world to spread the ultimate message: The experience of live events is irreplaceable. Before and after the live event media campaign accelerated and escalated, more than 100 articles were published both online and offline, also multiple radio and television interviews were conducted. It was our pleasure that the #PowerOfLiveEvents has been featured as a great iniative not just in the Hungarian media, but abroad as well. The total reach of the campaign’s Facebook page exceeded 100.000+ and the campaign video had more than 80.000 views after it had been shared in the social media

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The use of sustainable practices

The events of the future undergo many changes nowadays, contactless solutions greatly contribute to our mission to promote sustainability.

The number of printed materials was reduced to the minimum, there were no banners, badges or menu cards. With the help of an event software and a dedicated QR code for each attendee, registration was contactless and required no printing, also entry was smooth and fast. Branded signage panels were substituted with multiple screens placed around the venue. Digital solutions, like LED-wall, was used as a backdrop of the stage. Video mapping as a spectacular and sustainable attraction was presented at one of the concert locations before the show started.

Dubois vs Joyce

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Basic Event Information

Date: 28 November 2020
Location: Church House Westminster, London, UK
Organizer: Frank Warren, Church House Westminster
Client: Queensberry Promotions
Event Type: Live sporting event

EVENT CATEGORY: DIGITAL EVENTS | Hybrid event – MULTI-HUB EVENT


Event description and key objectives

One of the biggest live domestic boxing bouts of 2020 since lockdown took place behind closed doors in the Assembly Hall of historic Church House Westminster as Hall-Of-Fame Promoter Frank Warren celebrated forty years in professional boxing. The boxing was broadcast live on BT Sport and saw Joe ‘Juggernaut’ Joyce claim the British, European and Commonwealth heavyweight championship.

In an incredible reversal, the domestic heavyweight clash was not pay-per-view. Frank Warren, said: “This is about keeping boxing alive and relevant at a tough time and doing something for the fans.” Warren was keen to point out that the Covid outbreak and its negative effect on UK jobs and livelihoods were on his mind as he decided to scrap plans to make the fight pay per view. The blockbuster November event, branded with the apt tagline ‘At Last’, represented the final chapter in a saga that has seen April, July and October dates cancelled because of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Warren opted to stage the boxing at Church House Westminster to signify the return of big-time boxing. The boxing was headlined as a battle for the history books and therefore Church House Westminster, a venue rich in history ticked all the boxes. Warren commented: “Winston Churchill announced the sinking of the Bismarck inside this venue, and soon we’ll know who out of these boxers will sink or swim.”

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Key challenges

The boxing was to be broadcast on BT Sport, which meant that the venue’s in-house Audio-Visual and Production team at Church House Westminster had to contact British Telecom on short notice to arrange an installation of an outside broadcasting line on the rooftop of the venue. This request was processed in a particularly short time frame. Having acquired the outside broadcasting line now means that the Church House Westminster is an official UK TV Outside Broadcast fibre connected venue.

Set-up, including the building of the boxing ring and transforming the Assembly Hall, the venue’s largest event space, into a boxing arena, involved three days of the pre-event organisation. The set-up started immediately after completion of a three-day virtual conference for another external client. In addition to the Assembly Hall, the event spaces on the entire first floor of the venue were utilised to bring the production to life. The Hoare Memorial Hall functioned as an interview and media room, live streaming the action of the Assembly Hall using the venue’s hardwired interactivity. Post-fight conferences took place in the Bishop Partridge Hall.

A number of other rooms, also located on the first floor of the venue were utilised as flexible changing rooms, storage areas and staff quarters. Strict Covid-secure measures were put in place in the lead up to the event, including one-way systems and preevent Covid testing to allow entry to specific zones in the Assembly Hall.

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Creativity

The organisers were impressed with the flexibility of the Grade II listed Assembly Hall from their very first viewing.
The dome-shaped room offered additional opportunities which the organisers did not previously consider for their event, such as:

  • allowing for stand-out event branding in the perambulatory leading to the ring walk
  • earmarking the eight entrances to the room for specific invited guests, pundits and press, which optimised the event flow during the evening
  • taking advantage of the additional space in the room to build two commentary boxes for radio broadcasts which were practically ring-side seats
  • utilising the venue’s in-situ lighting and effectively incorporating the venue’s in-house audio-visual team and their expert knowledge of the event technology  

The venue collaborated in BT’s pre-event promotion by lighting up the dome of the Assembly Hall in the colours of BT Sport for an aerial video shoot showing the venue’s rooftop. The venue liaised with Westminster Abbey to allow a series of cables and broadcasting vehicles to park in secluded Dean’s Yard, the venue’s entrance. Under usual circumstances, this would not be allowed however strict times and locations were agreed under exceptional circumstances by the venue’s events team.

