London, 20 May 2026 - DVJ Insights welcomes Nicola Ball as consultant in the UK, further strengthening its shopper and innovation expertise and supporting continued growth in the region. Nicola brings more than 20 years of experience in shopper research and consultancy. She started her career at Kantar Worldpanel before moving to Australia, where she held shopper and customer insight roles at Colgate-Palmolive and Lion. Most recently, Nicola worked at IGD, where she provided strategic direction and commercial recommendations to FMCG suppliers and retailers, grounded in shopper and consumer insight. She specialises in understanding how shopper behaviour influences brand and category growth, retail environments and innovation strategies. Throughout her career, Nicola has worked across a broad range of categories, helping businesses translate shopper understanding into stronger marketing, category and commercial decision-making. At DVJ Insights, Nicola will work closely with clients to support brand and category growth, with a particular focus on shopper and innovation. She will help brands identify, develop and refine innovations to meet evolving market needs, while uncovering real-time shopper decision-making through innovative methodologies and behavioural insight approaches. “I am delighted to join the DVJ Insights team. DVJ stood out to me because of its clear focus on delivering added value to clients, the quality and rigour of its research, and its commitment to innovation. I was also drawn to the company’s ambition to be not only the best research agency, but also the best place to work,” says Nicola. “What particularly attracted me to the role was the opportunity to work in close partnership with clients, helping them solve commercial challenges, while also collaborating with some of the industry’s leading experts.” Jemma Toynebee-Smith, Managing Consultant UK, adds: “Nicola is a great addition to our UK team. With her strong experience in shopper research, retail environments and commercial consultancy, she strengthens our ability to support clients in understanding how shopper behaviour can drive brand and category growth. We are very happy to welcome her to the team.”

Over the past decade, brand growth has become increasingly grounded in data, evidence, and structured decision-making. In this conversation, Alexander Dedovets, responsible for Marketing Effectiveness at Cloetta, a leading confectionery company in Northern Europe and home to some of the strongest brands on the market, shares how the company approaches growth through a clear focus on penetration, product quality, and evidence-based marketing. From prioritising “superbrands” and consumer relevance to balancing innovation with commercial reality, his perspective reflects a pragmatic and disciplined approach to building brands in a complex category. The Product as the Foundation, Distribution as the Driver While Cloetta combines multiple growth levers – brand communication, distribution, pricing, and innovation - Alexander is clear that not all of them play the same role. At the core, everything starts with the product itself. Strong distribution or marketing may drive initial trial, but only a product that consumers genuinely like will generate repeat purchase and long-term growth. “If people buy it once and don’t like the product, they will not buy it again.” This makes product quality the foundation of brand building. It determines whether a brand deserves to grow at all. Without it, any growth driven by marketing or distribution is short-lived. In that sense, the product is non-negotiable; it is what sustains demand over time. At the same time, a strong product alone is not enough to deliver growth at scale. This is where physical availability becomes critical. Growth, in practice, comes from being easy to buy—being present in the right channels, with the right formats, at the right moments. Distribution is what enables penetration, allowing more people to access and choose the brand. “The most efficient way to grow the brand is to increase the penetration, meaning that more people buy the product of the brand.” The distinction is subtle but important. The product ensures that consumers come back; distribution ensures that more consumers can buy in the first place. One creates sustainability, the other creates scale. Together, they form the engine of brand growth, supported by mental availability to ensure the brand is also top-of-mind when purchase moments arise. “The most efficient way to grow the brand is to increase the penetration, meaning that more people buy the product of the brand.” Balancing Physical and Mental Availability Cloetta’s growth approach is built on the interplay between physical and mental availability. On the one hand, the brand needs to be present wherever consumers want to buy, whether in supermarkets, convenience stores, or online platforms, and offer the right formats for different consumption moments. On the other hand, it needs to come to mind in those moments when consumers are considering a purchase. “You need to have both physical and mental availability hand in hand to be able to drive the growth effectively.” If one is missing, growth becomes difficult. Strong awareness without availability limits conversion, while strong distribution without awareness reduces the likelihood of being chosen. Innovation as a Complex Balancing Act Innovation plays a key role in driving consumer relevance, even though it is among the most complex drivers of growth. For Cloetta, the true opportunity lies in deeply understanding consumer needs and transforming those insights into scalable, winning products. “The real challenge is uncovering what consumers truly want, especially when those needs are still taking shape.” Successful innovation needs to strike a careful balance. It must be new enough to stand out, but familiar enough to appeal to a broad audience. It must deliver on taste and quality, while also being commercially viable in terms of cost and scale. Even with strong processes, uncertainty remains, and not every idea will succeed in the market. “The real challenge is uncovering what consumers truly want, especially when those needs are still taking shape.” Insight-led Growth, not Guesswork To navigate this uncertainty, Cloetta integrates data and consumer insights in every part of the business process. Inspiration comes from a combination of research, behavioural data, trend observation, and internal expertise. Ideas are not only generated through these inputs, but also rigorously tested before launch. “There’s a very clear and logical pattern. The better the product is, the better the market performance is once the product is launched.” This validation loop helps increase the probability of success and ensures that investments are directed towards ideas that are more likely to resonate with consumers. “There’s a very clear and logical pattern. The better the product is, the better the market performance is once the product is launched.” The role of Marketing and AI As the marketing landscape becomes more complex, the role of marketers is evolving. Rather than being specialists in a single area, they increasingly act as orchestrators, bringing together different capabilities, teams, and partners. “You need both: a generalist who can manage the whole project and specialists with deep expertise in their own areas.” This shift is driven by the growing number of media channels, data sources, and tools, making coordination and alignment more important than ever. In this context, AI is seen primarily as an enabler rather than a game changer. It helps speed up data processing, generate outputs, and support early-stage work, acting as what Alexander describes as a “junior assistant.” While it improves efficiency, it does not replace human judgment or creativity. Looking ahead, Alexander emphasises that the real opportunity for marketers lies in making better use of the knowledge already available. With more data and proven frameworks than ever before, future brand growth depends on applying this evidence consistently. “We have the logic, data, concepts, and scientific insights available; use them as a base in order to create the magic. But don’t skip the logic and focus only on the magic; strong marketing requires both.“ “We have the logic, data, concepts, and scientific insights available; use them as a base in order to create the magic.”

