Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct.1 / Trend /
Trend Agency interviews Kosta Petrov, the Managing Director of the P World, the global creative agency organizing the Baku PR Experience, Azerbaijan's first ever global PR event. He is also the producer and TV host of Macedonia's most acclaimed business TV Show - Leaders.
How did you choose to work in the events industry?
I never planned to work in the event industry. It just happened by a chance. After graduation I got recruited by Marcus Evans which is one of Europe's biggest event companies and soon after that I went to work in Dubai for IIRME which is the world's largest event organizer. Working for these companies helped me start my own business three years ago.
You have many years of experience in this business already. What advice can you give to a beginner? And what are the most common mistakes you meet?
Working in this sector is not easy but once you establish a good reputation everything is easier. It is all about business networking and establishing the right business relationships. Today we work with the world's biggest companies including Facebook and Google. Also you have to be stubborn and don't let the first failure to stop you from achieving your goal.
Please mention an event in which you were involved and you remember the most.
I worked on a lot of big events including Cityscape Dubai which was the world's largest real estate show. Working for this event helped me meet some of the world's biggest businessman including Donald Trump Jr and Ivana Trump. Their advices really helped me start my own business.
Kosta, how did you come up with the idea to organize the PR Experience in Baku?
The PR Experience is one of Europe's biggest PR events. As of today the event has been held in Prague, Moscow, Dubai, Zagreb and Croatia and this year for the first time ever we are bringing the event to Azerbaijan. We wanted to organize something in Azerbaijan for a really long time but we wanted to make sure that we have the right event. Also, Sietse Bakker, one of the organizers of Eurovision is a very good friend of mine and after his amazing experience with Eurovision he advised us that we really need to do something in the country. So, here we are now with only 4 weeks to go to the event and we cannot wait for the event to happen.
Who is expected to attend the event and what can delegates learn at the event?
The event is tailor made for everyone working in the PR, communications and the marketing industry. We are covering all important trends but also challenges in the global PR world. Delegates attending will be able to hear interactive presentations on media relations, crisis communications and management, reputation management and corporate social responsibility. We just confirmed our new speaker from Ulker who is going to talk about how marketing and PR can work together for maximum effect so there really is something for everyone. The most important thing is that all presentations are interactive so delegates will be able to ask questions and get tools that they will be able to implement when they go back to their companies.
Can you give us more details about the other presenters at the event?
The event starts with a presentation on reputation management by Princess Diana's Private Secretary. He has also done some amazing PR strategies for Ferrari so I am sure it will be very interesting for the delegates to hear about the importance of reputation in today's economy. During the day we also have great presentation by Gazprom's former PR director who is going to talk about crisis management and his experience in Gazprom. Delegates attending will also be able to hear presentations by Tolga Sezer who managed the marketing department at Ulker, Piers Schreiber who is in charge of the PR for Jumeirah Group in Dubai - they own the Burj Al Arab, the world's most luxurious hotels. I am also very happy that we have Sietse Bakker from Eurovision presenting on the importance of social media in today's PR and marketing.
Trend Agency is the event's media partner.
