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In just ten years, Bizum has become a familiar part of everyday payment behaviour in Spain. What started as a shared initiative by Spanish banks to improve the digital banking experience has grown into a brand many people now use almost automatically. For Lorena Poza Díaz, responsible for communications, marketing and sustainability at Bizum, that familiarity is both a strength and a challenge. The next phase of growth is not only about being known, but about staying relevant. From Everyday Habit to Broader Relevance Bizum was created at a moment when banks were facing new competition from neobanks and large technology companies entering financial services. The aim was to offer customers a simple and valuable digital service, while also improving the relationship between users and banks. As Lorena puts it: “Who invented Bizum? Nobody and many people at the same time created Bizum 10 years ago.” Its first use case, payments between individuals, quickly became part of daily life. The service grew through recommendation: to benefit from Bizum, you needed other people to have it too. That natural network effect helped the brand grow organically and become strongly associated with simple, everyday payments. For Bizum, brand growth is measured mainly through top of mind, spontaneous awareness, brand evaluation and recommendation. But success also brings a new challenge. The brand has become so familiar that people can start to take it for granted. “Everyday life is very good, but we like them to perceive us as something relevant,” Lorena says. “Everyday life is very good, but we like them to perceive us as something relevant,” Consistency as a Growth Driver One of the main reasons Bizum has been able to grow so quickly is the consistency between what it promises and what people experience. The brand stands for speed, convenience and simplicity, and those values need to be visible in every part of the journey: the product, the user experience, the language and the communication. “If I am telling you that I am fast and that I am convenient, my language has to be fast, it has to be clear, it has to be easy, and the user experience is also that,” Lorena explains. That principle also shapes innovation. Bizum does not aim to offer the most cutting-edge technology just for the sake of it. Its ambition is to make digital payments easier and more accessible for everyone. Sometimes that means choosing a solution that is technologically simpler, but better aligned with the role Bizum wants to play in people’s lives. This clarity is becoming more important as the market becomes more crowded. Lorena points to two forms of saturation: advertising saturation and payment-method saturation. Consumers are surrounded by messages, while the payments sector has seen many fintechs, neobanks and alternative payment solutions enter the market. In that context, Bizum needs to be recognised not only as a familiar brand, but as a brand that still offers distinctive value in new situations. As Lorena explains, the challenge is to encourage people to use Bizum beyond the context in which they first came to know it. “The brand is highly considered and valued, but of course, we now have the challenge of saying: hey, in other contexts you also have to try me, and I am no longer only payment between individuals.” “If I am telling you that I am fast and that I am convenient, my language has to be fast, it has to be clear, it has to be easy, and the user experience is also that,” Collaborations that make the Value Clear As Bizum moved into e-commerce, it became clear that simply telling people about a new payment option was not enough. People understood sending money to another person, but paying in an online shop with Bizum required a different explanation. The breakthrough came through collaboration. When Renfe introduced Bizum as a payment method on its website, the two brands created a campaign built around a shared value: speed. Renfe also provided communication channels close to the actual payment moment, making the message more concrete and relevant. “It was the campaign where things clicked, and more people started saying to us: oh, I have started using Bizum on the Renfe website.” At the same time, Lorena learned that collaborations only work when Bizum’s own values remain visible. In some partnerships, the brand adapted too much to the other party’s channels or style. The lesson was to find a shared language rather than simply fitting into someone else’s format. “We need to explore a common path of communication and codes where both of us feel comfortable, because if not, what happens is that our users do not read us, they do not perceive that Bizum is there and it will not work.” This also applies to collaborations with social organisations, such as Fundación Inocente or La Marató in Catalonia. These partnerships offer visibility, but also connect Bizum to positive values such as help and collaboration. For Lorena, that makes them valuable beyond pure reach. “We need to explore a common path of communication and codes where both of us feel comfortable, because if not, what happens is that our users do not read us, they do not perceive that Bizum is there and it will not work.” Innovation as the Next Phase of Growth As Bizum’s original peer-to-peer use case matures, innovation becomes less about improving one familiar behaviour and more about widening the role the brand can play. The next challenge is to introduce new use cases, from e-commerce to in-person payments and digital identity, while keeping the experience recognisably simple. As Lorena explains, the opportunity lies in building a broader relationship with users: “I think the focus is on that moment of innovation that brings us more use cases. So that users have a broader relationship with Bizum.” In payments, that broader role is shaped by a tension between convenience and confidence. People want the process to feel faster and less visible, but they also want to understand what is happening and stay in control. Digital identity could become one way to connect those needs, especially because Bizum builds on the verification already done by banks. For users, the promise is not just easier access, but a clearer sense of control: “At all times you have that control, and also you do not have to create a password, but with your Bizum identity and your identity in the bank, you already have access.” This innovation model is also shaped by Bizum’s structure. The company develops a shared base for the banking sector, while banks can build their own additional services on top of it. That creates a common foundation for users, while still allowing individual banks to differentiate. “What we do establish are the common basic services, and from there it is up to the entity to differentiate itself, because in the end they have to compete and offer more services.” “I think the focus is on that moment of innovation that brings us more use cases. So that users have a broader relationship with Bizum.” Building Growth through Experience As Bizum expands beyond peer-to-peer payments, communication needs to move closer to the contexts where people can actually use it. Collaborations, retail media, outdoor and physical activations are becoming more relevant, not simply as extra channels, but as ways to make new use cases understandable at the moment they matter. This marks a shift for a brand that started digitally. Bizum’s communication has naturally focused on online environments, especially as e-commerce became a growth area. But with in-person payments on the horizon, the brand also needs to show up in more physical and hybrid contexts. For Lorena, this is almost the reverse of the path many traditional brands have taken: “We are moving from digital now to what has been the traditional offline world.” That broader view of experience also shapes Lorena’s advice for brand growth. In a fast-moving and saturated world, brands are often tempted to change strategy too quickly, but brand meaning needs time to build. Positioning, role and voice must be clear, and then they need consistency. For Bizum, the brand is not only built through campaigns, but through every moment in which people encounter or use the service. “You have to give it time and patience because we live in a saturated world and not everything moves that fast, and you have to give it that space to build.” That also changes the role of marketing. It increasingly connects innovation, data, technology, sales and customer experience, but Lorena warns against making the role too technical. A modern marketing leader needs to understand data and technology without getting lost in every daily metric. For Lorena, the real value lies in keeping a holistic view of the company, the customer and the brand. “In the end, what matters more is the general analysis and not being so down in the specific data point of each day.” Bizum’s growth story shows how a brand can become part of everyday behaviour by solving a simple problem extremely well. But once a brand becomes habitual, the challenge changes. The next phase is about staying relevant, creating new use cases and protecting the values that made people adopt the brand in the first place: simple, fast and for everyone. “You have to give it time and patience because we live in a saturated world and not everything moves that fast, and you have to give it that space to build.”