The arrival of the boxers were filmed against the backdrop of Westminster Abbey after which they then made their way to the venue’s underground car park, effectively ensuring a secret and secure arrival to the venue.

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Innovation

This was the first live sporting event the venue, Church House Westminster, has ever hosted in its history.  Pre-Covid the venue has been well known in the events industry for hosting prestigious awards dinners and international conferences.
Needless to say, the pandemic has impacted the venue’s ‘usual’ event mix and since acquiring its accreditation as a Covid-Secure venue in August 2020, the venue has proactively realigned its marketing focus to actively target events in line with Government guidance, which has largely restricted the industry.

Thinking outside the box (!) content marketing focused on the versatility of the venue and the flexibility of the team when organising events. The motto throughout has been: “The answer is yes unless we have explored every single possibility”. The venue also offers organisers a money-back guarantee contained in a Covid-clause within the venue’s new terms and conditions, allowing organisers to book with confidence.       

The team understood that post-lockdown the single most important case for returning to live events safely would be confidence represented from the venue. It was the responsibility of the team to allay any concerns successfully and efficiently, backed up by the reassurance of the team’s Covid-secure training and recent four-month Covid-safe experience in coordinating new events such as the three-day trade winetasting, in-person examinations, and hybrid events.

Execution

In a collaborative manner, the venue team and the organisers worked together from the initial site visit to co-create a memorable event experience. The venue’s team departmental heads were all present during every site visit from the start to suggest best practices and make the organiser’s planning less exhaustive. The premise was that the team at Church House Westminster will take on the organisation and planning as far as the organiser would allow. 

The team, which has sadly seen half of its colleagues made redundant due to the impact of Coronavirus, came together as a unit providing direct access to the organiser with round-the-clock availability. It was paramount to enable communication as Government guidelines remained in flux in the lead up to the event. Quick response and turnaround times were the norm. It was not unfamiliar to see the venue’s Event Coordinators during the set-up delivering rounds of teas, coffees and biscuits to those who were building sets. By staying close to the organisers, the venue’s team was able to pre-empt any potential humps and resolve those before it came to a head. In line with the venue team’s rules, the principles of over-communicating and having each other’s backs ensured that the the planning in the lead up to the event, mirrored the event delivery on the night. Unavoidable and unplanned changes to the event plan such as a much later finish than expected where promptly rescheduled.

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Measurable results

In terms of press coverage, Church House Westminster, has pushed the envelope for the events industry in light of the pandemic, proudly waving a flag for live events. Articles and features picked up on this excellent positive news which clearly demonstrated that there will always be a demand, real need and necessity for live events. In the events industry, coverage of this event is the concrete evidence that the industry, both suppliers and event organisers, has been waiting to see. It has injected a new-found excitement for re-imagining events and also re-purposing venues as the industry builds back after Covid.  

In terms of staff morale, the venue has seen the team, which is literally half the size of what it has been pre-Covid, re-connect and subsequently forming an absolute wall of trust in terms of supporting each other and stepping in when needed, without questions being asked. The awareness of each other’s needs and the team’s overall well-being has increased as a result of introducing a buddy-up initiative before the event.

In terms of new enquiries, the venue’s position as a flexible and versatile events venue has been re-confirmed, having as a direct result of the boxing event, received enquiries for other sporting events, hearings and live performances. As the venue navigates events post-Covid the hunger for unusual events has now become a driving force to show its peers, suppliers, clients and associations that there is life beyond the pandemi for events.

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Communication

The venue worked closely with the event organiser in the lead up to the boxing to ensure that the venue would feature in their communications strategy. This was especially important as the event took place behind closed doors at Church House Westminster. As the pre-event planning with the events and audio-visual team of the venue was progressing successfully, the press team of the organisers were extremely helpful in creating a stand-alone press release which featured the venue exclusively. Not only was the press release shared within the boxing industry but the venue’s marketing team then also pushed this out to the UK events industry to build anticipation of the fight.

