Uhoda Folks: Passionately creative

The Uhoda Group’s events department is made up of complementary companies. As CEO of Folks, John Jeanquart reports to the group while maintaining great freedom and fluidity in the management of his teams. The diversity of the agency’s activities was enough to appeal to someone who has worked for a long time as a marketing manager in big companies such as Red Bull. “Upon my return to Belgium, and having spent my entire career in marketing and events, I quickly became involved in a certain business model. The satisfaction of our customers is a priority and we manage to retain 80% of them. Excellence and attention to detail are as important as the well-being of my colleagues.”

Raising awareness of climate issues and saving the planet also drives the company’s policy. “We are among the first to offer our customers a calculation of CO2 emissions for the planned event.”

The use of new technologies, and in particular AI, artificial intelligence, has also become an important factor. “It’s about preceding the trend and customer demand. I see AI as a creativity challenger, an effective tool but never to the detriment of humans. AI can provide ideas but does not replace the teamwork. It allows us to project ourselves into a universe based on an event, to innovate while ensuring that we preserve our synergy and our sharing of ideas.”

Folks has 30 employees, twenty of whom are on permanent contracts. “Which is not so common in events. Each client is different and every project has its share of challenges. Alongside certain giants, such as Toyota Europe Sibelga, Abbvie, Stellantis, Noshaq or UWE, we deal each request with the same enthusiasm, whatever its size.”

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The Liège roots are part of the company’s DNA. “Stephan Uhoda is from Liège and is very involved in the life of the city. In fact, the Liège ice rink that we organize every end of the year is close to our hearts. We aim to establish a balance between the Cité ardente and our teams Brussels and Dutch speakers, we all feed off each other, which represents a great strength. Events rhyme with passion, rigor, and fun. We have to have fun to give the best of ourselves.”

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