Slovenia hosts first major hybrid event in the Adriatic region

The Slovenian Advertising Chamber (SOZ) recently organised the first-ever hybrid Slovenian Advertising Festival (SOF). It is an annual event dedicated to rewarding and encouraging creativity in advertising in Slovenia and beyond. This year's edition was held on September 10 in Ljubljana and virtually.

SOF’s 500 attendees were at the live in-person event while another 400 participated online. The festival was initially planned for April 2020 but had to be postponed due to the onset of Covid-19.

To ensure the safety and wellbeing of attendees and adhere to the Slovenian government’s safety measures, SOZ enforced social distancing protocols, had attendees wear their masks where necessary and set up sanitary stations and notice boards around the venue.

Commenting on the experience of organising such a big hybrid event, SOZ CEO Mojca Briščik, said: “Festival organisation amid the current conditions demand great flexibility, with the hybrid format requiring us to present one event to two separate audiences, doubling the needed preparations. We are happy to have succeeded in delivering a major hybrid event in the Adriatic region that strictly adhered to government safety requirements. We hope our experience motivates event organisers, reaffirming that there is a way, regardless of our new reality, to make festivals work. We've made it happen, and we're going to make it happen again!”

The event was a combination of lectures, roundtable discussions, workshops, a Cannes Lions pitch competition for young creatives and an awards ceremony, and featured a diverse line-up of local and international speakers including: Marc Adams, SVP and Head of Innovation at VICE Media; Sandra Bold, Global Creative Director at Publicis Italy, and Veronica McGregor, News and Social Media Manager for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Topics covered at SOF include creativity, content and advertising in the time of Covid-19, brand longevity, storytelling, innovation and social responsibility. SOF also highlighted the work of local agencies and creatives throughout the event.

Winners of the SOF awards were celebrated during the closing ceremony. Supermarket chain Spar Slovenia was named Brand of the Year, while Futura DDB was proclaimed Agency of the Year. Advertising Personality of the Year went to Marko Kolbl, Director and Co-owner of the outdoor advertising company Europlakat.

For more information and the full list of SOF winners, visit the event website or contact SOZ.