In a category as complex and high-stakes as higher education, brand growth is no longer just about filling seats. It is about building trust, authority, and long-term relevance in a market where decision-making is increasingly fragmented, emotional, and influenced by a multitude of touchpoints. Ana Marín, Marketing Manager at Universidad Europea, sits at the centre of this transformation. Responsible for driving growth across strategic verticals within one of Spain’s largest private university networks, she is navigating a shift that many brands are now facing: from performance-led marketing to brand-led growth. From Performance to Preference: Redefining Growth KPIs For years, marketing in education, like many sectors, leaned heavily on performance-driven tactics. Capture demand, optimise conversion, and drive enrolments. But that model is no longer sufficient in today’s environment. Ana describes a dual KPI framework that reflects this evolution. On one hand, there is the tangible outcome: student growth. On the other, there is brand relevance, the degree to which prospective students feel connected to, and prefer, the university. “These two KPIs go hand in hand,” she says. “You probably can’t achieve one without the other.” What makes this particularly challenging is that different parts of the organisation sit at different stages of maturity. A newly launched campus may need to prioritise awareness, while more established units focus on deepening relevance and differentiation. The implication is clear: brand growth is not linear. It requires adapting the marketing focus depending on where the brand, or sub-brand, sits in its lifecycle. “The ultimate business KPI is clear: how we attract more students year on year. But alongside that, there’s another KPI that matters just as much—how we make people prefer our brand over others.” The Real Drivers of Choice: Prestige and Recommendation When it comes to what actually drives growth in higher education, Ana is unequivocal: “The main drivers are prestige and recommendation.” Prestige, however, is not a superficial construct. It is built through a combination of tangible and experiential elements: academic quality, industry connections, faculty expertise, facilities, and ultimately, career outcomes. “It’s about the academic model, how students learn, the link with industry, and how studying here positions you in your professional life,” she explains. Closely intertwined with this is recommendation. In a category where decisions carry long-term consequences, peer validation and word-of-mouth play an outsized role. While recommendation is important across industries, Ana notes that its influence is particularly strong in education. Together, these drivers highlight a key truth: brand growth in education is inseparable from the product experience itself. “It’s about the academic model, how students learn, the link with industry, and how studying here positions you in your professional life.” From Funnel to Fluidity: Building One Brand in a Fragmented Journey Achieving this recommendation, however, is harder than ever. One of the most profound shifts Ana highlights is the collapse of the traditional marketing funnel. The once-linear path, from awareness to consideration to conversion, has given way to something far more complex. “We’ve moved from a model where Google was king to a ‘search everywhere’ reality,” she explains. Today, prospective students navigate a fluid ecosystem of touchpoints: TikTok, influencers, AI tools, social content, and multiple search environments. As a result, the role of brand has fundamentally changed. “Now the consumer doesn’t just search by product, they search by brand,” Ana notes. Faced with this fragmentation, Universidad Europea has made a decisive strategic shift. Rather than tailoring dozens of messages for different audiences and stages of the funnel, the focus is now on building a single, consistent brand narrative. “We were diluting our investment across too many messages,” Ana admits. The new approach centres on a universal insight: the human need to grow through learning. Whether targeting a recent school leaver or a mid-career professional, the underlying motivation remains the same. “The insight doesn’t change. Whether you’re 22 or 40, the core need is progressing in your professional life,” she explains. This shift has enabled the brand to achieve greater coherence and impact. In a world where consumers encounter brands across countless touchpoints, consistency is no longer optional; it is essential. “To be relevant, you need to be coherent. If you’re launching 30 different messages, you won’t build a clear positioning.” The Attention Economy: Media and Creativity Reimagined As media consumption evolves, so too does the battle for attention. Interestingly, Ana points to a counterintuitive trend: the resurgence of traditional channels. “Formats like out-of-home are coming back because they capture attention better than digital.” At the same time, digital channels, particularly social media, are redefining what effective content looks like. Success is no longer about polished production, but about relevance and authenticity. “The 17-year-olds don’t read long texts. They want a TikTok video, something quick and real,” Ana says. This shift is reshaping creative expectations. High-production, cinematic advertising is perceived as distant and is losing ground to content that feels credible, informal, and user-generated. “What they expect is something real, a video shot on a phone that shows the truth,” she explains. For brands, this creates a delicate balance: how to remain authoritative and credible while also being relatable and human. Within this context, artificial intelligence is emerging as both an opportunity and a tension point. While at Universidad Europea it is already embedded in internal processes supporting planning, briefing, and efficiency, its role in communication is more complex. “I see AI as a very positive evolution,” Ana says. However, she also notes its current limitations: “When we test AI-generated campaigns, they feel artificial. Consumers perceive them as distant.” This insight reinforces a broader theme: in a world saturated with content, authenticity becomes a key differentiator. Technology can enhance efficiency, but it cannot replace the human connection that drives brand relevance. “When we test AI-generated campaigns, they feel artificial. Consumers perceive them as distant.” Lifelong Learning, Lifelong Brands Beyond marketing tactics, Ana’s perspective reflects a deeper shift in the category itself. Education is no longer a one-time decision but a continuous journey. “Learning is no longer something you do once—it’s lifelong,” she says. This has implications not only for product offerings but also for brand positioning. Universities are no longer just institutions; they are long-term partners in personal and professional development. At the same time, competition is intensifying. Alternative education models, such as shorter, more affordable programmes, are challenging traditional formats. Yet, this also reinforces the importance of strong branding. In a crowded and evolving market, the brands that succeed will be those that combine credibility with clarity, consistency with creativity, and innovation with authenticity. Reflecting on the future, Ana sees the biggest opportunities in two areas: communication and the decision-making journey. “There’s still a lot of room to communicate better, and to support people better through the decision process,” she concludes. Her advice for marketers is simple but powerful: stay true to your brand. “The key is being authentic and legitimate to your brand, while still being relevant to your audience,” she says. In an era defined by fragmentation, speed, and constant change, that balance may well be the ultimate driver of brand growth. “The key is being authentic and legitimate to your brand, while still being relevant to your audience.”

In a category where products are largely interchangeable and differentiation is difficult to sustain, brand becomes the primary growth lever. In this conversation, Teresa Hedlund, Head of Marketing at Telenor Sweden, shares how the company is navigating growth in a highly competitive telecom market. From driving consideration in a low-interest category to sharpening brand distinctiveness and adapting to changing consumer behaviour, she explains why consistency, reach, and strategic focus are critical to staying relevant. Winning in a Category of Sameness Telecom is, by Teresa’s own admission, a mature category where most providers deliver similar core services. “We operate in a market where we don’t really have any competitive advantages to speak of,” she explains. “The products and services are essentially the same.” For customers, that makes the decision less about specs and more about confidence: choosing a brand they recognise and trust. “That’s why the brand becomes much more important,” Teresa says. “It’s about constantly reminding people, being present where the consumer is, and maintaining continuity over time.” A key structural challenge lies in the timing of purchase decisions. At any given moment, only a small proportion of consumers are actively considering switching providers. “Roughly 12% of the market is in-market at any given time,” she explains. “The rest are in binding or not actively looking to change Telecom provider.” That means Telenor has to be helpful and relevant both for people who are ready to choose now and for those who will decide later. This dynamic makes an always-on approach essential. Rather than focusing purely on short-term activation, Telenor invests in a consistent market presence and broad reach, so the brand feels familiar and credible when consumers eventually enter the market. “We operate in a market where we don’t really have any competitive advantages to speak of; the products and services are essentially the same. That’s why the brand becomes much more important.” From Awareness to Meaning: Solving the ‘Why’ In Sweden, many people already know Telenor — and the opportunity now is to make that familiarity mean something clear and compelling when customers are ready to choose. “We are quite well known, but less known in terms of why you should choose us,” Teresa notes. Brand strategy plays a crucial role in closing that gap by translating awareness into preference. The focus is not just on being visible, but on consistently communicating the reason to choose the brand — in a way that’s easy to understand and easy to remember. “That’s what we’re trying to solve; reaching more people with the ‘why’.” For customers, one of the biggest benefits is how easy Telenor makes it to connect the people who belong together — families in the broadest sense. “Family doesn’t have to mean a traditional household,” Teresa explains. “It can be your chosen family: Friends, Neighbours, or Extended Family. We allow up to eight people on one subscription.” With everyone gathered in one place, customers get a smoother way to manage their services, unlock family offers, and keep costs predictable. It also makes it easier to add the things that matter in everyday life — from parental controls and security solutions to streaming, roaming, and 5G broadband — in one coherent setup for the whole group. The result is a win-win: it makes it easy for new customers to join, and it gives people even more reasons to stay, because multiple users share the benefits and the experience together. “We are quite well known, but less known in terms of why you should choose us. That’s the communicative challenge we’re trying to solve; reaching more people with the ‘why’.” Fewer, Stronger, Better: The Power of Focus One of the most significant shifts under Teresa’s leadership has been a move towards greater focus, both in media and messaging. “When I started, we were spread across too many channels with too many messages,” she explains. “So we reduced the number of channels and messages to put more weight behind the ones we kept. That clarity makes a huge difference.” For Teresa, that’s ultimately a prioritisation challenge: deciding what deserves the investment and what doesn’t. “The hard part isn’t coming up with ideas — it’s deciding what to say no to,” she says. She puts it simply: “A strong brand isn’t built through lots of activities — it’s built by choosing what to leave out, and putting real weight behind the activities that support growth, done consistently.” That focus can’t sit in marketing alone. It starts with business strategy. “Our job isn’t to communicate everything that’s happening,” she says. “The business has to choose the key priorities that matter most — and our job as marketers is to translate them into clear communication