Event Planning
Sourced the venue, negotiated packages, and built the budget and sponsorship tiers around the target audience.
CASE STUDY & INSIGHTS REPORT
Crisis Resolution Case Study
Summary
When a lead-generation event for Abu Dhabi Finance Week 2025 was cancelled on the day, the focus shifted to crisis management: coordinating stakeholders, communicating with guests, and pursuing litigation against the venue.
1,000+
registered guests and 404 approved attendance across finance, fintech, and tech
37%
average holiday season newsletter open rate following the event’s cancellation
−$450
financial loss following successful dispute resolution against the venue
Context
Business Momentum ↑
Strong momentum. A need to scale.
After a strong year, I set out to build my next client pipeline through an educational event during Abu Dhabi Finance Week.
Market confidence ↓
Sharp losses. Market downturn.
Crypto was reeling from October’s sell-off. Bitcoin had fallen as much as 36% from its peak, while perpetual futures dominated industry conversations.
Available Resources
1.5 months
to plan and deliver
$25,000
budget for the initiative
1 person
end-to-end planning and execution
Before crisis
Content Planning
Developed panel topics, questions, and organized panel speakers and moderators.
Sponsor Outreach & Pitching
Identified prospective sponsors, pitched the event through tailored decks and calls, and maintained momentum with updates on confirmed speakers and attendee profiles.
Guest Curation
Curated the guest list to balance priority sectors with diverse professional backgrounds, keeping attendance optimized for education and lead generation.
The crisis
404
VIP guests
0%
of the sponsorship target secured
10 hours
left until event when a contract breach by the venue was detected
The crisis
With funding falling short and a venue contract breach compromising the planned experience, I cancelled the event 10 hours before it was due to begin.
Management
01
Stakeholder Communication
Immediately called stakeholders to explain the circumstances, communicate the cancellation decision, and ask for their understanding.
02
Guest Communications
Promptly notified confirmed guests of the cancellation and its circumstances. Followed up with three entertaining, educational newsletters over the holiday season to manage reputation.
Newsletter Performance
03
Dispute Resolution
Negotiated directly with the venue across 18 email exchanges, securing a recovery of the deposit, less credit card processing fees.