TeChon Greece by The Calderons

As part of our course entitled “Marketing Lab: Storytelling, Native/ Branded Content” we were asked to organize TeChon telecommunications event which it would take place in Greece. More specific our job, was to organize it and then because of the Covid-19 situation to cancel it.

For starters we collected information about the 5 W.

Why: Greece for the first time in its long history is going to carry out the world’s biggest technological event. The TechCon is up to bring together the world’s greatest innovators and tech buissness people. A unique experience among the connected world is going to take place in the beautiful city of Athens. Tech industry, leaders, governments, tech cultures and great entrepreneurs will be united.

What: Our attempt is aimed at highlighting new market trends international. All communications and technology companies operating on the global terrain will present innovative products and services at a time when climate changes is at the forefront. The country’s first ambitious attempt is going to be according the high standards of the mobile world congress.

During the conference the visitors from all around the world will have the opportunity to attend speeches of major personalities from the tech world. In addition to this, our guests will be able to get in touch with new technological breakthroughs. The event will provide visitors with special Greek menu as well as refreshments and snacks during the days. Moreover we have taken care about recreational breaks, between the speeches, which include music, dance and acts.

Yes but…When: The most appropriate period to carry out this big technological event is fall. More specific October. As at the beginning of September all tech companies have communicated their new technological innovations. So, every company will be able to share their ideas.

Where: The best place to host such an event is Metropolitan Expo. Metropolitan Expo is Greece’s most contemporary venue and one of the largest and most functional centers for congresses, events, exhibitions and conferences in South East Europe, with international standards of facilities and services.The venue was designed to the highest international standards, ensuring functionality, flexibility,multiple functionality, environmental sensitivity and aesthetic integrity. All facilitates are equipped with the state of art technology and high quality services are provided. It is strategically located next to the Athens International Airport, with easy access & spacious parking. Every year Metropolitan Expo hosts the most successful exhibitions, great scientific conferences and workshops and high level corporate events.Our very experienced and reliable in-house providers, Expowork and Breakwalk, can cover all your needs of services and equipment, and help you maximize the success of your participation.

Access:

Metropolitan Expo is located at Athens International Airport “Elefterios Venizelos” in Spata — Attica, just 2kms after Airport buildings and 3 minutes from the station of the metro and suburban railway. The Airport area is a very important business and shopping destination in Greece, with high quality services and facilities (transport, hotels, high ways) and absolute acknowledgement.

Access — Transportation:

Access is more than easy, with all transportation means (Metro, Subway, Buses, car and plane).It’s just 3’ from the Airport and Metro –subway’s station, with direct internal connection by shuttle bus.

More specific,

-By road: Via Attiki Odos Expressway, 2 km after the Airport terminal and Metro station, with spacious parking spaces.

-By air: is only 3’ away from the Athens International Airport “Eleftherios Venizelos”, connected with many domestic, European and worldwide destinations.

Public Transport:

• Metro Line 3,
• Airport stop Suburban Railway Airport stop Buses All Express buses to the Airport.

Also connection with Athens ports (Piraeus, Rafina, Lavrio)

Frequent shuttle bus connects the Airport and the public transport stations to the centre in just 3’ drive.

Facilities:

Metropolitan Expo is Greece’s most contemporary venue and one of the largest and most functional centers for congresses, events, exhibitions and conferences in South East Europe, with impressive characteristics in a total of 160.000 sq.

• 4 big halls, with total space 43,750 m²
• 2 large conference rooms with the ability to be reorganized
• 4private meeting rooms
• 2 the venue has two sophisticated welcome areas — lobbies
• 1 high aesthetic main corridor connects all facilities in one level. It has day light and a lot of services for visitors(rest areas, info kiosks…)
• 2 parking spaces, P1 και P2, with total surface 100,000 m 2 and capacity of 5,000 cars, are specially designed for easy access and traffic management.All parking areas have sidewalks, waiting stops, walk ways, green islets and are provided free of charge

Who: By this big event we will address to the whole technological world, innovators and business people and we will invite them to share their ideas. The whole tech industry will be there. Reporters from all over the world will cover this tech event and great inventors will take the stage and speak about their new ideas.

Our agenda

The audience in such an event it will be big and of course with huge expectations. We are expecting a lot of people so this is another reason why we chose Metropolitan Expo as an exhibition area. The venue can hostel up to 80.000 people. We predict and we are expecting a great amount of quests from around the world. All big companies will be there. To be more specific we are expecting 50.00070.000 per day.

Our List of potential speakers

The people we chose as potential speakers are from the telecommunications world. They are CEO’s of big companies and experts in the field of new technologies.

