Search Results

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 maximise the likelihood that consumers would buy the product.

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 drives brand growth at Ferrero: delivering exceptional product experiences while ensuring brands remain visible and accessible to consumers. Experience and Exposure as the Drivers of Brand Growth For Fabrizio, brand growth ultimately comes down to two key elements: product experience and consumer exposure. “For us, when we talk about brand growth, the first two words that come to my mind are experience and exposure,” he explains. “We must guarantee a good balance between brand equity and commercial exposure.” Ferrero’s brands are built on the belief that if consumers experience the product, they will love it. This conviction stems from the company’s strict product development philosophy. “When the consumer has the possibility to experience our product, the performance delivery is always excellent. That’s part of our DNA,” Fabrizio says. “We take a lot of time to test and experiment with any product because we want to be sure that when we launch something, it’s not just to make the shelf crowded. We want to send a champion to the market.” Yet even the best products cannot succeed if consumers do not encounter them in-store. According to Fabrizio, visibility and accessibility remain essential parts of the growth equation. “The problem is that in some markets we are not that visible to the average consumer,” he explains. “If I don’t see you, I don’t buy you.” “When we talk about brand growth, the first two words that come to my mind are experience and exposure. We must guarantee a good balance between brand equity and commercial exposure.” Different Brands, Different Growth Challenges Ferrero’s diverse portfolio means that growth strategies vary significantly across brands and categories. Some products, such as Nutella or Kinder Bueno, already enjoy exceptionally high awareness levels. In these cases, the challenge is not awareness but maintaining penetration in an increasingly price-driven market. “For Nutella, the problem is completely different,” Fabrizio says. “The level of awareness is very high, but we are losing penetration in favour of competitors who may have more aggressive pricing.” Other products face the opposite challenge. For example, Ferrero’s chilled Kinder products in the UK struggle primarily with awareness and visibility. “The problem we have there is basically a problem of awareness. Few people know us, and we are not that visible on shelf,” he explains. Interestingly, the situation is very different in other European markets, where the category enjoys much stronger visibility. “In countries like Italy, France or Germany, when you enter the chilled area, you see the brand everywhere; brand blocking, a lot of stock,” Fabrizio says. “Here in the UK, when I go grocery shopping myself, I struggle to find our product.” This illustrates how the same brand can require completely different growth strategies depending on the market context. Quality and Trust as the Foundation of Long-Term Growth While shelf visibility and distribution are crucial drivers of growth, Fabrizio emphasises that Ferrero’s strongest advantage lies in its product quality and brand trust. Product excellence is built into the company’s process long before a product reaches the shelf. “When we want to launch a new product, we always validate it with the consumer before,” he explains. Once the product is launched, we are confident in the taste delivery.” In fact, Ferrero rarely changes product recipes after launch, even when faced with rising costs for key ingredients such as cocoa or hazelnuts. “The recipe is almost like a kind of dogma for us,” Fabrizio notes. This unwavering commitment to quality helps explain why Ferrero brands consistently rank among the most loved in consumer equity studies. “Whenever we do brand equity tracking, Ferrero brands are always in the top three, if not number one,” he says. “It’s rare to see brands that are so loved across so many countries.” “When we want to launch a new product, we always validate it with the consumer” ‘La Valeria’: Consumer-Centric Thinking Ahead of Its Time Ferrero’s consumer-first philosophy is deeply embedded in the company’s history. Fabrizio points to an anecdote from founder Michele Ferrero that still resonates within the organisation today. “Michele Ferrero used to say: ‘I’m not your boss. Your boss is La Valeria,’” Fabrizio explains. “La Valeria” referred to the archetypal Italian mother responsible for household grocery shopping — the real decision-maker in the purchasing process. “It was a romantic way to say that our boss is the consumer,” Fabrizio says. “Now every company says they are consumer-centric, but the foundations for Ferrero were laid more than sixty years ago.” The philosophy remains highly relevant today. According to Fabrizio, maintaining the trust of this everyday consumer remains the company’s most important priority. “If we lose her trust, we are done,” he says. “That trust is something we can never compromise.” “If we lose the consumer’s trust, we are done. That trust is something we can never compromise.” Point of Sale: The New Battleground for Brand Growth While brand equity and product quality remain Ferrero’s foundations, the company is currently facing new challenges in the UK market. One of the most significant is the impact of HFSS (High Fat, Salt and Sugar) regulations, which restrict how brands can advertise and what they can show in communications. “These regulations limit the biggest channels to create awareness,” Fabrizio explains. As a result, the competitive battleground is shifting increasingly toward retail environments. “I think the real battle now is at the point of sale,” he says. In-store visibility, shelf presence and pack architecture are therefore becoming even more important. Ferrero is focusing on strengthening brand blocking, developing effective POS materials and optimising product formats and price architecture. “We need to understand how to play with formats and price architecture so that we can be winning with both the trade and the consumer,” Fabrizio explains. The goal is not simply to increase visibility, but to ensure that products remain accessible to a broad range of shoppers. “We need to understand how to play with formats and price architecture so that we can be winning with both the trade and the consumer.” Looking Ahead: Winning the Shelf and Embracing AI Looking to the future, Fabrizio sees two major areas where insights and analytics will shape brand growth. The first is continuing to win the battle at the point of sale. The second is learning how to integrate artificial intelligence effectively into the insights process. “The next big challenge for us will be how to master AI and how to win on the point of sale,” he says. But despite technological advances, Fabrizio believes the core principles of brand growth will remain the same. “The best advice I would give is to guarantee two things: the experience and the exposure,” he concludes. “You need to deliver a great product experience, but it’s equally important to be accessible and visible to the consumer.” Because in the end, even the most loved product cannot grow if consumers never see it.

