Be Mobile Conference, A Medium Story from The Occupiers.
8TH SEMESTER
CLASS: #AdandPRLAB, Event Management Lab
Professors: Betty Tsakarestou, Athina Fradelou
In our final university semester of the Panteion University, our Ad and Pr Lab requested us to create a Global Range Event. This type of work was part of our lesson “Event Management”.
Creating a brand for our event.
First and foremost, we were asked to create our BRAND for our event to have an identity. Due, to the nature of the event (which had to be technology-oriented) we came up with the name Be Mobile Conference.
What is Be Mobile Conference?
At a time when technology can be everywhere, there is a need to create a space that brings together all professionals in the field and those who are active (or even willing) in this field. The Be Mobile Conference is here.
With that motto in mind, we created our event. Briefly, B.M.C would be a three-day conference, which would take place in the Greek capital (Athens) in early summer. Specifically, on June 11–12–13, 2021. There, visitors have the opportunity to learn about new technology trends, the need for a green economy, AI, inventions combined with the launch of new products in the market.
Then, The 5 W’S
WHO
B.M.C is an event created by the Be Mobile Conference is Be Mobile S.A. It is a newly established company, which is active in the field of technology and telecommunications.
After that, we found that the most suitable sponsor for our event would be COSMOTE, one of the largest and constantly growing Greek companies in the field of telecommunications.
Finally, we searched the most gifted speakers that would present our event like:
- Jeff Bezos, CEO & Founder Of Amazon Services/ Pioneer
- Michael Tsamaz, Chairman & CEO Of Hellenic Telecommunications Organization S.A.
- Qingwei Chen, Regional General Manager in Huawei Enterprise Business.
- George Stamkos, Awarded Author / Journalist.
- Steve Wozniak, Co-Founder Of Apple Inc./ electronics engineer, programmer, philanthropist, and technology entrepreneur.
- Pierrakakis Kyriakos, Greek Minister Of Digital -Technology.
WHAT
The aim of the event is to present to market professionals and educational experts the new technological trends, but also to launch new products exclusively through our event. In the meantime, as mentioned above, we seek to establish business relations and reach agreements at both B2B and B2C levels.
Furthermore, the main part of the event may take place in a specific place, but it is not limited to that. Utilizing our strategic partners, and the aim is to make a short but comprehensive trip to the Ancient Center of the City, to the Plaka area, to the Acropolis Museum, and of course to the Parthenon.
WHEN
In this journey, finding when to host our event was a challenging thing! We decided that summer was the most suitable time for our event to take place due to good weather conditions and of course there wasn’t any political or religious event on these dates.
So we decided on, 11, 12, 13 June 2021!
WHERE
After hours and days of discussion, we came to the conclusion that the Metropolitan Expo would be the most suitable place to host our event. Thus, on the third day, our guests will spread depending on their ticket, in different places in Athens.
Some of them are:
- Acropolis Museum
- Odeon Of Herodes Atticus
- Museum Of Ancient Greek Technology
- Delta Restaurant Of Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center
- Pallas Theater
- Athenee Athens
- OTE Museum Of TeleCommunications
- Museum Restaurant, Garden Of Goulandris Museum Of Natural History
- Hellenic Cosmos, The Cultural Center
- The Art Factory Of Athens
- Technopolis Area
- Megaro Mousikis Athinon
- Cookoovaya, restaurant.
WHY
The main reason for our event is the attraction of entrepreneurs in the field but also help our guests learn about new emerging technologies, in combination with a strong sense of environmentally friendly products. Last but not least, our event will help our tourism by attracting people from all around the world to attend our event.
Our Agenda
A wise man once said you cannot have an event without an agenda.
Therefore, we wanted to create the most appealing and attractive agenda for our special B.M.C guests! Our Agenda was then formed like this:
First Day
Specifically, starting from the first day, the program will be in the following way:
- 09:00: Arrival in Athens Metropolitan Expo.
- 09:00–10:30: Our team will welcome guests and do the registration. When each person registers, he will be given also a pin with the name of the event.
- 10:30- 11:00: Introduction by George Kapoutzidis, who is a famous screenwriter and actor. In this section, the speaker will thank our guests for participating in this conference and he will discuss the main points and subjects of this event.
