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The Imbalanced Embrace Few concepts have captured the marketing world’s imagination quite like Category Entry Points (CEPs). Introduced by the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute through ‘How Brands Grow’, CEPs provide a powerful way to understand how and when consumers access categories in their minds – the moments of need that trigger brand recall and choice.

What an honour! Our Brand Growth Platform has been recognised in the Thought Leadership category at the Grand Prix Content Marketing Awards 2025! Nine years ago, we started with an ambitious goal: helping brands grow through knowledge. Through our annual Brand Growth Study, vision interviews, and a yearly global event, we share insights that truly help brands grow. This recognition is a wonderful compliment to our team, our academic partners, and our clients, all experts in their field who believe in the power of knowledge sharing and collaboration. Next year marks the 10th edition of our Brand Growth Platform, and this award makes that milestone even more special. About the Grand Prix Content Marketing The Grand Prix Content Marketing is a prestigious awards ceremony recognising and rewarding the very best examples of content marketing. This annual event presents awards for the most successful content strategies and outstanding content productions. The Grand Prix Content Marketing is organised by  MarketingTribune  ( BBP Media ) and the  Society of Content Strategists .

London, 4 November 2025 – DVJ Insights has been recognised by the Financial Times and Statista as one of Europe’s Long-Term Growth Champions 2026. This recognition is a special reward for the 300 companies in Europe that have shown exceptional growth over the past 10 years. The recognition comes at the same moment as the company’s 8th consecutive FD Gazelle, also showing the consistency of its growth. The UK was the first market that was part of the European expansion and the success in the UK has helped to build that European footprint. A strategy that is focused on quality and added value with the support of senior consultants to work on growth strategies for their clients is distinctive in a market research world that has too much focus on efficiency and automation. DVJ has been able to realise a consistent annual growth for a period of 10 years. This is a unique performance because the total market for market research is not growing. DVJ’s long-term growth has been completely organic without the help of investors or other financial companies. DVJ entered the UK market seven years ago, establishing a local presence to serve clients more closely and to combine British marketing expertise with DVJ’s international perspective. The company’s continuous growth in the UK has contributed strongly to its overall European success. By studying growth for more than 10 years via its academic partners in Europe, and interviewing marketing professionals on a continuous basis, DVJ has developed a deeper understanding of growth than anyone else. That is why the company has grown, and that is also why it can advise its clients better on how to organise for growth. “Growth should never be the target. Growth is the result of a strong strategy, the best solution in combination with the best people. Our constant focus on making things better every day is the starting point,” says Lucas Hulsebos, CEO and owner of DVJ Insights. Integrating academic principles has helped us to become better every day”. Jemma Toynebee-Smith, Global Account Director and Market Lead UK, adds: “Joining DVJ was a clear choice for me. It’s rare to find a company that not only studies growth but lives it every day. The UK market values creativity and rigour, and DVJ combines both in a way that truly helps brands grow. Being part of a global community that is diverse and focused on positive values is inspiring” About FT Europe’s Growth Champions 2026 Europe’s Long-Term Growth Champions 2026 report is published and researched by the Financial Times and Statista. The list comprises the top 300 companies in Europe that have achieved the highest percentage growth in revenues between 2014 and 2024. To be included in the report, a number of criteria have to be met. See the full report here.

We are proud to share that DVJ Insights has been recognised by the Financial Times and Statista as one of Europe’s Long-Term Growth Champions 2026. This recognition is a special reward for the 300 companies in Europe that have shown exceptional growth over the past 10 years. DVJ has been able to realise a consistent annual growth for a period of 10 years! This recognition comes at the same moment as our 8th consecutive FD Gazelle, also showing the consistency of our growth. We believe that this is a unique performance because while the total market for market research is not growing, our growth is consistent for a very long period and is completely organic without the help of investors or other financial companies. By studying growth for more than 10 years via our academic partners in Europe and interviewing marketing professionals on a continuous basis, we understand growth better than anyone else. That is why we grow ourselves, and that is also why we can recommend to our clients better how to organise for growth. “Growth should never be the target. Growth is the result of a strong strategy, the best solution in combination with the best people. Our constant focus on making things better every day is the starting point,” says Lucas Hulsebos, CEO and owner of DVJ Insights. Marieke van Echtelt, managing director at DVJ Insights, adds, “The only way to grow consistently is to continue focusing on the people in the organisation and adjust to this growth. This requires flexibility and commitment. I am proud of all the teams that make this happen.”

Blog post by Lisette Kruizinga-de Vries, based on the master thesis of Rong Shen (HEC Paris - MSc Data Science & AI For Business)

We’re proud to share that DVJ Insights has been shortlisted in two categories at the MRS Awards 2025  — a recognition of our continued commitment to turning research into real-world impact. Our nomination in Media Research highlights our breakthrough work in retail media, where we combined innovative exposure measurement with creative testing to show how in-store advertising truly drives sales. By linking shopper behaviour directly to purchase data, we revealed that strong creative executions can deliver up to 265% higher sales uplift, helping global brands transform retail media from a “black box” into a measurable, strategic channel In the Applications of Research category, DVJ was recognised together with Philips  for developing a scalable, shopper-led framework that helps brands evaluate and optimise their in-store materials. This approach combines creative diagnostics, behavioural insights, and predictive AI to show what captures attention, drives recall, and converts into sales. The collaboration has given Philips teams around the world a clear, evidence-based way to make creative decisions faster and more confidently. Both nominations reflect the same principle that drives everything we do: using research not only to understand markets and behaviour, but to inspire better creative, smarter decisions, and stronger business results. We’re incredibly proud of our teams and grateful to our partners and clients for their trust and collaboration.

What makes intelligence? Is it the ability to solve puzzles, recall facts, or predict outcomes? A compelling view is that intelligence emerges from the union of two core abilities: the use of language and the use of memory. Language gives shape to thought. A sommelier can detect and describe subtle differences in wine not only because of sensory skill but also because of vocabulary. Words sharpen perception, making distinctions visible that might otherwise go unnoticed. Memory, by contrast, provides continuity. It preserves what has been learned, tested, and refined. Without memory, even the richest vocabulary collapses into scattered impressions. Together, language and memory create the scaffolding of expertise.

When the Most Promising Waters Turn Red You may be familiar with the “football theory of inflation,” an analogy introduced by economist William Nordhaus. It describes how spectators stand up to gain a better view, prompting others to follow suit, until eventually everyone is standing. No one’s view has improved, yet everyone is less comfortable. A similar effect can be seen in traffic jams: when navigation systems recommend the same detour, too many drivers take it, creating new congestion that leaves all worse off than if they had stayed on the original route.

It’s one of the least inspiring but most important truths in marketing: big brands have an unfair advantage. Not because they shout louder or spend recklessly, but because they’ve already built something smaller brands are still chasing: existing ad stock to fall back on . The pivotal work from Paul Dyson, amplified by Mark Ritson, already a similar case: brand size is the most important factor for campaign impact. In his meta-analyses across thousands of campaigns, he found brand size to be the biggest driver of advertising profitability. In simple terms: the bigger the brand, the better the odds that your advertising actually works.

We are proud to share that DVJ Insights received an ESOMAR Award for Best Use of Data. The project integrated AI-generated cognitive demand with solid pre-testing to better understand how advertisers could engage consumers better. It shows that there is an optimum of cognitive demand and an ideal build during a commercial. With this study advertisers and agencies are better equipped to make campaigns that create impact. A big thank you to Jelle Quak, Jori van de Spijker and Mark Vroegrijk for this outstanding idea and execution.