SPONSORS

Sponsoring packages, some of the potential sponsors & sample letter

ABOUT TECHCON AND ITS OBJECTIVES

The TechCon constitutes the world’s biggest technological event which is going to be held on — in an historical moment — for the fist time in Greece and the beautiful city of Athens. It will bring together the world’s greatest innovators and tech business people.

A unique experience — addressed by the spirit and values of Greece — among the connected world. Tech industry, leaders, governments, tech cultures and great entrepreneurs will be united. TechCon’s primary objective is to highlighting new market trends international. Every single communication and technology company operating on the global terrain will present innovative products and services in a point of time where climate changes is at the forefront. All aspect of event is going to be according the high standards of the mobile world congress.

As you may realize, TechCon is a large and complex event to stage and produce. Your sponsorship of this exciting event is greatly needed for it’s production and the payment of all people be involved to.

Sponsorship comes with varying levels of flexibility. Sponsorship packages can be tailored and developed according to your objectives, budget and specific requirements. Benefits for sponsorship are numerous, including:

-Ability to use a very flexible medium to achieve your strategic objectives

-Sponsorship is the best way to reach your target audience, and thus your brand objectives

-Increase in corporate image throughout the community

-Networking with other corporate and media sponsors

Sponsorship features include event naming rights, promotional materials and media coverage opportunities Also as a main sponsor you will have to privilege to exclusively organize your own event during the conference. [e.x. Vodafone could organize an event on 5G mobile phone network as an exclusive service in this field] We are pleased to offer your organization the following sponsorship levels.

FOUNDATIONS:

Large foundations such us Stavros Niarchos Foundation and Onassis Foundation are known for being sponsors on city’s greatest events. So, our event comitee will suggest them to be part on TechCon.

GREEK TELECOMMUNICATION:

Greek telecommunication companies such us Wind, Vodafone and Cosmote will be suitable for the sponsoring pragramms.

THE BIG PLAYERS:

We are going to adress to some of the International big tech players to be sponsors. Their sponsorship adds status and reliability to event’s character.

FOOD & BEVERAGES:

Since we are going to have international guests we are obliged to servr the best food experience possible. Targeting both at large and smaller Greek food & beverage companies we are going to ensure the quality, quantity and variety of the menu. They are to distribute by providing food & beverages. Dipnosofistirion, Aria Catering, Zacharakis Catering, Coca Cola 3E Greece,, Kayak, Domaine Hatzimichalis, Bombay Saphphire, Apperol, Johnnie Walker, Absolut, Gregory’s, Venetis Bakery, Athenian Brewery, Papadopoulos S.A, Creta Farms, Illy, Proud Dodo, Kakau Worship, Barrila.

NOW THE NUMBERS

Marketing Mix

PRODUCT : The TechCon constitutes the world’s biggest technological event which is going to be held — in an historical moment — for the fist time in Greece and the beautiful city of Athens. It will bring together the world’s greatest innovators and tech business people. A unique experience — addressed by the spirit and the values of Greece — among the connected world. Tech industry, leaders, governments, tech cultures and great entrepreneurs will be united.

TechCon’s primary objective is to highlighting new market trends international. Every single communication and technology company operating on the global terrain will present innovative products and services in a point of time where climate changes is at the forefront. All aspect of event is going to be according the high standards of the mobile world congress. As you may realize, TechCon is a large and complex event to stage and produce. Your sponsorship of this exciting event is greatly needed for it’s production and the payment of all people be involved to.

PRICE: The organization behind this big tech event has high financial goals of the sponsoring organization. The expenses will be huge and we have to make sure we have the corresponding sponsorships but also a big number of participation.

Price must reflect the total costs of goods and services, including the cost of marketing itself. On the other hand it is the first time that this technological event is hosted in our country, and more specific in Athens, so whenever we need to be careful with our handling on the price topic and of course to have a profit. So we need to focus on having good sponsors. In this way we will be able to low the price as much as it is possible. By this way, our event will be more ‘accessible’ to the audience. We are awaiting people from every corner of the world, so we need to consider that they already came to big expanses. So our ticket price needs to be a normal one. (see TICKETS.PDF, SPONSORSHIP.PDF)

PROFIT: It is general known that all events and all the companies need to have a certain profit. We need to calculate a specific budget and consider in it all the costs. We need to make a list of details and include all the services, the hosting place, the staff, the media etc. After that we need to see how we can take twice that money back. After pricing the tickets and designed the sponsorship packages we are going to make our profit mainly from the tickets purchases and the kiosk rentals.