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 consistent brand investment and actionable measurement are essential to turning strong brands into winning competitors. From Building the Car to Winning the Race At Essity, brand growth is approached with the precision of a strategic system rather than a single marketing tactic. Strong brands need the right foundations, but they also require the right strategy to compete in the market. Fernando describes Essity’s approach to brand growth using a motorsport analogy. “I was thinking of the brand-building principles as building a car. And then this growth mindset and growth planning are the strategy to make the car win the competition.” At the heart of Essity’s framework lies a simple but powerful growth logic: brands grow by increasing penetration and by managing the product mix effectively. “Growth is coming from focusing efforts on gaining mostly two things. One is penetration, and the other one is managing the product mix.” Penetration ensures that more consumers enter the brand’s funnel, while managing the product portfolio allows brands to win across different segments and occasions. The right balance between these levers depends heavily on the brand’s situation within a specific market. This is why Essity’s approach begins with a careful analysis of the market context before deciding which growth levers to prioritise. “Growth is coming from focusing efforts on gaining mostly two things. One is penetration, and the other one is managing the mix.” Why Investment Remains the Biggest Growth Barrier Despite the sophistication of growth frameworks, Fernando believes that the biggest barrier to brand growth remains surprisingly simple: underinvestment. Insufficient investment creates a negative cycle. Without investment, brands struggle to remain visible in consumers’ minds, making it harder to compete at the moment of purchase. “If you are not investing enough, then you are not bringing your brand into the mind of the consumer in the moment of purchase.” Breaking this cycle requires commitment from the top of the organisation. Growth programmes succeed most when senior leadership supports sustained investment and allows markets the time needed to see results. “Those programmes work when they come from top to bottom, and top management is really engaged and committed.” Fernando also emphasises that investment decisions must be strategic. Companies cannot invest everywhere at once, so they need to prioritise the markets and brands with the greatest potential for traction. “If you are not investing enough, then you are not bringing your brand into the mind of the consumer in the moment of purchase.” Growth in Commoditised Categories Essity operates in categories such as toilet paper and kitchen roll, categories that are considered commoditised. Yet Fernando is convinced that growth remains possible even in these environments. “The challenge is maybe greater in some categories, such as toilet paper.” In such categories, price sensitivity can be higher and product differentiation smaller. As a result, the growth strategy often requires a more balanced marketing mix that combines promotions, distribution, product quality, and brand communication. “You need to find the ways to be visible, to have the proper product, and place the right mix depending on the competitive context.” Even when brands achieve strong market positions, Fernando warns against reducing investment. Consumers are rarely loyal for long, and brand equity can erode quickly if investment stops. “You cannot stop investing even if your brand has already grown.” This dynamic is the well-known “leaking bucket” effect in marketing. Brands must continuously bring in new consumers simply to maintain their current level of penetration. “You need to find the ways to be visible, to have the proper product, and place the right mix depending on the competitive context.” A Framework That Combines Global Direction with Local Freedom One of the most distinctive aspects of Essity’s growth model is its structure: a global framework combined with strong local autonomy. Rather than imposing rigid plans from the centre, the framework provides markets with tools and guidance to build their own strategies. “It’s a framework, but within this framework, they can play whatever they want to do.”   This balance ensures that global learning and consistency coexist with local relevance. Markets can choose the KPIs and levers most appropriate to their competitive situation while still operating within a shared strategic structure. For Fernando, this is where the real power of the model lies. Growth frameworks must not only provide clarity but also enable action. “If you cannot manage the conversation end-to-end, it’s not actionable. And if you cannot measure, you cannot act upon the measurements.” Ultimately, the framework reflects a broader philosophy: growth does not happen by chance. It requires disciplined measurement, strategic investment, and a clear understanding of which levers to pull in each market. And when those elements align, even brands in the most mature or commoditised categories can find ways to accelerate. “If you cannot manage the conversation end-to-end, it’s not actionable. And if you cannot measure, you cannot act upon the measurements.”