that solves a real customer need.” With fewer messages in market, Telenor also invested in building stronger, distinctive brand assets — with a clear ambition: to be the brand people remember when it’s time to choose. “So we focused on what drives consideration. We want people to remember us at the point of purchase — and choose Telenor,” Teresa says. This included a clearer visual identity, more consistent use of distinctive brand elements, and a long-term commitment to a single creative platform. “We’ve kept the same concept since 2023, and now we’re starting to see the payoff. Media investments become more efficient over time.” The early results have been very positive, including major improvements in both Ad Awareness and Ad Impact. Together, the approach reflects a broader principle often referred to as “double jeopardy”: brands grow not by doing more things, but by doing fewer things better — and doing them consistently. “When I started, we were spread across too many channels with too many messages. So we reduced the number of channels and messages to put more weight behind the ones we kept. That clarity makes a huge difference.” Rethinking Growth in a Changing Category Beyond communication, shifts in the category are prompting Telenor to rethink where growth and engagement come from. One change Teresa points to is that phone replacement cycles appear to be stretching. “People keep their phones much longer now,” Teresa explains. “So the number of possible purchase moments is decreasing.” Historically, phone upgrades have often been a natural moment for people to review their mobile subscription. If that moment happens less frequently, it becomes even more important to stay relevant between purchase cycles — by giving customers useful reasons to engage. “We need to find new reasons for people to interact with us; new services, add-ons, things that create value for the customer.” This could include services such as security products, device repair, streaming services or bundled offerings — additions that create everyday value and an ongoing relationship, not just a one-off transaction. At the same time, perception remains a powerful barrier. “There’s still a belief that some competitors have better networks,” Teresa says. But rather than trying to win on claims alone, the opportunity is to earn trust over time by consistently showing up with clear proof points and experiences that reinforce network confidence — for example, sharing results from independent benchmarks such as OpenSignal or Bredbandskollen where available, making coverage and speed information easy to understand, and backing it up with the kind of service customers actually feel: safe and reliable connectivity in everyday life. Changing ingrained perceptions is a long game — and sustained brand building is what makes it possible. “We need to find new reasons for people to interact with us; new services, add-ons, things that create value for the customer.” Future-Proofing Growth in a Fragmented Media Landscape Looking ahead, one of the biggest challenges is not just what to say, but how to reach people at scale. “Everything is fragmenting, and it’s becoming harder to reach large audiences.” In that environment, Telenor leans into broad reach and continuity — ensuring the brand is present beyond the moments when people are actively shopping. “For us, reach is the most important thing. We need to ensure we are present across the population, because everyone is a potential customer.” At the same time, staying present isn’t enough — the communication has to earn attention and build a stronger emotional connection. That’s where creativity comes in, and where Telenor’s consistency matters. To stay true to the brandplatform, the team has established a simple “equation” that every message is filtered through: it starts with a clear customer need, and shows how Telenor helps solve a real problem families experience in everyday life. This helps avoid communication that feels generic or purely sales-driven. “Advertising can sometimes feel quite generic,” she observes. “And a big reason is the industry’s shift towards sales-driving, short-term campaigns — often at the expense of emotion and storytelling.” Telenor’s answer is to combine usefulness with emotion — making the message relevant while still building the brand. “It’s more about being useful: ‘How can we help the individual?’” That requires a deep understanding of customers and their daily lives. “You have to start with insight — what people need, how they live, what their worries are and what role you can play.” “You have to start with insight — what people need, how they live, what their worries are and what role you can play.” Balancing Brand and Performance: An Investment Mindset Finally, Teresa emphasises the importance of maintaining a long-term perspective on marketing investment. In a category where results can be difficult to attribute directly, proving value internally is a constant challenge. “It’s not an exact science,” she admits. “But we use models like MMM to understand the impact of media on sales and show how we are driving sales results.” Crucially, she reframes marketing not as a cost, but as an investment. “Tomorrow’s sales depend on what we invest today.” This perspective is reinforced by experimentation. “We tested what would happen if we dialled down brand-building and leaned more into tactical communication for a short period — and the results were clear: it didn’t work. Brand and Performance have to work together. It’s not addition, it’s multiplication.” For Telenor, the implication is clear: sustained growth requires both brand and performance working in tandem, supported by consistent investment and strategic focus. “We tested what would happen if we dialled down brand-building and leaned more into tactical communication for a short period — and the results were clear: it didn’t work. Brand and performance have to work together. It’s not addition, it’s multiplication.”

Over the past two decades, few marketers have had the opportunity to build brands entirely from scratch, let alone do it twice in highly competitive categories. Oscar Santamaria, former CMO of Vueling and Iryo and now a board member of the Spanish Marketing Association, has done exactly that. In this conversation, he reflects on what it truly takes to grow a brand from zero, why marketing must be seen as a business investment, and how experience, data, and AI are reshaping the rules of brand growth. Marketing as a Long-Term Growth Engine For Oscar, the starting point is clear: marketing is not a cost centre, but a fundamental business lever. His experience building Vueling and Iryo from the ground up demonstrates that when done well, marketing directly contributes to commercial success. “Good marketing and a well-built brand have a positive impact on the business. It’s an investment, not a cost,” he explains. But this impact does not come overnight. Brand building is inherently long-term, and while tactical actions can drive short-term results, their contribution remains limited if not supported by sustained investment. “Brands are built over the long term. The immediate doesn’t really exist,” Oscar notes. Instead, he advocates for a balanced approach to measurement, combining classic funnel metrics such as awareness, consideration, and conversion with longer-term indicators like penetration and brand equity. Yet ultimately, what matters most is not whether people know your brand, but whether they come back. “For me, recurrence is more important than NPS. What really matters is whether the customer comes back and buys again.” Sustainable growth is therefore rooted in loyalty and lifetime value, not just initial trial. “Good marketing and a well-built brand have a positive impact on the business. It’s an investment, not a cost.” Experience as the Core of Brand Growth If there is one principle that defines Oscar’s approach, it is the central role of experience. In a world saturated with communication, brands can no longer rely on messaging alone to stand out. “We are living in the age of experience. Experience is the new advertising,” he states. What people remember and share is not the campaign itself, but the experience they have with the brand. This fundamentally changes the role of marketing. Communication can attract attention, but it is the experience that builds trust and preference. “People don’t talk about how beautiful your logo is. They talk about the experience: the service, the product, the feeling.” If that experience fails to deliver on the promise, even the strongest campaign becomes meaningless. “If the experience doesn’t match what you’ve communicated, then neither the marketing nor the brand has any value.” In this sense, brand, marketing, and experience are no longer separate functions, but parts of a single, connected system that must work consistently end to end. “We are living in the age of experience. Experience is the new advertising.” Standing Out in a Saturated and Fragmented Landscape While the fundamentals of brand building remain unchanged, the context in which brands operate has become significantly more complex. Media channels are increasingly fragmented, audiences are harder to reach, and the overall level of saturation is higher than ever. “It’s very difficult to stand out today. The ecosystem is saturated, and audiences are fragmented,” Oscar explains. This makes it essential not only to invest, but to invest wisely. “If you don’t communicate, you don’t sell,” he adds, but simply increasing spend is no longer enough to guarantee impact. Instead, brands must focus on the quality of attention they generate. Oscar points to environments such as digital out-of-home and large-scale events as examples of channels that still cut through the noise. These moments create memorability in a way that many digital formats no longer do. At the same time, simplicity has become a critical success factor. “A value proposition that takes more than two seconds to understand is doomed to fail.” In a crowded landscape, clarity and consistency are what allow brands to remain recognisable and relevant over time. “A value proposition that takes more than two seconds to understand is doomed to fail.” The Next Frontier: AI, Data, and Adaptive Brands Looking ahead, Oscar sees artificial intelligence as the next major shift in how brands grow and compete. Beyond improving efficiency, AI is set to transform how consumers interact with brands and how decisions are made. “The next touchpoint will be AI. Instead of going to a website, you’ll ask AI—and it will decide what to recommend.” This evolution challenges many of today’s digital metrics and forces brands to rethink how they remain visible and relevant in AI-driven environments. At the same time, AI creates new opportunities to enhance the customer experience. By combining high-quality first-party data with intelligent personalisation, brands can move closer to truly understanding and serving individual consumers. However, this also raises the bar for data quality and transparency. “The key is quality, verified data that the customer has accepted. That’s what builds long-term relationships,” Oscar emphasises. Alongside technological change, brands must also remain adaptable at a strategic level. Markets shift, consumer expectations evolve, and external events can quickly disrupt even the best-laid plans. “You need a plan A, B, and C. The world changes constantly, and you have to be ready to adapt quickly.” Yet this adaptability must always be anchored in a clear and consistent brand position, ensuring that while execution evolves, the essence of the brand remains intact. “You need a plan A, B, and C. The world changes constantly, and you have to be ready to adapt quickly.” Purpose Starts from Within Finally, Oscar highlights that strong brands are not only built externally, but internally. Purpose, often discussed as a communication tool, is in reality something that must be embedded within the organisation itself. “The first customer of a brand is its employees,” he explains. When employees understand and believe in the brand’s purpose, it becomes something that is naturally expressed in every interaction, rather than something that needs to be artificially communicated. This is where many brands fall short. Purpose cannot be decorative or opportunistic; it must be authentic and reflected in real actions. “Storytelling must be supported by storydoing.” In an environment where consumers are more aware and more vocal than ever, any disconnect between what a brand says and what it does is quickly exposed. The brands that succeed are those that align their purpose, experience, and communication into one coherent whole. “Storytelling must be supported by storydoing.”

