Be curious and always experiment a little bit (or a lot)

Q: How would you describe your job?
Working on overall business strategy, promotion and sales of the country and agency products/services. It also includes project & event management, marketing & PR, finances, operational work, human resources management, a touch of psychology spiced up with creativity, business intelligence, everyday learning and research & development activities.

Q: What advice would you offer to all soon to be working in marketing in the meetings industry?
Travel whenever you can and talk to as many different types of people and businesses as you can. Leave your own perspective aside and get out of your comfort zone whenever it’s possible.

Q: Hot to develop talent and how to help people grow to the next level?
Be curious and always experiment a little bit (or a lot). Talk in person (or online) to “crazy”, different and experienced colleagues, customers, suppliers, friends or family members. Read the professional (digital) media, in order to easily gain global knowledge and best practices. Attend the professional conferences and events. Move. Do sports. Do site inspections. Adopt and apply new experiences and knowledge to your local business and concrete cases.

Q: What are you most excited about at the moment?
I have recently bought a used car for the first time in my life, so I am excited to see if I’ve made a good investment and picked-up a good car for 1/3rd of the price of a new one.

Q: Your advice/suggestion for turning a boring event into a memorable one?
Never forget about the basic ingredients, but probably the most memorable ones: exquisite food & drinks, entertaining music/show and a pleasant atmosphere so that all invitees can SOCIALIZE. Plus a useful client’s give-away at departures. Never forget those. The ROI for the client is guaranteed.

Q: What gets you out of bed in the morning?
Being older, I have learned that we can enjoy many different small things, events and results that we can achieve – every day.

Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Enjoying life and business on a new level, with more colleagues in the agency team.

Q: What kind of knowledge will participants of Conventa Crossover gain from listening to your lecture?
I hope that the main benefit will be the understanding of different perspectives which people and businesses use in their lives and jobs. In marketing and market communication we have to talk about the core content, as well as to provide values and solutions to our customers.

Q: What do you expect from Conventa Crossover?
To learn something useful for my life in general + meeting new great colleagues from the industry.

Slaven Reljić, born in 1974 in Zadar, Croatia. Earned his Master of Science degree at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb – course: Tourism and Marketing. With more than 20 years of experience in tourism and business events organization, Slaven is currently a partner and a CEO of Coral Group DMC/PCO Croatia.

Slaven started his professional career as a Project Manager in business events department of Atlas Travel Agency – at that time biggest DMC (destination management company) in Croatia. He also worked in their USA marketing office.  A decade of entrepreneurship followed, when Slaven was a partner and a CEO in the DMC/PCO, handling the biggest Croatian and international brands, institutions and embassies in Zagreb for their business events.

In 2013 he accepted a position on the national tourism level and was an Assistant Director for Strategic Planning and Marketing in the Croatian National Tourist Board (CNTB), where he gained additional valuable professional experience and understanding of the public sector. After a one year contract in CNTB, he is back in private sector. Slaven is now a partner and a CEO of Coral Group DMC/PCO  –  an agency that specializes in business events organization and travel.

Slaven is also a passionate traveler who has visited five continents and is a fluent English, French, German and Italian speaker. He is also a co-founder and the Secretary of the Croatian Meeting Professionals Association (CMPA), a member of SITE (Society for Incentive Travel Excellence) and Croatian Academic Business club (HAPK) and a certified manager of the Travelife sustainability system in tourism.

Join meeting planners, meeting providers, congress destinations and professionals working in tourism and marketing at Conventa Crossover conference, international conference dedicated to the future of MICE and travel marketing.

When & where: 29 – 30 August 2016 in Hotel Lev, Ljubljana, Slovenia. 

“We are absolutely delighted that so many speakers have announced their presence already at this stage, and we know that there are many more to come,” says Conventa Crossover founder Gorazd Čad