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 to brand early, sometimes even from the very first second.

In a media landscape defined by fragmentation, shrinking attention spans and rapid technological change, brands face a growing challenge: how to remain visible, relevant and chosen. For Fran Ares, CEO and founder of Glocally, brand growth is not about one single lever, but about staying close to the market, understanding how consumers behave, and making it easy for people to choose you. As Glocally enters a new phase with a renewed identity and broader positioning, Fran reflects on the changing role of media agencies, the impact of AI, and why brands need to become more flexible, transparent and adaptive to keep growing. From Local Specialist to Strategic Media Partner Glocally was born as a media agency with a strong specialisation in geo-contextual and proximity marketing. Its roots are in helping brands understand local differences, because while many brands have national ambitions, their commercial performance often varies by region, city or even neighbourhood. As Fran explains, “A brand can have national needs, which are obvious, but then it has differentiated commercial performance by region, and even by province.” This was the space Glocally was created to serve. Over time, however, client needs have evolved. More brands are now asking for broader, more integrated solutions that connect local intelligence with national media strategy. This shift is also reflected in Glocally’s recent rebranding. After more than ten years, the company updated its identity, website and value proposition to better reflect what it had become. “You dedicate yourself to growing brands and growing businesses, and you do not have much time to look inward,” Fran says. “The company’s own image had outgrown the materials with which we were presenting ourselves to the market.” For Fran, the rebrand is not only a visual update, but a strategic repositioning. “It is a deep change,” he explains. “It is an update of the value proposition, and we evolve from that very geo, very local part, towards a slightly more integrated proposition.” “A brand can have national needs, which are obvious, but then it has differentiated commercial performance by region, and even by province.” Brand Growth is Business Growth When asked which KPIs really matter for brand growth, Fran gives a pragmatic answer. Growth is not only measured in brand awareness or communication metrics, but in whether clients return because the work has contributed to their business. “I see this from a very pragmatic point of view,” he says. “Quantitative business growth, clients who hire us again, because they have really invested with us and we have managed to grow their profit and loss account.” That does not mean intermediate metrics are irrelevant. Store visits, for example, can be a valuable indicator, especially for brands with physical retail networks. “Sometimes that is a methodology clients feel very comfortable with, because in the end, we bring customers to the doors of their stores as a KPI.” Still, Fran is clear that brand growth cannot be reduced to one factor. Brands grow through a combination of value proposition, pricing, accessibility, sustainability, emotional connection and visibility. If one of those elements is missing, growth becomes harder. For him, accessibility is especially important. Whether through e-commerce, physical retail or another point of contact, brands need to make the consumer’s path as simple as possible. “What cannot happen is that getting hold of a brand becomes a yincana,” Fran says. “It has to be very simple for the consumer.” This is why he also points to location as one of the most powerful growth levers. Even as a media agency leader, Fran acknowledges that media investment is not always the only answer. “Location is so important that it can even make you reanalyse what your advertising budget should be.” “I see brand growth from a very pragmatic point of view; Quantitative business growth, clients who hire us again, because they have really invested with us and we have managed to grow their profit and loss account.” AI, Attention and the New Rules of Visibility Looking ahead, Fran sees artificial intelligence as one of the biggest forces reshaping marketing. The most important change, he argues, is not only how AI improves internal efficiency, but how it may change the way consumers discover and choose brands. “A brand has a very relevant challenge ahead of it,” he says. “To be chosen or selected through the conversations that consumers will increasingly have with their artificial intelligence models.” For years, brands have optimised for search, visibility and media touchpoints. But if discovery increasingly happens through AI assistants and large language models, the rules of relevance may change. Brands will need to understand how to exist in those conversations and how to become part of the recommendations consumers receive. AI will also change the work of agencies. Fran does not believe it will replace the strongest creative thinking. “In creativity, I do not think big ideas are going to be replaced,” he says. But he does see AI transforming adaptation, planning, efficiency and measurement. “A brand has a very relevant challenge ahead of it; to be chosen or selected through the conversations that consumers will increasingly have with their artificial intelligence models.” For media agencies, this could mean shifting the client conversation away from traditional media metrics and closer to business outcomes. “We will not be talking about 1,000 GRPs, or 50 prime-time spots,” Fran says. “We will be talking about how many barbecues we are going to sell to a client.” Alongside AI, attention is another major challenge. The media ecosystem is more fragmented than ever, and consumers are harder to reach. “We have a very serious problem with attention,” Fran explains. This means brands need to understand where attention actually lives, whether that is in traditional media, social platforms, influencers or new digital environments. “Sometimes an influencer captures more attention than a media outlet, even if that media outlet is highly reputable and has been one of the traditional media brands.” For Fran, this complexity makes strong media partners more important than ever. Brands need partners who can read the market, interpret signals and make sharper choices in an environment where budgets are limited and attention is scarce. “Sometimes an influencer captures more attention than a media outlet, even if that media outlet is highly reputable and has been one of the traditional media brands.” Flexible Brands will be Easier to Choose In this fragmented world, consistency still matters, but it cannot mean rigidity. Fran believes brands need to become more flexible and adaptive, especially when speaking to different audiences across different platforms. “What we cannot do is expect society to change and adapt to a brand,” he says. “It is the brand that has to become increasingly flexible.” The same product may need one language for one target audience and another language for another. Younger consumers may be just as informed as older generations, but they are informed through very different channels, formats and cultural references. Brands need to understand those differences instead of assuming one message will work for everyone. For Fran, the challenge is to protect the essence of the brand while adapting how that essence is expressed. A brand’s positioning should remain recognisable, but its language, media choices and execution need to reflect the audience and context. “If we try to make it something for everyone, mass media, and we think that is going to work, then we will have major failures.” This flexibility also connects to a broader point about consumer relevance. Brands cannot grow if they are difficult to access, difficult to understand or disconnected from people’s needs. Growth depends on making the brand easy to find, easy to understand and easy to choose. “What we cannot do is expect society to change and adapt to a brand; it is the brand that has to become increasingly flexible.” Culture, Transparency and the Future Role of Marketing For Fran, growth is not only driven by market opportunity. It is also driven by people. Glocally’s Great Place to Work certification reflects a deliberate effort to build a culture where employees feel heard, comfortable and motivated. “There is a slightly selfish point to this,” Fran says. “You do not build a company so that on Monday morning you arrive annoyed.” The logic is simple: people who feel good at work become better ambassadors for the company. They serve clients better, contribute more actively and help shape the culture from within. “The people who work in a company are the true ambassadors.” After working with Great Place to Work, Glocally used employee feedback to guide concrete decisions. According to Fran, around 85% of the team’s suggestions were implemented. “What you cannot do is ask people, have people tell you what worries them, what they would like to change, and then continue on your own path.” This belief in listening also shapes Fran’s view of marketing more broadly. He sees marketing becoming increasingly central to business leadership, because it is the function that reads consumer, cultural and market signals. “I have always thought that companies will eventually be led by the marketing people,” he says. “And that is happening.” For him, a strong CMO should operate close to senior leadership and help guide the direction of the business. “A good CMO of a company has to be very close to management,” Fran explains. “Today, a marketing director in a company is a very strategic function, much more strategic than a few years ago.” When asked what advice he would give for sustainable brand growth, Fran keeps it simple: be transparent, listen to consumers and offer what people genuinely need. “A consumer allows a mistake, but does not allow deception,” he says. “You have to know how to listen to what the consumer is asking of you.” “I have always thought that companies will eventually be led by the marketing people, and that is happening. The people who work in a company are the true ambassadors.”

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 category shaped by stigma, structural complexity, and increasing competition, Prasun offers a grounded and honest view of what it really takes to grow brands today. Growth Starts with Penetration and Category Creation For Prasun, brand growth is fundamentally about expanding the category itself. “I think brand growth is to gain penetration and to grow the category because it’s a severely underpenetrated category,” Prasun explains. Unlike many FMCG categories, incontinence is still surrounded by stigma. This means growth cannot rely solely on winning share, it requires recruiting entirely new users. “We have realised that the only way to grow the brand sustainably is to get new users into the category who are coming into the category for the first time.” But this creates a paradox. By investing in reducing stigma and building the category, TENA also lowers barriers for competitors. This makes brand building not just about awareness, but about ensuring the brand captures its fair share of category growth. “Brand growth is to gain penetration and to grow the category because it’s a severely underpenetrated category.” A Clear Framework: Mental, Physical and Product Superiority Essity’s approach to growth is firmly rooted in Ehrenberg-Bass principles, providing a shared internal language around how brands grow. “How brands grow is quite well entrenched in the organisation now, it gives us a common language.” This has helped shift thinking away from a traditional focus on loyalty and retention, towards recruitment and penetration. Because even if existing buyers contribute a large share of value in any given year, they are not a fixed group. This insight reinforces the importance of continuously recruiting new users and building mental availability over time. “How brands grow is quite well entrenched in the organisation now; it gives us a common language.” Even within the business, differences emerge. In B2B environments, where tenders and contracts dominate, loyalty plays a relatively larger role. Yet Prasun remains clear that brand building still matters. “Brand building is equally important in B2B as it is in B2C; you cannot just relax on the fact that you have got big contracts in your pocket.” “Brand building is equally important in B2B as it is in B2C; you cannot just relax on the fact that you have got big contracts in your pocket.”

