In a world where artificial intelligence is reshaping industries, international mobility is becoming more complex, and prospective students have more educational options than ever before, business schools face a growing challenge: how do you stay relevant and continue to grow? For Lucy McCulloch, Director of Digital Experience at Hult International Business School, the answer lies in combining a clear brand proposition with constant adaptation. As a globally focused instituti

For Rabobank, brand growth is not about becoming louder or simply more visible. It is about making the bank’s cooperative identity relevant in today’s world. For Chris Kersbergen, Head of Global Brand, and Esther Vernhout, Brand Strategist, that means building from Rabobank’s distinctive DNA: not just being a bank, but a cooperative bank with a role in society. With “Onze Bank” (Our Bank), Rabobank has found a platform that makes this idea simple, recognisable and flexible en

Customer Journey and Path-to-Purchase studies have become a staple of modern marketing. They offer an intuitive way to understand how consumers move from awareness to consideration, purchase, and beyond. Often, the findings are visualised as a journey map or funnel: a sequence of touchpoints arranged in neat order, suggesting a structured progression from one stage to the next. The appeal is obvious. These frameworks are easy to understand, easy to communicate, and visually c

Marketing has gained more tools, more data and more channels than ever before. Yet for Hanna Riberdahl, CEO of Brand Marketing Sweden, the central challenge is not whether marketers can do more, but whether they are creating more value. As the independent trade organisation for Sweden’s marketers, Brand Marketing Sweden works to strengthen the role of marketing, improve effectiveness and support companies in building long-term, profitable growth. In a landscape increasingly s

Understanding Shopper Journeys Remains a Strategic Imperative Every purchase is the result of a journey. Consumers enter that journey with pre-existing needs, preferences, habits, and brand predispositions. Along the way, they encounter a variety of touchpoints that shape their decisions – from online information and recommendations to product displays, packaging, pricing, and in-store experiences. Understanding these journeys is critical for two reasons.

For Pernella Geluk, innovation only drives brand growth when it starts with relevance and is followed through with discipline, adequate timing and entrepreneurship. As an independent marketing and innovation consultant, she helps food companies turn consumer and customer insight into concrete concepts, successful launches and long-term growth. Working mainly in FMCG food, both on the consumer side and increasingly in B2B, Pernella sees innovation not as a pipeline of new prod

Why AI Agents Make Deterministic Code More Important

Six years ago, Kia Netherlands stood on the verge of a major brand transformation. Since then, the brand has introduced a new global identity, strengthened its position in electric mobility and became market leader in the Netherlands. For Maaike Aarts, Manager Communications and PR at Kia Netherlands, that growth was not driven by one single factor, but by the ability to bring a global strategy to life locally supported by the right mix of products, a strong dealer network an

Introduction In recent years, DVJ Insights has done a lot of research into what marketers consider to be the most important KPI to determine the success of marketing. What most companies have in common is that success is mainly measured by a brand's sales or market share. Still, it is difficult to direct marketing based on sales. It is often preferred to use various brand KPIs that have the most influence on sales in order to achieve growth.

In just over a decade, Schysst Käk has grown from a small Swedish start-up founded by brothers Amir and Alex Kheirmand into a fast-growing food company that expects to reach close to SEK 800 million in turnover. Built around the idea of making kebab easy to prepare and enjoy at home, the brand has effectively created its own category, ”Home Kebab”, in Swedish grocery retail. For Alex Kheirmand, Founding Partner and Chief Commercial Officer, the growth has not come from inve

Customer-centricity has always been the Foundation of Great Innovation Innovation has never been about technology alone. The most successful innovations emerge when companies identify and address meaningful customer needs. Whether it is simplifying everyday tasks, removing friction from experiences, or enabling entirely new ways of solving problems, the underlying principle remains the same: consumers do not buy innovations because they are technologically sophisticated. They

Marketing has never been more complex. Consumers move across countless channels, attention is fragmented, and businesses face constant pressure to deliver short-term results. Yet for Héctor Rivero, Senior Marketing Manager at McDonald's Spain, the fundamentals of brand growth remain remarkably simple: understand people, define a clear message, and stay consistent over time. In this conversation, he shares why marketing should be viewed as a company-wide capability, why shor

Utrecht, 26 June 2026 – DVJ Insights is proud to announce that Dennis Hulsebos has been named Young Talent of the Year at the Data & Insights Awards in the Netherlands. The award recognises young professionals in the research and insights industry who show courage, think beyond the obvious, and bring fresh and creative ways to move the profession forward. Dennis’ win continues a strong tradition of talent recognition at DVJ Insights. Over the years, several DVJ colleagues hav

Most comparisons between AI coding tools begin with the wrong question. They ask which model writes the best code, which assistant performs best on benchmarks, or which platform produces the cleanest pull request. Those questions matter, especially for developers who need to trust the output. But they are not enough for a business decision. Organisations rarely adopt technology because it is technically impressive. They adopt technology when it fits into how people already wo

What does it take to grow a global brand in today’s complex, fast-moving landscape? For Philip Hambach, who has spent more than 18 years at adidas working at the intersection of brand strategy, insights and data, the answer lies in balance. Balance between global and local, between product and brand, and increasingly, between human judgement and machine intelligence. In this conversation, Philip shares how adidas has evolved its approach to brand growth and how data and AI ar

En solo diez años, Bizum se ha convertido en una parte habitual del comportamiento de pago cotidiano en España. Lo que comenzó como una iniciativa compartida por los bancos españoles para mejorar la experiencia de la banca digital ha evolucionado hasta convertirse en una marca que muchas personas utilizan casi de forma automática. Para Lorena Poza Díaz, responsable de comunicación, marketing y sostenibilidad en Bizum, esa familiaridad es tanto una fortaleza como un desafío. L

One of the most persistent questions in advertising is deceptively simple: when should you show the brand? For years, many advertisers were taught to make the brand visible early and clearly. And in many digital environments, that advice makes perfect sense. Platforms like Google, Meta and TikTok have invested heavily in advertising effectiveness research, building large-scale meta-learnings to help advertisers improve performance. One of the most repeated recommendations is

En un panorama mediático definido por la fragmentación, la reducción de la capacidad de atención y el rápido cambio tecnológico, las marcas se enfrentan a un reto cada vez mayor: cómo seguir siendo visibles, relevantes y elegidas. Para Fran Ares, CEO y fundador de Glocally, el crecimiento de marca no depende de una única palanca, sino de estar cerca del mercado, entender cómo se comportan los consumidores y ponérselo fácil a la gente para que te elija. A medida que Glocally

For Prasun Bose, Global Director of Insights at Essity, brand growth is no longer just a marketing question, but a systemic one. After more than eight years at the company, working on its flagship incontinence brand TENA, his role has evolved from traditional research into building a fully integrated insights ecosystem. The ambition is clear: to connect consumer understanding, market data, and business performance into a single source of truth that drives real growth. In a ca

Kneipp has been rooted in a clear philosophy for over 135 years. Built on the principles of water, plants, nutrition, movement and balance, the brand has evolved from a traditional bath product into a broader wellbeing proposition. In this conversation, Petra Oonk, Head of Marketing at Kneipp Benelux, shares how the company approaches brand growth through a combination of strong heritage, organisational alignment and continuous relevance in a competitive market. A Strong Ide