Are you attending any marketing, podcast or tech events this summer?

Two weeks ago I attended Spotify’s All Ears conference in Berlin, beautifully organised by event and pr experts Opnrs. The whole experience reminded me how much I like in-person events. One talk presented the latest study on podcasts in the German market. Some key takeaways were that 63% of German podcast listeners listen to podcasts everyday and 75% of all listeners have discovered new brands through Podcasts ads (def. me). I loved getting the latest Spotify insights and got super inspired to use (more) Podcasts ads for my next marketing project.

Because of this reminder how energising face-to-face events are, I wanted to share a few that you can attend in the upcoming weeks, and as always my favourite female-founded company, as well as a ?? and a really fantastic documentary.

Worthwhile conferences and events this season

This collection is obviously just based on my personal list of preferences. Do you have a favourite in-person event not listed? Let me know here!

House of beautiful business - Tangier

If I wouldn’t be on holiday that week, I would definitely attend this 4-day festival (happening right now). The program for Tangier includes private dinners with local and international hosts, followed by all-day programs featuring talks, performances, screenings, and so much more. Here are some speaker highlights that stood out to me: Sara Sabry, CEO of Deep Space Initiative & first Egyptian Arab African woman in space, Pelonomi Moiloa, a leading (female) voice in AI and Aziz Abusarah journalist and ‘peace builder’. Not the names that immediately ring a bell but when you dive into their stories, they sure leave a lasting impression. For who: They say for the ‘community of visionaries and leaders who love to act’, translated that means impact founders, industry leaders, strategists, policy makers, futurists, creatives, artists,…

OMR Festival - Hamburg

The biggest marketing conference in Europe is (yet again) expecting close to 50 000 people at the Hamburg Exhibition center on the 7/8th of May. Apart from mega celebrity Kim Kardashian, they confirmed industry stars like Tim Ferriss (the podcast that introduced me to so many topics), Kara Swisher, Rick Rubin, Jeff Koons as speakers, alongside senior executives of companies like Pinterest, Meltwater, Salesforce,… What's particularly noteworthy is the applaudable representation of female founders at this gathering, of companies like Westwing, Selfapy, and Ooia and others.

I will certainly make sure to sum up all highlights and trends of the festival in one of my next newsletters.

For who: This conference offers so much more than just marketing content, I would recommend it to everyone at least once (Disclaimer: A lot of the sessions and masterclasses are in German but there are plenty in English).

The Next Web - Amsterdam

The annual tech conference of my old company ‘The Next Web’ is happening for the 18th time at the Taets Art and Event Park in the 3rd week of June. The event has a reputation of spearheading ‘What’s next in tech’ and fostering meaningful connections between startups and investors.

Some speaker recommendation: The conference is such a great chance to meet and learn from the leadership team at OnlyFans, Microsoft, Netflix, Vinted, N26, etc. I'm particularly intrigued by a session scheduled for Day: “I Speak no... Charting languages with LLMs” explaining how to uncover the challenges of charting languages with LLMs, and the commitment to inclusivity for non-native speakers and those with impairments. For who: Everyone working in tech, startup founders, investors, governments, cooperates,…you can get a feeling for the vibe here

Free monthly events - Everywhere

And yes, I am aware that all of these festival have a hefty price tag but the good news is your company mostly likely will pay for the ticket (if relevant to your work). If you are still studying or can’t afford the ticket, the two latter offer the chance to work on-site and receive a ticket in exchange. And if none of these cities are near you, then I recommend two of my go-to inspiration events. Both free, in over 100 cities and monthly: Creative Mornings for everyone who identifies at somewhat creative, and Ladies Wind & Design for my ladies ?? ♀?

Female-founded company I love ??

Continuing with the event industry focus, I'll spotlight a company you've likely interacted with countless times, unaware of its female co-founder. The event ticket company Evenbrite was co-founded by Julia Hartz and is currently worth $512m.

Something on my radar ??

Ever looking for a way to brighten up your remote zoom/teams meeting? Why not invite a goat to the meeting ?? You ‘goatta’ be kidding me? No, actually this is a service that I heard of this week and I think it’s genius. We all know these days that seem like an endless chain of meetings, try it one of those,…and gift someone a smile.

What I am watching ??

Did you know that Copenhagen aims to be the first carbon neutral capital in 2025? Watching the documentary below you understand how the city anticipates to achieve this target, which is based on the four pillars: energy consumption, energy production, mobility and city administration initiatives.

As always, thanks for reading x

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