Portfolio 2026 La Spezia, Italy · On-site in Liguria, remote or hybrid · Available now

Sofia Grandoni

Communication, PR & Event Planning

I plan events and campaigns that people remember, and that hit their numbers. I've delivered a VIP awards night for 37 and a product launch for 1,400+ across two countries, and handled the brief, vendors, budget and story myself.

Let's talk See the work
1,400+people reached per campaign across EMEIA
+80%sales growth from a social-first retail campaign
30→90%event participation after reworking content and storytelling
20+vendors managed, 9% budget saved through negotiation
What I do

From brief
to the room.

Four skills, one job: getting the right message to the right people, then making them show up. Each one is backed by work I've delivered.

i.

Event Planning

Concept, venue scouting, vendors, catering, AV, hybrid logistics and on-the-day running, from 37-guest VIP ceremonies to multi-site launch weeks.

8 weeks from kickoff to awards night
ii.

Communication

Campaign identity, internal comms, newsletters and storytelling that turns an invitation into an occasion people want to be part of.

Design selected globally over two regions
iii.

PR & Stakeholders

Press releases and media kits (MA training), pitching to senior leadership, and managing partners and vendors across cultures in four languages.

EMEIA representative in the global pitch
iv.

Digital & Content

Content calendars, Instagram, TikTok and email, plus KPI reporting. Social-first campaigns tied to in-store or on-site activation.

500+ followers in one month
Selected projects

Work that
moved people.

Launches, ceremonies and campaigns I owned end to end: concept, budget, vendors, communication and reporting.

Product launchBrand identityEvent

Launch 2026 — EMEIA Campaign

Global tech company · Ireland & Türkiye · 1,438 people · 3 weeks

Three regions competed to design the global launch campaign. I created the EMEIA identity, pitched it, and it won.

Brief

A three-week launch celebration for 1,438 employees in two countries, with EMEIA competing against two other global regions for the campaign design.

What I did

Built the visual identity and colour palette from scratch and presented it in the global pitch. Negotiated with 10+ vendors (decor, food stations, activities, branded merchandise) and tracked remote shipping. When the timeline shifted, I re-planned and delivered in 3 days.

Results

  • Design selected globally over the other two regions
  • 1,400+ branded units produced and shipped
  • 9% under budget ($11K → $10K), no quality loss
  • Delivered in 3 days after a critical timeline change
Brand campaignSocial mediaRetail activation

Dramatically Different

Clinique · Brown Thomas, Cork · Premium retail · 1 month

A heritage product went from 10th to 4th in store, with no agency and no playbook.

Brief

Reposition a heritage skincare product through social-first storytelling. The brand ranked 10th in the store.

What I did

Designed the whole campaign: storytelling framework, content calendar, channel mix (Instagram, TikTok, email) and daily publishing, paired with in-store activation and KPI reports to store leadership.

Results

  • +80% sales vs. previous year
  • 10th → 4th in-store brand ranking
  • 500+ new followers in one month
  • Recognised by Area and Store Manager
VIP eventHybridProduction

Excellence Recognition Awards

Global tech company · EMEIA · 37 honourees, 77+ guests · Biannual

A VIP ceremony produced in 8 weeks. My seating plan became the standard for every edition since.

Brief

Celebrate 37 peer-nominated employees with an onsite ceremony and a parallel virtual event, on a fixed budget.

What I did

Ran the full event: venue booking and styling, catering, florals, rentals, workshops, award bundles, invitations and visual content. I proposed switching from one long table to round tables, which improved capacity and sightlines and meant no one was left out.

Results

  • Kickoff to event in 8 weeks
  • Layout adopted for all future editions
  • Venue styling praised in leadership feedback
  • Mentored a new coordinator during live planning
Integrated campaignAwarenessMulti-site

Global Accessibility Awareness Day

Global tech company · Ireland & Türkiye · 1,368 people · 1 week

An awareness week with onsite and virtual events and its own visual identity. 94% of the target audience took part.

