Last week Travel Weekly hosted its 2024 Women in Travel Awards, welcoming as many as 500 guests to a vibrant ceremony held at Doltone House in Pyrmont.

The event featured blossom trees sponsored by Inside Travel Group, a Christian Louboutin giveaway and LOTS of tears (good tears we assure you).

This year the theme was ‘Follow Her Lead’ with the opening video showcasing some of the industry’s most lauded female leaders including Cinzia Burnes, Toni Ambler and Karen Deveson.

What you might not know about the event, was that it was organised in-house by an all-female team at The Misfits Media, owners of Travel Weekly. The Misfits Media is a creative agency specialising in creating unique events for companies including Woolworths, Snapchat, Samsung, Adobe, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

The Travel Weekly Team. L-R: Dan Uglow, Kelly Malkin, Hoda Alzubaidi, David Hovendon, Nancy Hromin, Grant Jones, Zach Havard and Sofia Geraghty

Delivering an event like Women in Travel Awards is no easy task – here are some of behind-the-scenes views of what it takes to put on such a big night.

If you’d like your event to look and feel as good, please contact hoda@travelweekly.com.au to find out more about working with The Misfits on your next showcase or click HERE for The Misfits’ website.

Securing 18 sponsors: Hoda Alzubaidi, general manager Travel Weekly

Hoda Alzubaidi

This year a record-breaking 18 sponsors partnered with Travel Weekly for the Women in Travel Awards 2024.

That long and impressive list included industry heavyweights such as Intrepid, TTC and Flight Centre, as well as brands outside of the industry (but with a keen interest in women) such as Christian Louboutin.

Travel Weekly’s general manager Hoda Alzubaidi said that the focus of the event, supporting women, was something that brands were happy to support.

“There are so many brands that are willing to support women starting out in the industry on their way to senior leader roles,” she said.

“The ‘rising star’ was the most requested category to be sponsored,” she continued. “Out of 18 sponsors, I think half of them wanted to sponsor the ‘rising star’ award. It shows you that, because we’ve got such a huge amount of women coming into this industry, brands are keen to support them.”

Running the show: Senior event producers Kristina Yanakieva and Rebecca Perrier

L-R (Kristina Yanakieva and Rebecca Perrier)

As senior events producer at The Misfits, Kristina Yanakieva and Rebecca Perrier are the powerhouses who make the event happen from start to finish. You won’t have seen them on the night as they would have been running around with headsets making sure the entire event ran smoothly.

Whilst an event like Women in Travel is only a few hours long, making it happen takes A LOT longer, lead producer Yanakieva says.

“The official timeline of the event stretches back to July 24 when we started conception of creative assets to then launch in August and finally execute in December. So all in all, award shows with entry submissions and judging periods can take nearly half a year to execute,” she says.

Making everyone from the sponsors to the attendees happy is no easy task, she adds.

“The biggest challenge is delivering a show format that pleases everyone. There is a fine balance between giving each category the recognition and time it deserves while keeping the awards moving quickly enough to get attendees back to celebrating on the dance floor. I think this year’s show flow allowed for both, which we were thrilled to deliver!”

The genuine love for travel is one thing that makes the industry stand out, she adds.

“What sets travel industry events apart from others I’ve worked on is the genuine passion that sponsors, attendees, and finalists bring to the table. It’s evident that everyone is there not just to celebrate career achievements but to honour their shared love for the industry and the impact it has on their lives.”

The concept: Liz Sharko, senior graphic designer

“We really wanted to answer the question: ‘what can we learn from senior women in the travel industry’,” Sharko says.

This led to the manifesto for the overall theme ‘Follow Her Lead’. You can see it below:

As the event’s creative lead, Sharko was tasked with coming up with a colour scheme and branding. The blue and gold concept was the perfect blend of travel and power, she says.

“I wanted the branding to be fresh and classy. When we think about travel the biggest thing you see in travel photography usually is blue. It embodies a sense of calm and a sense of wonder – it’s like the ocean or the sky. Gold is a really elevated colour. The colours are really beautiful, there’s this sense of a pathway, of following others.”

Activating brands with chief customer officer Chloe Noel De Kerbrech and director of client services Vanessa Rolfe

One of the best ways to make events really stand out is to provide interactive experiences they will remember. The events industry is expected to reach US$ 2,047 billion (AU$ 3178 billion) globally by 2032 and this is largely driven by a demand for immersive, personalised experiences.

Chief customer officer Chloe Noel De Kerbrech and director of client services Vanessa Rolfe are tasked with working with some of APAC’s biggest brands to understand how they can create an event that is unique to them.

Noel De Kerbrech says: “We collaborate closely with sponsors to understand their brand values, then develop unique, interactive activations that engage audiences. People typically respond well to immersive, experiential activations that offer memorable, shareable moments—think personalized experiences, tech integration, or exclusive access to products and services.”

Follow The Misfits Media’s Instagram page to find out more about our activations including this immersive audiovisual experience for construction brand Procore.

 

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Please contact hoda@travelweekly.com.au to find out more about working with The Misfits on your next showcase or click HERE for The Misfits’ website.