Vol 04 | Issue 01 | 2020
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MOST PROMISING
EVENT MANAGEMENT COMPANIES IN 2020
Editor’s Viewpoint Entertainment-driven, Corporate, and Sports..
Willem Loos
Chief Executive Officer
The Globally Recognized Technical Production Company
Editor’s Desk Sustaining Event Business During the Covid-19 Outbreak
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t was the fateful 31st December 2019, when China reported the first Coronavirus cases, since then it has spread throughout the planet, infecting millions of people. The outbreak was traced back to a fish market in Wuhan, China, where it’s believed that bushmeat was processed and sold. Since Coronavirus’s outbreak in Mainland China and other parts of the world, especially in Europe and US, many industries have been impacted heavily. However, the event management industry tops the list of the most heavily impacted industries. Still with the lesser number of deaths and newly infected patients, few countries of Europe are slowly being able to see to the end of the tunnel. However, going back to the normal life is still a far cry. Till then there are few steps that are needed to be taken by the event management organizations, in order to survive this apocalypse type of situation. • Although it is very unlikely that you are hosting an event after the lockdown is announced, But, if you have an event scheduled just before the lockdown starts, it would be a great idea to postpone the event. However, there is a catch! What if the client chooses to proceed with the event? So, depending on the event, one can always review the budget and see if there’s any room to add more safety
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measures, which adheres to the local governing body. Always inform the attendees, it is the organizer’s responsibility. It will eventually help to reduce over crowding and panic. Inform your attendees by email, and by posting on social media regarding the cancellation of the event. This lockdown or the cancellation of event won’t halt your business. So, you’ll have to work even if your events are getting cancelled. Ask your employees to work from home, which will keep them safe. During this time, try to increase your brand awareness. Update your clients on a regular basis, and try to engage with the potential clients. All these will help them to remember you after the crisis ends. As an event manager or an event management company it is your responsibility to refund the ticket amount to the attendees as soon as possible. This will eventually help to increase your brand value and trust. For any business, maintaining a regular cash flow is very important during these uncertain times. It is quite natural, that you can not organize any event during this period. So, cut down any unnecessary cost and move those operational costs to activities that will help to sustain your business.
So, these are the few pointers which can help you to survive this lockdown and the outbreak. However, life will never be the same even after the outbreak ends. Hand Sanitizers, Wet Wipes, Facial Tissues, Face Masks and Latex Gloves will probably be a part of our life, and most of the event management companies will have to provide those even after the lockdown ends.
Just like every other outbreak, this too shall pass
Kaustav Roy
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08 UNLIMITED PRODUCTIONS The Globally Recognized Technical Production Company
COVER STORY
ARTICLE
EDITOR’S VIEWPOINT Entertainment-driven, Corporate, and Sports..
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ALEXANDRA JURAN ARTEGO PRODUCTIONS Creating World’s Best Gala Events
BASSETT EVENTS INC. When Luxury Event Management is an Art!
