Blog homeEach month we profile one inspiring individual who is raising the bar in the meetings & events industry. Read on to learn why Anna, a Field Marketing Manager based in San Francisco, California is our February 2020 #Eventprof of the month.
Anyone who has worked with Anna – or the familiar, “Anya” – knows that she has a stellar combo of of being an absolute sweetheart (with a healthy dose of sass) and a true get sh*t done-er who will straight up NEVER let you down as a partner in the event planning process.
We’ve seen her go to the ends of the earth to ensure her event attendees have both a seamless and inspiring experience. We’re talking in-the-weeds moments of staying up until 4am to make sure all registrant data is correctly integrating between her registration system and CRM the day before name badges go to print. To super creative moments like proposing a Burning Man-like art installation on the ceiling of a venue to help transform it into a living, breathing version of her company’s brand (check out the end product here – designed and installed by nineandeye).
We’ve been lucky enough to work with Anna at not one but two amazing companies where she’s held field marketing roles, ON24 and G2. She has now moved into her next role at TripActions, and we couldn’t be more excited to see what brand experiences she develops there. If you can’t tell already, Anna’s creativity and work ethic have always inspired us, which is why she’s our very first #Eventprof of the Month.
Here are 10 questions with our February feature, Anna Monogarova.
1. What initially drew you into the events industry?
The festival industry actually! I love music, and admire the work, detail, creativity and impact that I would feel going into a festival. But after one gig as an assistant stage manager on a festival cruise ship, I realized I prefer to be the attendee rather the organizer in that scene specifically. I diverted my attention to leveraging the resources I had living in the Bay ie Silicon Valley. I wanted to bring my creativity and event strategies to the tech world.
2. What’s a day in the life of Anna like?
Well, that depends on whether I have an event that day or not. A typical day in the life starts with a coffee (no really, it’s mandatory) and 30 minutes to myself where I plan my day out on my walk to work, or just tuning out to music or a good podcast to get that little hamster in my head going for work. I then try to make it to either a yoga or boxing class, and come home to do a little more work – it’s that night owl in me!
3. How do you feel your role helps advance your company’s overall goals?
As a field marketer, my role ensures strategic alignment with internal and external teams on marketing initiatives that help drive revenue. The events I work on do everything from identifying market opportunities to driving brand awareness to accelerating deals in the pipeline.
4. How many events do you work on per year? What’s the mix?
In my last role, I ran about 15 high-touch events per year. A huge portion of my role was running small C-level, highly curated, experiential events, with the addition of a few larger scale networking events throughout the year. I also worked in partnership with my trade show events team to host ancillary events like networking happy hours and dinners to drive even more value out of our presence at conferences.
I just began my new role at TripActions and am looking forward to starting in on a new mix of programs here!
5. What is your favorite venue you have worked in, and why?
The Battery SF Penthouse has by far been my favorite. The space itself is gorgeous inside and out – modern with a hint of eccentricity. An all glass interior with views facing the city. Even cooler at night! And I’ve been fortunate to have the freedom to bring in a variety of themes and designs. It’s been the perfect canvas for C-level brand activations
6. How do you measure success for the events you manage?
Metrics, metrics, metrics. I look at 1) hitting and surpassing my goal of attendees then 2) the amount of meetings booked on-site or post-event and later 3) the influence and close rate for months to come.
7. Where do you see the events industry going in the future? Any trends?
The recent focus on elevating customer experiences across the customer journey is causing some major shifts, gearing away from the standard turnkey event to creating more of a curated or experience for attendees. Interactive and experiential events are the trend and the future.
8. Where do you find inspiration?
The people I surround myself with. I am fortunate to be surrounded by a creative community from my close friends to acquaintances here in San Francisco. Their creativity is deep rooted back into the festival scene, but I have seen them pivot into tech, into Hollywood, into non-profit, you name it. Their work is making its way out into the world, and I am inspired by them daily.
My former CMO Ryan Bonnici is a huge inspiration as well. I admire his need to push boundaries in Marketing, and he provides a constant reminder that I should continue thinking outside the box.
9. Who would be your dream guest at an event?
JK Rowling. Inspiring human, and storyteller. Kayti Burt rightly commended “her ability to create a just-out-of-sight magical world with its own system of lived-in logic.” Something I think we can aspire to in the events world too.
10. Any advice for #eventprofs just getting started?
The show must, and will always go on. So have a backup plan!
But most importantly JUST.BREATHE.