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 Identity that Evolves with the Times For Petra, brand growth starts with a clear understanding of what should never change and what must continuously adapt to the current zeitgeist. While growth is often measured in revenue and profit, she emphasises that the real driver sits deeper: the ability to remain relevant. “Brand growth is something you can quantify in revenue and profit, but I think it’s especially about your brand value. You have to continuously adapt to what consumers need, so your brand remains relevant in today's context.” This distinction between identity and execution is central to Kneipp’s approach. The brand’s philosophy has remained unchanged for over a century, yet its expression evolves with the times. “Those five pillars have been there for 135 years, and they feel more relevant than ever before. But that’s not because the world moved towards us. It’s because we continuously translate them into today’s context.” In that sense, growth is not about reinventing the brand, but about reinterpreting it. A strong, stable identity provides the foundation, while relevance ensures it continues to resonate. “Brand growth is something you can quantify in revenue and profit, but I think it’s especially about your brand value. You have to continuously adapt to what consumers need, so your brand remains relevant in today's context.” One Team, One Goal: Culture as a Growth Driver Beyond brand strategy, Petra highlights organisational culture as a critical enabler of growth. At Kneipp Benelux, marketing, sales and trade marketing are not separate functions but part of a unified commercial effort. “It’s not just a marketing effort or a sales effort. It’s a commercial team effort. We work together towards one goal: bringing the brand to a higher level.” This integration is supported by the company’s relatively compact structure, which allows for short lines of communication and faster decision-making. But Petra is clear that size alone is not enough; mindset is equally important. “There’s a shared sense of responsibility. People are not focused on their own position, but on how we can move the brand forward together. You could say there’s Kneipp blood running through the organisation.” The result is a culture where silos are actively avoided and where collaboration becomes a natural way of working. According to Petra, this alignment is essential for maintaining consistency across all touchpoints, from innovation to communication to in-store execution. “There’s a shared sense of responsibility. People are not focused on their own position, but on how we can move the brand forward together. You could say there’s Kneipp blood running through the organisation.” Consistency as a Strategic Advantage In an industry that often prioritises change, Kneipp deliberately leans into consistency. Petra believes that one of the biggest mistakes companies make is treating strategy as something short-term. “A strategy is not for two years. A strategy really is for the long term. From that, you derive your plans and tactical execution.” This long-term mindset allows the brand to build memory structures over time, rather than constantly resetting its positioning. At the same time, the organisation remains flexible in how it executes that strategy. “We’ve managed to keep our strategy consistent, while still being flexible in how we respond to the market. That’s because everything is so well connected internally.” Perhaps the most telling reflection of this philosophy comes in how Petra describes communication: “When we start to feel tired of our own communication, that’s when it actually starts working for the consumer. That’s when you need to keep going.” Consistency is not a lack of creativity, but a deliberate choice to build long-term effectiveness. “When we start to feel tired of our own communication, that’s when it actually starts working for the consumer. That’s when you need to keep going.” Driving Growth through Penetration and Innovation While brand building provides the foundation, innovation remains a key growth lever, particularly when it supports penetration. “Penetration growth is the most important driver for long-term growth. You always need to find new buyers.” For Kneipp, innovation serves two roles. On the one hand, it strengthens existing categories with new concepts. On the other hand, it enables the brand to expand into adjacent spaces, supporting its evolution from a bath brand to a broader wellbeing brand. “We used to be a bath brand, but now we’re a wellbeing brand. That opens up a much broader range of categories we can play in.” However, Petra is realistic about the challenges that come with this approach. Entering new categories requires rapid validation and strong execution, especially in retail environments where performance is quickly assessed. “It’s a bit of a chess game. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But it keeps the brand dynamic and creates new growth opportunities.” Innovation is therefore not an isolated function, but closely linked to brand positioning and long-term strategy. “Innovation is a bit of a chess game. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But it keeps the brand dynamic and creates new growth opportunities.” Navigating Commercial Pressure without losing Brand Value Operating in highly promotional retail environments adds another layer of complexity. Kneipp is active in both drugstores and supermarkets, where promotional pressure continues to rise. “The promotional pressure is increasing, and it’s a challenge for everyone. The question is always: how do you balance brand value with activation?” For Petra, the answer lies in understanding the role of different products within the portfolio and maintaining a clear value proposition. Promotions are necessary, but over-reliance can erode brand equity. “You need activations, but you can’t overdo them. If you do, it comes at the expense of your brand value.” This balancing act extends to partnerships with retailers. By positioning itself as an expert in the category, Kneipp is able to guide activation strategies and contribute to better outcomes for both parties. “When you have a clear vision and can support it with insights, you’re seen as an expert partner. That gives you a stronger position in the conversation.” “You need activations, but you can’t overdo them. If you do, it comes at the expense of your brand value.” Global Alignment with Local Entrepreneurship As part of the international Kneipp Group, the Benelux organisation operates within a global framework while maintaining strong local influence. Petra plays an active role in the global marketing leadership team, ensuring alignment between markets. “It’s a global approach, but with strong input from local markets. We bring trends, ideas and insights, to decide what has global potential.” This balance creates a system that combines scale with flexibility. Global teams provide structure and consistency, while local teams bring speed and market understanding. “We’re probably somewhere in between. Not fully agile, but also not purely top-down. It’s a combination of both worlds.” For Kneipp Benelux, this translates into a high degree of ownership, particularly in areas such as media and local execution, while benefiting from globally developed brand assets and positioning. “It’s a global approach, but with strong input from local markets. We bring trends, ideas and insights, and together we decide what has broader potential.” Staying in Control of the Brand Ultimately, Petra believes that one of the most important responsibilities of a marketer is to stay in control of the brand’s direction. “If you don’t make choices, you let things happen to you. And then you become a product of the market instead of steering your brand yourself.” This philosophy runs through every aspect of Kneipp’s approach, from long-term strategy to day-to-day decisions. It reflects a clear conviction: that strong brands are built through deliberate choices, consistent execution and a deep understanding of what the brand stands for. “If you don’t make choices, you let things happen to you. And then you become a product of the market instead of steering your brand yourself.”

