Never a dull moment traveling with Loekie

Loekie was upset! She doesn’t speak, but they will show you.

At the camping in Frankfurt, as always I let her out. After a while I couldn’t find her. 

Wel, I thought she would come back, wasn’t worried at all, and after a while I heard from far a cat meowing. I know immediately it’s Loekie. I went outside my camper and looked around. Then I realized she was not at camping but outside. I spotted her along the cycling path and watched the people coming by. Showing me, I need time outside and for myself, I have been too long inside. But how did she get there? I thought she probably found a hole in the fence, no, she jumped over the fence. And look at me, yes despite being 12 years old I am still able to jump that high. She’s incredible and laughed at her :-) Yes, you have been for two days in a row in the camper and you wanted to go out, you go girl.

Again, what do you do…. ?

I see you now in the lovely South of France, you lucky lady. But what do you do exactly? An excellent question. Yes, I am very fortunate and grateful to work and travel in fantastic destinations and with great clients who give me energy. 

Just an important note, my collaboration with Cote d’Azur is not just posting pictures.These pictures and posts are part of a long term B2B influencer marketing. It involves much more, it’s a long term strategic decision. During this collaboration I will align my activities (online & offline) with their strategy. Which includes supporting the destinations Cannes, Nice and Mandelieu with their visibility and awareness as a meeting & event destination. And every city has a different target audience, different needs and challenges. From visiting hotels, posting stories, writing blogs I also do activities offline.

And talking about offline, I had two nice opportunities during the campaign.

CM on the Beach

No, I haven’t been posting in my bikini on the beach :-) I actually haven’t worn my bikini yet, incredible. Too busy: -) 

CM on the beach is the only event in France dealing specifically with Content Marketing in the Tourism sector. The tourism industry is ahead of our industry and they are aware of the power and impact. The meetings and events industry are running behind (as usual… being critical towards my own industry).

My client asked if I wanted to get involved in this event and yes, as I love being on stage, I was directly enthusiastic. As the project evolved we decided to do an interview and get all the partners of the campaign involved, Cannes, Mandelieu and Nice. This was great, an excellent opportunity not only creating exposure for our industry and the partners involved, also for the B2B influencer marketing campaign we are working on. Great to be back on stage, I enjoyed it!

Thank you Bertrand, Nina, Sophie and last but not least Héliéna for the preparation and moderating our session.

Curious to know more about the sessions, hereby the link. The content is only available in French…

The place to be 

IMEX Frankfurt is the largest show where destinations, countries, regions, hotels, technology providers (suppliers) and the people who organize meetings, events, exhibitions, incentives etc. (planners) and more gather once a year in Frankfurt. This year was different for me, normally I go as a visitor and pass along clients, potential clients, industry friends and have a full agenda. Now, I was supporting my client at their booth, Atout France. Standing next to Nice, as this was the best spot, along a wide corridor where lots of people were passing by. And close to booths like Antwerp, the Netherlands and more. Where the majority of the people I know will pass by.

I was not sure what to expect, also how will the show be, 2 years after Covid? Our industry who’s been hit the most and with all the challenges we have, economical crisis, sustainability and more. I informed my network and asked if they wanted to pass by the booth of Atout France, and they did, wow. And not just one! Despite that I had almost an empty agenda, I have spoken to so many people. I was talking all the time, super spontaneously, very nice. My red cap was a nice remark, and I joined the client spontaneously the 2 days after.

The power of live

Do we still need face to face meetings? Yes, absolutely! It’s the people that make our industry so special and dynamic, right?! This is exactly what appeals to me in B2B influencer marketing, the human connection and relationship, the authentic stories and making a campaign standing out from the crowd. You don’t need a huge budget to stand out.

Despite people not reacting, they definitely do see the content. This is something that I realized and noticed again during IMEX. And that’s wonderful about live events, you receive the feedback directly. No analytics needed.

It was wonderful seeing so many familiar faces, having great conversations about all sorts of things, laughing, and crying in Frankfurt. I look back on a very successful edition!

Private events

Family time. My father celebrated his 75th birthday last year and my brother and I gave him a gateway with us. We asked him where he wanted to go (he actually wanted to see the Hermitage) but he also didn’t want to travel long. After several options, he chose Amsterdam. It was 20 years since he hadn’t visited the city. He always talks about his first stay in Amsterdam, he was 16 years old (50 years ago) and started his career in construction and stayed with a local family in the city center, no shower, just a bed. And goats outside his room. In that time you didn’t stay in a hotel. A huge contrast now with the 4 star hotel we stayed in.

Just a funny anecdote, my father got stuck in the elevator of the hotel. He didn’t have his roomkey (he asked us to keep it) and couldn’t get back to his room. You need the roomkey to get access to the floor. This system exists in many hotels, for security reasons but all new to my dad. The poor man! He could laugh afterwards :-)

Can you imagine that my father took a siesta in the Vondelpark, went in the subway for the first time in his life?

The restaurants we chose on purpose, these were all places I have been with Christophe. One of them is called Moeders (mothers) and they serve typical Dutch meals. He loved it and on top he got a free dessert because it was his birthday.

It was the first time we traveled just with the 3 of us after my mother and my husband passed away. A nice moment to connect with the family. We had fun and created new and beautiful memories, which is important. But moreover, my father had a great time, he loved it.

Take the time for life events and meetings, in your professional life but moreover in your personal life. Nothing can beat a live experience!