PLACE: The best place to host such an event is Metropolitan Expo. Metropolitan Expo is Greece’s most contemporary venue and one of the largest and most functional centers for congresses, events, exhibitions and conferences in South East Europe, with international standards of facilities and services.The venue was designed to the highest international standards, ensuring functionality, flexibility,multiple functionality, environmental sensitivity and aesthetic integrity. All facilitates are equipped with the state of art technology and high quality services are provided. It is strategically located next to the Athens International Airport, with easy access & spacious parking. Every year Metropolitan Expo hosts the most successful exhibitions, great scientific conferences and workshops and high level corporate events.Our very experienced and reliable inhouse providers, Expowork and Breakwalk, can cover all your needs of services and equipment, and help you maximize the success of your participation.

PROMOTION:

-The promotion will take place on the media platforms such as fb, Instagram, twitter, LinkedIn. And based on curtain cookies we will try to show our event to potential buyers. The speakers also will promote the event and they will announce that they will be there. Also we will stick posters in many central points and places where we can find people who will be interested.

-Promotion throughout channels in partnership (SKAI, STAR, ERT, Cosmote TV, CNN, Music 89.2, Rythmos 94.9, Madame Figaro,, LIFO, Provocateur, Startup.gr, News 24/7, Kathimerini, Neolaia.gr, Athens Voice,TIME Magazine, Vice, The Guardian)

-Empower speakers and partners for your promotions, our speakers, sponsors, and partners have their own audience that are just waiting to be introduced to our event brand. We just need to empower them with blurbs to share on social and imagery they can use to promote your event to their followers.

-Gear your content marketing efforts toward leadership, create thoughtful content that positions your event brand as a thought leader, a place people turn to for insightful information.

-Speaker pictures and bios, great speakers draw crowds like a magnet. The speaker page should show their faces and list their credentials.

-Amplify your online advertising

-Hire a brand ambassador and create strategic and timely posts about our event.

-Limited-time offers

-Create the event’s hashtags for social media in order to engage

PARTNERSHIPS: Though sponsorship is a form of marketing. We know how critical event sponsorship is to your event’s success. With strong sponsorships, you can accomplish much more than your original budget allows. So this is why we need to have sponsors and partners who will help remarkably in our event costs.

MEDICAL CARE: Hygeia Hospital

SECURITY: Brinks Security, Hellenic Police

MINISTRIES & MUNICIPALITIES: Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Culture, General Secretariat for Research and Technology, Municipality of Athens

GREEK UNIVERSITIES: Panteion University, National Technical University of Athens, Faculty of Engineering of AUTH, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Technical University of Crete, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University of West Attica, The American College of Greece.

FOREIGN UNIVERSITIES: Tu Wien Vienna University of Technology, Saxion University of Applied Sciences, University of Namur (Université de Namur), Tsinghua University

HOTELS: Hotel Grande Bretagne, St George, Divani Caravel Hotel, Glyfada Riviera Hotel, Hilton Athens, Grand Hyatt, Athens Plaza Hotel, Grecotel, Marriott, Athenaum Interontinental, Electra

TRANSPORTATION: Tsokas travel bus and services, Attica Subway

MUSEUMS: Acropolis Museum, Benaki Museum, National Archeological Museum, National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens, Digital Museum, Hellenic IT Museum, OTE Group Telecommunications Museum

MEDIA: SKAI, STAR, ERT, Cosmote TV, CNN, Music 89.2, Rythmos 94.9, Madame Figaro,, LIFO, Provocateur, Startup.gr, News 24/7, Kathimerini, Neolaia.gr, Athens Voice,TIME Magazine, Vice, The Guardian

PURCHASE OPTIONS:

A big part of effective event promotion is meeting our ticket buyers where they are. That means making it easy for them to buy tickets from whichever environment they’re already in.

This includes:

• Third-party ticketing platforms (Eventora, etc)
• Purchase via our own website or blog
• Social media channels

PERSONNEL: It is expected that the demand of staff will be high. We will need for each day two shifts at every post. More specific will need transportation staff, welcoming staff, networking staff, cleaning staff, medical staff, security staff etc. Carrying out a successful event — especially a big one — requires teamwork, and your budget isn’t usually made of rubber. Volunteers participating in the organization of events, therefore, seem to be an ideal solution. So very important will be the help from the volunteers of course, who will fill in all positions

COMMUNICATION PLAN:

TALK TO THE MEDIA: When it is about time we should contact with the media and more specific with the press. We should consider that generally journalists are very busy and we should let them know that the information already exists, so we will give them a press release and photos about our event. To be more accurate we needto follow some steps. And by following these steps, we can join the buzz and capture media attention for our sharing project or event..

