1.Situation

In MYPRODUCT9 I detailed how in 2005 as Brand Manager I was the creator of the first DHL marathon, a traditional corporate event having its 9th edition in 2018. From this position I was directly responsible for organizing a BTL project highly complex from a logistic point of view. It was mandatory to be a success as the event involved the company’s name and reputation in front of its own customers, general public and DHL colleagues from other countries who came in large numbers to participate to the marathon.

A critical factor that ensured the potential success of the event was related to the partner with whom to develop and implement the event.

In this context, I sustained a pitch where I invited the network advertising agency that DHL traditionally collaborated with at that time, and a specialized btl agency named Prospero.

Prospero agency was selected as the winner of this pitch, having the responsibility to implementation this complex btl event.

2.Task

In this article I will explain why choosing the right partner for implementing a project is a strategic decision that ensures the success of the project.

3.Action

The initial concept of the event was based on the following vectors:

-marathon in Brasov with start and arrival in Piata Sfatului

-marathon with individual runners and teams

-after the end of the sportive event, Vama Veche band was scheduled to perform a special concert in front of the event’s participants and general public

-at the end of the event a festive dinner was planned for collaborations, partners, clients

From the logistic point of view, the whole event was centred on Brasov and I refer here to:

-authorizations for marathon route, concert (city hall, road police etc.)

-reservations for accommodation (participants, organizers, clients)

-exchange points for team runners

-special scene, equipment for Vama Veche concert

-communication campaign

-support from authorities (road police, rescue, guard)

When we were very close to finalize the event organization, almost ready to start the communication campaign, for reasons I will not detail, we had to change the central location of the event.

4.Results

If previously we had few months to organize the event, due to this situation, the btl agency had to adapt and organize a whole new event in just a few weeks.

Thus from a logistic point of view the event has changed as follows:

-location in Poiana Brasov

-marathon route with start in Predeal and arrival in Poiana Brasov via Rasnov

-new authorizations for the new route (county council, road police)

-new accommodation reservations

-new exchange points for runners, including special minibuses for transporting runners from Poiata Brasov to exchange points and vice versa

-new scene, equipment for Vama Veche concert

-new support from authorities (road police, rescue, county council, guard) due to a new route and a new location

-adaptation of communication campaign and materials as per new coordinates.

With extensive experience in btl projects and due to its logistical capabilities, Prospero was able to change the whole event and to drive the success of the first DHL marathon.

5.Key Learnings

Btl events involve a certain degree of uncertainty or surprises, reason why it is advisable to collaborate with specialized partners to develop such projects.

Due to my previous experience in organising btl events for Cosmorom, I knew how important it is for DHL marathon to have a specialized btl agency as a partner. In the context mentioned above the decision to collaborate with Prospero proved it to be highly inspired and contributed directly to the event’s final success.

When developing projects, make sure you have the right partner to implement them. The success of the project depends significantly on your decision to work with Y or X.

Notification: MYPRODUCT reflects my real professional experience and expertise as well as my subjectivity. I do have a profound respect for all the companies I collaborated to and for all the people I worked with. It is not my intention to approach any sensitive, confidential or offending information related to companies, projects or people. If you the reader deduct or recognise companies, projects or people in my examples, I kindly ask you to respect MYPRODUCT and my professional and ethic approach and to not share any detail, information, situation, name, company.