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The
SECRET FORMULA for Event Success
E V EN T I N DU S T RY
The Next
BIG THING
Text:
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Žikica Milošević
owever, this disruption has marked the era of innovations in the world. Now films are being increasingly produced in 3D, to add value to visiting the cinema. The live experience is crucial. Bands cannot sell records, streaming money is scarce, but festivals and gigs are increasingly on the rise; events are on the rise. Events, this is the keyword now, and the next big thing to happen; festivals, congresses, conferences and sporting events. Personal presence has become crucial in a world where everyone is virtually saturated with online communication, online commenting and the virtual presence. People, all over again, in contrast to during the ‘90s and ‘00s, when they wanted isolation, want to be present; to be there at events. The event industry, thus, has become one of the highest grossing industries in the world. We can see it everywhere: music festivals are mushrooming all around, and the conferences are the second wave of... well, the mushrooming trend. And there is big money to be made there.
POWERFUL CONSUMER, BORING HYPER-CONNECTIVITY Global hyper-connectivity has empowered the individual – you only need to go on Twitter for two seconds to see how important everybody thinks their personal opinion is. We are all becoming increasingly aware of not only the ethical and environmental values of things, but also what intangible value each thing and experience has. The first thing that every brand asks when it wants to create an event is, ‘How can we create an expe-
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In today’s world we face the mass violating of intellectual property rights. Everything can and will be downloaded and stolen, torrent websites are being shut down abruptly one by one, and it is strange how anyone can make money from anything that involves intangible value. It is absurd that nowadays it is more expensive to buy a sandwich than to have a complete discography of the filmography of a certain author, but it is a sad truth guise that they’re helping – online shopping, Beacons which geo-locate nearby sales, bots that instantly generate recommendations – whilst forgetting that this only further isolates the individual consumer, instead of bringing that connection and uniting the masses into a community. And suddenly we got bored of it. And this is where events jump in, since they are a first-class experience.
FACTS & FIGURES
The event industry is one of the highest-rising sectors of industry, and it not only contributes to the economy, but also to the community rience that will allow us to earn more money from more people?’ and that’s the first error. In reality, the brand experience today is “how can we create an experience that will allow us to build a relationship with our customers, and ensure their loyalty?’, and the answer to
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that is the intangible value that the modern consumer seeks; connection. The flaw with our permanently online world is that real life community and connection is becoming second-hand, when it is truly matched by nothing. We’re inventing technologies under the
Let us talk some figures. In the UK, the value of the events industry rose 8% to £42.3 billion in 2015, and it is expected to grow further in 2016. And in further encouraging news for the industry, business visits were the best performing sector of the visitor economy in the first half of 2015. This has been the best performing sector of the economy, the most resilient one. For example, conventions, forums and conferences recorded a rise in visits up by 11.5% year-on-year. All of this not only contributes to the economy, but to the community as well. At destinations across the world that stage events there are benefits of employment, regeneration, inward investment, trade development and knowledge exchange, as the industry’s creativity and unrivalled expertise generates business, educational, recreational and social opportunities for all of us. And this also applies to other corners of the world. The future is ensuring the valuable loyalty of the empowered consumer by giving them something more, something emotional, social and real. That’s what events do. And that’s why events will never go out of fashion.
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IN T ERV I EW
Lasting MAGIC Dragan Perišić
Marketing Director of shopping mall Delta City, Podgorica
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he Delta City Shopping Mall has built its identity by setting standards in retail and event organization and, owing to this, it attracts visitors 365 days a year – says Dragan Perišić, Delta City's Marketing Director.
Considering that you represent the company’s interests in Montenegro and the Adriatic region, could you tell us something about the main characteristics of these markets? — Apart from the market size, the challenges in terms of shortage of available resources, limited production, and the slower growth of creative industry, one of the biggest particularities of our market is the fact that our company, which has been growing both in terms of the number of visitors and its offer, has to have very transparent operations, and to be extremely proactive in providing information, both to the public and every individual partner and tenant, about all the changes, work dynamic and good results. Parameters have shown that our market, despite the relatively unstable economic climate, is very clearly structured and has a stable growth trend. Taking into consideration the circumstances in the Adriatic region, companies that have shopping malls have to be extremely innovative in order to overcome the hurdles and utilize presented opportunities. I am lucky to be a part of the team that sets both economic and creative standards in real estate development and management. Both retail concepts – in Belgrade and Podgorica
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– are actually the first ever shopping malls in Serbia and Montenegro, built in line with the international standards. Both have proven to be market successes. Even after eight years since our inception in Montenegro, we are stil recording a continous increase in the number of visitors. As a result, we had over 5 million visitors in 2015.
How much did Montenegro’s status of an exclusive tourist destination affect your market approach?
