Dear Alexander!
Thank you for kindly agreeing to answer our questions.
Each person looks at the world through the prism of his profession, and it seems to me that the event is almost everything that happens around us. A performance at the theater is an event, going to a restaurant is also an event. We do quite a variety of projects, including for the press, for government agencies, we did certifications, discoveries. However, our main work is business events. It just so happens that I personally like them the most. The organization of games, holidays and shows is a special area of event management; ideally, it should be handled by specialized companies.
In a mature industry, there must be certain standards, visible and specific market segments, professional education, literature and associations must appear.Event-managementin this regard, it still looks like an emerging industry. There are few books, a professional association with a code of conduct, quality standards, and a platform for communication has not yet been created...
But every year it is noticeably felt that Clients are becoming more sophisticated, more experienced, and more demanding. We increasingly speak the same language. This means that the organizers become more professional, and the industry becomes more significant and respected. Event organization is one of the three most popular marketing tools. Events have a great future.
“Whoever wants is looking for an opportunity, whoever doesn’t want to is looking for a reason.” This motto was written back in Soviet times at the factory where my mother worked. The director of the plant was an exceptional person who risked writing this slogan, instead of the usual one - “Glory to the CPSU.” He was looking for opportunities to work conscientiously at the plant and be proud of it. I really like this story and this approach to work.
An event is something that is different from ordinary life. An event manager is an Organizer, someone who brings together different people, solves many problems and as a result... an unforgettable experience is obtained for the participants and for himself personally.
My wish to beginners is not to think that organizing events is easy. This is a business like any other. This is a serious job, take it as seriously as if you were a pilot or a surgeon.
This year, on June 10, in an ancient palace in St. Petersburg, we organized a meeting of the G8 Finance Ministers, heads of international financial organizations - the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the International Energy Agency and major invited countries - China, South Korea, Nigeria, Australia, Brazil. Just imagine, in one room sat people who are responsible (in a sense) for 60-70 percent of the world’s money... You can’t forget this. This was the most amazing project of my professional career.
Our work is more of a design project. We solve a time-limited problem. Nevertheless, certain traditions and relationships develop. We work with some Clients from year to year.
It seems to me that a good company should not have problems working with the Client. It is the Client who may have problems with the chosen company if it is not good enough. The task of professionals is to prevent situations from arising that the Client would consider a problem.
We select a contractor by organizing something like a tender. If the work was successful, we continue to work as long as we are satisfied with everything. If we are not satisfied with the quality of work, we arrange a tender again. Thus, almost all of our contractors are permanent. If the need arises, we will most likely turn to a company with which we have already worked. When choosing, we monitor the experience in the type of event we need, reviews of other Clients of this company, recommendations, portfolio.
I would like to see translated articles from leading Western publications. I would like more articles about service, improving the quality of services.
When organizing events, you constantly come across confirmations of Murphy's laws. Their peculiarity is that almost all of them work at the most unfavorable moment. Therefore, if you see that trouble can happen, you need to prepare for it.
Thank you very much for taking the time to answer our questions.
Your opinion is very important for users of our portal..
- The field of activity of your Company is the organization of business events (conferences, seminars, meetings). Why did you choose this particular direction, where did it all begin? Did you have to organize holidays or PR events?
- You have been on the event market for more than 12 years, i.e. Can you assess its development, what has changed in recent years, what prospects do you see for its development?
- Your motto in life and work, if they can be separated, basic principles
- Who is an event manager in your understanding? Your wishes to those who are just starting to enter this business.
- The event business is just developing in Russia, and like any young industry, it experiences a number of difficulties in its development: the problem of personnel, the disunity of agencies, the lack of specialized literature, the lack of standards, etc. Let's talk about this.
We look for smart people and teach them what we know, we learn from them ourselves.
- Which ones could you note, both on the positive side and on the negative side (why). Do you cooperate with them?
Our company has seminars dedicated to trainingevent-management. We teach how to organize events. Thus, other organizers of courses, seminars, etc. For us, in a way, they are competitors. And about competitors - nothing, or only good things.
Immersive Presentation Volvo XC60 from Eventum Premo on Vimeo.- How do you see event education in Russia?
In organizing events, maintaining tradition is often an important element. It is also a tradition to make obligatory mention of the special path of development of Russia in relation to the development of different types of business. It seems to me that this is not so and we will repeat the path that has already been taken in some countries. I think that within academic programs “organization of special events” will appear as a separate area. As demand increases, there will be more master classes with the participation of invited foreign guests, our own Russian specialists, there will be more seminars, books, teaching aids, and magazines. And in a few years, training in event management will not be more specific than training in tourism, public relations, etc. How is this taught now? This is how they will teach how to organize events.
-For what purpose do you conduct educational seminars and trainings, who is your potential listener, is there a difference in the construction of training programs for event-makers on the part of the Customer/Client and on the part of agencies?
We share the knowledge we gained through trial and error. I hope this knowledge is useful for many, no matter where the seminar participant works. The law of gravity works the same in all organizations. If you ignore some little things, you can see that the principles of organizing events, technologies, and approaches are no different - whether you organize an event while working within an organization (customer), or work for it, but in the status of a specialist from an external agency. Another thing is that the distribution of work, powers, and responsibilities may be different; you can do different parts of one project. The seminar allows you to look at the preparation of the event as a whole, including looking at the work of your colleagues from a different angle. I believe that both groups of participants are interested in this.
- Is it possible to teach the art of creating a holiday or event?
Certainly! You can learn anything! The organization of events did not become, in this regard, some kind of magical exception.
· You are a member of the International ISES Association, a member of AmCham. Is such a unification possible in Russia, your attitude towards this, what is needed for this.
I am sure that the creation of a professional association is a matter of time, and not too far away. A professional association will definitely appear. It is necessary to show will and consistency.
· Many industries have their own regulations, standards, and codes of ethics. What would you include in such a document if it were created for the Russian market?
The issue of the code of ethics is a long conversation and it would be worthwhile to conduct it in the form of a dialogue with other market participants. I really like what the representatives did in their timePR-communities, for example the Rome Charter. By the way, the code of ethics for event organizers has already been formulated in the West; it is unlikely that we will reinvent the wheel, and it is unlikely that our ethics will differ significantly from theirs.
· A fairly active discussion arose on the portal (in the Forums) on the topic: “Who is considered a Leader?” Do you think we have them, who could you personally name and according to what criteria. Is it necessary and is it even possible to identify iconic figures in our business?
There are always leaders; these are people whose opinions are listened to. They influence judgments and set guidelines. If there is such a person (or people) for someone, then he has already identified this leader for himself.
- The problem of personnel - how do you solve it in your Company.
- Training - now teachers have begun to appear. centers providing services in the field of event education.
- Tell us about the event you held that you are most proud of, what was so memorable about it, what difficulties/curiosities did you have to face?
- Your company is essentially a consulting company. Do you have regular clients?
- What are the main problems in working with a customer?
- To hold your events, what contractors do you use, are there any permanent ones, what are the selection principles? What are the main problems in working with them?
- What information on our portal would be interesting and useful to you?
- Do you have a favorite joke that captures the essence of our business?
Interview for the Event Forum portal