CASPIAN AGENCY Helping Clients Clarify Strategic Goals
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CLY Italian Creativity Meets German Reliability
DYNAMIC EVENTS Cultivating Meaningful and Innovative Experiences
REDFILO The Professional Event Management Organization
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WE CRUSH EVENTS Planning and Executing Engaging Experiences
CONT ENTS
Editor-in-Chief Pooja M. Bansal Managing Editor Anish Miller
Executive Editor
Assistant Editors
Kaustav Roy
Jenny Fernandes Rohit Chaturvedi
Visualizer
Art & Design Director
Associate Designer
David King
Amol Kamble
Kushagra Gupta
Co-designer Karan Gaikwad
Senior Sales Manager
Business Development Manager
Kshitij S
Peter Collins
Marketing Manager
Sales Executives
John Matthew
David, Kevin, Mark, Vishnu, Andy's
Technical Head
Business Development Executives
Jacob Smile
Steve, Joe, Alan, Omkar Rao
Technical Specialist Aditya
Digital Marketing Manager Marry D'Souza
SME-SMO Executive Prashant Chevale
Research Analyst Frank Adams
Database Management Stella Andrew
Circulation Manager Robert Brown
Technology Consultant David Stokes
sales@insightssuccess.com April, 2020
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Cover Story
The Globally Recognized Technical Production Company
Willem Loos
Chief Executive OfďŹ cer
T
ranslate Ideas into Practical Planning
Meet Unlimited Productions, a full-service production company offering technical, creative concepts, high-end designs, and quality event productions. With a diverse client portfolio consisting of event organizations, multinationals, agencies and event promoters the company is active on an international scale within the field of live communication, such as; corporate events, public events, festivals, sports events, TV, shows & concerts and artists-/ touring management. It’s experienced team consists of 30 highly motivated professionals. The company helps its clients with all of their event production needs. It translates creative ideas and designs into practical planning that includes staging, temporary structures, tents, sound & light equipment, video screens, power supply, machinery, decoration, etc. Following the four-phase blueprint with a key focus on the event and production management, it accompanies its clients from definition to concept, into preproduction and technical production.
Globally Renowned In 2009, Unlimited Productions was founded by Bart Roelen and Tijs Verwest. Tijs Verwest (DJ Tiësto) asked Unlimited Productions to provide production management for his worldwide Elements of Life tour. A worldwide tour with a DJ on this scale was very new at the time. Bart Roelen and Tijs Verwest have been working together since 2004 and under the name Unlimited Productions since 2009. From there on, Unlimited Productions has grown to be an international key player in the field of (technical) event production, with a large network of high-quality suppliers, operators and designers, and wide market scope. Since the merger with Livetime Productions in 2018, the company has a market leader position in Europe. The company now has a board of three persons: Willem Loos (CEO), Bart Roelen (COO) and Olivier Monod de Froideville (CCO). Flexible and Ambitious Team At Unlimited Productions, the company specializes in technical production. This means that it doesn’t organize
Our company values are dedication, flexibility, quality, creativity, teamwork, loyalty, goal-driven, experienced, innovative, passionate, critical, ambitious and determined.
Olivier Monod de Froideville CCO
Together we strive to provide a new exceptionally high-quality standard
Bart Roelen COO
events, but it does the overall translation from the concept to a realization on behalf of its client / the event organizer. This specialism has mainly originated from the rock & roll scene, and later also dance, because shows became more and more complex and specialists were needed for the total overview of the logistical and technical process. To explain the work as a technical producer, the company often uses the following metaphor. If you are going to renovate your home and it is just plastering and painting or a new kitchen, then you directly contact the individual suppliers yourself. However, if you have an entire house built, you often use a contractor to oversee the whole process and translate the architect’s plans into a schedule, technical drawings and budget; Unlimited Production does this for events. Expert knowledge The team is flexible and ambitious and has the experience of providing support for hundreds of events and working with many of the venues in the market. They know the venues inside-out, including transportation and logistical issues. They can ensure professional and high-quality results. Large global network Over the years the company has created its own global network of trusted partners, clients, freelancers, and suppliers. Within the corporate branch, as well as the public sector and dance industry. Unlimited Creatives label The company is able to deliver the full package, from the initial idea - to design - to creation. Because it has all the
disciplines available, all project phases can be aligned easily. Because the complete project team is brought together in an early stage, the efficiency is higher, costs are lower and ideas are initially designed with the technical implementation in mind. The main focus of Unlimited Creatives is connecting the dots of all creative processes and disciplines in the live entertainment industry. Unlimited Creatives oversees the creative process and provides project management to align all design factors, such as set design, light design, content creation, and scenic design. The strength of this platform is the connection between the creatives and production, by looking at production feasibility, budget and efficiency early on. Attention for detail Unlimited Productions is passionate about getting it right for the clients, and it is always aware that small details can have a big impact. Being detail-oriented makes the work better, makes the team more effective and minimizes the risk of errors. The company’s innovative team is always looking for ways to improve existing products and processes and come up with new solutions. In order to turn its client’s ambition into reality. Coming out of Limitations Years of working in the events industry learned Unlimited Productions that each project is unique and that specific events ask for specific solutions. Unlimited Productions came across the limitations of existing equipment. For instance when working in locations with little height and
