Engel & Völkers- Organizing an event in Italy- interview to Viviana Vaccaro

E&V Day Italia: how and why did it begin?

This is the second edition of the biennial event we called E&V Day Italia. We have other national editions too. This event is not just for our affiliates – which are extremely important to us – but also for our agents and all sales representatives in our shops all over the country. E&V Day Italia is their party, it’s a time to celebrate the results they achieved since the first E&V Day Italia, which took place in2017. Our Italian branch is generating excellent revenue thanks to our franchisers, who work hard towards our shared goals.

The theme for this year’s event was “Trust is a Must!” How did this affect your brand and your communication?

You can calk about trust in so many ways: from self-confidence to the trust you place in others, particularly in your colleagues and coworkers. What we want to achieve is an extended sense of belonging to the team, because trust requires the will to confront issues, which does not have to lead to conflict, but should be conducive to growth and development. And the concept of trust is closely connected to another major theme here at Engel & Völkers: transparency.

Astronaut Paolo Nespoli was this year’s E&V Day special guest. What added value did his presence bring to your convention?

There was a connection with the guest we invited to the 2017 edition: alpinist Simone Moro. Our message this year was: “if two years ago we took you to the top of Himalaya, now we are taking you even higher up, all the way to the moon”. We tried to project this concept onto the creative aspects of this event, to indicate that we achieved important goals, but we always aim to do more. And this should not discourage, but rather inspire our people: “you have a network, supporting you to do more and go higher, and you can do it: the sky is the limit”.

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This event was all about details, and it also gathered a large crowd in a unique space. Was it hard to find the perfect venue?

We started scouting for venues with Smart Eventi in January 2019. Finding the perfect venue was a matter of getting the right feeling and it required a vivid imagination. We chose this large industrial space, like an empty box, which made this approach necessary. And that’s when the support of real professionals, like Alessandro, your Event Manager, becomes vital: it helped us choose between different options and combine creativity with effectiveness. This means more work, but also more fun and e more stimulating experience.

The Engel & Völkers agents enjoyed an amazing light show and inspiring soundtrack. Were these elements particularly important to you?

As I was saying, this was the agents’ party, they’re the once to bring the real results home, and we wanted the awards ceremony to be the climax of the whole event. Our agents are the ones who make a difference, in all the Engel & Völkers shops, they lead our Licence Partners to success.

Would you say the “Trust is a Must!” theme works for your collaboration with Smart Eventi as well

Absolutely. We created a trust-based relationship through several events. You worked with us on planning the 2018 Licence Partner Meeting, so you know our values, what matters to us, and therefore it was natural for us to choose your agency for an ever more important and complex event. The best thing about working with Smart Eventi is the open and transparent relationship we have: there’s complete honesty in expressing opinions and feedback, and that’s what makes this event a success. Sometimes, for instance, ideas are good, but they don’t really work in a certain venue. What Engel & Volkers and Smart Eventi have are mutual trust and total openness.

Call us to plan your next event in Italy!