CREATE A PRESS LIST: Research and make a list of every daily newspaper, TV and radio station, weekly/monthly newspaper or magazine, news related website, event calendar and blog in your community. Better yet, we will find out if this list already exists (by asking an organization that gets a lot of local press) or make one and SHARE it. While we are at it, we need to make a list of as many community and events calendars as you can and find out how to make submission. Once we have finished our research you’ll be ready to build a press list. We will find phone numbers and email addresses for reporters covering events, local news stories and any beats or topics related to your event.A well-organized and shared online spreadsheet will go a long way in keeping everything straight…

FRAME OUR MESSAGE: List out our personal/organizational objectives for our event and then think about how the media can support them. Then we need to write a press release, quick elevator pitch and prepare our talking points. And once we have this example story ready to go, it can also be turned into a great blog promoting our event.

WRITE A PRESS RELEASE: A press release is an excellent way to get media attention before, during and after our event and often determines the media stories that are written. We will plan to write twopress releases: release the first one when you are first announcing our event and the second on the day of our event written in the past tense. Both releases should read as if they are objective news articles and be nearly ready to print as is. Doing a reporter’s job for them we need to make sure to convey the story we want to tell and it doesn’t take too much work on their part.

CREATE A MEDIA ADVISORY: This is the “who, what, where, when” for our event that we should send to journalists a week before our event so they have enough time to schedule coverage. Starting our advisory with a brief paragraph describing your event and then clearly write out the 5 W’s — who, what, when, where, why. It should be very easy for a journalist to look at this sheet and find the sharing event’s most important information (participating organizations, speakers, time, place, media contact, etc.).

CREATE A PUBLICITY PLAN: We need to think of strategy and how we are going to go about getting press coverage for the event. We will develop a plan to get the desired media attention for our event. We can cast out a wide net to all media outlets in our area or target specific publications used by the population we are trying to attract to your event (which generally should be your entire community). Then we create a timeline for outreach and stick to it.

PREPARE YOUR SPOKESPEOPLE: Before our event write up a list of talking points about our objectives, the sharing/collaborative economy, your event, and anything else we would like the media to know. Anything we say to a reporter can make it into print/radio/tv so it is best to be prepared with short soundbites that are on point. We should give some introductory basicsinformation.Generally this will be the event organizers or key presenters who should be available to talk to the media before, during or after the event.

DESIGN A MEDIA LIAISON: We will choose a media liaison who is prepared to identify reporters at your event and talk to them or connect them to our spokespeople. They will also be in charge of following up with reporters about if and when a story will be published. The Media Liaison should have plenty of press releases on hand and be prepared with talking points in case our spokespeople are unavailable or the reporter is short on time.

MAKE OUR OWN MEDIA: The only guarantee that someone will write about and promote our sharing event is if we or someone in our organizing team does it yourself

KEEP THE STORY ALIVE: If the media does cover our story, we have a golden opportunity to keep the story alive by amplifying it ourself. This can be done by sending the article or video footage to other media channels, sharing it on social media or writing letters to the editor, editorials by our presenters, blogs, followup stories and more. Once a media outlet covers our story, other media outlets like TV and radio news are more likely to approach us as well.

CANCELLATION STRATEGY

WE ARE SORRY

TECHCON CRISIS MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

Under the new circumstances we have to cancel the Techon Event we were planning all these months. Due to the situation with the Covid-19 we chose to cancel and not postponed it. We know it’s extremely difficult but we should have the lowest cost and a moderate strategy because this was the first attempt to host this event to Greece. So despite the situation we want to leave good impression and eliminate the complaints

STEP 1: CANCELLATION PRESS REALEASE

The first thing we will do is to write a press release, where we will explain the reasons why we made this choice. In this way we highlight our social face by showing the importance of individual and collective responsibility.

STEP 2: LETTER TO COMPANIES

Then, we will write a public letter to the companies which took part. We will send it to their emails but also we will publish it on all private communication platforms of the event. On this letter we will express our gratitude for understanding and support that they showed at this difficult time. We will also inform them that we will return their sponsorship as soon as possible.

STEP 3: LETTER TO THE SPEAKERS

The same thing we will do also with the speakers, we will send them a letter where we will be thanking them.

STEP 4: EMAIL TO GUESTS & REFOUND

The next step is to write an email addressing to all people who bought tickets. We will inform them that we will return their money and of course how sorry we are.

STEP 5 : SOCIAL MEDIA

The cancellation of the event will also be communicated with social media posts in all platforms.

The Calderons: Vivi Kardatos, varvara pantazopoulou, Christina Baltouna

Assistant professor: Betty Tsakarestou, Athena Fradelou