Event Management Project: TechNorama
-the upcoming event that will make people Inspire,Explore, Develop!
As a part of Event Management course of AD&PR Lab, we- the students, were asked to organize a worldwide tech- themed event and build it from scratch. So, our goal was to create the appropriate content that would attract a lot of people, find the right sponsors and partners, create a marketing plan and in the end…deal with the crisis of COVID-19.
Having these in our mind, we started planning our event named “TechNorama”.
A few words about the upcoming event:
“TechNorama” conference will take place October 22–24th 2021 and it is meant to be one of the most important annual conferences on Technology worldwide that will bring 3 days full of content and inspiration targeting the tech enthusiasts.
We attempt to organize a huge technological event aspiring to connect people with the newest accomplishments of technology in a diverse range of fields and offer to everyone an intense feeling of a new tech — world. Held in Metropolitan Expo center (Eleftherios Venizelos Airport, Spata) it’s the global gathering place for all those involved in consumer technologies and the next generation of innovations.
Where our strategy is based on…
Taking into consideration the Greek improvement in technological achievements and innovations, we consider that a technological conference placed in Athens, will offer a great experience to visitors, combining famous innovations and successful speakers. Even more, the conference will be the first of its kind, because visitors will have the chance to experience workshops and activities, driving them in the ancient Greek civilization by using high technological equipment. For instance, visiting the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete, which has been called Europe’s oldest city, only by using high quality equipment, could easily be characterized as one of the most unique experience in a conference.
In addition, event’s name “TechNorama” represents the congress including the main idea and the content in one word- while, part of our goal is to create a congress with a global interest and presence in a Greek way. We strongly believe that we achieve to transfuse the Greek identity in the congress early through its name, since we combine the word “technology”, which is the key note, with the Greek word “Orama”, which basically means the upcoming goals and dreams someone’s having and finally augurs the innovation.
Within the strategic organization of the event, comes the choice of the date (October 22–24th 2021). The certain season is towards the end of the year, providing the opportunity for the exploitation of new ideas that will be materialized the upcoming year. Temperature is also a factor, October is a month with good weather conditions, avoiding that way extremely high or low temperatures that can create a huge amount of discomfort for event attendees. Moreover, our planned date doesn’t conflict with any major national or local holidays or observances. There aren’t any other major events happening in the same location at the same time.
A varied content:
“TechNorama” is mainly based on huge technological companies that lead in global technology. Specifically, there will be multiple kiosks by technological brands from all over the world exhibiting the latest technological devices and services. Also there will be given speeches for the newest and most interesting technological issues so that the public can be informed and gain an unforgettable experience by the experts of technology. Moreover we empower interaction through different workshops. This conference of techies doesn’t just serve to educate on emerging technology through its big exhibition of top brands’ achievements, but also features a start-up expo, workshops and interactive tech- themed activities.
Some of the most inspirational speakers:
We decided to invite a llot of aforementioned people to share give speech to the event, as they are acclaimed on technological researches and they are broadly known for their argumentative abilities. The chosen speakers are the most recognized experts as regards technology and they have proved it on uncountable occasions in the past. In the picture below you can see only some of them.
About the activities:
We believe in the power of interaction and every area of Metropolitan Expo will become guests’ fun area! Within the exhibition venue and kiosks, 13 simulation activities are provided by our big sponsors and partners: Dolby, Mercedes Benz, ABB, Cannon inc, I-Fly indoor, Google, HP, Electronic Arts, Apple, Spotify, Supercell, Softbank, Bosch, Microsoft, Tesla, ORamaVr. The interactive activities will last from 8 to 10 minutes, and people will have the chance to gain insights on plenty and different fields of the latest technological achievements, such as driving the newest model of Mercedes Benz and observing its high tech- features, or experiencing a 360o travel back to the ancient Greek civilization, with VR headsets.
About the workshops:
Guests are invited to attend training sessions located at various campus labs throughout venue. The sessions follow the seven core themes of the conference: Simulated Reality, Big Data, Innovation, MusicXTech, Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence, and Cyber Security. Workshops are an interesting procedure including speakers and tech executives during which visitors will have the chance to experience tree different types of workshops:
- A NEW TOUCH. Computers (sponsored by Dell Technologies) will be installed in the area of the conference, offering visitors the chance to explore advanced Microsoft Office services, Google Apps. Adobe products and Cloud storage.
