Today we’d like to introduce you to Valerie Bihet.
Hi Valerie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My professional career is a result of a series of events, and circumstances that led me to take what I thought would be “logical” steps although when thinking of it, there may have been a few instances when something emotionally clicked. I am originally from Paris and my background is actually in finance. I did an internship at a firm specializing in mergers & acquisitions.
I did the work, but upon completing the internship, my supervisor at the time told me – “Valerie, you did well, but I saw no sparks except when you were attending events. It’s like you were a different person”; “hmmm” I said to myself… I love people, and love connecting with people that’s true so when I came back to Paris, I founded a staffing agency for the event industry called “Agence Capella”.
I was so young (23) but already had a good sense of my purpose. Fast forward a year, Capella was providing staffing for an event Disney was leading. I went to the President of Disney at the time and said to him: “you may not know yet, but I have a feeling you will need me”. A year after, I was hired by Disneyland Paris and later on as Public Relations Director at Club Med Paris. In those roles, I produced and managed the event teams for many of the two companies’ largest events including Disney’s 5th Anniversary Celebration, Club Med’s 50th Anniversary and The Race, and the world-renowned Tour de France.
While at Club Med, the opportunity in the North American offices presented itself and I transferred to the Miami office in 2000 as the Communication, Public Relations, and Partnership Director. During these four years, I managed large high-profile events and was responsible for all marketing and press events. In 2004, I decided to start my own company and founded VIBE, an event design and destination management company, in Miami, Florida.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I wish it had been! We pride ourselves on being forward-thinking and responsive. In 2020, when the event industry was at a standstill, we expanded our production services to provide in-person, virtual, and hybrid events and responded to a demand resulting in new clients. The transition began in early 2020 with the pandemic and is an ongoing expansion plan as technology evolves.
Most recently, we invested in Decentraland to provide a virtual experience with the Metaverse. I personally recently participated in a presentation in Detroit on this topic. If you are looking for specifics, the struggles I have experienced are related to the pandemic:
• Adapting the agency’s business model to a digital one and learning a completely different way of leading events, becoming almost like a TV producer, was definitely the biggest challenge.
• Having some of my team members leave because they could not adapt to the numerous changes.
• And lastly, the margins on digital or hybrid events aren’t comparable to those associated with in-person events. This means that we have to be more aggressive about generating new businesses.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
VIBE is a Miami-based award-winning and forward-thinking full-service production agency that specializes in the creation – from concept development to execution – of in-person, virtual, and hybrid events for the Corporate industry. Our clients are international companies headquartered in Europe with an established presence in the United States or US-based companies. They are companies in the luxury, technology, banking, and pharmaceutical industries. VIBE also provides Destination Management services to European-based companies (travel agencies) handling corporate travel and event in the United States. These destination Management Services include but are not limited to: Transportation; Catering; Venue Sourcing; Staffing, and customized activities (sightseeing and team building)
We’ve produced over 1,350 events ranging from 40 to 600 PAX since our inception in 2004, for over 2 million attendees – an average of 75 events a year! The core foundation of our events lies in helping corporate brands drive revenue, increase retention, build brand recognition, and motivate their teams.
Our events are known for being memorable experiences – We create unique events by incorporating an emotional element into each event we craft (360º + 1º approach ), allowing us to create memorable experiences. If we can move people, we are moving on to something else – of course, it is still about the event, the motivation, and the business goals, but It’s about something more, and this changes based on the people we host. In that way, our events are truly unique.
We’ve gained our client’s trust by investing their budget efficiently and effectively. As a result, 80% of our business has been repeating business. I am most proud of having created a forward-thinking agency. This has allowed us to get over bumps, hills, and mountains!
What’s next?
Over the last couple of years, the event industry has undergone major changes.
Whether you’re an event planner, the owner of an event management company like me, a supplier, or an event venue manager, keeping up with and understanding the trends to stay ahead of the game remains my main priority. As to big change, well… I would love to have the opportunity to join forces with another company… maybe one day…
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevibeagency/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thevibeagency
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-vibe-agency/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/thevibeagency
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VIBEAGENCY