What does it take to grow brands in a category where science, regulation and consumer behaviour intersect? For Jen Whyte, Front End Innovation Insights Director, and Shafik Saba, Global Lead for Innovation Capability at Haleon, the answer lies in a careful balance: combining FMCG-style brand building with scientific rigour, while building innovation capability through a more structured and consistent way of working. In this conversation, Jen and Shafik share how Haleon approaches brand growth, why consistency matters more than disruption, and how AI is beginning to reshape the way innovation happens. Defining Brand Growth in a Science-Led Business At Haleon, brand growth is grounded in a clear and disciplined framework. As Shafik succinctly puts it, penetration, sales, and equity sit at the heart of how success is measured. Jen expands on this, highlighting that within Haleon’s internal model, the focus is on penetration, market share, and demand power as the three core levers for building superior brands. Yet what makes Haleon distinctive is the context in which these metrics operate. Unlike traditional FMCG companies, the business spans oral care, vitamins, and over-the-counter medicines, categories shaped by clinical evidence, regulation, and professional endorsement. “The science here is incredible” Jen explains. “It plays a very prominent position, but it’s also highly regulated.” This scientific backbone influences everything from product development to communication. Claims must be proven, products must perform, and trust is non-negotiable. At the same time, Haleon operates with a strong commercial discipline, supported by a long-standing marketing mix modelling programme and a deep focus on ROI. Over time, the role of brand equity has grown in importance. As Shafik notes, while financial metrics have always been central, the brand equity measures have become increasingly important. The result is an approach that brings together healthcare science and regulation with FMCG-style brand building. “The science here is incredible. It plays a very prominent position, but it’s also highly regulated.” The Foundations of Sustained Brand Growth When asked what separates successful brands from the rest, both Jen and Shafik emphasise the importance of a clear brand purpose, built through clarity, discipline, and consistency over time. Shafik points to Sensodyne as a standout example: a brand that has grown into a multi-billion-pound business while staying true to its original positioning. “It’s always had a very clear sense of purpose”, he explains. “What it is, what it isn’t, and how it should behave.” This clarity enables brands to balance two critical priorities: protecting the core while expanding into adjacent opportunities. Shafik uses the analogy of a drum kit, where the core brand is like the steady bass drum beat, while innovations and extensions beyond the core are like cymbals and the high hat, adding variations without losing the overall main rhythm and cadence. He warns against chasing disruption for its own sake. Over 80% of innovations fail, he notes, often because they stretch too far from the core of the brand, are technically infeasible, or (even still) fail to meet a genuine consumer need; but the latter is rarer these days. Instead, success comes from aligning three elements: brand fit, technical feasibility, and real consumer demand. The story of Sensodyne Clinical White illustrates this perfectly. An earlier attempt at a premium whitening product failed because it lacked brand alignment. A later launch worked better when the product experience, brand execution, and dentist-led communication all came together more effectively. “It’s ticking all the boxes,” Shafik says. “Brand fit, technical feasibility, against an enduring genuine need to whiten and offer sensitivity relief at the same time.” “It’s ticking all the boxes; brand fit, technical feasibility, against an enduring genuine need to whiten and offer sensitivity relief at the same time.” Alongside strategy, culture plays a crucial role. Frequent leadership changes can disrupt momentum, while long-term stewardship enables consistency. As Jen reflects from her previous experience, brands with stable leadership and clear direction tend to outperform. There is discipline and rigour that filters its way down to everybody else, she explains. The Role of Front-End Innovation in Driving Growth Innovation is not an optional extra at Haleon; it is a fundamental driver of growth. According to Shafik, it contributes roughly a third of growth, driving both brand penetration, as well as trading up through premiumisation. “Innovation is absolutely critical” he says. “It’s responsible for about a third of growth.” At the heart of this is Haleon’s front-end innovation (FEI) approach. Rather than only working on individual projects, the FEI team also acts as a capability builder and an internal consultancy. Jen describes how the team works closely with brands to create structured, long-term pipelines. “We’re building capability within the organisation, a consistent language, a consistent way of doing things,” she explains. These pipelines can span across years, providing a clear roadmap for future growth. While this may seem lengthy, it reflects the view that many consumer needs do not change dramatically over time; instead, companies often discover new needs or uncover underserved ones. “I don’t think consumer needs change drastically over time,” Shafik adds. “Innovation is absolutely critical. It’s responsible for about a third of growth.” Innovation at Haleon draws from multiple sources. Consumer insight plays a key role, particularly in identifying underserved needs. At the same time, professional expertise (such as dentists) offers a unique perspective on emerging problems that consumers may not yet recognise. This dual lens is especially important in healthcare. As Shafik explains, consumers often know the symptom they are experiencing, but not necessarily the science or physiology that explains the underlying cause. By combining science, professional insight, and consumer understanding, Haleon can create entirely new categories, such as enamel protection with Pronamel. AI as an Accelerator of Innovation Few topics generate as much discussion today as artificial intelligence, and at Haleon, AI is already playing an important role in innovation workflows. For Jen, the value of AI lies in its ability to enhance and accelerate thinking. “I absolutely love it,” she says. “It just speeds our whole innovation process up.” From generating personas to refining language and supporting ideation, AI has become a powerful tool for inspiration and efficiency. Tasks that once took days can now be completed in hours, freeing teams to focus on higher-value thinking. However, Jen is clear about its limitations. “Do not use it to replace research,” she cautions. “You use it to support or to inspire.” Shafik builds on this, describing the shift towards agentic workflows where AI systems replicate structured processes while still allowing for human intervention. The goal is not to remove the human element, but to combine human judgment with machine capability. “You’re not taking the human out,” he explains. “There’s a human element and an AI element, and they work together throughout the process”. “There’s a human element and an AI element, and they work together throughout the process”. Looking ahead, the real potential lies in AI’s ability to analyse vast amounts of structured and unstructured data, uncovering patterns that humans might miss. Yet this opportunity comes with a caveat: data quality remains critical. For both Jen and Shafik, experimentation is key. Rather than waiting for perfect solutions, teams must engage with the technology, test its capabilities, and learn by doing. Consistency Over Novelty: A Pragmatic View of Growth Across the conversation, a clear theme emerges: growth is less about chasing the next big idea and more about executing the right ideas consistently over time. Enduring creative platforms, such as Sensodyne’s dentist-led communication, demonstrate that long-term consistency can outperform constant reinvention. While execution evolves, the core idea remains intact. “Just as consumers start to hear about it, marketers get bored and move on,” Shafik observes, highlighting a common pitfall in brand management. Instead, Haleon’s approach is grounded in discipline: understanding the brand’s role, investing in the right areas, and building capabilities that enable repeatable success. Innovation plays a critical role, but it is most effective when it is aligned with brand fit, technical feasibility, and real consumer needs. As Jen puts it, “you’ve got that framework to work within, and then you can be creative.” “You’ve got that brand framework to work within, and then you can be creative.”

