Tom van Kuyk - Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs

In today’s rapidly evolving events landscape, traditional venues are being challenged to redefine their role. In this interview, we speak with Tom van Kuyk, Head of Business Innovation at Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs, one of the Netherlands’ leading exhibition and conference organisations. In our conversation, we explore what brand growth means in this context, how live experiences are being redefined, and how innovation is shaping the future of the organisation.

From Venue to Destination: How Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs is Redefining Brand Growth

For decades, Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs has been a familiar name in the Netherlands. Ask almost anyone, and they will recognise it. Yet recognition alone is no longer enough. As Tom explains, the real challenge lies not in being known, but in being understood. “I think almost everyone in the Netherlands knows Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs,” Tom says. “If you ask what it is, most people will know Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs from the expo’s and large events. But that doesn’t really cover what we do. There is so much more!”

That gap between awareness and full familiarity sits at the heart of Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs’ transformation. In a changing landscape where digital interactions dominate and traditional exhibition markets are under pressure, the organisation is redefining both its role and its brand. What emerges is not limited to a repositioning exercise, but really a major strategic shift in how Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs creates value — for visitors, partners, and itself.

Redefining Brand Growth Beyond Awareness

For many organisations, brand growth is still closely tied to awareness. At Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs, that metric has long been strong. The challenge lies much deeper: shaping the associations and meaning behind the name. “Our brand awareness is strong,” Tom explains. “That gives us a valuable foundation to build on as we further develop our proposition for the future.”

At its core, Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs is reframing itself around a simple idea: enabling deeper, meaningful live encounters. This positioning is both timeless and increasingly relevant. While digital tools have made communication faster and more efficient, they often lack depth. Tom explains that digital interactions often remove nuance and non-verbal communication, making it harder to deeply understand one another, whereas face-to-face encounters create a stronger and much more memorable connections that ultimately leads to better outcomes.

This shift from functional understanding to emotional and experiential meaning is critical. Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs is no longer a place where events happen; it has already become a catalyst for growth and sees clear opportunities to build on this role further — whether through professional development, inspiration, or unexpected encounters. In that sense, brand growth is not about expanding reach, but about strengthening relevance.

Innovation as a Structured Growth Engine

To deliver on this repositioning, Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs has built a dedicated Business Innovation function. What started as a one-person role has quickly evolved into a team covering strategy, insights, brand development, and concept creation.

Tom is clear that innovation cannot rely on creativity alone. “Innovation is fun — coming up with ideas all day,” he says. “But without data and insights underneath, they remain restricted to nice ideas.”

This belief underpins a structured approach to innovation. Every initiative starts with understanding demand: where are the gaps, what do consumers need, and how do markets evolve? Only then are concepts developed and tested. “We start with data and consumer insights,” Tom explains. “Where is the demand? What is missing in the market? Otherwise, you end up with thousands of ideas and no direction.”

This disciplined model allows Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs to innovate on multiple fronts. On the one hand, existing events are redesigned to better match changing consumer expectations — moving from product-driven formats to much more experience-led concepts. On the other, entirely new propositions are developed, often targeting adjacent markets such as leisure and entertainment. Importantly, innovation is not treated as a separate function but as a driver of overall business growth. From brand positioning to mergers and acquisitions, the innovation team plays a central role in shaping the future of the organisation.

From Exhibition Venue to Experience Destination

One of the most significant shifts lies in how Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs views its physical space. Traditionally focused on exhibitions and conferences, the organisation is now rapidly moving towards a broader, much more diversified model.

“I really want Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs to become a destination. A leisure destination, a place for free time and restaurants.”

This ambition is driven by both opportunity and necessity. While the European exhibition market is stabilising, Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs sees strong growth potential internationally, particularly in regions and sectors where demand for exhibitions continues to rise. To capture this potential, the organisation is leveraging more than a century of expertise to expand beyond its home market by exporting its flagship concepts. While firmly rooted in the Netherlands, the company now operates on a global scale, delivering events across multiple high-growth sectors, including cybersecurity, health and life sciences, and agriculture. Originally established as a national trade exhibition, the Agri Feed Trade Fairs are now hosted in key growth markets such as Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Rwanda, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines. This international ambition is guided by a clear roadmap that identifies where category and regional growth are strongest, enabling Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs to scale rapidly in markets where momentum is building.

At the same time, sectors like leisure and recreation are growing rapidly, offering new avenues for national expansion. For Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs, this means rethinking how its spaces can be used. Instead of being active only during scheduled events, venues are increasingly programmed year-round with experiences that attract different audiences. This includes immersive exhibitions, new hospitality concepts, and other forms of entertainment that extend beyond the traditional business model. This shift also has implications for the brand itself. By consistently offering diverse and engaging experiences, Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs strengthens its role as an active curator of encounters, ideas, and experiences. The brand becomes synonymous not only with a location, but with a constant sense of activity and possibility.

Driving Change Through Culture and Leadership

Transforming an organisation of this scale requires more than strategy and innovation. Culture plays a decisive role. Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs has a long history as a traditional exhibition business, and shifting the mindset towards the opportunities that can be built on top of that takes time.

“This is one of the biggest challenges. Bringing things in and programming them is actually the easy part. But getting the organisation on board is absolutely crucial.”

Rather than forcing change, Tom focuses on demonstrating it. By launching tangible initiatives and proving their value, the organisation gradually builds confidence in the new direction. “I strongly don’t believe in forcing things, but in demonstrating what is possible,” he explains. “And by showing that it really works, you start to bring people along.”

This approach is reinforced by strong leadership support. The Business Innovation function reports directly to the CEO, underlining its strategic importance and ensuring the necessary resources and mandate. That combination of top-down commitment and bottom-up proof is essential. It enables Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs to move beyond isolated experiments and embed innovation into its DNA.

Building a Future-Proof Brand

Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs’ transformation reflects a broader shift in how organisations think about brand growth. It is no longer sufficient to be known; brands must be meaningful, relevant, and adaptable. By redefining its purpose around live encounters, structuring innovation around insight, and expanding into new experience-driven markets, Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs is building a brand that goes far beyond its historical role.

At the same time, the organisation recognises that this is an ongoing process. Each new concept, each experiment, and each success contributes to a deeper understanding of what the future could look like. “We’re essentially creating a testing ground,” Tom says. “What works today informs what we build tomorrow.”

In that sense, Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs is transforming its business model while simultaneously redefining what brand growth means in a world where experiences, connections, and relevance matter more than ever. These two developments go well hand in hand.