Delta City offers all kinds of comforts to its visitors – from various shops that offer a quality mix of retail brands to good food, and entertainment for children and adults. This first real shopping mall is still recording a continous increase in the number of visitors even after eight years since its inception — Undoubtedly, Montenegro is now clearly positioned on the global map of exclusive tourist destinations. The important high-end tourist zones have already been or are being built, like the Porto Montenegro marina with a residential complex which has transformed a small coastal village into an elite nautical destination. Then there are famous hotel brands like Aman Resorts, Regent, and Hilton. We should also mention the exclusivity of the entire region (like the Bay of Boka, which is under the UNESCO protection). Still, in order to become a truly exclusive tourist destination, all of these zones need to be connected via appropriate infrastructure. We should also work on improving services on all levels, and promote them abroad. Among other things, Delta City could also be considered a destination, and, as such, it offers all available comforts – from various shops that have a quality mix of retail brands to good food and entertainment for children and adults. If you add to this the fact that we have built our identity on setting standards in event organization, it comes as no surprise that the high season in Delta City lasts 365 days a year. Undeniably, the cross promotion with other brands across Montenegro, organized shopping and culinary visits of groups of tourists to Podgorica, and film
We have been recognized on the market as an oasis of good vibration, nice atmosphere, and exciting monthly events which coincide with the desired lifestyle of our visitors
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screenings at our Cineplexx cinema that are suitable for consumers from all over the country, have also contributed to this.
What other managerial skills do you need to have in order to implement this retail concept, and, by that, we mean organizing social events in the shopping mall? — Regardless of the size of the system he or she manages, any good leader should possess a special mix of emotional (self-awareness, self-control, adaptability), social (empathy, team work) and cognitive (systemic way of thinking and pattern recognition) competencies. Every successful company should manage people not processes on the basis of recognizing their competencies which should result in a successful process and, therefore, a successfully realized event, campaign or socially responsible action. Shopping malls function as “cities within cities” which means that they have their “mayors”, or, in our case, a lady mayor, city administration, residents and visitors. For instance, if we were to liken my position to a position of a city official, I would work for the Culture and Sports Department. The good organization of social events in our shopping mall is what makes this retail concept unique and different from all others since our visitors want a certain lifestyle, or, rather, they want to spend several hours at the mall and, in order to do that, they need adequate content. On the back of this, we have been recognized as an oasis of good vibration, nice atmosphere, and exciting monthly events as seen in the comments that our visitors leave on social networks.
IN T ERV I EW
Little Secrets Behind Organizing
TOP EVENTS Miona Milić
Co-founder of the Kongresniturizam.com portal
The team behind specialized web portals Kongresniturizam.com and www.SEEmice.com help national and international event organizers to pick the best venue, location and suppliers in the conference industry in Southeast Europe, as well as provide professional assistance with planning and organizing such events
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eb portals www.kongresniturizam.com and www.SEEmice.com (in English language) specialize in conference and business tourism in the region of Southeast Europe and connect over 200 suppliers in the conference industry (hotels, venues and service providers) with event organizers – national and international companies, NGOs, embassies etc. Apropos the 10th anniversary of these portals, we are talking to the Editor-in-Chief of SEE Business Travel & Meetings magazine, co-founder of the Kongresniturizam. com portal, Miona Milić about what should be taken into account and the elements of organizing various events.
success of the entire event into question.
How important is the event venue? — Choosing the adequate venue is certainly one of the more important aspects. By adequate venue I mean the venue that is adapted to the type of the event and its target group, as well as the one that has sufficient capacity and utilities. For instance, a promotional event
Organizing an event is a demanding and a complex process that largely depends on how well do you know the event’s participants, the creativity of the team behind organizing such gatherings and detailed event planning
How important are suppliers in organizing events? — As much as it is important to find a good dentist to fix your teeth… Choosing the right suppliers when organizing an event is crucial for the success of the event. Responsibility, professionalism, an eye for detail, analytical skills, precision and creativity, plus experience and knowing the market, are both the characteristics and advantages that one should look for in a supplier. Without a supplier you can lean on, the entire event will be on shaky ground and you will have to rely on pure luck to make it successful. Delays in procurement, inadequate choices, not enough run-throughs of the event’s scenario and insufficient consideration given to details, or rather not having a proper Plan B, will result in lapses which bring the
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focusing on an improved and modern way of doing business by a certain company should take place in a new, contemporary, streamlined venue rather than in a castle or a historic building. On the other hand, the latter venues are perfect for theme events and special experiences of the event participants. Also, for instance, having a male fitness conference or a promotion of a men’s magazine in a venue that has period furniture and pink wallpaper is not a good idea. The satisfaction of people participating in the event determines the event’s success.
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What role does Kongresniturizam. com play in event organization? — The Kongresniturizam.com portal was launched 10 years ago as the first portal envisaged to present the entire conference tourism offer in Southeast Europe in one place. On the site, event organizers can search for venues and locations that meet their needs. We have over 200 high-quality, tried and tested suppliers. On the other hand, if required, our professional team, with many years of experience, can help event organizers with finding the right venue and services and assist with planning and implementing the entire event. We are proud of the companies and organizations that have been using Kongresniturizam.com and our services for many years now.
What is the secret formula for having a successful event? — Organizing an event is a demanding and a complex process and, of course, many factors affect its success. If I have to choose to the top 3 things that are the most important for the event’s success, the first one would be get to know the people participating in your event well. Be aware of their likes and dislikes, food preferences, religion, culture, social status, gender and age, interests, profession and similar. Secondly, be creative. Creativity is a tool that helps with staging unforgettable events that do not fit the mould and that are unlike anything seen before. And thirdly, details, details, details. Develop and write down the particulars of the event in detail in order to prevent mistakes from happening, or forgetting to get something done, or not doing it on time. In the end, it is the details that make all the difference between average and top events.
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