A roundup of the European Economic Congress in Katowice

With more than 15,000 participants, 1,000 speakers, 200 thematic sessions, 750 accredited media representatives, 12,000 publications in traditional media and 5,500 posts on social networks, the 11th European Economic Congress in Katowice (EEC) and the 4th European Start-up Days beat more than one record.

"Interest in the European Economic Congress in Katowice and the European Start-up Days allows us to gauge to what extent what we do makes sense; it tells us whether we are managing and developing these events well, and whether their formula is successfully adapted to the changing economy and Europe", says Wojciech Kuśpik, CEO of the PTWP Group, organizer of the European Economic Congress in Katowice and the European Start-up Days. "This year's record turnout, both in terms of the number of participants and contest submissions, is very motivating. We are already analysing the satisfaction surveys and thinking about the shape of future editions", he adds.

For several years now, overall satisfaction with the European Economic Congress and the European Start-up Days has been measured among visitors, panellists and partners by the BCMM Market Research Institute. This year, 84% of visitors, 84% of panellists, and 82% of partners reported they were happy with their participation in these events. As many as 87% of visitors and panellists declared they would return in 2020 to take part in the next edition.

With a rating of 8.8 (on a 10-point scale) among panellists and 8.0 among visitors, the interesting agenda of presentations, sessions and panels was the highest-rated content-related aspect of this year's European Economic Congress in Katowice. Based on answers provided by a representative sample of respondents, the main advantages of participation in the Congress included opportunities to gain knowledge about economic trends and phenomena (8.4 among panellists, 7.9 among visitors) and forge useful contacts (8.3 among panellists, 7.8 among visitors).

The major factors that determined the level of satisfaction had to do with the content of the Congress: the interesting opinions voiced by speakers, the themes addressed by presentations, sessions and panel discussions, as well as the opportunity to find out about new economic trends. For panellists, on the other hand, the most important factors included the ample time for discussion, professional moderation and knowledge gained during the Congress.

Satisfaction with the European Start-up Days was primarily determined by the quality of presentations delivered by the invited experts, the opportunity to find out about new trends and innovations and the chance to forge business contacts.

Participants gave the nod to the venue for the European Economic Congress and the European Start-up Days, identifying the International Congress Centre and the Spodek Arena as an important organizational asset of the event. Communication (before and during the event) was also rated highly, as was the comfort level of conference rooms, the online registration system and the information sent by the organizer before the opening of the Congress.

The European Economic Congress and the European Start-up Days 2019 were covered on TV, radio, as well as in the press and online portals, by more than 750 journalists from more than 175 media outlets. As a result, Polish media produced over 12,500 publications that either covered or mentioned the event. The advertising value equivalent, i.e. the sum that would have to be spent on advertising of the same space and screen time, estimated as of 10 June 2019, exceeded PLN 55 million (European Economic Congress: PLN 47,317,851, European Start-up Days: PLN 8,621,905). The events were also commented on social media; over the three days in May, they were mentioned more than 5,500 times on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs and microblogs, with a total reach of 6.1 million unique users.