New book by DVJ Insights explores why sustainable brand growth is a leadership decision London, 14 April 2026, For decades, we have known how brands grow. Increase penetration, build mental availability, invest consistently over time. The principles are well established and widely accepted. Yet many organisations still struggle to achieve sustainable growth. According to DVJ Insights, the problem is not a lack of knowledge, tools, or data but how organisations are structured to make decisions over time. Today, DVJ Insights announces the publication of The Growth Decision: Leadership, Strategy and the Architecture of Sustainable Brand Growth , written by CEO Lucas Hulsebos  and published by Warden Press . Rather than introducing new frameworks or theories, the book challenges a more fundamental issue: Most companies are not designed to deliver growth even if they know how it works.   From marketing problem to leadership challenge For years, marketing science has provided clear evidence on what drives growth. Despite this, many organisations continue to prioritise short-term results, fragment decision-making, and disconnect brand-building from commercial execution. The Growth Decision  argues that growth should not be seen as a marketing challenge, but as a leadership and organisational one.   It introduces the concept of the Strategic Growth Gap : the structural difference between companies that grow and those that stagnate.   The book shows that growth does not emerge from isolated activities such as innovation, promotions, or creative campaigns. Instead, it is the result of how these elements are connected, prioritised, and consistently applied over time.   Built on large-scale research and real-world experience The perspective presented in the book is grounded in one of the largest global research programmes among marketing professionals, combining: 10 years of research with insights from more than 20,000 marketing professionals Over 500 in-depth interviews with marketing leaders More than 10 years of continuous research for clients In addition, the book reflects DVJ Insights’ own experience as a company that has achieved consistent growth over the past decade, operating in a market where many competitors face stagnation or decline.   This combination of academic insight, large-scale data, and practical application forms the foundation of the book’s central argument: Growth is not a knowledge problem. It is a decision-making and organisational challenge.   A system perspective on growth Rather than focusing on individual marketing techniques, The Growth Decision reframes growth as a system. It challenges widely held assumptions around innovation, Moments of Truth, promotions, creative effectiveness, and data-driven decision making. The book demonstrates that none of these element’s work in isolation. Sustainable growth emerges from how organisations align around long-term demand creation and make consistent decisions under pressure.   About the author Lucas Hulsebos  is CEO and owner of DVJ Insights and has over 30 years of experience in marketing and market research. Through the Brand Growth Platform  and collaborations with leading organisations and academic partners, DVJ Insights has been at the forefront of translating marketing science into practical growth decisions.   “Growth is not accidental. It is the result of how organisations are designed to make decisions over time.” – Lucas Hulsebos   Lucas is available for interviews, podcast appearances and expert commentary  on sustainable brand growth, leadership, marketing effectiveness and the Strategic Growth Gap.   Book details Title:   The Growth Decision: Leadership, Strategy and the Architecture of Sustainable Brand Growth Author:   Lucas Hulsebos Publication date:  14 April 2026 Publisher:   Warden Press Format:  Hardback, 176 pages Recommended retail price:  €29.95   The book is available from 14 April 2026 at Centraal Boekhuis, Managementbook.nl , and Amazon.com for international delivery.

