6Connex | Case Study | Ringier Axel Springer Polska

Case Study: Ringier Axel Springer Polska

Eventory will be integrated with Ringier Axel Springer Polska’s CRM The Challenge Ringier Axel Springer Polska is a leading media - technology company in Poland and a part of an international Ringier Axel Springer Media AG group in the CEE region.

The enterprise’s portfolio includes over 20 press and digital titles such as: Onet, Fakt, Forbes, Newsweek, Business Insider and NOIZZ. Each month the company organizes dozens of events for their customers and business partners, as well as hundreds of smaller meetings. Ringier Axel Springer Polska also creates original conferences filled with professional content that build an engaged community around the company’s brands.

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Case Study: Ringier Axel Springer Polska

The outbreak of the pandemic and its consequences did not spare organizations such as Ringier Axel Springer Polska. The company had to suspend all planned stationary events overnight, thus losing the ability to contact many key business groups.

In the beginning of the pandemic, the company focused on classic webinars conducted with the use of videoconferencing tools. It was quite quickly revealed that the customers’ expectations were much higher than this. They wanted to actively participate in events, join a conversation with other attendees, express their opinions, and not only

be passive participants of presentations. Webinars did not provide the attendees with the same experiences as in-person events. Ringier Axel Springer Polska started a review of online event tools available on the market in order to be able to fully transfer the experiences, impressions and effects of in-person events into digital. A large part of B2B relationships was built with the use of events, and the company also wanted to be in contact with customers during the pandemic, educate them, inform about its offer and activities and support them in this difficult time.

Ewa Hutny, project manager Impact Academy at Ringier Axel Springer Polska, “Our goal is to develop cooperation with customers by helping them expand their digital competences and supporting them in the digitization process. At Impact Academy, for over 6 years now, we have been doing it through educational events - conferences, seminars, webinars, podcasts (previously held in real life, now online). We take advantage of the fact that our company has high competences and knowledge in the digital area and that - as an international organization - we can draw on the experiences and resources of various countries.

Our people are enthusiasts who like to share their knowledge. In these COVID times, there is one element of our organizational culture that is gaining more and more importance and that is knowledge sharing. We are using it and sharing our competences and experiences with customers. We hope that in this way we can build our clients’ trust and the image of a reliable and valuable partner. Educational meetings are also an important area for spreading awareness about the needs and business challenges of our customers. The insights gathered at events help us to better match our offer with their needs.”

The Needs When looking for a technology supplier for organizing online events, Ringier Axel Springer Polska had clearly defined goals and needs. They were looking for a solution that would allow online events to be carried out as effectively as in-person ones. The company was looking for a tool / platform to conduct engaging meetings and events, offering wide networking options. An important aspect was also the ability to communicate with customers and

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Case Study: Ringier Axel Springer Polska

partners before, during and after the event. The target solution was to connect and transfer the collected data directly to the company’s internal systems so that the employee of the business department could better understand the clients’ needs. For example, if a client says during an event that they are interested in reaching a group of seniors, an employee of the Ringier Axel Springer Polska business department should know about it and verify whether the offer is still valid for the client. This will allow you to maintain a relationship with them.

Implementation The cooperation between Ringier Axel Springer Polska and Eventory started in May 2020. Eventory was selected from among other solutions due to its complexity - it offered both the possibility of conducting online broadcasts, which are also possible

Eventory is such a partner. I have the impression that during the project we were never alone with our problems, and focusing on the success of the project has become our common goal.

with Zoom or ClickMeeting platforms, but above all, it also offered tools for registration and communication with participants.

During their events, Ringier Axel Springer Polska usually uses several features:

X the possibility of creating event landing pages for each event X registration for events X communication features before, during and after the event via email campaigns X quizzes, votings, surveys and live questions X general chat available at every event X possibility to collect feedback and lecture rating from the attendees

Moreover, the ability to independently create medium-sized events, without the need for support from the tech department, without event agencies and without Eventory’s technical support, has become one of the key factors for the company. It ensured the independence, autonomy and flexibility of those responsible for events carried out by Ringier Axel Springer Polska.

Ewa Hutny, project manager Impact Academy at Ringier Axel Springer Polska, “For me, it is also important that the Eventory CMS is very user-friendly. Thanks to this, everything you do around the event is done in Eventory not only quickly and efficiently, but also with pleasure.

The use of the CMS of the platform is logical, simple and intuitive. Ready templates and layouts for e-mails or the registration form are very functional (legible, transparent) and at the same time simply aesthetic. You can see that they were designed by someone who knows their stuff.

In addition, everything can be changed and edited at any time, also from the phone: you make the changes, refresh and it works. This is very important because during each event the situation is dynamic and changes rapidly until the last minute.”

Effects After the first few months of the pandemic, there was a risk that attendance at the webinars organized at the beginning would start to be noticeably lower, as online space was flooded with such activities and recipients simply stopped responding to invitations to participate in them. Thanks to the cooperation with Eventory, Ringier Axel Springer Polska introduced a completely new quality of communication with attendees. Currently, the company using the Eventory platform, carries out even several online events and meetings per week. In total, from the beginning of the cooperation, we managed to build a community of over 10,000 participants who regularly attend the company’s events. Thanks to Eventory’s user-friendly interface, 80%-90% of work done on organizing events by Ringier Axel Springer Polska’s teams is carried out independently.

Other Effects of the Implementation: Positive Changes in the Organization It became much easier to run online events in the company. Last year, Ringier Axel Springer Polska used several

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Case Study: Ringier Axel Springer Polska

different tools. Thanks to the implementation of Eventory, event marketing of Ringier Axel Springer Polska is now carried out within one platform, where all information about event activities (carried out as a whole and in a specific category) is aggregated. Simply put: events organized in the company using Eventory are now gathered in one place, and their quality and visual presentation have been unified.

Other Effects of the Implementation: Project Managers’ Conclusions Aleksandra Brzozowska, head of knowledge network at Ringier Axel Springer Polska, “The pandemic situation has strongly verified our approach when selecting business partners. Nowadays, we focus strongly on ‘presence’, trust, as well as a consistent understanding of the needs and challenges that arise when creating and implementing online events. Eventory is such a partner.

I have the impression that during the project we were never alone with our problems, and focusing on the success of the project has become our common goal.”

Ewa Hutny, project manager Impact Academy at Ringier Axel Springer Polska, “Customer success and people are the strength of Eventory. The company offers customer support at a very high level, and its intensity is adjusted to the event. More than once, Eventory adapted general changes to the product to our needs, and we had the opportunity to participate in designing features - those we actually needed. The platform itself is intuitive, which is one of its great advantages. With so many events organized at Ringier Axel Springer Polska and the pace at which they take place, we need partners you can rely on. And Eventory is such a partner at every stage of cooperation.”

Next Steps The cooperation of Eventory with Ringier Axel Springer Polska develops with each subsequent month. In the near future, it will be expanded with further networking options, and the Eventory system is to be integrated with the company’s CRM. In further steps, companies plan the organization of events in a hybrid form.

About 6Connex Event Technology Solutions Our Digital Experience 6Connex is the leading provider of in-person, hybrid, and virtual event technology for enterprises worldwide.

Our cloud-based product portfolio includes in-person event apps, virtual venues, webinars, learning management, and more. Designed for corporations in need of engaging with communities in-person, virtually, or in a hybrid fashion.

From marketing, sales, recruitment, training, and HR communications, to event planning, non-profits, remote offices, and more, we allow you to engage and transform big ideas into real-world results.

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Case Study: Ringier Axel Springer Polska