28 April 2021, Wednesday, 10:45 303

Smile-Expo, a major exhibition conducting operator, reports anti-competitive actions against it

Редактор: Тимофій Борзенко

Anna Lastovka. Photo by censor.net.

Smile-Expo – a large exhibition holding operator, has been the target of a black PR campaign based on defamation, ordered by its competitors. Anna Lastovka, Director of Exhibition Activities at Smile-Expo, reported about this in her interview with Business Censor:

"The campaign began after the increased popularity of our Ukrainian Gaming Week. We have been the only specialized event in the industry for more than seven years. We gathered a huge number of foreign and Ukrainian participants and many attendees at the large-scale conference. Our success troubled our unscrupulous competitors. They held a campaign to discredit us as the organizers in the eyes of participants, government officials and speakers. Since our reputation was immaculate as the event organization process was at the highest level, our competitors decided to accuse us of relations with Russia. This information came out without facts or evidence to prove it, just unsubstantiated accusations mixed with obvious lies and rampant fantasies."

According to Anna, Smile-Expo has been on the market for eight years and didn’t face any accusations previously.

"The moment we succeeded, we were plainly attacked by dishonest competitors. They tried to tie us to Russia and not only conducted a black PR campaign, but also involved allegedly nationalist organizations that, actually included people hired for money to disrupt our event. But they’ve made a mistake as we do work transparently and have no connection with the Russians," said Smile-Expo Director of Exhibition Activities.

Smile-Expo is an international company that specializes in holding events dedicated to innovations. It has been operating in the event industry for fourteen years. During its history, Smile-Expo has organized more than 270 events in 28 countries. Its portfolio includes exhibitions, conferences, festivals, congresses and forums.