where the pressure on the floor was an area of concern. The company doesn’t like to limit the creative minds of its industry but support them with tools to turn ambition into reality. With its Unlimited Solutions label, the company develops innovative products that were born out of technical or creative event questions, that came up during the pre-production of its productions. The BGR70 is one of those unique solutions, a low volume truss with extreme load-bearing capacity and minimum to zero deflection. Created for a corporate project in Japan, where the venue didn’t have enough height. Since then Unlimited Solutions provided BGR70 for several projects, such as a grid of BGR70 truss in order to create sufficient structural support for the Resistance Ibiza shows. Another innovative product is the Motion Stabiliser. A system to move single objects (such as light fixtures & LED panels) up and down from the roof, stable and smooth, while still being able to do movement effects on the objects. The Motion Stabilisers were used for the first time during the Martin Garrix ADE shows in the RAI Amsterdam. Innovative and Motivational Professional From 1996 to 2008, Willem Loos – CEO at Unlimited Productions, was a founder of The Concert Company Group, delivering crew services and production management for international touring artists & productions. After a sabbatical of two years, he came back in the production world by acquiring Silk Show Architects from Michiel van der Zijde, a company focused on product design and production management. In 2012, Silks Show Architects became a part of Unlimited Productions. Willem is mainly very strong in the context of the professionalization of the organization, in a way that is not very common for smaller companies. The company’s backend, IT, process flow, four-phase model, customization in project management software, time registration, etc form a solid base and foundation to grow internationally. Willem is the connecting factor between an ad-hoc creative sector and a streamlined organization. Working Alongside the Customers Supply chains are becoming shorter and large conglomerates arise who try to respond to this by removing intermediaries between the end customer and hardware suppliers. However, Unlimited Production believes in an approach that is not driven by hardware but can offer the same solution from a visible neutral perspective. Not with the aim of getting your materials out of the warehouse as often as possible, but by looking at what the customer needs from the start and finding the right materials for the job. In a landscape where sustainability has the attention, it wants
With only a beautiful stage, you won't get there anymore. Thinking 360 degrees with the content as a starting point, that covers our load.
to keep its footprint as small as possible, both from an economic and practical point of view. Also, its transport movements are minimized by a global network of materials and people. The company believes in the Think global, act local principle. This means they work all around the globe, but try to work with local partners and suppliers as much as possible. A Glimpse of the Company’s Future The company states that many people, while thinking about the profession of technical producer still think of only AV, but Unlimited Productions goes much further and makes the translation for objectives, concept, creativity and technology. “With only a beautiful stage, you won’t get there anymore. Thinking 360 degrees with the content as a starting point, that covers our load,” states Willem Loos. In addition, the company leaves the creative and the technical suppliers in their expertise and makes ends meet, monitoring all underlying processes and always translates between technical feasibility and creative ideas. It also prefers to increase its global footprint, by growing and expanding the company. Apart from Unlimited Productions, the board also has two other labels at this time, Unlimited Solutions and Unlimited Creatives. Considering event production in 360 degrees, it’s a possibility that the company might expand it’s services with other labels to service its customers even better. “Our holding, (Livetime Experience Group) and underlying group with labels will
continue to grow the coming years, by means of mergers and acquisitions,” the company adds. The intention is to broaden the company’s tailor-made services such as scenic, design and content, in order to create greater international decisiveness and to be able to unburden it’s clients even more in terms of production. In this regard, customer experience is always the key elements, whether looking at AV, scenic or deco related aspects. It also highly invests in partnerships with company’s key clients and suppliers. Unlimited Production’s mission is to become a one-stopshop for the translation of ideas/concepts to realization, with a constant focus on quality through its knowledge, creativity, and network. The company is increasingly working alongside its customers and directly for brands because that is where its added value is. Nowadays, most industries have to deal with a shorter supply chain where brands themselves often choose their location, production and even artists. Then they only look for a partner for the concept and/or total production and then they are complete. The company believes in a global group of companies specialized in the qualitative and creative production of events by means of knowledge, creativity and customization.