Brief

Raise awareness of accessibility across two countries, with onsite and remote audiences and many teams involved.

What I did

Planned the week's events and created all promotional materials (logo, banners, newsletters). Coordinated accessibility experts, finance, facilities and external vendors, and wrote a prerequisites guide that every site adopted.

Results

  • 94% participation (575 of 613)
  • +30% onsite attendance vs. previous year
  • 90%+ virtual participation
  • Format chosen for wider rollout

More work

Community · Internal comms

Ambassador Community

I lead a network of 20 ambassadors who link the engagement team with 1,400+ employees, using weekly newsletters, Slack, bi-weekly meetings and an onboarding deck now used for every new cohort.

Active members: 5 → 20
Content · Digital exhibition

Virtual Cultural Gallery

I conceived and built a virtual gallery and office exhibition celebrating cultural diversity, with AI-generated imagery across four themes. I also built the website myself.

1,300+ people reached · adopted as reference format
Experience

Where I've
worked.

International roles across luxury retail and global tech, always client-facing and always close to the brand.

  1. 2026 — Present

    Project & Events Coordinator

    Global tech company · EMEIA · Cork, Ireland

    • End-to-end delivery of communication campaigns and events for 1,400+ people across EMEIA markets.
    • Event planning: concept and coordination of regional launches and VIP ceremonies, on budget and to brand standards.
    • Stakeholders & vendors: main point of contact for leadership and international partners; 20+ vendors managed, 9% saved.
    • Engagement: participation raised from 30% to 90%+ through new storytelling and content planning.
    • AI workflows: automation that cut operational effort by 85%.
  2. 2024 — 2026

    Technical Support Representative

    Global tech company · Cork, Ireland

    • Managed complex cases and international client relationships with 90–100% satisfaction.
    • Wrote technical communication materials and guides adopted across teams, reducing support requests by 70%.
  3. 2023 — 2024

    Sales Consultant

    Clinique at Brown Thomas · Cork, Ireland

    • Retail & marketing: in-store and social-first campaigns that grew sales by 80% and lifted the store's regional ranking from 10th to 4th.
    • Event activation: regular promotional events and personal consultations that strengthened the bond between brand and client.
  4. 2018 — 2019

    Sales Advisor

    Foot Locker · Genoa, Italy

    • Client relations and consistently above-target sales in a fast-paced retail environment.
About me

Languages first,
then people.

I started with languages because I wanted to talk to more people. I moved into communication because I wanted those people to listen.

A degree in Foreign Languages for Business and Tourism in Genoa, then an MA in Communication for Creative Industries in Milan. Since then every job has been some version of the same task: understand an audience, then design the moment that moves it. That could be a perfume counter, a launch week or an awards night.

Four years in Ireland taught me to work across cultures, time zones and big organisations, to pitch to senior leaders, and to keep twenty vendors on the same timeline. I also learned that the best events are planned on a spreadsheet and remembered for a feeling.

Now I'm coming home to Liguria, bringing an international network, four languages and an AI-assisted way of working, so routine prep takes minutes and more time goes into the ideas.

Outside work: the sea (cold is better), trail running and anything outdoors.

Design & Content

Canva, Adobe Illustrator, Figma, Keynote, PowerPoint, CapCut, iMovie

Social & Marketing

Instagram Business, TikTok Business, HubSpot, Google Analytics

Project & Events

Wrike, Miro, Quip, Google Workspace, Slack, Teams

Data & Reporting

Excel (advanced), Google Sheets, Numbers, KPI dashboards

AI & Automation

ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, AI agents

Contact

Let's talk about your next event.

I'm looking for roles as an Event Planner / Manager, in PR & Communication, or as an Account / Project Coordinator in agencies specialising in marketing, communication and events. Based in La Spezia and available now: on-site in Liguria, remote or hybrid, and happy to travel for events in Italy and abroad.