After 10 years of preparation, this year was the day. In April, King Willem-Alexander opened the doors of Floriade Expo 2022. During this world horticultural exhibition, Dutch horticulture - in cooperation with national and international participants and partners - brought the theme "Growing Green Cities" to life. As a media partner, STROOM supported the Floriade team in planning and executing the media campaigns.
Rachel Camps (Director Marketing) & Sandra Koopmans (Project Manager Marketing Communications) - together with the rest of the marketing team - were responsible for a wide range of communication elements of the Expo. A few months after the closure, we are happy to look back together on the challenging, intensive collaboration.
- How do you describe each other - after this Floriade collaboration - in 5 key words?
Sandra: "Rachel is focused, creative, resilient and above all, a marketing professional, bourgondian and limoncello fan."
Rachel: "Sandra is an experienced marketing communications specialist, a brand builder, down-to-earth, fun-loving and definitely loves good food."
- What do you get energy from, privately and/or professionally?
Sandra: "Of a lot actually. Nice and inspiring people around you, starting the morning with a good cup of coffee and a project of which everything still has to be thought up. For Floriade, for example, we wrote our strategic plan together and created focus, then took on various projects in a consistent and complementary way."
Rachel: "I completely agree. The projects ranged from the Floriade corporate identity, digital assets, ATL campaign, park communications, campaign productions, sales support materials, product development and pricing, marketing automation to joint promotions with a major national retailer. Together with our team, we did a lot of work."
- Starting in late 2019, you enthusiastically started working for Floriade. What was your career like before this time?
Sandra: "We were both self-employed in various marketing (communications) roles. Rachel as a Service and Experience Design consultant, after permanent employment in the leisure industry at Disneyland Paris, Efteling and Floriade Expo 2012 (Venlo), among others. Myself, after working for over nine years at ASICS Europe as a Marketing Communications Specialist with assignments at brands such as WE Fashion, Footlocker, McCann and Kana."
- What elements of the job convinced you to take on this challenge?
Rachel: "I had a very positive aftertaste of Floriade in Venlo and wanted to do it again in the position of project manager marketing with a wonderful theme; "Growing Green Cities."
Sandra: "For me, the role at Floriade was extra appealing because I could now help build an organization and the brand, from A to Z, where the theme of the Expo perfectly matched my interests. That makes the work even more enjoyable."
- During this period, you worked frequently and intensively with external agencies. What aspects in the cooperation with STROOM made the difference for you?
Rachel: "We did indeed work with several external agencies prior to and during the opening of Floriade Expo 2022. It was an intensive period. Not only for us but also for the agencies. We really liked the personalities of the STROOM-professionals with whom we dealt on a daily basis. Open, honest and decisive. Exactly what we needed.
In challenging times you also expect an agency to be resilient, solution- and service-oriented. We absolutely found this at STROOM "
- The park has since closed its doors. Looking back at Floriade Expo 2022, what were your personal highlights?
Sandra: "For me, that was the first day exploring the park privately. We had a wonderful time wandering around Utopia and Green Island. Nothing had to be done, not time-bound and just experiencing what we had worked so hard for over the last few years."
Rachel: "My personal highlight were the last months of the Expo. We were running optimally as a team and everything comes together. Only then could I really enjoy it and we saw the visitor numbers increase!"
- What are you going to miss most from this period?
Sandra: "I think I can speak for both of us that we will especially miss the colleagues and partners with whom we have worked so intensively and the daily adrenaline we had to face challenges."
Rachel: "Agreed! It was quite a job with many setbacks and low points as well, and the very feeling afterwards, when we succeed and 'hold on' to each other to keep going again, that is then, however ironic, a worldly feeling."
- What do your future plans look like?
Rachel: "Take a break and then move forward full of energy! Whether in the leisure or lifestyle industry or at a CSR organization there are plenty of organizations where we can share our knowledge and experiences. And who knows, maybe we'll do it together again!"
- Do you have any personal advice for future marketers eager to be part of a large-scale (temporary) event/project?
Sandra: "Always do it! It's a unique, educational and most of all fun experience. You can always call us for questions and tips!"
Missed Floriade Expo 2022? Check here for a recap: