As DVJ Insights celebrates its tenth anniversary of Brand Growth, this special edition takes a step beyond the practitioner perspective and into academia. In conversation with Dennis Herhausen, Professor of Marketing and Head of the Marketing Department at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, one thing becomes clear: while marketing tools and technologies evolve rapidly, the fundamentals of growth remain strikingly consistent, yet increasingly complex. Dennis brings a strategic an

Copenhagen, 30 April 2026 - DVJ Insights welcomes Lars Brix Bendtsen as client consultant in Denmark, further strengthening its local consultancy team and supporting continued growth in the Nordic region. Lars brings almost 20 years of experience in insights, market research, and business development. He started his career at a GroupM media agency and has since worked as a Partner at Communication Research and as an independent consultant at Loyalty House. He also held role

“What we sell is only a good feeling.” That is how Saskia Divendal, Manager Brand & Marketing at the Netherlands Red Cross, describes the challenge of driving growth in a category where trust, emotion and reputation matter at least as much as visibility or conversion. In this Brand Growth Interview, she explains what that means in practice, from positioning and KPI management to creative choices that help the brand stay both credible and effective. When Your Brand Is The Pr

In a recent article, I argued that there is no such thing as a “right” or “wrong” segmentation — only those that are more or less useful for marketing. That point is worth reiterating. Because it leads to a second, equally important conclusion: There is no single best way to segment a market. The right segmentation depends entirely on the decisions it is meant to inform. Or, put differently: segmentation is not a model. It is a tool. And like any tool, its value lies in how w

In an era where retail is increasingly defined by omnichannel complexity, the instinct is often to expand: more channels, more touchpoints, more innovation. Yet according to Els Breugelmans, Full Professor at KU Leuven and expert in retail and consumer behaviour, this is not where true growth is found. Instead, the real driver of success is much more fundamental. Retailers grow not by doing more, but by doing what matters most for the customer. Reflecting on her research, Els

Madrid, 21 April 2026 , - DVJ Insights welcomes Ariane Längsfeld as a client consultant in Spain, further strengthening its local consultancy team and supporting continued growth in the region. Ariane brings more than 15 years of experience in market research. She has previously held roles at Kantar Insights, MetrixLab, EssenceMediacom and WPP Media, where she supported clients in translating consumer understanding into informed strategic decisions in dynamic and evolving env

When Maaike Maagdenberg joined Go-Tan as Marketing Director, she stepped into a business already enjoying remarkable momentum. The Dutch family-owned brand had achieved strong double-digit growth in recent years, not through heavy marketing investment or sophisticated data systems, but through instinct, speed, and a deep connection to emerging food trends. Now, as Go-Tan sets its sights on further European expansion, Maaike’s challenge is clear: to build on that entrepreneuri

Hamburg, 21 April 2026 - DVJ Insights welcomes Timon Seidelmann as Client Consultant in Germany, further strengthening its local consultancy team and supporting continued growth in the region. Timon brings close to 20 years of experience in market research. Most recently, he worked at Ipsos Creative Excellence, where he led a team of nine researchers across different seniority levels. Previously, he held roles at Harris Interactive (Toluna) and Partner Research (Mindline).

The Uncomfortable Truth: A Great Product Is Not Enough There is a widely held belief in product development: if you carefully craft a product – optimise its features, sharpen its proposition, fine-tune pricing and packaging – you are setting yourself up for success. And to a certain extent, that’s true. Robust product development processes –rooted in consumer insights, concept testing, iterative design optimisation, etc. – are indeed a necessary condition for success. They ma

DVJ Insights has been nominated for Research Agency of the Year in the Netherlands by the Data & Insights Network. This award recognises agencies that have made a strong and visible impact on the Research & Analytics industry over the past year. It reflects hard work, a high standard of quality, and the ability to lead in innovation and growth. For DVJ Insights, this nomination reflects a strong 2025. The company achieved sustainable growth, maintained 100% client retention

Ferrero is one of the world’s largest sweet packaged food companies, with iconic brands such as Nutella, Kinder, Tic Tac and Ferrero Rocher enjoyed in more than 170 countries. Fabrizio Testa, Senior Insights Manager at Ferrero UK & Ireland, has spent over eleven years working across different markets and roles within the company, from testing new products directly in-market to leading consumer and shopper insights. In this conversation, he shares his perspective on what truly

Fernando Cobos leads Consumer Insights, Growth Planning and Digital Insights at Essity, a global hygiene and health company operating across both consumer and professional markets. In this conversation, he shares how Essity approaches brand growth through a structured global framework that combines data, investment discipline, and local market flexibility. From managing penetration and product mix to navigating growth in commoditised categories, Fernando explains why consiste

Ny bok fra DVJ Insights viser hvorfor bærekraftig merkevarevekst er en lederbeslutning Oslo, 15. april 2026 - I flere tiår har vi visst hvordan merkevarer vokser. Øk penetrasjonen, bygg mental tilgjengelighet og invester konsekvent over tid. Prinsippene er godt etablert og bredt anerkjent. Likevel strever mange organisasjoner fortsatt med å oppnå bærekraftig vekst. Ifølge DVJ Insights handler problemet ikke om mangel på kunnskap, verktøy eller data, men om hvordan organisasjo

At our last week’s Brand Growth Event, Mark Ritson made a point that should have landed harder than it probably did: Category is the number one driver of brand growth. Product, he argued, still matters enormously — but not in the way many organisations assume. It’s less often about constant new product development (NPD) and many times more about existing product improvement (EPI). That distinction is more than semantics. It points to a fundamentally different way of thinking

Brand growth is one of marketing’s most talked-about ambitions, and one of its least clearly defined concepts. Ask ten marketers how to achieve it, and you will likely hear ten different answers. Ask academia, and the answer becomes even more nuanced. In a conversation with Tammo Bijmolt, Professor of Marketing Research at the University of Groningen, one thing becomes clear: brand growth is not a single lever to pull, but a system of interconnected forces that must be carefu

Lantmännen is an agricultural cooperative and Northern Europe’s leader in agriculture, machinery, bioenergy and food. The group is owned by 17,000 Swedish farmers and is operating across the whole value chain, “from field to fork”, with a portfolio of well-known product brands within food such as Scan, AXA, Vaasan and Kungsörnen. Yet the Lantmännen brand itself does not sell products directly to consumers. Instead, the brand functions as a powerful endorser brand; a guarantor

In this conversation, Fiona Naughton, Chief Marketing Officer at CoinZoom, reflects on how brand growth has evolved across her career in technology-led businesses including PayPal and Robinhood. At CoinZoom, a regulated digital currency exchange and fintech platform operating across nearly 169 countries, Fiona focuses on bridging the gap between crypto and everyday financial behaviour. Drawing on decades of experience across mobile technology, gaming and financial services, F

DVJ Insights has been named a finalist in the AMMA Awards (Best Use of Data & Technology), together with a.s.r. and TheMerge. The nomination recognises an innovative approach to making creative development more data-driven through the use of AI. In many organisations, media decisions have long been guided by data. Creative decisions, however, are still often based on intuition and discussion. This case shows how AI can change that. Together with a.s.r. and TheMerge, DVJ Insig

There is no ''Right'' Segmentation - Only More or Less Useful Ones Segmentation is one of marketing’s most established tools. Almost every organisation has one — often several. They are carefully developed, visually appealing and intellectually robust. And yet, many segmentations underdeliver.

BUUT is a newly launched Dutch neobank focused on teenagers and, soon, young adults. Built from scratch by the makers of Tikkie and backed by ABN AMRO, the brand has a bold ambition: to build the strongest financial generation ever. We spoke to Sanne van Kuijk-Evertse, Head of Growth at BUUT, about purpose-driven brand building, native content, and why financial brands need 13 touchpoints before conversion. Purpose Embedded in the DNA For Sanne, brand growth begins long befor