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Choose E xc e l l e n t, Choose Insights
10 most promising Event management companies 2020
Alexandra Juran Director
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Alexandra Juran Artego Productions
Creating World’s Best Gala Events
C
reating a luxury event is not for the faint of the hearts. So, in 2006 Artego Productions was founded, by Alexandra Juran. Since then, the organization has become famous for taking celebrations to an entirely new level of sensation and luxury. Bespoke events by Alexandra Juran usually take place in the most spectacular locations in the world. Alexandra Juran Artego Productions is tabbed as one of the TOP-20 Event Agencies in the World. Society Weddings, iconic Private Parties, Birthday Celebrations, extravagant Galas, Corporate Events, Fashion and Art Events worldwide, from intimate private events to large and lavish extravaganzas, every celebration Alexandra Juran creates is unique. So, in an Interview with Insights Success and Alexandra Juran Artego Productions, the spokesperson of the organization has shared unknown stories about the organization and its journey. Below are the highlights of the interview; What led to the inception of the company? A desire and courage to be able to create the Perfect Moment that people will remember forever as the most remarkable day in their life. Describe your company and its event management services which address all the needs of your customers. We produce unique events worldwide: from the grand opening of The Venetian Macao to the famous Rome Gala and Fellini Ball that was exhibited as an outstanding work of art in The Museum of Modern Art, Frankfurt. We are proud that our clients’ events are among the most highly regarded worldwide.
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I dedicated my career to creating people’s dreams. It might take us a year of work to create only one day – the day that you will remember forever. We have a global reputation for producing outstanding luxury experiences and timeless moments for clients demanding world-class event, first class service and a dream to live. www.insightssuccess.com
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ENTERTAINMENT-DRIVEN, CORPORATE, &
SPORTS..
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Editor’s Viewpoint
W
hat is the connection between a sports event and a military display? What is the synergy between a world class show and a record breaking event? The answer lies within Event Management Organizations. Event Organizations multinational companies and event promoters is an active ďŹ eld of live communication, corporate events, public events, festivals, sports events, TV, shows and concerts and artists tour management. These companies translates creative ideas and designs into practical planning that includes staging, temporary structures, tents, sound and light equipment, video screens, power supply, machinery, and decoration. Event Management Companies designs and visualizes a total view of the client’s stage or event and make a
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complete quotation of all facilities needed to translate designs into reality. The team needs to be flexible and ambitious and which ensures professional and high-quality results. It is a detail-oriented industry which minimizes the risk of errors. This field always looks for ways to improve existing products & processes and comes with up new solutions.
delayed delivery due to traffic, to a power outage at the venue that could shut down the production for hours. Audience engagement is the key for a successful event. The right sound is evidently important in the event industry. However, audio is not always something event organizers think of at the beginning of the event production process. Audio can actually make or break your event. In order to achieve the desired effect on the audience it is most important to make an audio plan at the start of the event production.
Corporate clients create a business event for their employees, with a festival vibe. Most of all they want to give their employees a nice experience and make them feel at ease in a casual atmosphere. Their aim is to make sure the employees came to work the next day, relaxed and happy. Often a corporate event takes place at a venue with one hall. Corporate festivals, much like regular festivals, consist of multiple areas and the look and feel is of greater importance. On top of this, corporate festivals often have a lot more diversity in the program, entertainment and activates. Same goes with other events like artists, festivals, public, and sports, TV, Shows & Concerts.