In a marketing world shaped by fragmented media, growing pressure on short-term results and an endless stream of new tools, it can be tempting to believe that brand growth has become more complicated than ever. For Rik Keessen, Brand Tailor at Mountain, the opposite is often true. While the context has changed, the foundations of growth remain strikingly consistent. Brands still grow by reaching more people, being easy to recognise, and showing up consistently over time. From Mountain’s position between strategy, identity and design, Rik sees growth not as a matter of adding complexity, but of applying the right principles with greater clarity and discipline. Growth Starts With Reaching More Buyers For Rik, the most important question in brand growth is still a simple one: how many people buy your brand? He sees penetration as the key driver of growth, especially in FMCG and retail categories where margins are tight and competition is constant. “What we do see, in the more successful cases at least, is that growth really comes from more buyers, but also from higher penetration.” In that context, loyalty matters less than many marketers assume. “You really need to get it from high penetration and less from loyalty.” That perspective shapes Mountain’s work. The agency operates at the intersection of strategy, identity and design, often helping brands that want to remain category leaders or become one. In that role, design is never just a finishing touch. It is part of how a brand becomes mentally and physically available. As Rik puts it, “We can only practise our profession if we truly understand the business context or the category context, or what is really behind it.” For Rik, the fundamentals of growth are still clear: brands need to reach people, take up a distinctive position and stay consistent. “What we do see, in the more successful cases at least, is that growth really comes from more buyers, but also from higher penetration.” Mental And Physical Availability Still Do The Heavy Lifting Although the marketing landscape has changed dramatically, Rik believes the basic mechanics of growth have not. Brands still need to come to mind in buying situations and they need to be easy to buy when that moment arrives. “If you strip everything back to the essentials,” he says, “it still comes down to mental and physical availability. They are still the big levers.” That is why he remains sceptical of marketing approaches that become too narrow or too focused on short-term activation. Growth comes from reaching as many category buyers as possible, not from endlessly refining smaller audiences. Or as Rik puts it: “You cannot harvest demand that you have not first created.” He is careful to say that he is not a media specialist, but from a brand-building perspective he sees a clear need for balance. Long-term brand building still matters. Mass reach still matters. Social can play an important role, but not every brand problem should be reduced to a social-first solution. “I also get a bit tired sometimes of the idea that everything is social-first, while the science also shows that that is not everything.” “If you strip everything back to the essentials, it still comes down to mental and physical availability. They are still the big levers.” The First Few Seconds Matter Enormously Because Mountain works so closely on packaging and identity, Rik looks at brand growth very much through the lens of the buying moment itself. In many categories, that moment is extremely short. Consumers notice, recognise and choose quickly. That makes design a commercial tool, not just a creative one. “You get three seconds, six seconds. That’s it,” he says. “And if you are not immediately in the right emotional space or not recognisable straight away, then you fall short.” In those few seconds, a brand needs to stand out and be easy to understand. “At the very least, in those six seconds, you need to stand out on the shelf. And people need to be able to find their variant easily.” This is where Rik sees a big underestimation of design in growth discussions. Distinctive brand assets such as colour, typography and structure are not aesthetic details. They help brands get recognised faster and remembered longer. They also reduce friction in the moment of choice. In that sense, recognisability matters enormously. A brand does not always need to feel radically different, but it does need to be easy to notice and easy to identify. Consumers Know Less Than Marketers Think Another recurring theme in Rik’s thinking is how little consumers often know or remember about brands. Marketers tend to assume that their message has landed more strongly than it really has. Rik is much more sober about that. “Consumers know damned little about you, to put it plainly.” That is one reason Mountain has started paying more attention again to associations. For Rik, association research helps reveal what people actually connect with a brand and whether those connections are strong enough to matter in real buying situations. It is also important because branding is not only about the mind. Rik explicitly adds the emotional layer. “I think it is not just about positioning in the mind, it is also about positioning in the heart, because you need both the brain and the heart to be able to influence people’s behaviour.” That combination of recognition and feeling is what makes branding work. It is not enough for a brand to be visible. It also needs to create the right response when it appears. “I think it is not just about positioning in the mind, it is also about positioning in the heart, because you need both the brain and the heart to be able to influence people’s behaviour.” Creativity Remains Essential Even with all the new possibilities around AI, testing and data, Rik has no doubt that creativity remains one of the strongest multipliers of effectiveness. “Despite all the wonderful AI techniques, excellent creativity can still help enormously,” he says. “We still need to stay sharp and produce strong creative work, simply because that remains important.” At the same time, he is realistic about the tension inside design itself. Some agencies, he says, focus too heavily on aesthetics without thinking enough about commercial effectiveness. Mountain tries to balance the two. For Rik, the challenge is to keep a brand fresh without losing the elements that make it recognisable. Brands need to evolve, but not so much that they lose the memory structures they have spent years building. The Biggest Barriers Are Often Internal When Rik talks about what blocks growth, he does not start with external market conditions. He starts inside organisations. “I think that is much more internal than external, just to be clear.” Short-term thinking, lack of consistency, fragmented choices and poor alignment all make growth harder than it needs to be. He is especially critical of the way marketing has become more complex in recent years. Internal structures, processes and efficiency models may all have their place, but they can also distract from what matters most. Rik describes it sharply: “It almost feels like people are more busy with the engine than with actually riding the motorbike.” For him, that is where many brands go wrong. They optimise details, but lose sight of the larger growth logic. Stronger alignment, clearer focus and more consistency would often do more for growth than another layer of complexity. “It almost feels like people are more busy with the engine than with actually riding the motorbike.” Back To Simple, Scalable Growth Rik’s overall message is not that marketing should ignore new tools or changing realities. Mountain actively uses data, scientific insight and AI where they help sharpen thinking. But he does believe many marketers have drifted too far from a few basic truths. “Growth still often comes through the simplicity you try to find in the whole story, and making sure you can scale that simplicity.” In the end, his view of growth remains grounded in a few enduring principles: reach more people, make the brand easy to recognise, and show up consistently in the moments that matter most. Or, as he puts it, “We are not in the reach business, so to speak, because there are communication agencies for that. But we are in the business of making sure that in those three to six seconds, in the right order, the right things happen.” “Growth still often comes through the simplicity you try to find in the whole story, and making sure you can scale that simplicity.”

At Achmea, brand growth is not just about standing out. For Madelon van Dijck-Scholte, Senior Manager Brand & Communication, it starts with being genuinely relevant in people’s lives. That means connecting brand purpose to customer relevance, building trust through meaningful themes, and making sure that societal impact also supports business growth. Brand Growth Starts with Relevance For Madelon, brand growth begins with a simple but demanding question: how do you stay truly relevant to customers? In a market where products can easily feel similar and consumers are overloaded with messages and choices, she believes relevance is the first condition for growth. At Achmea, that belief is closely tied to the company’s cooperative roots. The organisation has long seen it as its responsibility to contribute to society, and that mindset is reflected in the way its brands are developed. “We find our role for society very important,” Madelon says. “And from the brands we also find it important: how can our brands grow by truly being meaningful for our customers and also for society?” That ambition comes together in Achmea’s overarching mission, Sustainable Living Together. For Madelon, that is not just a line on paper. “That really is our compass, so not just a nice sentence,” she says. “We really see it as our task, as a large financial services provider, to ensure that the world becomes a bit healthier, safer, greener, more social, for now, later, and further ahead.” “We really see it as our task, as a large financial services provider, to ensure that the world becomes a bit healthier, safer, greener, more social, for now, later, and further ahead.” From Social Impact to Stronger Brand Linkage That broader view has shaped the development of Achmea’s core brands, including Zilveren Kruis, Interpolis, Centraal Beheer and Achmea itself. But in recent years, Madelon and her colleagues have become more precise in how they think about the role of those initiatives in brand growth. Earlier on, the organisation sometimes leaned too far towards the societal theme itself, she says, and not enough towards the brand behind it. “We did notice that perhaps sometimes we were a bit too much focused on society as a whole and on the theme itself,” she explains, “and that we needed a somewhat stronger connection back to our brand.” That insight has led to a sharper approach. Rather than broadly engaging with social issues, the brands now make more deliberate choices about the themes through which they want to make impact and build trust and relevance. “We have made very deliberate choices recently to focus: what are the themes through which each brand wants to make an impact?” Madelon says. “For our customers and of course also for society.” For her, that link matters because customers need to recognise what a brand stands for. “That recognisability, that our customers really have the feeling of: the brand from which I buy my products is also committed to broader societal themes,” she says. “That creates trust.” “That recognisability, that our customers really feel that the brand from which I buy my products is also committed to broader societal themes, that creates trust,” Trust and Business Impact According to Madelon, in financial services, trust is not a nice extra. It is the foundation. At the same time, Achmea has become more explicit about linking those brand choices to business outcomes. For Madelon, that is one of the most important developments