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 carefully balanced over time. As Professor Bijmolt reflects, “If I knew one simple answer, I would probably be a millionaire.” It captures the essence: growth is complex, contextual, and cumulative. Sales Up? That Doesn’t Mean Your Brand Is Growing One of the most important misconceptions Tammo addresses is the idea that brand growth can be reduced to short-term commercial success. He argues that growth operates on two dimensions simultaneously. “Brand growth should be on two dimensions; on the one hand, higher sales, but on the other hand, it comes with a positive attitude, a positive brand image.” This duality lies at the heart of sustainable growth. Sales without brand strength are fragile; brand perception without sales is ineffective. The real challenge for marketers is managing both at once. This perspective aligns with what many organisations experience in practice: a constant tension between financial KPIs and brand health metrics. While short-term indicators such as revenue or profit are immediately visible, long-term indicators, like brand equity, trust, and emotional connection, require patience and consistent investment. And importantly, short-term success can be bought. Long-term brand growth has to be built. “Brand growth should be on two dimensions; on the one hand, higher sales, but on the other hand, it comes with a positive attitude, a positive brand image.” The Short-Term vs Long-Term Tension Few debates in marketing are as persistent as the balance between short-term activation and long-term brand building. Tammo’s view is clear: both are necessary, but they serve fundamentally different purposes. As he puts it, “If you just want to have more sales next week, you need to do a promotion, but if you run a lot of promotions, it might harm your brand image in the long run.” Both are necessary, but they serve different roles. Sustainable growth comes from combining them, not choosing between them. The brands that grow most sustainably are those that can drive demand in the short term without losing sight of the longer-term task of building preference. “If you just want to have more sales next week, you need to do a promotion, but if you run a lot of promotions, it might harm your brand image in the long run.” Why Integration Is The Next Level What Tammo finds particularly interesting is not just which ingredients drive growth, but how rarely they are studied together. What’s often missing, both in academia and in practice, is integration. Pricing, communication, promotions and innovation are usually treated separately, while consumers experience one brand. As he notes, “There’s not so much work looking at the integration of those things, what kind of communication matches with a certain pricing strategy, for example.” That, according to Professor Bijmolt, is where an important gap remains. Growth is not only about improving individual levers, but about understanding how they work together, and whether they create a consistent picture of the brand.   The implication is that effectiveness does not only depend on doing the right things, but on doing them coherently. A premium positioning, for instance, must be reflected consistently across pricing, communication, product experience, and distribution. A brand cannot claim to stand for quality and emotional value while relying heavily on discount-led messaging that signals the opposite. That’s why the role of the CMO is shifting, from managing channels to orchestrating the full system, connecting different functions, from data and technology to sales and innovation. In other words, brand growth is no longer about optimising individual channels or tactics. It is about aligning the entire system. Consistency As a Driver For Growth When asked what advice he would give to marketers today, Tammo returns to a principle that underpins everything discussed: consistency. As he says, “Try to be consistent. What you do in pricing or communication should lead to a coherent picture of what your brand is.” Consistency is what transforms individual activities into a recognisable, trustworthy brand. But consistency alone is not enough. Tammo also stresses the importance of humility and continuous learning, urging marketers to “not believe that you know everything, but try to do marketing based on actual insights.” In a world where companies generate vast amounts of data—from campaigns, promotions, and customer interactions—there is a significant opportunity to learn and improve continuously. As Tammo puts it, “Why in the world would you not use these data and get better and better?”  With advances in AI and analytics, extracting these insights has become more accessible than ever. The challenge is not the availability of data, but using it effectively. “Try to be consistent. What you do in pricing or communication should lead to a coherent picture of what your brand is.” Collaboration Between Academia And Practice Tammo ends with a point that feels especially relevant in a field as complex as brand growth: the need for stronger collaboration between academia and practice. As he puts it, “In science, there’s a lot of expertise; in practice, there’s a lot of data and challenges to solve. Let’s collaborate to learn from each other.” If brand growth is shaped by multiple drivers, long and short-term tensions, and the interaction between different marketing levers, then no single perspective is enough on its own. That is perhaps the clearest takeaway from this conversation. Brand growth is an evolving discipline that requires different perspectives, continuous learning, and a willingness to look beyond easy answers. Growth emerges from how well brands balance sales and perception, activation and brand building, individual actions and overall coherence. Or, as Tammo puts it, “Don’t believe in easy solutions.” For marketers, that may not be the most convenient conclusion, but it is probably the most honest and the most useful. “In science, there’s a lot of expertise; in practice, there’s a lot of data and challenges to solve. Let’s collaborate to learn from each other.”

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 Insights introduced Cognitive Demand : an AI-driven metric that predicts, second by second, how much mental effort a video requires from viewers. This makes it possible to understand not just whether a commercial works, but why, and how to improve it. By combining AI analysis with behavioural, survey, and media data, the approach was validated across more than 450 commercials. The results show a clear relationship between cognitive load and campaign performance, with an optimal range that maximises attention and processing. The methodology is now embedded in the creative process, allowing teams to move from subjective discussions to data-informed decisions. Instead of asking whether a commercial feels “too busy”, teams can now identify exactly where and why cognitive pressure increases. This has led to a measurable impact. Optimised creatives achieved significantly higher view-through rates and contributed to increases in brand awareness, consideration, and advertising awareness. The nomination highlights how data and technology can add value in an area traditionally driven by intuition: creativity. By making creative decisions more measurable and actionable, DVJ Insights continues to help brands drive more effective and sustainable growth.

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.