- 11:00–11:50: In this part, OTE Group (Hellenic Telecommunications Organization S.A.) Chairman and CEO, Michael Tsamaz will give a Speech about the Innovative and Tech Trends(Main Tech -Trends Of The New Decade: 5G Network, Democratization Of Technology) by Samsung
- 11:50–12:30: Qingwei Chen, who is Regional General Manager in Huawei Enterprise Business, will talk extensively about Human Augmentation. After that, he will continue with Environmental Technology, Personal Prolifting, Autonomous Driving, Smart Home, and New Data Policy.
- 12:30–13:30: Networking Time! The Catering Services (Aircanteen) will serve coffee, beverages, and food.
- 13:40- 14:30: George Stamkos will give a Speech About The Vision Of New Tech Age. George Stamkos is an author and journalist. He has written a lot of books, and the majority of them include the Serbian-American inventor, Nikola Tesla, as the main character.
- 14:30–15:50 In this part Steve Wozniak will discuss The Competition Between New & Old Trends, How Companies Should Promote New Trends, And How Important Innovation in The Field Of Technology Is by Cosmote. Steve Wozniak an American electronics engineer, programmer, philanthropist, and technology entrepreneur. In 1976 he co-founded Apple Inc., which later became the world’s largest information technology company. Nowadays,
-16:00–17:00: A Small Break For Food (Aircanteen) & Networking / Public Relations
- 16:40–18:00 In this part, entrepreneurs will have time to discuss with Companies’ CEOs & Marketing Managers, to create new collaborations.
Second Day
- Except for new trends, the second day will be dedicated to the environment and its relationship with technology.
- -9:00: Our guests will arrive at the Metropolitan Expo.
- -9:30–10:00: Introduction & Main Summary Of The Previous Day by George Kapoutzidis.
- -10:00–10:40: Speech About The 5G Network And How This Upgrade Can Help The -Business Field by Samsung. One Of The Main Speakers will Be The Minister Of Digital -Technology, Mr. Pierrakakis Kyriakos.
- -10:40–11:30 In this section, Femi Akinde will give a Speech About A Successful Case Study Of A European Company, which established the new trends Of Technology: The Strengths, The Weaknesses, The Threats, The Opportunities. Femi Akinde is Founder and CEO of SlimTrader at SlimTrader, Victoria Island, Nigeria and has also joined to TEDx Communities as an organizer in 2012 and 2013 and as an attendee at TEDGlobal in 2011.
- -11:30–12:00 Small Break for Food & Beverage By AirCanteen.
- -12:00–12:40 Discussion About The Way Technology Can Be Develop In Parallel With the Environment by Brian Merchant. Brian Merchant is an editor at Motherboard, VICE’s science and technology outlet, and the founder/editor of its online fiction outlet Terraform. His work has appeared in the Guardian, Slate, VICE Magazine, Salon, FastCompany, Discovery, GOOD, Paste, and Christmas well as on the front pages of Reddit, Digg, and Slashdot.
- - 12:40–13:30 Miranda Wang, will present the next Discussion Topic: The Eco- Footprint Of Three Main Companies, In The Field Of Technology. Miranda Wang is the founder and CEO of BioCellection, an organization using chemical technology to recycle plastics. In 2018, at 24 years old, Wang received the UN Environment Programme’s Young Champions of the Earth award.
- - 13:30–14:00 A Short Presentation Of Eco- Startup Companies by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
- - 14:00–15:30 Buffet Lunch From our Catering Company.
- - 15:30–16:00 Eli Pariser will discourse for the way The New Technology Trends Can Be Accessible To More Companies & Members Of The General Public. Eli Pariser is an author, activist, and entrepreneur focused on how to make technology and media serve democracy. He became executive director of MoveOn.org in 2004, where he helped pioneer the practice of online citizen engagement. He is the co-founder of Upworthy, a website for meaningful viral content, and Avaaz, a large, global citizen’s organization.
- -16:00–16:40 Call For Action by Martin Kern & Carlos Moedas. Martin Kern is the EIT Director Of the European Institute Of Innovation & Technology. Carlos Moedas has been Commissioner for Research, Innovation, and Science in European Commission since 2014.
- -17:00–18:00: Special Guest: Jeff Bezos, CEO & Founder Of Amazon Services/ Speech About How A Small Company, Using The Means Of Technology Can Be Successful and Profitable and how Human Augmentation, The Main New Trend, Is Gonna Change The Employment & Financial Circle Of Technological Companies.