in recent years. Purpose and performance should not sit apart from each other. “We see it as our duty, as Achmea and the brands, to address those societal themes,” she says. “But naturally, in the long term, we also have to pursue our business.” That means the company now asks more directly how social relevance contributes to commercial impact. “Making sure that it also really contributes to a business objective” has become an essential part of the equation. For Madelon, that is not a contradiction, it leads to advantages for society, business and for customers. In the case of Interpolis, for instance, helping people prevent damage should also help reduce claims frequency or claims burden. For Zilveren Kruis, initiatives around prevention and health should ultimately also contribute to outcomes such as shortening waiting lists. “We see it as our duty, as Achmea and the brands, to address those societal themes. But naturally, in the long term, we also have to pursue our business.” Distinctiveness in a Crowded Category Another important theme in her thinking is distinctiveness. In a category where differentiation is not always easy, one of Achmea’s challenges is to ensure that each brand develops its own recognisable identity. As Madelon puts it: “Within a company like Achmea with multiple brands, so a brand portfolio, and also in the market we operate in, it is about trying to be more distinctive from one another and to have your own face.” That sounds easier than it is. “We can put it very nicely on paper,” Madelon says. “But ultimately, making sure that it is actually experienced that way by customers and potential customers, that remains a challenge.” In what she calls “that grey insurance world”, brand meaning has to be felt, not just formulated. Relevance is Becoming Harder to Earn Looking ahead, Madelon sees relevance as the theme that will only become more important. “The current consumer is so overloaded with messages, but also with products, with choices,” she says, “that you simply have to be relevant with both your product offering, but also your services, but also your tips, your information.” That is why she sees relevance not just as a communication issue, but as something broader. Brands must understand what customers actually need and how they can help in a concrete way. “If you want to stand out, if you want to be able to reach them, then you have to be relevant. In my view that is the first condition.” “If you want to stand out, if you want to be able to reach them, then you have to be relevant. In my view that is the first condition.” Smaller Audiences, Bigger Pressure Achieving that relevance is becoming harder as audiences fragment and media use changes. Madelon believes brands increasingly have to build stronger connections with smaller and more specific groups. “You really have to target much more on small niche groups, be relevant for them,” she says. “You have to fragment even more, so to speak, in order to make that connection.” That creates tension. On the one hand, brands need to become more specific and tailored. On the other, they still need to remain coherent and recognisable as a whole. “My feeling is that you have to make it increasingly specific,” she says, “while at the same time safeguarding that it remains coherent, what you want as a brand, what you stand for, and what distinguishes you.” AI adds another layer to that challenge. For Madelon, it is not only about efficiency or content creation, but also about discoverability. “How do we make sure we have enough relevant content for customers,” she asks, “so that if people start searching through AI, then we are there and that we rise to the top?” Rather than reducing the importance of content, she believes AI may actually increase it. “My feeling is that you have to make it increasingly specific, while at the same time safeguarding that it remains coherent, what you want as a brand, what you stand for, and what distinguishes you.” Growth also lies in Connection She also sees opportunity in greater connection across Achmea’s business. More growth, she believes, can come from bringing different domains together. “I think you should not try to shout louder as brands,” she says. “I think there is still an opportunity for Achmea. We have all those domains, we have healthcare, we have living, we have mobility, to perhaps connect them more with each other.” In the end, her view of brand growth is both practical and principled. Brands grow when they become meaningful in customers’ lives, when they address real needs in a credible way, and when they build trust by showing their value clearly and consistently. Or, as she sums it up herself: “Our brands become stronger by helping solve societal problems. That makes you relevant in customers’ lives. It gives you legitimacy and it ensures sustainable growth,” she says. “Our brands become stronger by helping solve societal problems. That makes you relevant in customers’ lives. It gives you legitimacy and it ensures sustainable growth.”

Utrecht, 5 May 2026 - DVJ Insights welcomes Jantine Cornel and Stefanie Pooyé as consultants in the Netherlands, further strengthening its local consultancy team and supporting continued growth in the region. Jantine brings over 10 years of experience in marketing research. She started her career at MetrixLab (now Toluna) as a researcher and, after around seven years, moved into a commercial role as Client Director. Throughout her career, she has developed a strong affinity for agency life and a deep passion for research. She specialises in brand and communication research, with extensive experience designing and managing large-scale brand and campaign tracking programmes. Jantine has worked with a wide range of clients across industries, helping them better understand and strengthen their brands. “After 11 years at the same agency, I felt it was the right time for a new challenge. DVJ stood out to me for its strong focus on learning and validation, as well as its commitment to sharing valuable industry knowledge. I’m particularly drawn to the emphasis on translating insights into real impact for clients, and I’m excited to be part of the team,” says Jantine Stefanie brings over 10 years of experience in market research, both on the agency and client side. She previously worked at MetrixLab as a researcher and consultant, as well as at Markteffect and Versuni (Philips Domestic Appliances), where she was part of the Global Consumer & Market Insights team. She also spent time teaching bachelor students, an experience that further strengthened her passion for the agency environment. She combines a strong research background with client-side experience, enabling her to translate insights into relevant and actionable recommendations. Her work is centred on understanding business challenges and supporting brands in making better-informed decisions. Stefanie: “I’ve always been passionate about combining consumer insights with innovation to drive growth for brands. With experience on both the agency and client side, I realised how much I enjoy the pace and diversity of agency work. DVJ immediately stood out to me because of its strong reputation, as well as its focus on quality, learning, and truly understanding behaviour. I’m really excited to be part of this team and to contribute to delivering impactful insights that help brands grow” “Jantine and Stefanie are great additions to our team in the Netherlands. With their experience and ambition, they strengthen our ability to support clients locally while staying closely connected to our global expertise. We are very happy to welcome them to the team,” says Sonja van den Berg, Managing Consultant, Netherlands.

In an increasingly competitive and digital-first insurance landscape, growth requires more than just strong branding or sharp performance marketing alone. In this conversation, Ron Adams, Tribe Lead Marketing & Sales at Allianz Direct, shares how the company approaches brand growth through a combination of data, agility, and customer-centric innovation. From building visibility in a crowded online environment to redefining the role of brand in an AI-driven world, Ron explains why success lies in balancing long-term brand building with short-term commercial impact. Growth as a Daily Proof Point For Allianz Direct, growth is not defined by a single metric, but by the interplay between brand strength and commercial performance. While traditional brand KPIs such as awareness, consideration, and preference remain important, they are complemented by more direct indicators like branded search and cost per order. “We believe that if you can build a strong brand, that growth will come over time,” Ron explains. “But you also need to see results in the short term. Our brand has to prove itself at the checkout every day.” Operating as an online retail insurer fundamentally shapes this mindset. Every investment, whether in branding or performance, is ultimately measured against its contribution to sales. “At the end of the day, everything needs to be earned back. That may sound blunt, but that’s how our business works.” “We believe that if you can build a strong brand, that growth will come over time. But you also need to see results in the short term. Our brand has to prove itself at the checkout every day.” Winning Through Visibility and Findability In a category where purchase journeys are increasingly digital, visibility is a decisive growth driver. According to Ron, success starts with being present at the exact moment consumers are searching. “If you’re not on the first page of Google, you simply don’t exist,” he says. “And with AI developments, it’s becoming even more about that top layer of visibility.” This reality has led Allianz Direct to adopt a highly dynamic approach to marketing, where performance is continuously monitored and optimised. Budgets are adjusted on a daily basis, and sometimes even throughout the day, reflecting the speed at which digital markets evolve. At the same time, campaigns play a critical role in shaping the brand. “It’s about who you are, what proposition you bring to the market, and how you build that over time,” Ron adds. The challenge lies in ensuring that both brand and performance efforts work together seamlessly. “If you’re not on the first page of Google, you simply don’t exist, and with AI developments, it’s becoming even more about that top layer of visibility.” Agility as a Cultural Advantage One of the defining characteristics of Allianz Direct is its ability to operate with the agility of a start-up, despite being part of a global organisation. With a relatively lean team, the company has maintained a culture that prioritises speed, curiosity, and continuous improvement. “We started as a start-up, and although we’re not one anymore, we still operate in a very compact way,” Ron explains. “That allows us to adapt quickly to changing consumer needs.” This agility is further enabled by a modern IT platform, which was rebuilt from the ground up. In an industry where legacy systems often slow down innovation, this provides a significant competitive advantage. “If you get the chance to redesign your platform with everything you’ve learned, you do things very differently. It makes you much more flexible.” The result is an organisation that can move faster than traditional insurers, particularly in areas such as pricing, where sophisticated risk models allow for highly personalised offers. “If you get the chance to redesign your platform with everything you’ve learned, you do things very differently. It makes you much more flexible.” From Reactive to Proactive Customer Engagement Traditionally, insurers have focused on key “moments of truth”, such as claims handling. However, Allianz Direct is expanding this perspective by engaging customers proactively throughout their lifecycle. “We try to be relevant even when nothing is wrong,” Ron says. Examples include weather alerts that warn customers of incoming