- 2. CIRCLE MEETINGS. Meetings in a circle will be available for those who want to network and come in contact with tech experts in a more personal level. Sitting in a table and making interesting questions to professionals will offer a meaningful experience, as workshops like that are intended to foster communication among visitors and experts.
- 3. CREATE POTENTIAL CAREERS .Stands with tablets (sponsored by Dell Technologies) will be there, giving visitors the chance to visit our website and create a personal account. After this procedure attendees can upload their bios which will be accessible to all partners, speakers and other users too.
Strategic partners and sponsors:
Collaborating with the right partner and having by your side the right sponsor can change the outcome of an event for the better — it can help attract new audiences, decrease costs, and boost brand authority. In a successful partnership and sponsorship, both parties have a benefit.
Some of the partners we decided to attract are:
· The Hellenic Police can ensure the overall safety during the worldwide event.
· Municipality of Athens will give us the approval for the event’s organization in the city. Moreover, the municipality will support the event while it will upload it on its website with the rest of the city events.
· IT department of Metsovio and National Kapodistrian University of Athens as partners they will participate in the congress through the students’ innovative technological exhibition.
· Cosmote Mobile Telecommunications S.A will equip the hall with high speed internet that will be accessible to the exhibitors and the participants of the event (guests will use the internet provided by Metropolitan Expo).
Moreover, in order for such an international conference to take place, it is necessary to approach sponsors who will support the implementation of the event in various ways. So we approached leading companies in the field of technology and more such as: Dell Technologies, Cosmote, Huawei, IBM, Samsung, Android, Google, Apple etc.
We formed 5 sponsorship packages depending on the money offered by each sponsor. Every sponsorship package includes separate and unique privileges for its category. It’s worth mentioning the specific name given to each package.
TechNorama goes digital
The creation of social media accounts, as well as a website, were considered to be necessary for organising and promoting TechNorama.
How we dealt with Covid-19…
At the end of our project we had to face and manage successfully a crisis called Coronavirus. The dramatic pandemic threatened our plans due to the huge health crisis that still spreads across the world. Our team had long — lasting meetings and discussions during which we were analyzing the consequences of the pandemic at “TechNorama”.
Cancelling or postponing the event was a significant dilemma, however taking into consideration the impacts of each option, cancellation seemed to be the most beneficial. Despite our huge effort to organize the event, we were forced to cancel all our plans but keeping in our mind the hope of organizing “TechNorama” again in the future. Dealing with Covid -19 is extremely difficult and needs a really diplomatic handling of the situation, in order to avoid any aggravation.
As detailed bellow, we created and followed carefully an action plan, trying to acclimate to the new circumstances caused by Covid-19. Our plan consisted of the following steps.
In the beginning we wrote a press release explaining the reasons why we cancelled our event and featuring the great importance of people’s health since we should avoid any risk. Afterwards, we wrote a letter to the guest speakers which would be sent via an email. We explained to them about our decision and the reasons they made it. Our main goal was to attribute a sense of trust to the speakers in order to make them accept a potential entrepreneurship in the future through our letter. Moreover we wrote an email for our sponsors informing them about the cancellation. Through our letter we would express our respect to them and we would thank them hoping to be our sponsors in the future. Furthermore, taking into consideration that partners were also an important part of our event, the contact with them would be one of our first priorities. We would inform them about the difficult situation that we faced expressing our appreciation for their willing to offer their services to “TechNorama”. Regarding to the participants, they would receive an apology email and a refund including the total amount of their ticket. Finally, the cancellation of the event would be published in all our social media channels ( Facebook , Instagram, Twitter & Linkedin ).
To sum up the organization of a huge technological event was an absolutely significant and interesting project since we gained a lot of experience and useful knowledge. We learned how to build a strategy which would accomplish our goal and how to actualize it. As a team we had an excellent communication and after a brainstorming we managed to emphasize in the creative concept which would differentiate our event. We are really thankful to our professor Betty Tsakarestou and our coach Athena Fradelou , as long as to Ad&PrLab in general, for this unique and creative project!
Betty Tsakarestou, Athena Fradelou
Eua Tsimpouka, Katerina Apostolaki, Mirella Sifri, Kelly Vlachou, Erieta Basdeki