Third-Day
This day is dedicated to the entertainment and Culture Of Greece. Depending on the ticket that our guests will have chosen, they will have the chance to visit some of the Greek monuments and museums, appreciate the view of Acropolis, taste Mediterranean food, and enjoy theatrical performances.
Golden Ticket Participants
10:00–11:30 Visit the Museum Of Ancient Greek Technology (Kotsanas), in Kolonaki, DownTown — Private View Of the Exhibition “Ancient Greece: Early days of Technology”
11:30–12:30 Small Break for Coffee & Beverages.
12:30–13:30 Stroll to the City Centre (Plaka, Syntagma) and also a guided tour in Greek Parliament.
13:30–15:00 VIP Conversation with CEOs (Cosmote, Huawei, Samsung) about the Development of Technology. This conversation will take place in Amalias 36 (Neoclassical-Two Storey Building), near of Zappeion Megaron. Supported By Cosmote.
15:00–16:30 Buffet Lunch at Zappeion by Aigli Catering.
17:00–19:00 Visit to Acropolis Museum and Enjoy the View of Sunset Behind The Marbles Of Parthenon.
20:00 Presentation of Prototype Theatrical Performance in the Odeon of Herodes Atticus (90 minutes). The subject of performance will be related to Greek History and Technology. The play will be a production of Greek National Opera and directed by Yorgos Nanouris. This action is for selective members.
22:00 Thanksgiving Dinner in Delta Restaurant Of Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center. The menu will be prepared by, Michelin Awarded Chefs, Tasos Mantis, and Alexandros Tsiotinis.
Silver Ticket Participants
10:30–12:30 Morning Visit To The Acropolis Museum and The Parthenon. Morning Walk To The Most Historic Street Of Athens, Dionysiou Areopagitou.
13:00–14:00 Private View Of The Short Film “History Of Greek Technology”, directed By Award — Winning, Kostas Gavras. Place: Pallas Theater. Main Sponsor: Huawei.
14:00–16:00 Buffet Lunch At Athenee Athens. This historical restaurant has hosted, over the years, in its elegant and luxurious surroundings, many of the greatest personalities of the last century, such as Odysseas Elytis, Nikos Gatsos, Manos Hadjidakis, Melina Mercouri, Sophia Loren. This Private Lunch Will Hide Many Surprises By Alpha Bank and its CEO, Vassilios Psaltis.
17:00–19:00 Visit To The OTE Museum Of TeleCommunications. The visit will be divided into four parts of thirty minutes each.
20:00–23:00 A Thanksgiving Dinner & Lounge Closing Party in Museum Restaurant. Located At The Garden Of Goulandris’ Museum Of Natural History, The Exclusive Selected Menu By Award — Winning, Chef, Mr. Skarmoutsos Dimitris, Museum Restaurant Is An Oasis Of History & Modern Architecture.
Bronze Ticket Participants
10:30–12:00 Private View Of The Web — Seminar “How 5G Technology Will Develop And Transform The Financial Circle Of European Business Club”. Place: “Hellenic Cosmos, The Cultural Center”. Main Host: Gkolias Ioannis, Rector Of the National Technical University Of Athens.
12:00–13:00 Buffet Lunch By Catering Deipnosofistirion. Place: The Art Factory Of Athens.
13:30–15:00 Presentation Of The Industrial Exhibition “How Europe Will Be In Twenty Years?” Place: Technopolis Area.
16:00–18:00 Private View Of The Special Documentary “How The World Will Be Whether Technology Was Accessible To More Global Citizens”. Main Production Sponsor: COSMOTE. Host Of The Event: Michalakis Dimitris, CEO Of Cosmote TV. Place: Megaro Mousikis Athinon.
18:30–21:00 Thanksgiving Dinner At Cookoovaya. Five of the city’s leading chefs came together to open this bustling restaurant, where rustic, homely cooking is the order of the day and generous dishes are designed for sharing. Michelin Award — Winning Restaurant.
Budget:
Creating the budget for our event is the core strength of our strategy and calculating it right would give us the maximum results for our event. We believe that the hardest part of our event is the right budgeting so we tried to approach it as logically as we could. Here is a short sneak pick.
Handling such a huge event needs the creation of strong partnerships and sponsorships.