The event environment is completely altered with technology in a positive fun way. Technology allows connecting with an audience in many ways. Through the use of creative ideas and the right technology, you can make an event from average to outstanding. Technology and Systems are being introduced to make life of event professionals easier, from drones to VR and AR, to concierge robotics.
Technical productions can come with all sorts of challenges. When working across the locations is sometimes an area of concern. Unexpected problems can range from as small as
The event industry was thriving in 2019 and will continue to grow in 2020. Recent research on event marketing showed that entrepreneurs believe that in person events are
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critical components of their company’s success. To continue this, event organizers need to keep up with current trends and increase their knowledge on the newest techniques: Live meets Online: Customers are more and more interested in bespoke events, new ideas and new ways of communicating their message. It is a vital tool to expand the audience. For example, an event for a few social media inuencers can suddenly make a small event into a huge hit with millions of online views. Innovation: 2020 will be all about innovation. Online registration systems, interactive and live communication at events, social media incorporation, but also new usage of light, sound and special eects. With the right experts on hand, the sky is the limit. VR and AR is an also still a trend, but in the end an event is about meeting people and getting your message across in real life. Total Experience Design: Nowadays events have to be a 360-degree experience. Only one stage, a simple backdrop, and a beamer are not enough. People expect more. So think 3D when planning next event. Make sure the audience is
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stimulated at all times from every direction and every corner of your venue. Using large curved video screens can be a good start. They literally embrace the audience and will contribute to this 360-degree experience. Synergy between all components of your event is crucial to create a total experience design. Going Green: Sustainability is a hot topic, there are many to make an event eco-friendly. Recyclable name badges, use of QR codes and websites by going paperless are some ways. To help a global green marketplace, green events are critically important to ensure sustainable development in event management by making responsible decisions during planning, organization and implementation of an event. The event industry serves to connect people. But that connection can take many forms as in-person event, a streamed event, an archived event, etc. The point is the connection. Whether that technology is AR, VR, social media, virtual events, etc, those are critical technologies to connect people.
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10 most promising Event management companies 2020
Italian Creativity Meets German Reliability
n today’s time, event management is more vital than ever before as several companies desire their presence to be recognized in the global market, and thus, they have to put on a show that leaves a lasting impact on the world. Many event management companies try to create this magic but only a few succeed. CLY is an international event agency based in Berlin and New York City that has persistently followed their passion for lifestyle and luxury brands and delivers exclusive event experiences.
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A Kick-start Raffaele Castelli founded CLY to create unique and personal projects for luxury and lifestyle brands. When CLY stepped into the market ten years ago, their first “office” was in an old clinic, which is where the idea sparked for the name Creative Laboratory (CLY) as it perfectly fit the brand and the name itself defines the significance of innovation and creativity for each and every project.
CLY Founder Raffaele Castelli has combined the spirit of professionalism with free-roaming creativity. With over 20 years of experience as a creative director, he has envisioned every project as a uniquely bespoke world for clients and consumers to experience.
Customer Driven Services CLY has always been passionate about lifestyle and luxury brands, which helps them create individual concepts within the range of event production, influencer campaigns, celebrity relations, and experiential marketing. The core team of senior-level communication professionals remains driven by a penchant for perfection and they make sure that even the smallest details contribute to the one-of-a-kind feel of every production. Their international network of specialists allows them to flexibly cater to their clients’ broad range of ambitions and specific requirements.
CLY has collaborated with global and regional brands, including OMEGA, Lufthansa, Coca-Cola, Glashütte Original, Samsung, and Adobe.
