During MP Power Night, the final of the MP Power Awards® 2023, the winners of the competition were announced – industry personalities, the best agencies, projects, facilities and products, as well as the creative personality of the year. In the Convention Bureau / City Marketing Office category, the award went to Izabela Stelmańska, President of the Board of the Mazovia Regional Tourist Organization, which includes the Mazovia Convention Bureau. Congratulations!
In the twelfth edition of the MP Power Awards®, the jury traditionally awarded the best events (MP Power Project), identified venues with special event potential (MP Power Venue), the event product of the year (MP Power Product), honored industry personalities (MP Power 12), awarded a special prize for sustainable development in the event industry, and selected the best event agencies (Top 10), including the Agency of the Year 2023. The titles of Creative of the Year and Young Creative (Creative of the Year in the Event Industry) were also awarded. During the finals, the MPI Poland Chapter Discovery of the Year was also announced.
Finals at the theater
The awards were presented during the MP Power Night gala, which took place on April 22 at the 6.piętro Theater located on the sixth floor of the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw. The event was attended by approximately 600 guests representing all sectors of the meetings and events industry. The gala was broadcast on the MeetingPlanner.pl website and on the website’s social media channels. The stage design for the gala was based on the set design (using large fragments of it) for the play Art, which was performed on the same stage at the 6th Floor Theater the following day. References to traditional theater appeared repeatedly due to the location of the event, but they were accompanied by new technologies, including the use of AI. The leitmotif, emphasizing the uniqueness and significance of projects carried out by the event community, was an excerpt from the song “Amazing.” The gala began unusually with a welcome address to the guests by all the partners involved in its organization, who appeared together on stage, thus emphasizing the importance of people, relationships, and good cooperation in the industry.
“This is a celebration of the industry, and we will celebrate it together. We hope it will be special, especially since 2023 was a special year for the industry,” said Sylwia Banaszewska, CEO of MeetingPlanner.pl, and Magdalena Kondas, editor-in-chief, opening the ceremony.
Jury and awards
The MP Power Awards® are the result of the work of three teams of jurors, composed of representatives of corporations, agencies, and subcontractors, chaired by Prof. Krzysztof Celuch, PhD, of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. “We have two months of deliberations and a lot of work behind us. When evaluating the projects, one aspect was important to us, and that was responsibility, i.e. what the project brings and how it can change the future of the meetings industry and the future of the people directly affected by it,” said Prof. Krzysztof Celuch, PhD, chair of the MP Power Awards® jury, summarizing this year’s deliberations. He also emphasized the economic impact of the meetings and events industry. “The event industry generates revenue for the Polish economy – it accounts for 1 percent of GDP, or over PLN 54 billion, according to a study by Poland Events Impact,” he emphasized.
During this year’s gala, held in a theatrical setting, all the jury groups appeared on stage, thus beginning the award ceremony for each part of the competition.
A team of corporate representatives evaluates the projects submitted to the competition, taking into account, among other things, their creation, implementation, logistics, and the relationship between the project’s objectives and its results. In this edition, for the fifth time, the jury awarded the title of Agency of the Year to El Padre.
“The MP Power Awards® once again confirms the ‘clout of the event industry’. It presents companies, organizations, venues, and projects that are of great value to the industry and determine its quality. At the same time, the task set by MP Power Awards® is to promote event marketing and the meetings and events industry as an important sector of the economy,” emphasizes Sylwia Banaszewska, president of the board of MeetingPlanner.pl.
“Entries to the competition definitely help to promote the importance of events and the professionalism of the industry. This year, there were over 150 entries in the project section. As all the judges emphasized, the selection was extremely difficult already at the first stage, the so-called shortlist. But this also says a lot about the market. Every year, we look at the MP Power Awards® as a report on the state of the industry. The quality, number, and nature of the submitted projects indicate an exceptional year in the event marketing industry, which we hope will continue to strengthen and develop,” says Magdalena Kondas, editor-in-chief of MeetingPlanner.pl.
The selection was also not easy in the MP Power 12 poll, in which a jury composed of representatives from all sectors of the industry sought out the most prominent personalities of 2023. The jury, which included producers from event agencies and corporate meeting organizers, evaluated venues and event products. The jury was assisted in its work by an audit of the nominated venues conducted by Z-Factor. “The research showed that the results of the audited venues are improving year on year, with the best one achieving a score of 87 percent,” summarized Wojciech Liszka, CEO of Z-Factor, during the gala. This edition of the competition also recognized venues that achieved the best results in the audit.
A separate group of judges is responsible for selecting the winners of the MP Power Awards® Creative of the Year in the Event Industry competition. This group is chaired by Bogdan Wąsiel, Creative of the Year in the Event Industry 2012.
