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Size Matters (But it's Not the Whole Story)
It’s one of the least inspiring but most important truths in marketing: big brands have an unfair advantage. Not because they shout louder or spend recklessly, but because they’ve already built something smaller brands are still chasing: existing ad stock to fall back on . The pivotal work from Paul Dyson, amplified by Mark Ritson, already a similar case: brand size is the most important factor for campaign impact. In his meta-analyses across thousands of campaigns, he found

Jori van de Spijker
Oct 74 min read


The Real Problem With Media Measurement: We’re Still Using The Wrong KPIs
Marketers have always craved one thing from their media investments: effectiveness. Are we getting results? Are we driving brand growth? And, most frustrating of all, are we spending too much, or not enough? Yet despite this obsession, most marketers are still steering their media using outdated KPIs. GRPs and spend are the go-to metrics, but here’s the thing: they don’t tell us what we actually need to know .

Jori van de Spijker
Sep 153 min read


How Does Online Video-Based Advertising Perform in Reaching Millenials and Gen Z?
Research study on attention and brand recall for social reel, social feed and pre-roll advertising Nowadays, many brand managers will admit that one of their biggest challenges is determining how to effectively reach the youngest members of their target audience – i.e., "Millennial" or "Gen-Z" consumers – through advertising campaigns. According to a recent report by the World Advertising Research Center, consumers that fall within one of these demographic groups typically s

Jori van de Spijker
Aug 1810 min read


AI vs Humans: Who Makes Better Ads?
Advertising has always been an industry driven by human creativity. But anyone paying attention to the marketing landscape recently has seen a major shift: artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the way we approach creative work. At Cannes Lions, the industry-wide conversation was clear: AI isn't just the latest buzz, but a transformative force reshaping the advertising process. And with tech companies such as Google, Meta and TikTok having increasing presence at the

Jori van de Spijker
Jul 43 min read


This Looks Familiar
When Advertising Consistency Kills Curiosity Distinctive Brand Assets (DBAs) have become the go-to tactic for many marketers. And rightly so. The theory is sound: use consistent, recognisable cues like colours, logos, sounds and characters to help people quickly identify your brand in a cluttered media world. The Ehrenberg-Bass Institute has made a strong case, and brands have listened. Recognition drives recall, and recall is a prerequisite for effectiveness.

Jori van de Spijker
Jun 164 min read


Balancing for Breakthrough: Finding the Right Media Mix to Cut Through the Clutter
When Adidas moved all their media spend to digital in an effort to become “digital first,” it seemed like the obvious move. Consumers were flocking to online platforms, traditional media was supposedly dying, and everyone was preaching digital transformation. But a few years later, Adidas quietly reversed that decision. Why? Because it didn’t work. Their brand salience suffered, and their business results showed it. The campaign didn’t break through the clutter the way they h

Jori van de Spijker
May 263 min read


The untapped potential of tag-ons: what every advertiser should know
In today’s media landscape, attention is fleeting and memory is selective. With every second of airtime, brands fight not only to be...

Jori van de Spijker
Apr 215 min read


Unlocking the secrets of OOH advertising: how smart content and use of context enable optimal impact
Out-of-home (OOH) advertising has long been a powerful tool for brands looking to make an impact in the real world. Despite its relatively small share of total ad spend (around 4.5%), OOH remains a unique and valuable medium, offering mass reach and repeated exposure. But what truly makes an OOH campaign effective? The answer lies not just in strong creative execution but also in the context in which an ad is placed.

Jori van de Spijker
Mar 55 min read


Global or Local?
Why Marketers get Cross-Country Advertising Wrong Marketers Love the Idea of a Global Campaign—Consumer, Not so Much Every global marketer dreams of the ultimate efficiency play: one campaign, one message, one world. It sounds great in theory, but in practice? It rarely works as intended. We want scale, but we also want impact—and that’s where the tension lies. New research from DVJ Insights suggests that while global consistency has its place, ads that truly resonate across

Jori van de Spijker
Feb 193 min read


Consistency and Distinctiveness: The Balancing Act of Great Advertising
As a market researcher, I’ve had the privilege of testing hundreds of ads before their campaigns go live. One of the recurring challenges...

Jori van de Spijker
Dec 3, 20244 min read


The vanity of long video ads in a 1.8-second world
It’s no secret that people on social platforms are not there for the ads. So why are we still making long ones? Marketers know better—at...

Jori van de Spijker
Oct 1, 20243 min read


Leveraging AI in pre-testing: Using predictive AI for enhanced ad testing
In today’s dynamic advertising landscape, companies are constantly seeking innovative ways to improve their ad testing processes. At DVJ Insights, pre-testing is one of our core competencies and our ad-testing solution has consistently delivered valuable insights. Using a combination of measuring consumer viewing behaviour and our MassQual techniques, we have helped hundreds of advertisers to make more impactful advertising. However, our endless pursuit of making research bet

Jori van de Spijker
Sep 12, 20244 min read


Beyond the basics: Why do top marketers never stop learning?
One of the most fascinating aspects of my work is that I get the opportunity to speak with a wide range of advertisers, giving me a...

Jori van de Spijker
Sep 5, 20243 min read


The rise of influencer marketing
Blog by Adèle Lamotte Influencer marketing is becoming an ever-increasing component of modern marketing strategies and has the potential...
DVJ Research Group
Jul 16, 20244 min read


AI in market research: Evolution or revolution?
In today’s market research landscape, attending a conference without encountering a presentation on AI is akin to embarking on a quest...

Jori van de Spijker
Jul 15, 20243 min read


Communicating prices effectively should get the same attention as setting prices optimally
The importance of setting prices optimally has evolved into a discipline applying advanced methods and solutions. The importance of...

Martin Hellich
Jul 12, 20243 min read


The real danger of wear-out: Stopping too early
“Is our commercial experiencing wear-out?” is a question I come across often. The threat of wear-out is something that concerns...

Jori van de Spijker
Jun 20, 20243 min read


What is the impact of cinema advertising compared to other channels?
The film business has exploded in growth. Post-pandemic, a lot of people went back to the movies, and attendance records are being...
DVJ Research Group
May 6, 20246 min read


Beyond Commands: The Art of Communicating with AI
Blog by Dennis Hulsebos Every day, technology seamlessly intertwines with our daily lives. Our conversations with machines have evolved...
DVJ Research Group
Mar 21, 20243 min read


Impact of National Culture: How Style Elements Affect Viewers’ Attitudes toward TV Ads
Master thesis summary by Julien Mariéthoz In the times of globalisation, marketers’ task to construct advertising communication appealing...
DVJ Research Group
Mar 13, 20244 min read
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