We decided that our Potential Partners would be:
- MINISTRY OF DIGITAL COMMUNICATION & INFORMATION
- PANTEION UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS
- NATIONAL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS
- IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN SINCE 1868
- WWF
- ATHENS MASS TRANSIT SYSTEM
- GREEK NATIONAL OPERA
- BOUSSIAS COMMUNICATIONS
- VIVA.GR
- SKAI MEDIA GROUP
- EURONEWS
- ERT (Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation)
- REAL MEDIA GROUP
- ATTICA MEDIA GROUP
- NAFTEMPORIKI.GR
- BBC NEWS
- DEUTSCHE WELLE
And our Potential Sponsors:
- TARGET SECURITY
- BIOMED
- NCR
- TECH MAHINDRA
- INFOSYS LIMITED
- XIAOMI
- MINDTREE LIMITED
- HUAWEI
- MICROSOFΤ
- LG
- SAMSUNG
- NESPRESSO
- NIKE
- LENOVO
In order to attract our Sponsors, we created a Sponsorship Package:
Sponsorship Letter:
After choosing our possible sponsors and creating our sponsorships packages what we had to do was writing a sponsorship letter, as an example of what we would send them. We addressed it to Eurobank Group explaining all the reasons why we think they will be interested and also why we think our event matches others that they have sponsored in the past. Besides, we inform them of the packages we have come up with.
Design of Our Communication Materials
Next, we had to design all our communication materials.
It was not just a poster that we had to design, it was so much more. First of all, we found it crucial since it would probably be the first thing that a possible visitor would see and we wanted to make a good first impression and make him want to be a part of it.
We designed a poster, newsletter, leaflet, and of course our logo. To do so we used the canva.com platform, which is easy to use, gives many choices and so that we could use that same colors and make them all have the same aesthetic.
Our Communication & Marketing Plan
To move on, we had to present our communication plan and our marketing plan as well. For the communication plan, we chose carefully all the channels that we wanted to use to communicate and promote our event. Therefore, we created Excel and we wrote them all down, our social media accounts, the influencers, etc and then we wrote exactly what we wanted it to communicate each month.
For example, when the registration would begin, when we would start posting about our lecturers. We tried to make it in detail as much as we could. The marketing plan is important as well because when you are organizing such a huge event like the one that we did you have to aware of what you have to do, with who you to work with and arrange everything attentively.
We started with the S.W.O.T. analysis, which is an overall evaluation of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of a product ( in this case our event).
We continued with the marketing mix that includes:
Product 👉B.M.C Athens
Price 👉 1.000.000 €
Profit 👉 50.000 €.
Place 👉 Athens Metropolitan Expo/ Many Interesting places in the Center of Athens.
Promotion 👉 Website/ E-mail / Social Media/ Outdoor Campaign/ WeChat
Partnerships 👉
Purchase Options 👉 Via our website.
The personnel 👉 The personnel will be 300 people and the volunteers will be 50 people.
and Marketing Channels 👉
- Social Media
- TV/Radio
- Communication Sponsors
- Photography
We designed our website with the help of Wix and we made it user-friendly while using the same colors that we used in all the communication materials We posted a lot of information about the event such as the ticket packages, how they can buy them, and many more.
Then we wrote a press release as an official announcement of the event that we would send to the Media.
Also, we needed to use social media to promote our event so we posted on our Facebook page, Instagram page, and on account on Twitter’s creative content.
But How Can an Event Handle A Global Crisis?
The last part was to handle an unexpected cancelation or delay of the event. A global pandemic came up and we had to think about how to manage this situation in the best possible way.
After a lot of thought and taking into consideration that our number one priority is the health of our team, lecturers and visitors we decided to cancel the B.M.C. 2021. We wrote a press release to our partners, sponsors, visitors, and towards the Media to inform them about our decision and for the refund. We also posted about it on our social media accounts.
Conclusion:
When we were given this project, we were at first a bit scared of the outcome. Creating an event is a big step and it requires a lot of work and searches in order to be on the budget and for everything to fall into place.
Despite being in quarantine, we realized that teamwork is something we had to work differently this time, and creating an event was the key to our good collaboration. Through tough and good times, we enjoyed ourselves and in the end, this experience was something unique.
Here, we would like to thank our dear professors, Betty Tsakarestou and Athena Fradelou for giving us this one of a lifetime experience, guiding us into creating something we never had, and realizing that something that might look like a Three-day event is actually a one year and more hard work and effort.
With that in mind, we understand that sometimes we have to wait and work hard, to make something flourish and grow, even if its an event or maybe our own selves.
Thank you for reading our medium post!!
Yours Truly,
The Occupiers
