conventa-crossover

DATE:
29 – 30 August 2016

LOCATION:
Hotel Lev, Ljubljana, Slovenia

CLIENT:
Conventa Trade Show

ORGANISER:
Agency Toleranca marketing in partnership with Conventa, Slovenian Convention Bureau, Union Hotels, Slovenian Tourist Board and Ljubljana Tourism.

TARGET:
Dedicated to meeting planners, meeting providers, congress destinations and all professionals closely related to tourism and marketing industry.

ABOUT THE EVENT:

International conference dedicated to the future of MICE and travel marketing that crossed over to a new conference format with more authentic experience, personal engagement and live interaction. 100% Fresh, New and Bold!

CHALLENGES:

Key challenge was how to stand out and create an “out of the box” learning event that everybody will remember for a long time. From a new meeting design to how to choose the themes that are the most troubling for event organisers and how to come up with practical solutions to help answer their burning questions.

SOLUTION:

Active involvement of delegates was achieved with engagement of a professional moderator who knew what he was doing and knew how to warm up the crowd and keep the energy going till the very end. We used Catch Box to ask speakers questions, Sli.do to vote during the conference and Superevent’s app to provide networking among delegates also via their mobile phones.

Creative Setup was co-created with the Union Hotels team. The hall in Hotel Lev was renewed and turned completely upside down. There were no regular stages, no typical conference furniture. In a real boxing ring the heavyweights of tourism marketing battled for the The Champion title, while content bartenders served freshly squeezed knowledge behind the actual bar. The conference hall even had a swing set for the most playful delegates.

Green and Responsible Thinking was used when planning the breaks. Lunch was designed in an “open kitchen” concept. Union Hotels’ restaurants prepared creative dishes using only local ingredients.

Integration of Authentic and Local Inspiration was used when organizing tours of the city for speakers, speakers’ welcome dinner & Crossover party.

Content is the King – we have managed to bring the biggest names from the international congress industry scene. To mention just a few: Colja M. Dams from Vok Dams, Jens Oliver Mayer from Jack Morton Worldwide, Leyla Koray from Turkish Airlines, Cyara Feely from FindaConferenceVenue.com, Martijn Timmermans, The Red Line Project & Event StoryBoard canvas and Thorsteinn Orn Gudmundsson from Meet in Reykjavik.

Programme diversity kept the audience on their toes. The programme was moving from one stage to the other, from one end of the room to the other demanding from the delegates to turn their seats for every segment. We have used different programme formats from Pecha Kucha, TEDEx presentations, workshops and round tables.

RESULTS:

The idea and new format, dedicated to the marketing of events, congress centres, hotels and congress destinations, has impressed and attracted around 30 experts that came to Crossover as speakers and around 150 participants working in tourism and marketing. It was the most buzzed about conference of the summer!

AFTER THE EVENT:

We were deeply impressed by the overall experience at Conventa Crossover Conference. Gorazd, Polona and their team managed to contrive a unique mix of hospitality and expertise. We were moved by their personal approach and dedication not just to engage the speakers and the audience in a very interesting debate, but to enjoy the beautiful city of Ljubljana, too. We will be looking forward for the next Conventa conference.

Ivana Preiss & Filip Vasic, 52 Hours Design, Czech Republic

ognena-ristovska

Congratulations on the fantastic work! In a fresh, unique format, with some amazing speakers that delivered relevant content to everyone involved, the conference was a great success. You can be proud of yourselves.

Ognena Ristovska, Momentum, Macedonia

juraj-holub

I’m lucky to visit dozens of conferences in different countries each year, and Crossover was one of the most innovative events I’ve attended in past three years! I admire the team’s courage to put things upside down and deliver an experience like no other. It was an absolute pleasure to both speak and work on integrating Slido into the programme with Jan-Jaap in der Maur as well as the entire team of Conventa Crossover.

Juraj Holub, Slido, Slovakia

Magdalina-Atanassova

Starting something new for the first time is always a challenge. Targeting a specific niche, testing new formats, building a new community, are tough tasks to handle. But the star team of Conventa Crossover proved that if you put your heart in it, and you believe in what you do, anything is possible. I am thrilled to have been a small part of one very successful Conventa Crossover, that I am sure will become a permanent fixture in the calendar of all who work in event marketing. Being in a situation where you can both – give and receive knowledge, is invaluable.

Magdalina Atanassova, Kenes Group, Bulgaria

Conventa Crossover was definitely an unconventional and inspiring conference format and content, highly recommended.
I would dare to say – a necessity for this industry to move forward. Marketing is crucial and essential tool to approach new generation of industry buyers.

Slaven Reljić, DMC/PCO agency Coral Group, Croatia

Pulling of something bold like this for the 1st time can only be done with a shared vision, the right team and partners. A perfect example of great meeting design all the way: from the audience, speakers, workshops and stage design up to the magnificent food from the Tattooed chefs. Like I say “Memorable events always tell a story”. Conventa Crossover finished with a cliff hanger and I don’t believe I’m the only one leaving beautiful Ljubljana with that feeling. It was an honour to be part of the journey!

Martijn Timmermans, The Red Line Project & Event StoryBoard canvas, The Netherlands

jens-oliver-mayer

I absolutely enjoyed being part of the Conventa Crossover. It is a very interesting format Gorazd and his team were putting together for the first time. Very well done! It will always be a pleasure to come back.

Jens Oliver Mayer, Jack Morton Worldwide, Germany

Digital customers are transforming all aspects of our lives and business, but there is no industry more customer centric than tourism. Therefore, Conventa Crossover was a must! With a clear goal of connecting marketing and tourism for better customer experience and business results, it offered a unique experience of its own. For two days, we had the opportunity to be a part of generous experience and ideas exchange – in a super pleasant environment. I am surely proud to be a part of the Future of MICE and Travel Marketing at Conventa Crossover.

Lea Lipovšek, Madwise, Slovenia

An amazing conference at a fascinating, up and coming destination. But CONVENTA Crossover is even more: it is an innovative format offering several opportunities to get inspirational insights from a wide variety of truly interesting speakers, and last but not least, it is fuelled by an amazingly energized (and energizing) audience.

Colja M Dams, Vok Dams, Germany

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