A year ago, Marcia Trip stepped into a world that was quite new to her. No more e-commerce or ticket sales, but manufacturing and logistics instead. It took a bit of adjusting, as she was hit by a ‘tsunami’ of information. She quickly found her feet: “The dynamic at the Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs is so wonderful. People coming together, exchanging ideas and helping one another: it felt right straight away!”
As marketing manager for Maak & Logistiek, Marcia and her team are responsible for the marketing of events including TechniShow, ESEF Maakindustrie, ICT&Logistiek and Logistica Next. “Their aim: to build strong brands and platforms that are relevant to the sector. That means understanding what’s happening in the market, bringing the right people together and ensuring that both visitors and exhibitors get real value from a trade fair.”
’s new field of work
Prior to this, Marcia had worked for companies including Etsy and Ticketmaster, and had lived in England for sixteen years. She had plenty of marketing experience, but the sectors were new to her. “That’s precisely what I found interesting. You have to take a fresh look: who is our visitor? What’s going on? Why would people make time to come to a trade fair?” That meant listening a lot. Having conversations, asking questions and trying to really understand the sector. “You also discover just how much passion there is in those worlds. Here you see people talking about their profession with such enthusiasm. It’s really infectious!”
Building something new
Marcia joined at a time when a lot was changing within Jaarbeurs . The central marketing department was reorganised into cluster teams. For Production & Logistics, this meant rebuilding a lot from scratch. “Right from the start, we’ve been working on establishing how we want to work,” she explains. “That makes it complicated at times, but also really enjoyable.” It’s a real team effort, she says: “I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together. Julia, Jacob and the rest of the cluster: everyone works incredibly hard and contributes ideas. We’re still discovering a lot, but when I look at where we were a year ago and where we are now, we’ve made enormous strides.”
New systems, new opportunities
With the change came new systems, tools and new ways of working together. “That brings a lot of change,” says Marcia. “But that’s precisely why you learn quickly and are constantly discovering new possibilities.” And that’s what energises her: “We’re getting better every month. We’re learning how to collaborate more effectively, how to make better use of those tools, and what does and doesn’t work. As long as we keep moving forward, we’re on the right track.”
Feedback means engagement
What helps her to keep moving forward is feedback. Preferably as much as possible, she says. “Positive or negative. When people give feedback, it means they’re engaged. And that they have expectations. That they want something to be even better.” According to Marcia, this is also where the strength of the trade fairs organised by Jaarbeurs lies. The conversations don’t stop once an event has ended. “We want to be a platform for those sectors. A place where people can connect, share knowledge and move forward together.”
Marcia is delighted to have made the move to Jaarbeurs : “There’s so much going on here. No two days are the same. And there’s still enormous potential. We organise high-calibre trade fairs, but above all I see the opportunity to build brands that remain relevant to their sector all year round. As far as I’m concerned, what we’ve achieved over the past year is just the beginning.”