Standing Out in the Crowd As a boutique agency, CLY offers its clients decisive advantages compared to larger agencies. CLY takes a 360degree approach to all projects by managing conception, planning, and implementation while coordinating hand-inhand with the client to create first-class experiences that leave lasting impressions. Confronting Hurdles CLY strives to advise their clients with the best solutions that are appropriate for their brand and budget rather than saying yes to all client ideas. From CLY’s numerous experiences, they understand which trends work and which 36 | April 2020
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CLY
Raffaele Castelli Founder
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ones don’t for different brands, industries, and audiences. This knowledge and expertise allows them to provide their clients with better ideas and solutions that are innovative and that make sense for client objectives and budgets. It is challenging to communicate these things to clients in a precise way, but it is essential to achieve the best possible outcome for their clients. Utilizing Technologies & Future Aspirations One aspect that sets CLY apart is its focus on sustainability. The boutique agency attaches great importance to the zero waste factor and looks to incorporate unique technologies and products to make their projects more sustainable. In the forthcoming future, CLY is continuing to build and expand a team focused on the company’s philosophy of innovation and creativity. They plan to continue doing events that they are proud of, and it doesn’t matter how big or small the project is.
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Testimonials “We chose CLY because everyone on the team works with perfection, professionalism, and passion to ensure that the smallest detail is right, even for large productions.” -Peter Taubitz, Manager, Lufthansa “I have been working with CLY for 3 years now on outstanding projects to create true premium experiences for our consumers. CLY is all about the love of detail, creativity, and unmatched excellence.” -Natassja Dos Anjos, Brand Manager, Coca-Cola “CLY’s work is just amazing… Creative, fun, and highly professional, it’s always a pleasure to work with them.” -Christina Angelov, Head of Retail Design, Glashütte Original
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10 most promising Event management companies 2020
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he best way to build relationships and form new ones with potential customers is “Events and Exhibitions”. It provides face-to-face customer contact. Gala Dinners and Award Ceremonies are also a fantastic way to reward your employees, acknowledge the talent, celebrate with clients and engage your stakeholders. On this communication front, RedFilo works with the creative teams to craft and create the messaging for all marketing, live brand activations that will transform the visitors’ experience from that of the ordinary to extraordinaire. An interview conducted between Insights Success and Pach Ang – Group CEO and Founder delivers powerful and unforgettable experiences by conducting events in Abu Dhabi, the Middle East, and other regions. Below are the highlights of the interview: What led to the inception of the company? Bringing his vision to reality, Pach Ang, an astute, resilient, and determined entrepreneur sought to deliver powerful and exceptional event experiences in the Middle East. In his quest, Pach quickly realized that there is a huge gap in how clients understood and interpreted the essence of what an experiential event means and have often witnessed the standards falling short. Keeping true to his aspiration, Pach and his team at RedFilo has indeed designed and delivered some of the largest exponential award-winning events here in the UAE over the last 12 years. Answering the call to Abu Dhabi’s Economic Vision 2030 in making Abu Dhabi one of the world’s most attractive cities for leisure offering new resorts, malls, world-class museums, and galleries and other leisure facilities, RedFilo seeks to further bridge this gap by elevating and producing world-class events here in Abu Dhabi and the UAE at large. Describe your company and its event management services which address all the needs of your customers. RedFilo, an events powerhouse, believes that over and above creative innovation, a strong team camaraderie, an unyielding mindset to setbacks, are fundamental building blocks to the road of success. In RedFilo, we deem ourselves as an Event Architect, and why so? Each Architect is a cornerstone of creation, commitment, and sound ethics in delivering the best event experiences to all their clients! With that in mind, RedFilo delivers a wide array of events ranging from festivals, opening ceremonies, product launches, conferences and exhibitions, entertainment, sporting events, global expos, to name a few.