storms and provide tips to prevent damage, as well as “premium alerts” that notify customers when their coverage may no longer be appropriate. “We might tell you that your car is now ten years old, and that your current insurance might not make sense anymore. That’s not something customers expect from insurers.” These initiatives reflect a broader shift towards adding value beyond transactions, positioning the brand as a helpful partner rather than just a service provider. “We might tell you that your car is now ten years old, and that your current insurance might not make sense anymore. That’s not something customers expect from insurers.” The Rising Importance of Brand in an AI-Driven World Despite the strong focus on data, pricing, and technology, Ron is clear that brand and communication are becoming increasingly important, not less. “There was even a discussion internally about whether we still need a brand in a world where AI can answer everything,” he recalls. “But I think brands will become even more important.” As consumers increasingly rely on platforms like ChatGPT and social media for information, brands serve as anchors of trust and recognition. This is particularly relevant when targeting younger audiences, who often struggle to relate to traditional insurance language. “Gen Z doesn’t understand terms like liability insurance,” Ron explains. “So we need to communicate differently, in their language, on platforms like TikTok and Instagram.” At the same time, while AI is transforming the execution of marketing, enabling faster production, testing, and personalisation, Ron believes that human creativity remains essential. “AI can help with efficiency, but the big idea still needs to come from people.” Navigating the Tension Between Short and Long Term Perhaps the most enduring challenge for Allianz Direct lies in balancing short-term performance with long-term brand building. The company’s rebranding from Allsecur to Allianz Direct illustrates how difficult this can be. “When you’ve built a brand for more than ten years and then have to start again, that’s tough,” Ron admits. “You need patience.” While pan-European campaigns initially offered efficiency and consistency, the company has since moved back towards more localised approaches to better reflect market differences. This highlights the constant trade-offs between scale and relevance. “It’s always a balance,” Ron concludes. “But we’re now seeing the brand grow steadily across markets. It just takes time.” “When you’ve built a brand for more than ten years and then have to start again, that’s tough. You need patience.” Building for Sustainable Growth Allianz Direct’s approach to growth is rooted in pragmatism. It recognises that no single lever, whether brand, performance, technology, or pricing, can drive success on its own. Instead, growth comes from combining these elements into a coherent system: a strong and visible brand, supported by data-driven performance, enabled by agile teams and modern technology, and brought to life through meaningful customer interactions. In a world where digital competition intensifies and consumer expectations continue to evolve, this balanced approach may prove to be the most sustainable path to long-term brand growth. Learn more about Allianz Direct: http://www.allianzdirect.nl/

In an industry shaped by uncertainty and rapid transformation, the role of brand building in insurance is being redefined. In this conversation, Rubén Gallardo, Marketing Director at Mapfre, shares his perspective on driving brand growth within Spain’s leading insurance company. With over eight years at Mapfre and recently stepping into a role that unifies digital and traditional marketing, Rubén reflects on how the organisation is evolving its positioning, capabilities, and customer approach to stay relevant in a changing landscape. Beyond Awareness: Rethinking Brand Metrics in a Community-Driven World For decades, brand growth has been measured using standard funnel metrics: awareness, consideration, and preference. Although these remain relevant, Rubén believes they are no longer sufficient on their own. “We’re all very used to managing the classic top-of-the-funnel indicators,” he explains, referring to awareness and consideration metrics. But he is clear that the future lies elsewhere: “where we want to evolve is toward understanding attributes and building communities.” This shift reflects a broader transformation in how influence is distributed. Brands no longer fully control their narratives. Instead, communities, peer opinions, and content creators increasingly influence perception. As Rubén points out, “the brand's success depends on the customer experience. Third-party opinions, especially those of influencers, are the most relevant to LLMs, which are the ones that will dominate recommendations.” For Mapfre, this means looking beyond so-called “vanity metrics” and investing in a deeper understanding: what relevance the brand holds within key communities, what attributes it possesses, and how these translate into real influence. “The brand's success depends on the customer experience. Third-party opinions, especially those of influencers, are the most relevant to LLMs, which are the ones that will dominate recommendations.” Data, talent, and technology as drivers of growth While the external environment is changing rapidly, Mapfre’s internal focus is proving equally transformative. When asked about the most impactful strategic decision in recent years, Rubén is unequivocal: “Without a doubt, data is key to improving the customer experience and service.” Significant investment in data capabilities, technology, and talent is enabling the company to become more customer-focused as well as forward-looking. This is a process that will accelerate in the coming months and years. It is not simply about measurement, but about building a foundation for smarter decision-making and long-term competitiveness. Alongside this, people remain central. Rubén underscores this, emphasizing the importance of combining existing expertise with new capabilities. This dual focus—on advanced data infrastructure and human capability—reflects a broader truth of modern marketing: technology enables growth, but it is the organization’s ability to interpret and act on insights that ultimately drives impact. “Without a doubt, data is key to improving the customer experience and service.” From claims management to customer support: a new brand positioning Perhaps the most significant change at Mapfre lies in the evolution of its brand positioning. Traditionally, insurance companies have focused on solving problems, stepping in when something goes wrong. But for Rubén, this approach is no longer enough. “The insurance industry has an opportunity to be relevant to its customers beyond the moment of a claim.” The challenge, therefore, is to redefine the role of insurance in people’s lives. Mapfre’s response is a repositioning strategy centred on support and empowerment. Rather than serving as a reactive safety net, the brand aims to become a proactive partner. “We want to be there not only when something bad happens, but to help you take steps forward in your life,” explains Rubén. This insight is based on a deep understanding of consumer psychology. Research revealed that many customers feel uncertain when making important life decisions. By addressing this emotional barrier, Mapfre seeks to create a more meaningful and positive relationship. As Rubén describes, “we want to be there so that people feel secure when they take that step.” This shift, from protection to empowerment, redefines the entire category. It transforms insurance from an unwanted purchase into a facilitator of life decisions, aligning the brand with moments of growth rather than moments of crisis. “The insurance industry has an opportunity to be relevant to its customers beyond the moment of a claim.” Creativity in a Data-Driven World In an era dominated by automation, personalisation, and performance marketing, creativity might seem at risk of being overshadowed. Yet for Rubén, it remains the most critical ingredient. “You can have the best technology in the world, but if the creativity and the message don’t connect, you will just be noise,” he states. This belief is reflected in Mapfre’s approach to communication. Rather than relying on abstract messaging, the brand draws directly from real customer experiences. Campaigns featuring actual employees and real-life assistance scenarios bring authenticity and credibility to the forefront. “It was the truth of Mapfre in action,” Rubén says, describing campaigns that showcased real service moments. Looking ahead, the challenge lies in maintaining this authenticity while scaling content across channels and audiences. With increasing segmentation and the rise of AI-driven personalisation, brands must balance efficiency with consistency. For Mapfre, this means ensuring that every touchpoint, from social media to physical assets, reflects the same core positioning. “All formats must breathe the same brand attributes,” Rubén emphasises. It is a delicate balance: scaling creativity without diluting it. “You can have the best technology in the world, but if the creativity and the message don’t connect, you will just be noise.” Building Emotional Relevance Through Sponsorship One of the most distinctive elements of Mapfre’s brand strategy is its longstanding commitment to sponsorship, particularly in sports. For Rubén, this is not merely a visibility strategy, but a strategic necessity. The nature of insurance poses a fundamental challenge: interactions with the brand are often linked to negative events. “You tend to associate insurance with when you have a mishap,” he explains. Sponsorship offers a powerful counterbalance. By associating with sport, Mapfre enters moments of joy, passion, and community. “It allows us to be close to our customers in moments that are positive,” says Rubén. Whether supporting national teams or grassroots competitions, these partnerships enable the brand to connect through shared values such as teamwork, effort, and aspiration. This emotional layer is essential for long-term brand growth. It broadens the brand’s meaning beyond its functional role and embeds it in the cultural fabric of consumers’ lives. “Sponsorship allows us to be close to our customers in moments that are positive.” A Sustainable Future, Internally and Externally Finally, sustainability plays a central role in Mapfre’s strategy, not only as a pillar of communication but as a business necessity. “At MAPFRE, sustainability isn’t just another initiative: it’s a pillar of the business that guides how we insure, invest, and grow to create long-term value for people and society,” Rubén states. This perspective extends beyond environmental considerations to include social impact and organisational culture. From community initiatives to operational efficiency, sustainability is embedded across the business. Importantly, these efforts also strengthen internal engagement. “It generates a very strong sense of pride and belonging among employees,” Rubén notes. In this sense, sustainability becomes both a driver of external trust and an internal source of motivation, reinforcing the brand from the inside out. “At MAPFRE, sustainability isn’t just another initiative: it’s a pillar of the business that guides how we insure, invest, and grow to create long-term value for people and society.” Navigating the Future of Brand Growth Rubén’s perspective reflects a broader evolution in marketing. Brand growth is no longer about isolated campaigns or single metrics. It is about orchestrating multiple dimensions: data and creativity, experience and communication, technology and human insight. At its core, however, one principle remains unchanged. “We are a company created for the customer,” he says. In a world of increasing complexity, this clarity may be the most powerful growth strategy of all.