On the night, the organisers ensured that the commentators and pundits on air were ‘generous’ in terms of their mention of the venue. Social media from the event organiser were amplified by the venue’s social media channels which included Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Following the successful event videos on YouTube from BT Sport Boxing and Queensberry Promotions again mentioned the venue, and so did most other boxing influencers on social and video marketing. The venue created a case study of the boxing event on their website and also pushed this out on email marketing and social media, as well as a press release which was warmly received by the events industry.

The use of sustainable practices

Church House Westminster is committed to operating in a sustainable manner to reduce the impact of their events on the environment. The venue holds a Silver Award from Green Tourism as formal recognition of their ongoing commitment in minimising their venue’s carbon footprint.  The venue has also recently been awarded an ECOsmart Gold Venue Award for ‘exemplary’ green standards and for working in a sustainable way to bring significant benefits to not only the venue but also the community in which they operate and their supply chain.

Some of the initiatives that were observed for the boxing included:

  • Temperature control is managed centrally to ensure efficient heating and cooling throughout the building. Motion-sensitive lighting is used in the building, and the audio-visual team uses LEDs which consume far less energy than normal light
  • In-house water bottling facilities uses reusable glass bottles. All toilets are fitted with water reduction devices and sensory taps and toilet flushing systems have been fitted
  • The venue has opted to go plastic-free after signing the Meeting Industry Associations’ #20PercentLess campaign in 2019. Cleaning products used at Church House are 94% biodegradable.  All towels and tissue supplied in the venue are made from at least 95% recycled paper.
  • The venue is a Real Living Wage Employer and treat their team fairly and in a respectful manner following the guidelines set out in their ‘Inspiring People’ document

“Miss You Mom!”

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Basic Event Information

Date: 3 May 2020
Location: Hungary (ONLINE & LIVE)
Organizer: Bo – Live Branding Agency
Client: BMW Group Magyarország, MOL Magyarország
Event Type: CSR

EVENT CATEGORY: B2C | Best CSR Event


Event description and key objectives

Many people found themselves in difficult situations because of COVID-19. We joined forces with partners and delivered 1000 flower bouquets and gifts on Mothers’ day to those who really needed it with a free, Covid-safe solution.

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Key challenges

On March 16, 2020, a ban on events came into force in Hungary thus the event industry was paralyzed, putting many agencies and suppliers in a difficult situation. Customers, suppliers, and colleagues, all suffered from the uncertainty. We wanted to give our staff some work, to give suppliers the opportunity to feel useful, and at the same time to show our customers that we still exist and have a positive view of the future.

  • First goal: to help at least 1000 people in need to celebrate their mothers and grandmothers.
  • To show our staff and colleagues in the event industry (about 50 people) that it’s possible to use your creativity and work even in the current extreme circumstances. To give motivation and meaning to the work after the previous 1.5 months of extreme restrictions.
  • To set an example for companies in difficult situations that we don’t give up, that we can even help those in worse situations with our creative solutions.
  • To show our existing clients (15 companies) that our agency is ready for the new challenges; let’s create an opportunity to communicate with them.
  • To reach at least 1 new potential customer by presenting our concept.
  • To stand out from the competition, and let’s do what we do best. We organize events and do live communication.
  • And to produce it all with a minimal budget.
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Creativity

Hungary imposed stay-at-home restrictions on March 28, 2020. Some people lost their jobs and found themselves in difficult situations, even more difficult than those of us in the event industry. Most people were unable to meet their parents or grandparents who belong to the vulnerable age group for months. Mothers’Day was around the corner so we decided to help those who had no possibility to greet their parents because of the difficult situation.

We created a free COVIDSAFE gift delivery service for Mother’s Day with the financial assistance of our partners and the help of our subcontractors working in the event industry who offered their physical and own in-house assistance

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Innovation

Through the website, 1000 registrants had the possibility to send a gift package (flowers, magazines, sweets, postcards with a personal message) to mothers and grandmothers, with the guarantee of contactless delivery in compliance with health recommendations and regulations.

Influencers created unique content (e.g., song, poem) for the FB and IG sites of the campaign that could also be shared in social media to greet mothers. On Mothers’ Day weekend, we delivered all the packages in 2 days. We continuously showed stories of the preparation and the delivery through our channels and as a follow-up we presented the campaign through our social media channels, printed media and TV.