List of winners of the MP Power Awards® 2023
Agency of the Year: El Padre
Finalists: Live Age and Plej (Top 3)
MP Power Project
Main categories
B2C brand promotion event
Samsung Galaxy Playground, client: Samsung Polska, agencies: Ten Team and VMLY&R
B2B brand promotion event
Kia EV9 premiere, client: Kia Polska, agency: Plej
Celebration event
25 years of Kruk SA concerts, client: Kruk SA, agency: Fox Events
Integration event
Be Like a Star, client: Coloplast Business Centre, agency: In Spe marketing group
Event education
EduStrefy “Road to Green City”, client: InPost, agency: Allegro Brand Experience Agency
Brand zone
Jelenia zone at Open’er Festival 2023, client: CEDC Maspex group, agency: obiekt.studio
Music event
Beksiński.Live, endorfina events and L2L – Live 2 Listen, own project
Sports event
Red Bull Phase Rush, client: Red Bull Polska, agencies: Walk Events and Gam3rs_X
Other forms of event
Party Fashion Night 2023, client: Burda Media Polska, agency: Imagine Nation
Congress
National Remembrance Congress, client: Institute of National Remembrance, agency: El Padre
Incentive travel
Himalayas of Power, MindBlowing, own project
Integrated campaign using event marketing
Higher Cloud Level, client: Microsoft, agency: Live Age
Trade
26th International Book Fair in Krakow, Krakow Trade Fairs, own project
Accompanying categories
CSR
Proud to be party, client: Orbico, agency: 180heartbeats + JvM
Transplant Summit Poland, client: BGK Foundation, agency: Rebelia Media
Stage design
Jimek & Guests: History of Polish Hip-Hop II, client: Going, agency: ICONYK
Catering
Barbórka Feast, client: Polska Grupa Górnicza – KWK Staszic-Wujek branch, caterer: Catering Arts
MP Power 12
Corporate Meeting Planner – Marketer / Business Owner
Wojciech Kuśpik, President of the Management Board, PTWP
Corporate Meeting Planner – Purchasing Department
Magdalena Heinrich, Procurement Manager PL/CE/Baltics, AstraZeneca Pharma Poland
Meeting Planner – ESG or CSR Manager
Katarzyna Gaweł, Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Ringier Axel Springer Polska
Meeting Planner – Association
Zbigniew Tomczak, President of the Management Board, Polish Association for Assistance to People with Alzheimer’s Disease
Meeting Planner – Event Agency
Dominik Górka, Co-CEO and Creative Director, Live Age
Meeting Planner – Incentive Travel Agency
Grażyna Woźniczka, Co-owner and Managing Director, Polka Travel
Meeting Planner – DMC/PCO
Agnieszka Faracik-Leśniak, Managing Partner, DMC Poland
Supplier – Venue
Sara Lamik, Managing Director, CKF_13 Fabryczna Conference Center
Supplier – Event Technology
Marcin Wójcicki, Sales Director, Brill AV Media
Supplier – Catering
Milena Białobrzeska, Sales Director, Royal Catering
Open Supplier
Adam Nyk, CEO, ICONYK
Convention Bureau / Venue Marketing Office
Izabela Stelmańska, President of the Board, Mazovia Regional Tourist Organization, Mazovia Convention Bureau
Sustainable development in the event industry
UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals – MTP Group
MP Power Venue
Event venue
Norblina Factory (Warsaw)
Event and conference hotel
Crystal Mountain Hotel (Wisła)
Business hotel
Royal Tulip Warsaw Apartments (Warsaw)
Multifunctional facility
CKF_13 Fabryczna Conference Center (Krakow)
Green facility
PreZero Arena Gliwice (Gliwice)
Premiere
MOXO Restaurant & Club (Warsaw)
Z-Factor audit – best venues
CKF_13 Fabryczna Conference Center (Krakow)
PreZero Arena Gliwice (Gliwice)
Służewiec Horse Racing Track (Warsaw)
MP Power Product
AI-powered artistic portrait sketchbots – PicBot (Imprero)
Creative Person of the Year in the Event Industry
Creative of the Year in the Event Industry
Przemysław Witkowski, creative director, Plej
Young Creative in the Event Industry
Kacper Szczęsny, AWF Warsaw
Discovery of the Year MPI Poland
Nadzeya Melnik, United Partners
Celebration and partners
The main part of the evening was the presentation of the winners of the 12th edition of the MP Power Awards®, but the gala was also an opportunity to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Mazovia Province Local Government (partner of MP Power Night) and the 5th anniversary of Mazovia Convention Bureau. The MP Power Awards® finale was hosted by Robert Jarek. The guests were welcomed by Iwona Kowalczyk, impresario and event manager at Sztuka na 6, representing Teatr 6.piętro. The band After Dark Jazz performed. DJ Zaks provided the musical setting for the gala.
The gala took place in the Theater Hall, the Galczyński Hall, and the foyer of Teatr 6.piętro. The award ceremony, which took place on stage in the Theater Hall, could be viewed on the MeetingPlanner.pl website and in other areas of the theater. The broadcast was produced by Digital Space.
Marcin Dabulis – Mr. was responsible for the creation and direction of MP Power Night. Idea event creation boutique, while the production and implementation of the gala was handled by the Rebelia Media agency in partnership with Teatr 6.piętro, Royal Catering, Pro4Media, Brill AV Media, Digital Space, Dreamage, Anseba Music Agency, DJ Zaks, Caffe Grano, the Carlsberg Group (1664 Blanc), M-Duo, Rent Design, We Work Scenografia, Viva System, and Fotograficznie. pl, GetResponse, Syskonf.
Supporting partners of MP Power Night were: Amadria Park, Arche Hotele, Belmonte Hotel Krynica-Zdrój, Fiege, Glasslux, Hotel Crystal Mountain, Imprero, Konferencje. pl, Lake Hill Resort & Spa, the International Congress Center in Katowice and Arena Spodek, Nosalowy Dwór Resort & Spa, Skyfall Warsaw, Smartphotolab event magnets, Służewiec Horse Racing Track, Unirest Hotels.
Legal supervision over the MP Power Awards® is provided by the tak’s law firm. The competition is organized in partnership with Celuch Consulting and Z–Factor, as well as industry associations: the SAR Event Agency Club, MPI Poland Chapter, the Polish Chamber of Exhibition Industry, the Polish Association of Logistics and Purchasing Managers, SITE Poland, the Event Industry Association, the Conferences & Congresses in Poland Association, and the Association of Incentive Travel Organizers. The organizer of the MP Power Awards® and Creative Person of the Year in the Event Industry competition and the MP Power Night gala is MeetingPlanner.pl.
Source: MeetingPlanner / Photo: Ewa Witak, Fotograficznie.pl / Cover photo: MROT