As DVJ Insights celebrates its tenth anniversary of Brand Growth, this special edition takes a step beyond the practitioner perspective and into academia. In conversation with Dennis Herhausen, Professor of Marketing and Head of the Marketing Department at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, one thing becomes clear: while marketing tools and technologies evolve rapidly, the fundamentals of growth remain strikingly consistent, yet increasingly complex. Dennis brings a strategic and managerial perspective to marketing, with a growing focus on AI and its implications. His insights offer a valuable bridge between theory and practice, shedding light on how brands can grow in a world where both humans and machines are shaping decisions. Growth Starts with Real Customer Value For Dennis, brand growth is not an abstract concept, it is grounded in a simple but powerful principle: delivering genuine value to customers. “Brand growth is when you’re able to sell to more customers and more to your customers. And you can only do this if you have a good offer.” This definition may sound straightforward, but it carries significant implications. Growth is not driven by marketing tactics alone, nor by short-term optimisation strategies. Instead, it begins with a deep understanding of what customers are trying to achieve, and how a brand can help them get there. Dennis frequently draws on the “jobs to be done” framework in his work with companies. This approach shifts the focus from products to customer needs, encouraging organisations to identify the underlying problems or “jobs” customers are trying to solve. “You have to understand what the job is that your customer needs to be done and how you can help them.” This perspective also highlights the importance of identifying friction. Growth opportunities often lie in unmet needs or inefficiencies in the customer journey-areas where brands can create meaningful differentiation. However, not every friction point is worth solving. As Dennis notes, it must be relevant enough that customers are willing to pay for the solution. Ultimately, sustainable growth comes from consistently delivering a superior offer. Brand growth is driven by creating real customer value. A principle that underpins both academic theory and practical success. Acquisition and Loyalty: Two Sides of the Same Coin A second key theme in Dennis’s perspective is the interplay between acquisition and loyalty. Rather than viewing them as separate strategies, he sees them as deeply interconnected. “You have to do acquisition and loyalty. You have to orchestrate both” Attracting new customers is essential for expansion, but retaining existing ones strengthens the base of growth. Satisfied customers not only buy more, but also recommend the brand to others, creating a virtuous cycle. “It helps a lot to get new customers if you’re able to keep your existing customers happy.” This idea is captured in the concept of “earned growth”, which builds on the Net Promoter Score. Rather than focusing purely on revenue, it looks at how much growth comes from existing customers and their recommendations. “Are you able to grow with your existing customers? And are you able to grow with recommendations?” The distinction is important. Growth driven by heavy discounts or aggressive sales tactics may boost short-term results, but it rarely leads to long-term success. In contrast, growth driven by customer satisfaction signals a healthy and sustainable trajectory. So growth requires both acquisition and loyalty, and the real challenge lies in orchestrating the two effectively. Balancing Short-Term Push and Long-Term Pull One of the most pressing challenges for marketers today is balancing short-term performance with long-term brand building. Dennis frames this as the need to balance “push” and “pull”. On the one hand, brands must create pull through strong brand equity, customer loyalty, and positive word of mouth. These are long-term investments that build preference over time. On the other hand, they need push mechanisms-such as search optimisation, digital presence, and conversion tactics-to capture demand when it arises. It has to be a good balance. Not just digital, transactional, sales-driven, but also not only brand or long-term driven. However, this balance is often disrupted by organisational pressures. Many companies operate with a strong focus on short-term financial targets, leading to an overemphasis on immediate results. If companies are quarterly driven, they also tend to have short-term marketing activities and short-term success measures. ‘’The challenge is not to abandon short-term goals, but to ensure they do not dominate decision-making. Marketing, by its nature, is a long-term discipline.’’ Not every activity will deliver immediate returns, and expecting it to do so can undermine sustainable growth. This requires a shift in both mindset and incentives. Organisations need to create space for long-term thinking and recognise that not everything that drives growth shows up in next month’s numbers. Barriers to Growth: Letting Go of the Past Despite clear principles, many organisations struggle to achieve sustained growth. Dennis points to several recurring barriers, many of which are internal rather than market-driven. One common issue is a narrow view of the market. Companies often focus too heavily on existing segments or industries, limiting their ability to identify new opportunities. Growth, in many cases, requires looking beyond familiar boundaries. Another major barrier is inertia, which is the tendency to stick with strategies that have worked in the past. “Something that helped you to grow in the last five years, it’s not guaranteed that this will help you in the next five years.” Success can create a false sense of security. Companies become reluctant to change direction or to cannibalise their own offerings, even when the market is evolving. At the same time, growth requires continuous investment. “Whenever you want to gain a new customer, you have to be willing to invest first.” This investment is not a one-off effort, but an ongoing commitment. Companies that underinvest, whether in marketing, innovation, or customer understanding, will struggle to sustain growth over time. From Human to Machine: The Rise of the Agentic Audience Looking ahead, Dennis identifies one of the most significant shifts in marketing: the rise of AI-driven decision-making. As consumers increasingly rely on digital assistants, large language models, and AI agents, the nature of buying decisions is changing. “We have to think not only how to convince the human, but also how to convince the machine” This introduces the concept of an “agentic audience”, where algorithms act on behalf of consumers. These agents can process vast amounts of information, from product specifications and reviews to third-party validation, far beyond what a human would typically consider. The implications for marketing are profound. Persuasion becomes less about surface-level messaging and more about substance. “It’s much harder to fake anything. If what you do is not good and does not create value, you won’t convince.” In this environment, the fundamentals become even more critical. Brands must offer real value, provide credible proof, and ensure consistency across all touchpoints. At the same time, this shift expands the role of marketing. It is no longer just about communication, but about orchestrating the entire customer experience, from product to technology to service. AI agents will increasingly influence purchasing decisions, and Dennis sees this as a key area for future research, particularly the role of AI agents as decision-makers in both B2B and B2C contexts. Marketing as the Orchestrator of Growth This evolving landscape raises an important question: who is responsible for brand growth? For Dennis, the answer is clear, even if the execution is complex. While growth should be a shared responsibility across leadership, marketing plays a central role in orchestrating it. “Marketing is basically the logical choice for the middleman that orchestrates brand growth.’’ As organisations become more interconnected, marketing sits at the intersection of multiple functions: technology, data, customer experience, and communication. This makes it uniquely positioned to align efforts and ensure consistency. At the same time, this expanded role requires new capabilities. Marketers must understand not only customers, but also systems, data flows, and increasingly, algorithms. A Final Reflection: Back to the Fundamentals Despite the rapid pace of change, Dennis’s perspective ultimately brings us back to the fundamentals of brand growth. Growth starts with understanding what customers need and delivering real value. It requires balancing acquisition and loyalty, short-term and long-term efforts. It demands adaptability, continuous investment, and a willingness to challenge past success. And as the role of AI continues to grow, these fundamentals will only become more important. Or, as Dennis succinctly puts it: focus on what you do well, understand why customers value it, and explore where else that value can create impact. In an increasingly complex marketing landscape, that combination of clarity and discipline may be the most powerful growth strategy of all.