Organising is something we do together. Laila van der Linden, event manager at Frankwatching, talks about how she organised the Frankwatching SocialToday Event 2024 at our Beatrix Theatre and meeting centre Jaarbeurs MeetUp. "I experienced the cooperation with Jaarbeurs as very nice!"
Fortunately, Jaarbeurs has plenty of options, and they suggested moving the event to the Beatrix Theatre, where there would be enough space for the large number of participants. And it was another success! It was great that the team once again worked so well with me to find a solution.Laila van der Linden, event manager at Frankwatching
For anyone involved in or interested in marketing, communication, strategy and AI, there is one platform you simply cannot ignore: Frankwatching. A platform and community with over 600 experts who share their knowledge via articles, infographics, videos and podcasts on the blog. And to top it all off, there’s the annual SocialToday Event. This eighth edition of the successful event focused on new developments in artificial intelligence and its application within content marketing and social media. The theme of the day was therefore: Shaping the future of social media.
Although professionalism was clearly noticeable, there was still room for a convivial, informal atmosphere thanks to the deliberate approach to the programme: coffee and lunch breaks were optimally used as networking opportunities. The setting of the event invited sharing experiences. This line was also continued on stage. For instance, Rochelle Wielinga and Kasper Figee, content and campaign specialist at Zeeman, talked about the power of communities, the challenge of supporting 1,300 shops on social media and the choices involved. Steffie Jansen, Marketing & Communications Manager at KiKa, followed them up with an inspiring story on fundraising through TikTok. There was also police officer Kim van der Weij with an inspiring live podcast and Susan van Haren, Manager Editorial & Publishing RTL/Videoland, gave a keynote on the reality of social media.
It came as no surprise that Frankwatching chose Jaarbeurs as its venue, given their previous positive experiences of organising events at the Utrecht conference centre. However, this was the first time the event had been held in the Beatrix Theatre. In previous years, the organisers had always opted for the modern Media Plaza conference venue, but due to the growing number of attendees at this popular event, this venue had become too small. Van der Linden: “Fortunately, Jaarbeurs has plenty of options, and they suggested moving the event to the Beatrix Theatre, where there would be enough space for the large number of participants. And it was another success! It was great that the team once again worked so well with me.”
“The Jaarbeurs team were waiting for me with a cup of coffee and were on hand all day to help me with any questions.”
Laila is also positive about the collaboration in the run-up to the event and on the day itself. “I found working with the team a real pleasure once again; it really feels like a partnership where we work together to achieve the best possible result. On the day of the event, I didn’t feel any stress at all; the Jaarbeurs team welcomed me warmly in the morning with a cup of coffee and were on hand all day to help me with any queries. From setting up the furniture to cleaning the chairs and dealing with last-minute requests for things I’d forgotten myself, for example. That was absolutely brilliant.”
Van der Linden looks back on the SocialToday Event with satisfaction: "What I really like as an event manager is when an event really looks like a success. That is important both for us as an organisation and for the partners and visitors. Because the possibilities of the Beatrix Theatre in combination with the meeting rooms of Jaarbeurs are so diverse, we could use them in any way we wanted. The combination of these locations and the thoughtfulness of the Jaarbeurs team really contributed to the success. For example, they gave good advice on the right set-up to properly divide up the various rooms, making it look really good and giving the participants the right atmosphere."
“The venues and the team’s ability to think proactively really contributed to the success.”
With such a successful eighth edition under its belt, Frankwatching is now focusing on the next one. Van der Linden: “Social Today is an annual event. We also organise our other marketing-related events at Jaarbeurs, such as our latest AI Marketing Event in April, which we’re hosting at the Supernova conference centre. I look forward to organising many more successful events together in the years to come!”
Account manager Kelly
Do you have a cool idea for an event or awards show? And are you looking for a great centrally located event location for this? We have the space and passion to make your event in Utrecht a success. Contact me and I will be happy to tell you more about all the possibilities.
jaarbeurs+31(0)30 295 58 81