Utrecht, 11 June 2026 - DVJ Insights is pleased to welcome Fred Roodbeen to its Dutch team as Client Consultant. With 15 years of experience in market research, Fred further strengthens DVJ’s expertise in brand, communication, innovation and shopper research. Fred joins DVJ with 15 years of experience from MarketResponse, where he started as a Junior Consultant and later progressed to Principal Consultant. Over the years, Fred has worked across both B2C and B2B environments and has advised a wide range of organisations on addressing business and market challenges through effective research approaches. At DVJ Insights, Fred will focus on helping clients strengthen their brands and accelerate growth by combining deep consumer understanding with strategic consultancy. He is particularly enthusiastic about DVJ’s distinctive approach, which combines deep expertise in campaign testing and evaluation with extensive knowledge of brand growth through its Brand Growth Platform. By leveraging these proven methodologies, tools and insights, Fred will support clients in making better-informed decisions, strengthening their brands and identifying new growth opportunities. “What attracted me most to DVJ is that the company truly practices what it preaches. Its clear vision and focus on Brand Growth help clients achieve measurable business success, while DVJ’s own growth reflects the strength of that approach. Winning the FD Gazelle Award for eight consecutive years is a testament to this. That combination of expertise, credibility and proven results is what makes DVJ a best-in-class research agency,” Fred says. “Fred brings a wealth of experience in brand and communication research, and his enthusiasm to embrace our vision and solutions is enticing. His strategic mindset and passion for understanding what drives brand growth make him a valuable addition to our team. We are delighted to welcome him to DVJ,” adds Fons van Workum, Managing Consultant Netherlands at DVJ Insights.

For Beatriz Faustino, brand growth starts with a simple but often overlooked principle: marketing must be at the service of the business. Drawing on her experience as Chief Marketing and Digital Officer across leading retail, restaurant and lifestyle brands including Carrefour, McDonald’s, Burger King, Swatch and Imaginarium, she sees the CMO role as a strategic bridge between customer understanding and commercial growth. In this conversation, Beatriz explains why relevance is the foundation of lasting brand relationships, why customer experience has become one of the most decisive moments of truth, and how AI, data and personalisation are reshaping the way brands connect with people while still needing to deliver real business impact. Marketing as a Driver of Business Growth For Beatriz, marketing should never sit apart from the business. Its role is not only to manage campaigns or build visibility, but to understand the market, the competition, the product and the customer, and then help the company make better strategic decisions. That also changes how marketing success should be measured. Brand metrics such as awareness, consideration, preference, NPS, conversion and traffic matter, but they need to connect back to commercial growth. As she puts it: “The best ally of the business should be the marketing team,” she says. “By business, you can understand market share, sales, traffic, depending a bit on the sector. But yes, it means being extremely close to the business.” In her view, the first measure of growth is whether the business itself is moving forward. “The first KPI has to be building the business, which the marketing team must serve.” That starts with sales. Margin and efficiency are important, but they cannot compensate for a weak top line. “If the first line of your P&L is sales, and you do not make that grow, the lines underneath are not going to help you make the bottom line good.” At the same time, Beatriz does not see this as a choice between acquisition and loyalty. In retail, she has seen how loyalty programmes can contribute strongly to both sales and margin when customer knowledge is used well. That balance becomes harder when the commercial agenda becomes too narrow. “If we start with a dynamic of, I only want to sell what I really want, with the margin I want, it is extremely difficult to convince the customer that this should be the purchase decision they have to make.” Relevance is what Makes Brands Grow When Beatriz talks about what truly moves the needle, she comes back to the ability of a brand to connect with people in a way that feels useful, attractive and timely. Having worked for brands that are part of everyday life, she has seen that visibility alone is not enough. A brand has to keep earning its place in people’s routines. “What makes your value proposition unique and attractive to the customer is something that, for me, I consider as relevance,” she says. “Relevance is the way in which you connect with your target audience.” That connection matters whether a brand is speaking to an end consumer, a B2B customer or another audience. The challenge is to capture attention, create real interest and build a relationship over time. “If you do not have good relevance with customers, if you are not relevant for the proposition you make, if you are not there at the right moment, if you make a value proposition outside what is attractive to them, that brand will never grow.” For Beatriz, this makes customer understanding one of the most important sources of growth. Brands need to stay close to the market and context, but also listen carefully to customers themselves. They tell brands what matters, often directly and without filters. The challenge is whether companies are willing to turn that into action. Building for Today and Tomorrow One of the biggest tensions Beatriz sees in marketing today is the pressure to deliver short-term results while still building long-term brand value. Annual plans may still exist, but quarterly and monthly targets increasingly shape decisions. “The closing of the quarter is where the real number comes in,” she says. “Everything becomes shorter in that process.” For marketing teams, this means becoming more versatile: they need to support today’s business while also building the brand for tomorrow. That balance also shapes how Beatriz thinks about strategic investments. The decisions that create the most impact are rarely one-off actions. She points to examples such as digital ordering kiosks, table service, personalised coupons and digital content adapted to the consumption moment at McDonald’s. These are connected choices that make the customer experience more