My name is Mia Bacila, a ’93 liner K-Pop stan and an events host & organizer based in Batangas, Philippines.
I am a K-Pop fan since college. At that time, I really love 2NE1, Big Bang and SNSD. Then after college, I got busy with work then I had my own family that’s why I paused with K-Pop fan girling. Fast forward to pandemic, since all of us were forced to stay at home, I had time to stream K-Dramas. Then while browsing on social media, a video of BTS appeared (socmed algorithm at its finest! lol). Then out of curiosity, I started searching for their contents, I listened to their songs, and then I told my best friend, who’s a fan of BTS, that I think I’m an ARMY already. Then we found out that another friend of ours is also an ARMY. So, we made a group chat and we endlessly talk about BTS, then we started collecting merchandises as well until we decided to open our own K-Pop merchandise online shop.
One time, we joined a K-Pop festival in Batangas City organized by K-Ala Eh, a group of K-Pop fans, as a merchant. I had so much fun and I was inspired to also organized events so I can gather my fellow K-Pop stans and celebrate what we all love. Then, the rest is history. 😉
How do you handle last-minute changes or unexpected challenges during event planning?
– Since I hosted most of the events I organized, it’s kind of easy for me to take control of the event flow. If there are unexpected challenges, I make sure to inform the audience of the what’s currently happening and set proper expectations before I proceed on making amendments. Like for example, for delays due to supplier or event participants being late, I make sure to entertain the audience while waiting by playing games or doing on the spot interviews.
What strategies do you use to enhance fan engagement and create memorable experiences at K-pop events?
– In every K-Pop event, expect that the attendees are from different fandoms. So at the beginning of every event I always do fandom roll calls, with this I’ll have a rough idea of what would be topics that I’ll be opening and the punchlines I’ll be throwing for higher engagement. If I see that a lot of the attendees are from the fandom of an artist that has an upcoming concert, I’ll be engaging to them by asking if they’ll be watching the concert, what stages are they looking forward to, etc.
How do you stay updated on K-pop trends and fan preferences to ensure the success of K-pop events?
– For K-Pop music, I always listen to Spotify’s ‘K-Pop On’ to be updated of the new releases. And then for news and trends, aside from ‘allkpop‘ and ‘soompi‘ I also follow different K-Pop PH fan pages like PKS and Philippine K-Pop Convention.
Can you share an example of a challenging K-pop event you organized and how you overcame obstacles to ensure its success?
– The last event that I handled is actually the most challenging one. The sound system did not arrive on time that’s why the dance rehearsals of the contestants were delayed then the program proper started an hour and a half behind. Because of that, we need to cut out some portions of the program just to meet the time allotted for the main highlights.
Can you share any tips or tricks for those who wish to organize their own event?
– For all aspiring event organizers, first things first, you need to know what is the kind of event you wanted and what is the goal of the event.
Second, you need to determine how much budget would be needed to know if you should get sponsors or you can just do out of pocket expense. Third, you need to set a date, time, and venue considering the availability and capability of your ideal attendees.
Next is, you need to create a team that can help you with planning and manpower especially on the day of the event. Believe me, you cannot do it alone. There should always be at least one who you can ask help or assistance from. Then lastly, you need to promote the event as much as you can either online or offline.
Anything that you would like to promote?
– As of now, I don’t have any events set. You may follow me on Facebook (Mia Bacila) https://www.facebook.com/MBKPopEvents
or visit mbkpopevents.carrd.co to be updated of my upcoming events or affiliations. 😉
Thank you so much, Mia Bacila, for sharing some photos and your journey from being a K-pop fan to becoming an event organizer. I do hope that everyone can be inspired by her words and experience.
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