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Diegem, 10 décembre 2019 – Un an à peine après son lancement en 2018, Upthrust, un accélérateur de croissance par le biais du digital spécialisé dans le “Growth Marketing” accueille de nouveaux experts de renom en digital. Avec l’arrivée d’Emanuel Nuyts et de Yannick Khayati, Upthrust compte dorénavant 30 collaborateurs. La société sœur de The House of Marketing a donc dépassé son objectif pour 2019. Dennis De Cat, Managing Partner, revient sur une année marquée par une croissance fulgurante : « Les entreprises belges manquent de nombreux talents en digital dans leurs équipes. Souvent, les agences digitales traditionnelles ne fournissent pas la qualité et les résultats auxquels les entreprises s’attendent. Upthrust travaille en étroite collaboration avec les équipes du client sur la base d’une méthodologie de “Growth Marketing” agile afin d’obtenir les résultats souhaités. Cela garantit aussi un transfert de connaissances et un impact instantané. »

Diegem, 10 december 2019 – Amper een jaar na de opstart in 2018 verwelkomt Upthrust, een snelgroeiende digitale business accelerator gespecialiseerd in Growth Marketing, nieuwe digitale toptalenten. Met de komst van onder meer Emanuel Nuyts en Yannick Khayati klokt Upthrust af op 30 werknemers. Het zusterbedrijf van The House of Marketing overtreft zo zijn doelstelling voor 2019. Managing Partner Dennis De Cat blikt terug op een jaar van pijlsnelle groei: “Belgische bedrijven missen heel wat digitaal talent in hun teams. Traditionele digitale agentschappen leveren dikwijls niet de kwaliteit én resultaten die bedrijven verwachten. Upthrust werkt samen met de teams van de klant volgens een agile Growth Marketing methodologie toe naar de beoogde resultaten. Instant kennisoverdracht en impact verzekerd.”

THoMer and data expert Stijn listed the data-related challenges that often pop up during his conversations with clients. In this explainer video, he answers the 7 most frequently asked questions.

There's no escaping the frenzy: Black Friday is all over the place. From your mailbox to your social media feed, from advertisements on Spotify to promotions on Waze on your way to work – the promotional messages keep popping up. Most people, however, don’t even know what the tradition of Black Friday exactly stands for (watch the video below). So, we’re questioning whether we’re facing a phenomenon that is breaking out of its borders or if we’re just dealing with another sales label to justify early promotions. 

THoMer and Head of Marketing Automation Elly sat down with Tim Hennin, Global Consumer Marketing Manager at UNILIN, and Liesbet Meesschaert, Campaign Marketing Manager at Barco. During this 30 minute webinar session, they shared exclusive insights and personal experiences with Marketing Automation.  Watch the full recording of the webinar here:

On the 26th of May, we voted for the Belgian federal and the regional parliaments. 6 months later, we’re still waiting for a federal government, and it looks as if it will take a while before an agreement is reached on what the future of our country should look like.  Belgium is not the only country where the political landscape is experiencing turbulence, and where politicians are more concerned with honing their debating skills than with moving things forward and preparing our society for the challenges ahead. Just take the Brexit soap opera, the Catalonian question or the impeachment procedure against Donald Trump – not one day passes without news updates on at least one of these topics.   No wonder that the trust in governments is at its lowest ever ebb. Does this mean our democratic system needs to be overhauled? Maybe. But that’s not the point I want to make in this post. As a marketer, the question that I’m asking myself is: what is the impact that we, as marketers, can have? During his talk at the Web Summit in Lisbon, Richard Edelman stated that brand marketing and democracy have more in common than you might think.   In Belgium, federal elections take place every five years. This means a voter can express his or her opinion only twice per decade. It stands to reason therefore that, when it comes to the broader debate on issues like the environment or equality among people, a consumer’s weekly purchases make more of a difference than their vote every five years.  The 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals that 81% of the 16,000 respondents declare that a major consideration when purchasing a brand today is “I can trust the brand to do what is right”. This result equals the importance attached to usual product attributes like quality, value, convenience or ingredients.   Do brands pass this trust test? No. In the same research, just one in three respondents said that they trust most of the brands they buy and use. Only 21 percent of respondents know from personal experience that the brands they use keep the best interests of society in mind.  So where do we go from here? First of all, brands need to practise what they preach: show clear proof of your ethical behaviour instead of just communicating about it. Ethical behaviour goes beyond the production process of your product, it’s also about how you handle your consumers’ data and privacy or about using marketing automation in a responsible way.  Secondly, brands are still focusing too much on traditional advertising. Consumers are increasingly adept at avoiding advertising (ad blockers, skipping ads when watching video content, etc.). A 2019 survey shows that consumers between the ages of 18 and 34 have more faith in what an influencer says about a brand rather than what the brand itself says in its advertising.   Thirdly, as a brand, it’s better to appoint a spokesperson who is recognizable for your target group, in order to gain more trust: a ‘person like me’ or an expert inspires a great deal more trust than a celebrity.   There is no doubt that brands have every opportunity to make a difference in consumers’ lives and in the society they care about. To earn consumer trust, marketers must back up their brand promise with concrete actions. Consumers are aware that brands have the power to effect real change, and they will put their trust in brands that use that power on their behalf.   

Some weeks ago, I got the chance to join a group of entrepreneurs in the capital of Estonia: Tallinn. Let me guess your first reaction: an ex-soviet country somewhere in the Baltics, probably not listed as your top choice for a weekend getaway. Well that’s where you’d be wrong. Estonia has one of the highest rates of start-ups per capita in Europe and is often recognized as the most digitally advanced nation in the world. And, to top it all, it’s a pretty great city to visit: full of history, friendly people and a great gastronomic scene. Let me share some key takeaways of one week in Tallinn.

At first sight, swimming and marketing have little to do with each other. However, the opposite is true. As a synchronized swimmer, I'm excited to share how life below the water surface inspires me to be a better consultant. 

Mobiel internetgebruik neemt met rasse schreden toe. En bijgevolg dus ook het belang van mobile marketing. Toch benutten veel adverteerders en creative agencies deze relatief nieuwe discipline nog te weinig, zegt Dennis De Cat, CEO van digitale business accelerator Upthrust (een spin-off van The House of Marketing). “Mediabureaus blijven halsstarrig denken dat mensen ’s avonds nog altijd achter hun desktop zitten.” Dat kan volgens hem dus veel beter. Hij stelt ons daarom de vijf belangrijkste trends in mobile marketing voor, als leidraad voor de mobiele toekomst.

Kill fast, scale faster. That's the motto of THoMers and digital experts Anh Khoa and Stefan, who hosted a webinar on Growth Marketing.