Six years of Wallonia in front of Belgian decision-makers

The challenge

VISITWallonia wants to convince Dutch-speaking companies to hold their meetings and events across the language border, in Wallonia. Through the French-language newsletters, it also reaches Walloon companies in their own region.

The offer is large and varied: hotels, conference centres, heritage and museum venues, provincial and city convention bureaus, and team-building providers. The question is how to get that offer in front of the people who decide on venues and budgets, without it getting lost in general advertising.

Sound familiar? Then this approach could work for you too.

The formula

Every year we plan a series of newsletters entirely dedicated to Wallonia, timed for the spring and autumn decision periods. Each edition usually features five partners.

• A fixed series: 17 editions since 2020, four a year since 2025, plus special editions on the Van der Valk hotels (October 2023) and on five reasons to choose Wallonia (December 2025).
• Insertions in two languages: every insertion runs on CORPORATEPLANNER.be and is published in both Dutch and French. We take care of the translation.
• Lasting visibility: because VISITWallonia books new campaigns every year, all Walloon insertions stay online.
• Social media and Facebook ads: we share every insertion on our channels and use ads to drive additional traffic to it.
• Blogs and landing pages: insertions are also featured in blogs and themed landing pages, built for GEO so that AI search engines pick them up faster.
• A dedicated Wallonia page: one page brings together the entire Walloon offer on CORPORATEPLANNER.be, in French and Dutch.
• A fixed point of contact: every edition ends with VISITWallonia’s contact person for free advice, so readers can talk to a specialist straight away.

The results

• Continuity: six years after the first mailing, the series is still running, and since 2025 with more editions than ever.
• Partners who come back: 17 of the 34 partners appeared more than once. Mont-des-Pins took part six times; Kloster Heidberg, Hainaut Meetings & Events and the Van der Valk hotels five times each; the Abbey of Stavelot and Les Jardins de la Molignée four times each.
• Always something new: alongside these regulars, new venues join every year, such as Carré Janson in Tournai and La Boverie in Liège in 2026.
• A special that stood out: the French-language edition on the Van der Valk hotels in Wallonia (November 2024) achieved a 43.5% open rate and a 30% click rate.
• An archive that keeps working: 85 insertions that stay online, in two languages, and resurface through blogs and landing pages.

Four lessons for your own campaign

1. Go for a series, not a one-off. If you come back in the same period every year, readers start to count on you.
2. Bring your partners together. A group that brings its partners along shares the costs and gives readers a complete picture of the region in a single mailing.
3. Let readers talk to someone straight away. A contact block with a name and phone number turns a tip into a real conversation.
4. Have your partners book a basic insertion first. When they come back, let them add an inspiring tip to that basic insertion. The tip also pushes the basic insertion up.