Urgent Matter in Vienna – Diary of an International Event Manager
It all started with a message: “I have an urgent matter in 12 days in Vienna, can you go and are you interested?” Well, I always have the desire to travel abroad, but I have a major conference in Maastricht on the same day. How will that work out?
We quickly made a decision. Melissa will handle Maastricht, and I will head to Vienna for three days. Easier said than done, though…
Together, we headed to the client’s headquarters for the first briefing, where we learned that it’s a gala dinner and a conference for 400 attendees.
On Monday evening, I received my flight ticket, and on Tuesday morning at 5:45 AM, my alarm went off. The first day of the three has arrived. Upon arriving in Vienna, I found that the venue is conveniently located at the airport, which saves a lot of local travel. Next to the NH Hotel Vienna is the conference venue, where training sessions have been underway for two days. A large group of sales managers is working hard and is very dedicated in various groups. The first briefing for me takes place; it boils down to three critical points in the program:
1: Wednesday afternoon coordination for the setup of the evening gala at a different location: the Vienna Parkhotel Schönbrunn.
2: Once the gala has started, return to the conference venue to transform the plenary hall for the conference on Thursday morning.
3: Thursday morning conference.
What a turbulent few days! The overall planning is set, the main lines are known to everyone, but I still need to figure out the details. And so it happens that in the afternoon, I prepare a gala for 400 guests in a beautiful hotel, featuring various speakers, an award show, and a performance by the “real” Elvis.
When the guests arrive, it turns out that some of them cannot see the stage well, and the dessert is not arranged the way I envisioned it. Amplify shows what we excel at: rolling up our sleeves and ensuring that quality always comes first! We move tables around and have the dessert reset. The venue isn’t too happy, but the client is pleased. And that’s what matters.
During the gala, I sneak back to the conference venue, and the guests start dancing during “Elvis.”
After setting up the plenary hall, I see my bed at 5:00 AM and jump in the shower at 6:15 AM. I don’t know how it works; they call it adrenaline, but I feel as fresh as a daisy and start with great enthusiasm for the final part: the conference for 400 guests with speakers at the highest international sales level of the company
By 7:00 AM, the speakers are already in our room for the dry run. That goes very smoothly, and from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM, the conference is in full swing. After lunch and a few more small tasks, my Austrian adventure is already coming to an end. I quickly head across the street, where I enjoy an apple strudel with vanilla sauce in a Kaffee Stube, and then I look for the gate. Before the plane has started its engines, I’m already asleep, arriving back in Düsseldorf still tired but very satisfied
In the car on the way back, I have an hour to think about how I feel, and I can’t stop laughing. It’s been a long time since I’ve worked abroad—oh, how I’ve missed this! As part of Amplify Event Marketing, I get to be involved in such wonderful projects… I’m waiting for your next message, Melissa.
