Over 600 Marketers and HR Specialists Gathered in Minsk for the 'Sodruzhestvo' Exhibition
More than 600 marketing, PR, and HR specialists gathered in Minsk on September 18 for the 14th 'Sodruzhestvo' exhibition. Key topics included mistakes, AI in content, and bold decisions in business.
More than 600 specialists from marketing, PR, HR, and business gathered on September 18 at the Eho loft space in Minsk for the 14th 'Sodruzhestvo' presentation exhibition. Participants sought answers to one question: how to stop doing things 'the usual way' and find solutions that actually work. The event was organized by merch company 'New-Tone' and ARTMIX Group.
This year's theme was 'Rebellion and Bold Decisions in Business.' The program covered what usually stays behind the scenes of presentations: mistakes, experiments, and unexpected moves. The format traditionally combined an exhibition and a business program. Participants got acquainted with companies and solutions in marketing, the events industry, merch, digital, and content production, while the business program was built around practical cases and open discussions.
HR hooliganism and marketing fails
The morning opened with a conversation about how established HR rules themselves become an obstacle to business. The session 'HR Hooliganism: When Mindsets and Rules Get in the Way of Business' was led by Nikolai Lepeshinsky, Deputy General Director for Personnel at 'KOMPO' and Candidate of Psychological Sciences.
Next came marketing's turn. Olga Antishina, Deputy Director for Development and Marketing at 'Mattioli,' suggested discussing what marketers rarely talk about: the secrets, mistakes, and hidden techniques of market leaders.
Merch that works
Instead of the usual talk about catalogs and gifts, participants examined 'non-obvious merch.' The session's key question: why do some items genuinely work for a brand, while others turn into yet another thing with a logo. The moderator was Victoria Karpuchik, lead development specialist at merch company 'New-Tone.'
The business program also included unconventional marketing in real estate, PR cases of the year from Alfa Bank, immersion in event marketing, and criteria for a business's 'maturity.'
AI versus classic filming
Ruslan Sergey, CEO of Action Studio, and Elena Verbitskaya, Director of the Center for Innovative Development, raised the topic 'Classic Filming or AI: Which Video Does the Audience Trust More Today?' The speakers discussed not the technology itself, but a more complex question: how audience trust changes as artificial intelligence creates increasingly realistic content.
The program then went beyond marketing. The special guest — Leonid Gelibteryan, president of the international eno-gastronomic center — dedicated his speech to gastrodiplomacy: food culture as a tool for business development and international communication.
Female leadership and a conversation with the media
A separate case panel was devoted to female leadership, career, and the impact of personal brand on business results. Victoria Karpuchik moderated a discussion about the connection between expertise, reputation, and professional goals.
The finale of the business program addressed a topic critical for any company: how to make a business and its stories genuinely interesting to the media. The discussion 'Effective Marketing and PR in the Media. How to Do It Right?' was moderated by Ivan Zhivitsa, an expert in PR, marketing, and strategic communications.
The Big Client Day format
The event's main feature is not limited to the number of talks. Behind the business program are hundreds of company meetings, contact exchanges, and the search for contractors, partners, ideas, and solutions. The organizers call this format the Big Client Day.
'Sodruzhestvo' has become a traditional meeting place for the Belarusian business community and a professional platform for marketing, PR, and HR.
Source: Myfin.by
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