distinctive. “When there are strategic decisions behind something, it means there has been reflection, there is a long-term vision, there is decision-making at the right stages and at the right times.” For Beatriz, this makes customer experience one of the strongest opportunities for future growth. It is the moment where the relationship becomes real, and where customers decide whether the brand is worth continuing with. “For me, the purchasing experience is decisive and will be one of the major growth bets of the future, because that is really the moment of truth.” Personalisation, Consistency and AI Technology is making it possible to personalise experiences in ways that were previously impossible. Beatriz sees hyper-personalisation, omnichannel integration, AI, frictionless experiences and emotional connection as key trends for the future. At the same time, brands need to adapt to different channels and contexts without losing their identity. “You can lose that consistency by adapting very well to the medium,” she says. “You have to understand very well what the medium allows you to do, but without losing sight of what you want to convey.” That consistency matters because consumers do not think about brands as much as marketers do. Messages need to be simple, clear and easy to recognise. “Many times we get distracted and we brands think that customers are thinking about our brand 24/7. No, that is just us and that is it.” AI plays a central role in this future, both as an internal tool for automating processes and saving time, and as an external tool for building more personalised customer relationships. But Beatriz stresses that organisations need the right culture, training and practical use cases to make it work. “AI does not suddenly arrive and everyone is trained in it,” she says. “You have to help and encourage teams to have good training and good use cases.” In media and communication, she sees AI as an opportunity to plan more efficiently, target better and adapt content across channels, while recognising that the industry is still learning. “This has only just begun and we are still in trial-and-error mode.” The CMO as a Hybrid Growth Leader As brands become more data-led, technology-enabled and customer-focused, Beatriz sees the CMO role becoming much broader. It is no longer only about communication, but about combining strategy, analytics and customer knowledge. “The CMO has evolved into being more hybrid in strategy, analytics and customer knowledge than ever before. It has to be a strategic position that helps you across all disciplines of your business.” That also changes how CMOs need to manage budgets and internal relationships. With more pressure on lower-funnel results and more marketing spend going into technology, they need to work closely with data, IT, finance, CEOs and CFOs. “We have to fight to get our companies to see us as an investment, not as a cost,” Beatriz says. For Beatriz, sustainable brand growth comes from connecting business goals, customer understanding, experience, data, AI and organisational versatility. It is not about choosing between brand and performance, but about making marketing capable of delivering both.

In a market dominated by large players and tight category conventions, standing out is no easy task—especially for a smaller, family-owned company. In this conversation, Nina Hagman, Marketing & Innovation Manager at Herrljunga Drycker, shares how the Swedish beverage company has carved out a distinct position through bold innovation, strong internal alignment, and a willingness to challenge category norms while staying true to its DNA. From Idea to Market: Owning the Full Innovation Journey At Herrljunga Drycker, innovation and marketing are not separate disciplines—they are deeply intertwined. This combination allows the company to take ideas all the way from conception to launch without losing momentum or intent along the way. “You often sit in marketing or insight and come up with a lot, and then you hand it over to someone else. There’s a risk that things get lost along the way.” By keeping both functions closely connected, the team ensures that the original idea remains intact throughout development. This end-to-end ownership is a key advantage, particularly in a smaller organisation where speed and clarity of direction matter. At the same time, the company’s size enables something larger competitors often struggle with: real-world testing. Rather than relying solely on controlled environments, Herrljunga Drycker can run full-scale production tests within a normal week, allowing them to validate whether an idea truly works in practice—not just in theory. “If a product doesn’t solve a problem, it’s not real innovation—it’s just changing a blue cup into a white one.” Challenging Categories to Create Growth A defining characteristic of Herrljunga Drycker’s growth strategy is its willingness to challenge established categories. Instead of competing head-on in saturated segments, the company looks for gaps—often creating entirely new propositions in the process. This mindset has led to unconventional launches, such as alcoholic versions of traditional soft drinks and new formats like lemonade mixers—products that don’t neatly fit into existing categories but open up new consumption occasions. “Lemonade is water, lemon and sugar, many products called lemonade aren’t actually that. So we’ve taken a different approach.” Rather than following competitors, inspiration comes from outside the category—travel, food trends, social media, and everyday observations. The goal is not to copy what already works, but to identify what’s missing. “If you look at what’s not on the shelf, there’s no data for that.” This approach allows Herrljunga Drycker to punch above its weight, competing not through scale or budget, but through originality and relevance. Balancing Courage with Credibility Boldness is central to Herrljunga Drycker’s success—but it is carefully managed. The company actively encourages experimentation and accepts that not every product will succeed. “We don’t make such a big deal if it goes wrong, that has made us dare.” However, there are limits. Too many failed launches can damage credibility, particularly in relationships with retailers and distributors. Knowing when to stop is just as important as knowing when to start. “You can’t have too many of those, then credibility gets worn down.” This balance between courage and discipline is critical. Success comes not from avoiding risk, but from taking calculated risks, and being honest enough to discontinue products that don’t resonate. “We don’t make such a big deal if it goes wrong; that