Execution

We created a free COVIDSAFE gift delivery service for Mother’s Day with the financial assistance of our partners and the help of our subcontractors working in the event industry who offered their physical and own in-house assistance.

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Measurable results

The result exceeded all our expectations!

  • Total Costs: 11.000 Euro
  • 5800 site visit in 1 day
  • 1000 gift registration in less than 24 hours
  • 70 volunteers delivered the gifts in 2 days
  • 400 settlements were reached
  • 20 companies joined our initiative.
  • 30.000+ people were reached through IG
  • 144.000 people were reached through FB
  • 15+ influencers joined the campaign
  • 33.000+ views by the most-watched influencer
  • 30.000 views by the after movie link
  • 3000+ people were reached through LinkedIn
  • Video presentation for 10 clients, contact  and video presentation to 2 new potential clients.
  • 1 new project thanks to „Miss You, Mom!” campaign
  • 30+ media appearances
  • Live interviews on 2 national TV channels
  • More than 100 letters of thanks
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Communication

The target audience was addressed through the social media channels of the agency and our partners. We used on/offline media as well for the campaign.

  • Website: https://www.hianyzolanyu.hu
  • FB and IG: https://www.facebook.com/hianyzolanyu, https://instagram.com/hianyzolanyu
  • Social media sites of the agency and partners (Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin),
  • Branded materials (clothes of the couriers)
  • PR: Publications, articles in the professional press and other online/offline media, videos, animations, influencers

The use of sustainable practices

We planned our routes, with a special “delivery planning program”, which helped us to deliver with the least possible fuel consumption. During the organizational process, we used less paper.

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The first finalists of #CBEA20 are known!

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CONVENTA BEST EVENT AWARD 2020

The first finalists of the ​Conventa Best Event Award ​competition were announced at Conventa Crossover conference, that took place from 27 to 28 August 2020. In light of the current situation, the competition has been restructured, with more event categories (online events can compete for the first time) and easier application conditions. This year, the competition is taking place in two parts; Semifinal 1 and Semifinal 2.

Semifinal 1: The finalists are already known!
(For projects that were carried from 1st January 2019 to 17 July 2020)

Semifinal 2: You can still apply! (Deadline: 11 DECEMBER 2020)
(For projects that were carried from 1 January 2020 to 11th December 2020)

How does it work?

Videos from the finalists of Semifinal 1 were played to the Conventa Crossover audience, but live voting did not take place yet. Finalists from both semifinals will come together on 19 January 2021 at Conventa Trade Show, where live voting by the audience will take place. All finalists will have to prepare a short pitch that will convince the audience to vote for their projects. The participants at Conventa 2021 will, therefore, give their final vote (80% of votes will come from the expert jury and 20% from the audience) in order to select the winner.

HERE ARE THE FINALISTS OF SEMIFINAL 1

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NT Remote 2020

When we postponed the 25th NT Conference, planned in May, we decided to go online with a standalone free virtual technological and business event NT Remote on 20th of May 2020. Through relevant content, we empowered attendees in different job positions with useful knowledge to provide flexibility and business continuity in this new reality.

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Let’s rock!

Let’s Rock! was one among the first major music events in Croatia after a long period of silence on the cultural scene caused by COVID-19. First planned as an online event streamed from the venue – St. Michael’s Fortress, Let’s Rock! became a one-day music festival, including 11 bands on three stages.

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Underwater Art

Porto Montenegro and M2Communications have created a unique underwater exhibition. By engaging world-renowned visual artist Luka Radojevic, visitors were given an opportunity to dive into the secrets of ancient times.

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The Fourth China – CEEC Conference on Innovation Cooperation

The Fourth China – CEEC (Conference on Innovation Cooperation) was held in Belgrade on October 8-9, 2019. The conference hosted the highest state and business representatives, as well as the Serbian startup community.

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STADA Global Leadership Meeting 2019

In September 2019 DMC Vekol team got entrusted with taking care of the worldwide management of one of the leading pharma & healthcare giants on the global market, including their respected and ultra-demanding CEO, Mr Peter Goldschmidt and board of directors.

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Velenje Underground

In a short span of just a few hours, the experience “transforms” the visitor into a miner and takes them on a journey through a miner’s typical workday. Characterised by an authentic mining setting, Velenje underground is an exceptional five-star culinary experience happening 160 m below the surface.

