Hanneke Berghoef - Audax Retail/ Bruna

When everyone already knows your brand, the challenge is no longer awareness; it’s affection. For Hanneke Berghoef, Head of Marketing at Audax Retail, the company behind Bruna and Read Shop, brand growth starts with building an emotional connection. In this interview, she shares how Bruna is working to evolve from a “cold” brand into one that people love, despite limited budgets, legacy store formats, and the changing dynamics of retail media.

From Well-Known To Well-Loved

Few brands in the Netherlands can match Bruna’s name recognition. Its stores have been part of Dutch high streets and train stations for decades. Yet, as Hanneke explains, familiarity doesn’t always equal love. “[In the NL] Everyone knows Bruna, our awareness is extremely high. But our challenge is consideration. We’re known, but we’re not always chosen,” she says.

Since joining Audax Retail two years ago, Hanneke and her team have focused on adding warmth and emotion to the brand. “Bruna has long been seen as a bit cold or distant, and we’ve been working hard to change that perception. Books are personal and emotional products; people identify with what they read. That makes it a natural category to build an emotional connection.” The goal is clear: to transform Bruna into a love brand. A brand that people not only recognise, but also feel something for.

“Books are personal and emotional products; people identify with what they read. That makes it a natural category to build an emotional connection.”

Building A Strong Funnel On A Small Budget

While Bruna’s position at the top of the funnel is strong, translating that into sustained growth comes with practical limitations. “Our challenge is that we have a relatively small marketing budget,” Hanneke explains. “That means we have to be selective, making smart, strategic choices instead of being everywhere all the time.”

Physical availability adds another layer of complexity. “Not every Bruna store looks and feels the same,” she notes. That makes it harder to change perceptions on a larger scale.”

With these constraints, Bruna has built its media strategy around two key periods: summer and the gifting season. “In summer, we focus on reading as part of relaxation and leisure. In December, it’s all about gifting. That’s when most of our stores make the majority of their annual sales. These are the two moments when we’re really visible and drive most store traffic.”

In between these periods, Bruna maintains smaller touchpoints through social media and both physical and digital folders. “We’ve redesigned our physical folders to feel more like magazines—less promotional, more inspiring—helping to strengthen emotional appeal and brand consideration.”

Bruna has also, for the first time in a while, made a return to TV this year, as its core audience still consumes traditional media. “While we do reach younger groups through social channels, the heart of our customer base is still slightly older, so TV remains a crucial medium,” says Hanneke.

“While we do reach younger groups through social channels, the heart of our customer base is still slightly older, so TV remains a crucial medium.”

Creative Smartness Over Spend

Due to the restricted budget, visibility remains a big challenge for Bruna, who is competing with much larger brands that can afford constant exposure. “With only two major bursts a year, it’s harder to build and sustain mental availability. We have a sound logo and a familiar voice-over, but can’t expect the same recognition as brands that are constantly on air. That’s why every contact moment has to count.”

This is why Bruna focuses on strong creatives, timing, and synergy across touchpoints rather than pure frequency. Their campaigns are built around accessible emotions and relatable moments, like their recent summer campaign created with Talpa Network, which used AI-generated visuals to bring sunny, reading-themed imagery to life.

“Some people found that contradictory to use AI while trying to make the brand feel warmer and more emotional, but for a short ten-second TV ad, it actually worked perfectly,” Hanneke reflects. “The emotion wasn’t in the technology; it was in the message. Summer is when the Netherlands loves to read. Most viewers didn’t even notice it was AI.”

The brand’s use of its trusted voice-over added human warmth and continuity. “A familiar voice carries a lot of emotion and trust,” she says. “It’s part of how we keep Bruna recognisable, even when our media presence isn’t continuous.” By keeping its message consistent and its creative assets distinct, Bruna manages to stretch its limited resources without compromising brand identity.

“A familiar voice carries a lot of emotion and trust. It’s part of how we keep Bruna recognisable, even when our media presence isn’t continuous.”

Exploring New Media Frontiers

Like many retailers, Bruna is closely watching the rise of retail media (the use of digital screens and in-store networks as advertising platforms). “It’s a very interesting development,” says Hanneke. “We already have screens in our stores, behind the tills and in shop windows, and we’re exploring what role they could play in the future.”

Yet she remains pragmatic. “We see retailers like Albert Heijn or Kruidvat building entire retail media ecosystems, but for external advertisers, it’s still early days. We’re curious to see how valuable in-store screens will become, both for us and for partners. The investment is significant, so we want to understand the real return.” For Bruna, the focus remains on balance between the emotional and the practical, between short-term peaks and long-term presence, and between traditional and emerging media.

Building Love Step By Step

Bruna’s journey towards becoming a love brand won’t happen overnight. But for Hanneke, progress is already visible. “We’re slowly adding more emotion, more connection,” she says. “We may not have the biggest budgets, but we’re making choices that fit who we are: a familiar, trusted brand that still has the potential to surprise.”

Her outlook is both realistic and optimistic. “Love is built over time,” she concludes. “As long as we keep adding warmth and staying true to what people value about Bruna, we’ll get there.”

“Love is built over time. As long as we keep adding warmth and staying true to what people value about Bruna, we’ll get there.”