has made us dare.” Staying True While Pushing Boundaries One of the more nuanced challenges Herrljunga Drycker navigates is how far to push innovation without diluting the brand. As a family-owned business with a long heritage, there is a strong emphasis on staying true to core values. “It has to feel right, not just look good on paper.” This principle acts as a filter: not every opportunity is worth pursuing, even if it is commercially attractive. At the same time, the company recognises the need to evolve continuously to remain relevant. To manage this tension, Herrljunga Drycker operates with a portfolio of six brands, each with its own framework, identity, and intended target audience. While the corporate brand provides the foundation, each sub-brand has clear boundaries regarding which products and occasions fit within its positioning. “Our size means we can set up a full-scale test in the middle of a normal week, larger companies don’t always have that flexibility.” This allows the company to innovate freely without compromising the integrity of its main brand, a crucial strategy when operating across both non-alcoholic and alcoholic categories. “Our size means we can set up a full-scale test in the middle of a normal week, larger companies don’t always have that flexibility.” The Power of Internal Alignment In a smaller organisation, internal culture plays a decisive role in success. At Herrljunga, Drycker innovation is not confined to a single department—it is a shared responsibility across the company. “Everyone is a consumer in the end, it’s important to involve everyone.” Employees are encouraged to contribute ideas, whether through direct conversations or anonymous suggestions. Regular internal events celebrate successes and build excitement around upcoming launches, reinforcing a sense of shared ownership. Rethinking Data: Beyond Numbers While data plays a role in decision-making, Herrljunga Drycker takes a broader view of what “data” actually means. Alongside traditional metrics, the company places significant value on qualitative insights—observations, experiences, and conversations. “I would say we use soft data, feelings, impressions, experiences.” This combination of “hard” and “soft” data reflects a pragmatic approach: structured where necessary, intuitive where useful. Importantly, it also acknowledges the limitations of traditional data sources, which often only capture existing behaviour, not future opportunities. “Traditional data shows what works, but not what doesn’t exist.” Nina describes this as the difference between seeing the data and understanding the human behaviour behind it. Data might show when the highest number of children are born, but the real opportunity lies in interpreting what that means. More newborns may also mean more exhausted parents, creating opportunities for entirely different ideas or communication angles. In that sense, innovation is not just about reading statistics, but about understanding the real-life situations hidden beneath them. “Traditional data shows what works, but not what doesn’t exist.” Growing Smart in a Market of Giants Operating as a smaller player in a market dominated by global giants presents clear challenges, particularly in terms of scale and investment. Herrljunga Drycker has, at times, had to turn down growth opportunities simply because it lacked the capacity to deliver at the required level. Yet this constraint has also shaped a more disciplined and focused growth strategy. Rather than chasing rapid expansion, the company prioritises sustainable, organic growth aligned with its capabilities and values. “Be smart with small budgets; a smaller player needs a smarter approach to reach out. We want to grow through our own ability and strength.” “Be smart with small budgets; a smaller player needs a smarter approach to reach out. We want to grow through our own ability and strength.”

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.

Infrastructure is rarely discussed in the context of brand growth. Yet for Jenny Olsson, Marketing Director at the Øresund Bridge, the fundamentals of marketing remain strikingly familiar. In this conversation, she explains how a unique, cross-border connection between Denmark and Sweden is driven not just by traffic, but by brand, behaviour, and the ability to inspire people to travel more. A Different Product, the Same Marketing Fundamentals At first glance, marketing a bridge may seem worlds apart from marketing consumer goods. Unlike traditional products, the Øresund Bridge is a fixed piece of infrastructure, connecting two countries through both a bridge and a tunnel, and serving as a critical artery for regional mobility. But according to Jenny, the core principles of marketing still apply. “Of course, the Øresund Bridge is something different from selling a pure retail product,” she explains. “But we also want to create more journeys, more customers, and work with our existing customers. That’s where you find a lot of the fundamentals of marketing.” Like many brands, the organisation operates a full-funnel approach, with a strong focus on driving awareness and conversion for its key consumer offering, ØresundGO. This subscription-based product provides significant discounts on crossings and is central to the commercial growth strategy. The challenge, however, is not just selling the product, but ensuring that the right audiences know it exists. “Of course, the Øresund Bridge is something different from selling a pure retail product. But we also want to create more journeys, more customers, and work with our existing customers. That’s where you find a lot of the fundamentals of marketing.” From Demand Capture to Demand Creation One of the most important growth levers lies beyond simple demand capture. While many consumers already travel across the bridge, the real opportunity is in increasing frequency. This requires a shift from transactional communication to inspiration. “We saw clearly that more inspiration is needed,” Jenny says. “People know the top three things to do on the other side, but not much beyond that.” To address this, marketing efforts focus on expanding consumers’ horizons, showing them new reasons to cross the bridge, and ultimately encouraging additional trips. This is supported by a broader ecosystem of partnerships, offering discounts and experiences on both sides of the border. By enriching the perceived value of travel, the brand moves from being a facilitator of journeys to an enabler of experiences. Balancing Traffic and Brand Metrics Measuring growth in this context requires a dual approach. On one hand, there are clear behavioural metrics, such