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Black Sea & Balkans Conference World Summit 2020

The 1st edition the Conference World Summit focused on the countries of the Black Sea & Balkans region. The event is set to share knowledge, experience, good practices and mostly to be a platform to discover the region of the Black Sea & Balkans.

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ELES Expert Consultation

The ELES expert conference is an event intended for the electricity industry, which every year invites internationally recognized experts to participate, who with their knowledge and experience encourages a different way of thinking.


You can still register your event for SEMIFINAL 2

Show you, colleagues, why you are the best at what you do!

Every year Conventa draws attention to excellence in the meetings industry with an award for the best event in ‘New Europe’. As most live events around the world have been cancelled due to COVID-19, we would like to give a chance to those, who plan on carrying out events when restrictions are removed. Don’t let your groundbreaking events go unnoticed. Register your event for Semifinal 2.

Registration deadline: 11 DECEMBER 2020

Find out more about the award here.

In bed with the storytellers: Boris Kovaček

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IN BED WITH THE STORYTELLERS OF CROSSOVER 2020

“Just like bedtime stories that we used to listen to as children, every event creates and shares its own story. A well-told story is an event where the narrator and the listener meet, where the participant and the speaker form a personal bond.”

Before you come to Conventa Crossover, a hybrid conference for everyone, who wants to learn, socialize and exchange ideas in an informal, relaxed environment, the organisers wanted you to meet the speakers (or storytellers as they like to call them). Don’t worry if you can’t make it to Ljubljana on 27 August 2020, you can join the conference virtually.

Boris Kovaček

Owner and Managing Director of Pepermint

Q: How are we going to organize events in the future?

We are entering a new, unknown era that brings challenges for so many industries and professions. Unfortunately, the event industry cannot exist without personal contact and personal experience. To answer the question, we would need a magic ball or a fortune teller. But there is only one thing I know for sure and it is that online and other derivatives are not a substitution for events. You can have the best speaker in the world, but it will still be an online seminar, not a live event…

Q: What is your love story with the world of events?

I have started as a DJ and marketing student, so my love story comes with a great soundtrack and an interesting cast. As a pioneer of event marketing in the region I have travelled all over Croatia and the region, so my love story took place in places like arboretum Trsteno and Dubrovnik, Sarajevo and Jahorina, Bled and Vogl, Mladost, Ludos, Radost in Belgrade and Ohridsko jezero. One cannot ask for more…

Q: In your opinion, what is live marketing’s best advantage vs online?

Personal experience is a key ingredient. You cannot talk about the Weekend Media Festival without mentioning people you meet there or the beautiful city of Rovinj. Creative atmosphere and interesting people you meet make you think differently and get you out of your comfort zone.

Q: What are you bringing to Conventa Crossover and why should an attendee not miss your session?

I am bringing my experience and a different approach to problems. I am an old school event organizer, but I am trying to find advantages of a digital and online approach to events. I have not found it yet…

Q: What do you expect from the event?

I would like to hear how people from the industry see the future and how would they fight with today’s problems.

[vc_cta h2=”About Conventa Crossover” add_button=”bottom” btn_title=”REGISTER LIVE OR ONLINE” btn_style=”flat” btn_shape=”square” btn_color=”black” btn_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.crossover.si%2Fregistration%2F|||”]The 5th Conventa Crossover, the festival of events and live marketing is moving forward in hybrid form for the first time. Despite the new hybrid form, Conventa Crossover will remain the central THINK-TANK for the meetings industry of New Europe. The live portion of the conference will be taking place from 27 to 28 August 2020 in Club CD, Cankarjev Dom Ljubljana, while the online portion of the event will be streamed on 27 August 2020 through a new online platform. All information about pricing can be found here.

Every August, Conventa Crossover transforms Ljubljana into the centre stage for leading experts in live marketing and event organisation. A place to explore, meet and create new ideas. Conventa Crossover is one of the few places where the event industry comes together to find out where the industry is heading through inspiring speakers, networking and fun. Conventa Crossover is a conference intended for event managers, creative heads, marketing experts, experts in event organisation, providers of meetings services, experts from companies, agencies, associations, tourist destinations, hotels, special venues, and everyone else from the region of New Europe who are closely related to event organisation and live marketing.

The venue; Cankarjev Dom Cultural Centre and the organisers of Conventa Crossover; Toleranca Marketing have both received the Safe & Healthy Events certification from the Slovenian Convention Bureau, ensuring health and safety will be on a high level.[/vc_cta]