At the end of 2008 we did an interview Eventmarket about the crisis.

Interview with Alexander Shumovich and Aleksey Berlov - partners of Eventum Premo.

- Do you feel the impact of the crisis?
 

- Alexander Shumovich (AS):

Absolutely! I have four or five times to comment on issues related to the crisis. Previously, this was not (laughs).

- In what appears to have a crisis?

- AS: Now, instead of "Hello! How are you doing? "Say" Hi! As you hit by the crisis? ".

- And what do you say to that?

- AS: We have a responsibility, which also heard a fashionable piece:)

- Alex Burleigh (AB): On the Radio "Mayak", for example, can not use the word "crisis", so they call it "the world's malaise - also a good way out!

- Tell your customers have already given up any projects?

- AS: We have heard that some agency customers abandon the planned activities. We even know a couple of companies that have reduced staff due to the fact that no more work. But all this - not about us: we do not not to reduce personnel, we even hire!
Actually, I have a statement!

We know that now on the market - "general malaise" and a general peretrubatsiya, so everything is very afraid to see bad symptoms in their partners - the people with whom they do business. As a result, companies must show that, despite the crisis, they have all the good and not very smart on their part to reduce the event, as this will be a clear indication that they have a crisis. Therefore, marketing efforts, I assume, will not be reduced, perhaps they will even increase. After all these activities - a tool with which companies have something to say about themselves, to change something and somehow solve the problem.

- AB: For the employees the same events decreasing - a fact obvious and correct. But recreational activities for external partners and clients will be accurately maintained in the same proportion, and even increase. Business activities will also be. They can not be undone.

- AS: You can cancel only in conjunction with the business. No business would exist, people would have to meet, and they will meet at events.

- To reduce the quantity of members of your seminars?

- AS: It is difficult to judge because our activities have their peaks, which fall at the beginning of spring and early autumn. Now we can say a planned decline.

- AB: Just in our company have a system of internal training, we will intensify in December, because, as a rule, this month we have calm.

We have several coaches who teach us. Just recently, our coach said that the number of orders now grown. This is - another look at the problem and he explained: as a rule, any company is a kind of "financial cushion", and what happens during the crisis? "Pillow" remains - the work decreases. And what if the company does - it teaches employees.

- It turns out that the crisis has not affected you?

- AB: The crisis we have not yet touched. We believe that all that is now called the crisis - it is, mostly, a psychological thing, a sort of hysteria. But perhaps our major clients are now reformulates the budget for the year, and it will be clear in February-March 2009.

- AS: In connection with the crisis situation a large number of agencies will fight for a smaller number of events - and in this struggle the best man win. As a result, a couple of years we have the market will be something like "big three", "Five," tens "of the best agencies, and the market can stand - it will happen, what they say for many years.

- It's good when there will be little agencies?

- AB: They will not be enough - just a will-known leaders. For now, the threshold of entry to our market is very low: at first glance to do activities, no special knowledge is not necessary.

- AS: But this is only the first level at which only seems that everything is easy.

- AB: In order to create a small event-agency, you do not even start-up capital: you need only take an advance payment from the client - and all. And let this agency makes a bad event, but it still does and if this is an event-agency. And such a situation must change. In this regard, PR-market is more structured, there are well-known companies that operate for many years. Event-market is much more opaque.

- How do I plan to experience budget cuts?

- AS: We're going to fight for good projects with large budgets.

- AB: We have a number of major customers - automotive, government, pharmaceutical, wireless - and we hope that this category will increase their speed.

- AS: If the number of "pyanok to 50 people" drop by 50 percent, then we would not have noticed - this is not the main category of our events.

- AB: But at the same time, we already thought of how to refocus their efforts on other markets and have taken certain decisions.

- AB: We should also remember that the crisis has some benefits: now the cost of artists, sites, leading wildly exaggerated, as a result of the entire budget is spent on them, and the beauty of the script no money left. Due to the cost of the crisis is already decreasing.

- Do you think that the price does not rise?

- AS: This is a question to the government:) Because it will depend on inflation in the country.

- And, of course, the fact that you were at the Beijing Olympics, it would be a little distracted by the crisis and to hear about your impressions of the event.

- AS: The Chinese were great lads, and all noted that the organization of the Olympics was at a high level. They were attentive to every detail, they had a lot of volunteers, many beautiful architectural sites. Smote a beautiful visual style of the Olympics. But on the other hand, after the first shock of the scale and detail, we have to notice the small gaps (large gaps, unfortunately, are only visible Org. Committee). For example, volunteers and taxi drivers did not speak English - this created a difficulty in movement. We have compiled a hit parade of what could be improved.

- AB: For me the main thing in organizing the Olympic Games was the ability of Chinese to build the flow of people: instead of you stood in line and did not understand what was going on, you all passed quickly, and every time when you did not know where to go or what to do to you approached the volunteer and answered all questions. This - the most important. And the second thing - this is heroism. I'd like to organization of the Olympic Games in Sochi we ourselves have enjoyed! To be heroic situations, "all at the last moment.

- AS: In Beijing, we did a study on the national home: we visited the homes of 15 states and made their comparative analysis.
We also analyzed the work of the press center - we were very interested in their technology solutions.

In addition, we paid attention to the sponsor pavilions. Because at the Olympics in China from sponsors was raised billions of dollars - and we were interested to see how the sponsors return their investment.

- Returns?

- AB: No:)

- AS: Certainly, the return, but it is difficult to expect that it will be returned to the Olympic site.

- AB: Because the place where were sponsored pavilions, was fenced - and patency was lower than it could be.

- AS: So it turns out that the sponsors of the site itself does not discourage their investment. But at the same time, billions of dollars China knew that the sponsor of the Olympics is Coca-Cola ... This is one reason why the Olympics hold in the major countries: the "inner world" should discourage investment.
And the fact that the Olympics held in Greece - a great exception. Difficult to imagine the Olympics in Latvia in Azerbaijan.

- As you are celebrating your inner New Year?

- AB: Since we have been organizing events, we are quite interested to organize something for themselves. Therefore, instead of corporate New Year, we often leave the sea, in the Moscow region - and this process is completely spontaneous.

- AS: It stressed there event'a.

- AB: Also at the New Year, each staff member makes a presentation about yourself: what he has done for the year. It is quite humorous, informal - it is difficult to imagine anything more fun. But on the other hand - this is a rational thing, because everyone should take stock and to show them to us. We like our events fun and do some business goal!