as the number of passages, frequency of travel, and geographic distribution of users. On the other hand, brand health plays a crucial role. “We measure both awareness and traffic,” Jenny explains. “Traffic is a very clear metric, but we also measure the brand itself to understand attitudes and how many people know our products.” This balance became particularly important during the rebranding of the subscription product from “BroPass” to ØresundGO. The previous name lacked clear associations with the region and created confusion in the market. The new name was designed to be simpler, more distinctive, and directly linked to the Øresund identity. However, as with any rebranding, awareness initially dropped. Rebuilding that recognition has since become a key focus, highlighting the direct relationship between brand clarity and commercial performance. “Traffic is a very clear metric, but we also measure the brand itself to understand attitudes and how many people know our products.” Standing Out in a Sea of Similar Choices While the Øresund Bridge may have limited direct competition in terms of physical routes, it competes in a broader landscape of consumer choices. Travellers can choose alternative transport options, different destinations, or even decide not to travel at all. In this context, distinctiveness becomes critical. Jenny points out that when stripped of logos, many transport and tourism communications look remarkably similar. This insight led to the introduction of a brand mascot, Gustav. “It’s a way for us to create a universe where we clearly stand out,” she explains. “So people can quickly recognise that it’s us.” Gustav, a bird acting as a guide and inspirer, helps the brand cut through the noise and improve recall. The result is not just more memorable communication, but also measurable improvements in marketing effectiveness. “Our mascot Gustav is a way for us to create a universe where we clearly stand out, so people can quickly recognise that it’s us.” Growth Shaped by Forces Beyond Marketing Despite strong marketing efforts, growth is heavily influenced by external factors. Economic conditions, currency fluctuations, the weather, and broader travel trends all play a significant role in shaping demand. For example, exchange rate shifts have impacted travel flows between Sweden and Denmark, making it more expensive for Swedes to visit Copenhagen while simultaneously attracting more Danish visitors to Sweden. As a result, traffic patterns have shifted over time. “There’s a strong natural desire for Swedes to travel to Copenhagen,” Jenny notes. “But it’s been held back somewhat by the exchange rate.” Looking ahead, infrastructure developments such as the Fehmarn Belt tunnel are expected to further influence traffic, particularly from Germany. The organisation sees it as an opportunity. “Everything that makes it easier for people to move between countries is positive,” she says. “There’s a strong natural desire for Swedes to travel to Copenhagen, but it’s been held back somewhat by the exchange rate.” The Evolving Role of Marketing Jenny also reflects on how the role of marketing itself has evolved. Where marketers were once primarily responsible for communication, they are now deeply involved in broader business strategy. “Today, discussions are much more about what business we want to build, which markets and products we focus on, and how we communicate,” she explains. “It’s much more cross-functional and strategic than before.” This shift is supported by a wide range of data sources, from brand tracking and campaign measurement to behavioural analytics and user data. These insights help guide decisions across both marketing and product development, ensuring alignment with customer needs. “Today, discussions are much more about what business we want to build, which markets and products we focus on, and how we communicate.” A Digital-First Approach to Reaching Travellers In terms of execution, the media strategy is overwhelmingly digital. From social media and search to display and streaming TV, the majority of marketing investments are focused on channels that allow for precise targeting and geographic control. “It’s almost entirely digital,” Jenny explains. “Even out-of-home is often digital screens.” This reflects both the need for efficiency and the importance of reaching audiences within specific regions, depending on travel patterns and seasonal behaviour. Ultimately, the Øresund Bridge demonstrates that even the most unconventional “product” can be approached through a modern brand growth lens. By combining clear measurement, strong brand building, and a focus on behavioural change, the organisation continues to drive growth in a complex and evolving environment. At its core, the challenge is not just to connect two countries, but to give people more reasons to cross between them.

Stockholm, 2 June 2026 - DVJ Insights is pleased to welcome Malin Larsudd to its Nordic team as Consultant, further strengthening the agency’s expertise in strategic insights, innovation, and shopper research. Malin brings more than 15 years of experience in insights, brand strategy, and consumer understanding, having previously worked with companies such as Coop, Nepa, and Ipsos. Throughout her career, she has worked closely with brands across a variety of industries, helping organisations translate consumer and shopper insights into business strategies that deliver tangible results. With a strong background in consumer understanding and market research, Malin joins DVJ with a passion for combining analytical depth with commercial impact. At DVJ, she will focus on helping clients identify growth opportunities through insight-driven strategies, with a particular focus on innovation, shopper insights, and brand development. “I’m very excited to join DVJ at a time when understanding people and behaviours has never been more important. What really attracted me to DVJ is the combination of sharp strategic thinking, deep shopper and consumer expertise, and a genuine willingness to challenge conventional perspectives. I’m especially looking forward to working closely with clients on innovation and growth-focused projects, as well as shopper projects that create real impact,” says Malin Larsudd. Elin Scotford, Market Lead Nordics at DVJ Insights, adds: “Malin is a fantastic addition to our Nordic team. Her broad experience, combined with her strategic mindset and commercial understanding, will help us support our clients even better. What particularly sets Malin apart is her ability to connect deep consumer understanding with tangible business value, which fits perfectly with DVJ’s approach.”