THE
ELEVATOR PITCH
the new magazine was sent to 6.000 Belux travel professionals, a Flemish and a French version. The week after all 3 websites were online, the first newsletters were sent and we have not stopped since. — Interview with Jan Peeters, CEO of TRAVelMedia Belux
TravMagazine Belux, Travel360° and TravEcademy are B2B communication brands, each with its own positioning and focus. Together, the 3 brands are by far market leaders in the Belux travel industry. An international team of 10 experts realizes a daily flow of news, marketing & sales information, analysis & opiniated content & training & didactical information for all travel professionals. The 3 brands make an ideal combination for all communication strategies & targets because of their combination of reach, content and targetting.”
Key Product Information: TravMagazine Belux is the leading journalistic medium in the Belux travel industry. Every two weeks the magazine lands on the desk of the belux travel industry professionals. It is the heart of every advertising campaign. The TravMagazine Belux newsletter reaches the same target group on daily basis, with hot & relevant news articles. Travel360° is the marketing & communication medium of more than 150 companies and brands in the Belux travel industry. They have access to their own online communication platform and can send their messages whenever they want directly to the community of travel professionals. The Travel360° magazine is a quarterly, uniquely styled edition with timeless content. Travecademy is the leading education, training & learning platform for travel industry professionals. It is a knowledge and information source that allows travel advisors to sell the right product to the right target group. Travel advisors are motivated to participate in the trainings through a system of push & rewards.
The TRAVelMedia Belux ELEVATOR PITCH
Team Jan Peeters – CEO Bart Matthijs – Editor In Chief Adeline Willems – Editorial Coordinator Kate Vansteenkiste - Sales Manager & Director Operations TJ van Apeldoorn - Commercial Director Sharon Evers – Magazine Coordinator Judith Wetselaar – Web Coordinator Iris Beenen – Graphic Designer Dennis de Groot – Commerical Manager Dennis Ebbers – Commercial Manager
The travel industry knows you as the “Founding Father” of Travel360°. In October 2021, you launched, besides Travel360°, Travmagazine and Travecademy. That was considered as a bold move. Why this new initiative, and why the timing? To me the timing was perfect! Remember that Travel360° never went silent during the pandemic. We have always kept on creating content, our clients could count on the communication platform and newsletters, and we have launched numerous initiatives such as white papers, online magazine, trainings, and online events. The crisis has been tough for us, like for the rest of the travel industry. But we always have kept a positive attitude, and in summer 2021 we decided to invest, expand, and grow. We are firm believers in the future of travel, and we believe in the importance of communication.
We work with a unique, international organization concept. We have a team of 4 professionals in Belgium, and another 6 persons work from Hilversum in the Netherlands. This allows us to focus on our home markets, while guaranteeing quality, speed and respect for timings. What are the advantages of your new set up for readers? And what are the advantages for advertisers? I think that travel industry professionals never had such an offer of professional content: we have a journalistic approach, we offer a 24/7 communication platform, we publish market analyses as well as opiniated columns, and we give the opportunity to work on product- and market knowledge. Information is power, more than ever. Of course, all potential advertisers have the advantage to have a “one stop shop” for their communication plans.
We can work with small and bigger budgets, and we have experience in setting op powerful communication campaigns throughout the B2B market, in both languages. So you started with a new company, a new team and a new partnership in the middle of the pandemic crisis. That must have been challenging! It was fun, man! We were fortunate that Bart and Adeline, two experienced and ultra-motivated professionals, were keen to join us from day one. Kate confirmed her status as a highly respected commercial spokesperson for our partners. The Dutch team embraced the new initiative with full enthusiasm. But of course, we had to launch this new set up in crazy circumstances, working and communicating online, with a very limited number of physical meetings. To me, it was an example that the combination of good ideas, professionalism and dedication always work. I believe in 3 T’s: Team, Trust, Talent. It just works. We have been successful from day 1, with happy readers, happy clients and a happy team. The future looks great. Hell, yes!
You started a new company, with new business partners. Could you tell us how and why this new partnership was created? Travelmedia Belux is a 50/50 joint venture between Tom & T.J. van Apeldoorn and myself & Kate. We have always had open communication lines in the past, and from the beginning we saw the corona crisis as a challenge, but also as an opportunity. In spring 2021 we decided to start concrete talks about a joint Belux initiative, we negotiated all through summer and we launched on October 1st and on October 7th the first edition of
USP’s for communication partners: • • • • •
100% reach in target group of travel professionals 100% brand awareness Various communication possibilities Excellent campaign opportunities Experienced, professional & international team