Pach Ang Group CEO & Founder
How do your services differ from the other companies’ offerings? 48 | April 2020
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RedFilo Events
The Professional Event Management Company
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10 most promising Event management companies 2020
In Pach’s very own words “RedFilo is well known for designing impressions and revolutionizing experiences. We understand our clientele, expectations, and demands. In delivering immersive experiential events, we have come to recognize the essence of our clients’ brands and their touchpoints. Using innovation and originality, RedFilo has delivered notable event solutions that have generated amazing ROIs, much to the satisfaction of our clients.” And that’s how RedFilo makes a difference in today’s events and MICE competitive landscape! Give a detailed description of the featured person’s influence over the company and the industry. Over his 30 plus years of Special Forces military background prior to his events entrepreneurship days, Pach firmly believes and has instilled discipline, respect, mentor-ship, and leadership by example, a unified community with an all-hands-on-deck mentality in each 50 | April 2020
member of his organization ensuing its success and stability over the last decade. In 2014, Pach Ang was featured in a leading Middle East magazine as UAE’s top 20 industry Shakers & Movers. Pach was also dubbed as an unparalleled Commander, Mentor, and Business Leader in an article by Cochin Herald in 2015. Pach has earned the client's confidence in understanding their needs and a professional delivery through sound and accountable processes in operations besides being innovative and creative, always turning up with a solution at every juncture.
A discerning businessman, Pach recognizes the intense competitive landscape in the UAE events industry. Pach believes the solution lies in partnership and collaboration amongst fellow in-country agencies. And with the forthcoming World Expo 2020 Dubai, all the more, to avoid being cannibalized with the onslaught of new overseas companies incorporating in the UAE, working together is the way to go.
Awarded the prestigious Middle East ICON industry of the Year in 2017, reinforced and demonstrated the industry’s respect and confidence in Pach’s leadership and contribution to the local events scene.
In every event business market, the challenge remains, and that is, many event agencies offer, seemingly, similar services, claiming to be able to deliver the ‘same’ event experience, often led to undermining market pricing potentials and compromising the delivery quality. Pach believes that “client education” is essential and crucial in understanding what’s happening in the industry giving them an edge when working with their agencies.
What are the greatest challenges faced by the event management sector and how are they best dealt with?
What technologies are you leveraging to make your services more resourceful? www.insightssuccess.com
RedFilo Events
Together with their partners, RedFilo has been developing different technologies to digitize event processes to be employed both internally and externally. One such is project management tracking software that allows each architect to streamline priorities, track progress, and development of an event. The program has the flexibility for various conversions, such as it can be used as a workbook to be shared with clients during the pre-event phase and as a show book on event execution. A Client communication has become more efficient and achieving a higher level of accuracy of data for dissemination. What are your company’s future aspirations? What strategies are you undertaking to achieve those goals? As an astute business owner, Pach has outlined three business goals. “RedFilo has adopted a three-prong approach; Expansion, Creation and Engagement, Collaboration.” Explaining the goals, Pach detailed the following: “Expansion. I have started to expand the business geographically, with its Headquarters located in Abu Dhabi, now have offices and partner offices in Beirut, Dubai, KSA, Malaysia, and Singapore. This is only the start; plans are underway to establish more offices in several other locations. Besides expanding in various countries, I am also looking into acquiring complementary business verticals, such as event landscaping and event technologies, that will enhance or expand our current offerings. Creation & Engagement. One of RedFilo’s core strengths is in event creation and implementation. With the start of Neorun, a RedFilo sports/fun event IP has generated tremendous responses from the public and has seen both event popularity growth and a rewarding ROI in branding and revenue. I look forward to creating more IPs that can be offered as event solutions, elevating experiential events to the next level, ushering in better and fresher community engagement, both socially and from a business standpoint. Collaboration. Not just for survival sake, more on leveraging the core skills of each partner, allowing each of us to do what we do best in response to today’s competitive environment. This will strengthen business relationships, loyalty as partners in a consortium that will bring about greater impact in solution offerings to the clients.”
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10 most promising Event management companies 2020
Planning and Executing Engaging Experiences
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reating an unforgettable experience for employees or clients is never easy, there are so many hassles you can face while arranging an event. Thus We Crush Events came into existence with the intent to create custom experiences for employees or clients, while saving you from the hassle and headache of the event planning process. In an interview with Insights Success, Jessica Cheney the CEO and Co-founder of We Crush Events shared valuable insights regarding the exciting journey. Below is the interview between Insights Success and Jessica; What led to the inception of the company? I have an extensive background in hospitality and events and my partner, Danielle Thieret, has years of sales and business development experience. After working together at an event tech startup, we coupled our sales expertise and event operations knowledge to form We Crush Events. When we started our company, our focus was on driving business to venues/vendors and supporting our corporate clients with their event planning needs. We knew there was a need for this two sided support in the hospitality industry and we were very excited to bring it to life! Describe your company and its event management services which address all the needs of your customers. We are a full service event planning and production company specializing in corporate events. Our team of seasoned professionals plan and execute meetings, o-sites, incentive trips, retreats, team outings, seasonal parties and many more. We primarily service the Southern California area but we have also produced events in other states and international destinations. Our hands-on approach puts our clients at ease that their events will be taken care of from A to Z. In addition to providing them with exceptional service, we help them drive ROI for client events and ensure employee engagement and retention with internal events. 52 | April 2020
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Jessica Cheney
Jessica Cheney
CEO & Co-founder We Crush Events
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g n i ag le i g h n e ,w s s e t t ea clien ith r c w r ts u s n e o e t v o a t E d t s g sh o co in u k r o s.” C n r o t e o b d n “W nces a e and e v d e c i n a a p er s s p e g x u e n i n l e l v
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How do your services differ from the other companies’ offerings? We Crush Events is the future of the corporate event planning industry. We plan and execute engaging experiences at no cost to our corporate clients, while filling space and booking dates with venues & vendors. Our unique business model benefits both sides of the event industry as we capitalize off our vendor and venue relationships, providing them with incremental revenue and our clients with full service event support. What are the greatest challenges faced by the event management sector and how are they best dealt with? An event can be a very subjective experience for both the planner and attendees. Each of our client’s has their own individual message they are trying to get across and goals they want to achieve. We have to align ourselves with them so that we can best capture their brand and culture. We do that by taking the time to really get to know our clients’ culture and brand through their eyes. We foster an open dialogue with them and gather feedback so that we can gauge their likes and dislikes. This discovery process enables us to best understand and achieve their vision.
to see how we can make our service more useful and lucrative for them. Give a detailed description of your influence over the company and the industry. As CEO and co-founder I have strived to make our company the best version of itself. However, that is an evolving process as we are constantly learning and improving. I’ve been at startups before and know that it can get overwhelming trying to keep up with the quick growth. With WCE, I have worked hard to instill an empowering mindset within our team and encouraged them that growing within themselves contributes to the company’s growth because they are each an important piece to our puzzle. Danielle and I took a leap of faith starting We Crush Events just four years ago and in such a short time we have gotten to work with some of the most innovative companies in the industry. As female business owners, we feel that we are helping to evolve the roles women can play in corporate America. The future is female and we hope to inspire fellow girl bosses to dig deep and keep pushing through because the best view comes after the hardest climb.
What technologies are you leveraging to make your services more resourceful? We use a graphic design platform to streamline and enhance all of our visual content. This tool allows us to create eye catching material that showcases everything from our sales decks to elaborate multi-venue proposals. We live in an aesthetic world and we use this resource as a way to transform otherwise ordinary documents into striking and effective presentations. For our agreements and invoices, we integrate with software that streamlines signatures and processes payments electronically. It makes it easy for our clients to review and approve their documents all in one place. Through this interface we can also track and update the status of our different deals as they move through the booking process. What are your company’s future aspirations? What strategies are you undertaking to achieve those goals? Our goal from day 1 has always been to streamline our process and grow into other cities. We see an incredible opportunity to offer our services in all the major markets that have a high concentration of Fortune 500 companies and a plethora of venues and vendors. As of now, our strategy is to perfect our recipe here, in the Southern California region, so we can easily duplicate these efforts in other markets. Our current focus is training our team and giving them the tools they need to thrive and deliver a quality service to our clients. We also actively gather feedback from our clients and vendor partners
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