How Trademart optimized their monday.com setup to become an advanced marketing tool

About Trademart

Trademart is Europe’s largest B2B purchasing center, conveniently located at the foot of the Atomium in Brussels. It gives retailers and independent entrepreneurs access to the latest collections and buying opportunities. With over 1,500 brands across multiple sectors, Trademart is a vibrant hub for the retail industry.

The marketing challenge

Trademart’s business model depends on attracting visitors to its exhibitors, which presents a constant challenge for the marketing team: how do you keep people motivated to visit in person?

“To keep Trademart vibrant and inspiring, we run campaigns, host events, and introduce fresh concepts like pop-up stores,” says Jade Thys, Content and Design Specialist at Trademart. “A strong offering enhances our brand image, which naturally draws more visitors. That makes us a key part of the Trademart ecosystem.”

In a world that is becoming more digital every day, this calls for thoughtful marketing and smooth coordination. With a small team of five and a full calendar of projects, working efficiently became more important than ever.

The team was already using monday.com for event planning, but they quickly saw its potential to support campaigns and larger marketing efforts as well. “We were looking for more visibility, structure, and better alignment in the way we work,” Jade explains.

"We already had a clear idea of what we wanted, but the added value of working with a partner like Tryve was their fresh perspective and deep monday.com expertise. Dieter ensured everything was set up right from the start, helping us avoid roadblocks and tackle more complex needs with ease."

Jade Thys

Content & Design Specialist at Trademart

Partnering with Tryve for an optimized monday.com setup

In 2024, two Trademart colleagues attended the Tryve User Summit, an annual event focused on monday.com and project management. The experience inspired them to take a fresh look at how they were using the platform.

“We figured if we were going to do this, we should do it properly,” Jade explains. “We wanted an expert involved from the start to make sure everything was set up the right way, and looking back, we’re really glad we did.”

The entire marketing team was involved throughout the process. Together with Tryve consultant Dieter Ceulemans, they worked step by step to shape monday.com into a marketing tool that was fully tailored to their needs.

The result: monday.com as an essential marketing tool

Thanks to the partnership with Tryve, Trademart has transformed monday.com from a simple event management tool into a powerful, all-in-one marketing tool that drives efficiency and collaboration.

“Now everything has its place, from major tasks down to smaller details like designing a poster for the showroom,” Jade says. “It ensures everyone knows exactly what they need to do and keeps the whole team on track.”

Organized by activity type

One of the biggest improvements is how things are organized by activity type: campaigns, projects, and events. Each has its own dedicated boards, tasks, and templates, creating a clear structure and better overview. There’s also an ‘always on’ section for ongoing marketing initiatives, ensuring everything connects smoothly.

Custom templates for every event

Trademart uses custom templates for each event type, developed together with Tryve. “Our event templates are still incredibly useful,” says Jade. “When we start a new event, we always select the most suitable template. We have standard templates for everything, from small events to large ones. They include all the tasks, subtasks, and deadlines, so nothing is overlooked.”

Using these templates not only saves time but also improves accuracy. “When you’re doing everything manually, it’s easy to forget things. Now, we work in a much more organized way. I know exactly when to complete each task, and everything is tracked in MyWork, so I can see all my to-dos in one place.”

Automated timelines with 'lead & lag'

With the selected template, the team can quickly tailor the schedule to fit each event. The ‘Lead & Lag’ feature makes this easy – by simply entering the event date, all related tasks are automatically scheduled at the right time.

“This is an excellent feature, especially for events with tight deadlines,” says Jade. “We no longer waste time on manual scheduling. Everything automatically adjusts based on the chosen template.”

Centralized overview for each communication channel

After implementing the new structure, Trademart realized there was still a gap: they needed a central place to track communication across all channels, like email and social media. Tasks were scattered across different events, projects, and campaigns, so the team had to constantly switch between boards manually.

A clear overview of all channels

At the request of Trademart’s new marketing manager, the Tryve team created a digital calendar that gives a complete overview of all communication efforts in one place. While individual boards already existed for each channel, there was a need for a higher-level view of all current and completed marketing activities.

“We wanted a clear overview of our communications,” Jade explains. “The new central calendar brings all our channels together, giving us an at-a-glance view of what we’ve recently shared and what’s coming up.”

Ready for the future

At Trademart, monday.com has become an indispensable marketing tool. While it’s already firmly integrated within marketing, Jade sees many opportunities to expand its use. She believes other teams, like Sales, could really benefit from the platform, especially with its comprehensive overview. Since those teams often work in silos, she hopes to encourage them to explore how the platform can support their work as well.

Conclusion: monday.com as a key marketing tool at Trademart

What started as a simple task management tool has, through collaboration with Tryve, evolved into an indispensable platform within Trademart’s marketing department. monday.com not only enables the team to organize their work more efficiently, but it also fosters collaboration and increases transparency. This is largely achieved through the use of a system divided by activity type, custom templates, and overview boards for each communication channel.

Looking ahead, the team, in collaboration with Tryve, will continue to explore ways to optimize the platform further. In doing so, monday.com remains the central marketing tool in their unique workflow and serves as an inspiration for other teams within Trademart.