The blog

Today, disruption has impacted almost every aspect of business as a new relationship between companies and customers has taken center stage. The retail industry has been undergoing a radical shift over the past few years. Driven by reshaped customer expectations, the availability of data and the rise of new tools and technology, new business models or market dynamics have emerged. Just take automated stores, virtual showrooms or D2C (Direct to Consumer) models, for example, such as Dollar Shave Club (men’s beauty-care), Barkbox (pet utilities) or Casper (mattresses). The go-2-market has also been impacted, as the customer experience needs to be increasingly personalized: Consumers today are hooked on the real-time, customized world of digital landscape, while retailers have to reach them in new and exciting ways. On top of that, customers are demanding more sustainable businesses (shopping local, healthy food, cultural diversity)… raising new challenges for marketers in the retail industry. Enters corona… For some retailers it means filing for bankruptcy, for others it means coping with the growth by fixing internal processes,… for all it means showing resilience, creativity and courage to reinvent the way they work and adapt to this new reality. Corona has clearly accelerated some shifts in consumer behavior that retail marketers should take into account. We share 6 trends to get you started!

I’m Julie, Consulting Manager at the House of Marketing. I am 35, have been married for 10 years and am mother to a hyper-active 7-year old son. After more than 13 years of experience, mainly in the banking and fintech industries, I realized through my many interactions with consultants, friends and colleagues that consulting was maybe something for me. I was the perfect example of internal mobility in the 4 companies I worked for but something was missing… I love that no two days ever feel the same and being challenged to exceed my limits. I wanted to explore new sectors and industries but I need to feel valued, use my experience to continue to develop my career. I manage to work hard without sacrificing my family life. This was crucial for me to keep a work-life balance.  

I thought I was on the way to a VP position at a large multinational. I had spent several years after university working my way up the corporate ladder, eager to explore different opportunities at renowned companies such as Microsoft, Sony, Whirlpool and AB-InBev. More than once I had been able to switch roles to accommodate my never-ending need for new challenges. I was rewarded quite well for my performance and eagerness, yet I never felt truly at ease in any of the roles I was in.

Once upon a time, I was probably the most firmly rooted marketer you could find in Belgium. For the first 12 years of my career, I climbed the ladder from Junior Brand Manager for Fristi and Nutroma to Marketing Manager for the value brands portfolio and OOH with Friesland Campina, handling projects in different countries in Europe.

My career path is original to say the least, most people cannot really follow me when I explain: I am French, but, one way or another, I have worked in France for only 6 months. I have built most of my career in The Netherlands, with a French company though – one of the biggest multi-nationals in the food industry.

Content strategy, marketing automation, inbound channels – these topics aren’t new anymore. In fact, more and more companies are getting their hands dirty in content production, as they understand the power of developing a new, future-proof and strong sales engine. Having had the chance to work in different sectors on the development of content strategies myself, I’d like to take a moment to discuss the evolution of content strategy with some examples, but also actionable advice for you to act upon today.

Like most other festivals, Tomorrowland is a no-go in times of COVID-19. Instead of skipping a year, the organizers have launched a digital alternative taking place July 25th & 26th: "Tomorrowland around the world, the digital festival".  Via their computer, smartphone or tablet, visitors of all ages can explore the digital festival site and attend sets of their favorite artists. All stages are built in 3D, although DJs perform live. Even the fireworks and lazer shows are translated digitally. Nevertheless, Tomorrowland remains an unforgettable experience that can be considered as a corporate religion. To stay in this spiritual mindset, we summarize the important marketing lessons of this spectacular event as we've known it before corona came along – in the form of 10 commandments. For eons the 10 commandments have been an important source of inspiration for believers and even for non-believers… so why not use this to show you the way for all your marketing initiatives?

How can businesses continue growing, at least as fast as their competitors? These are undoubtedly amongst the main challenges of the remarkable year 2020 has become.

Diegem, 24 juin 2020 – La santé: il s'agit de la principale préoccupation des consommateurs dans le contexte actuel. Comment les entreprises répondent-elles à ces préoccupations? Au cours d'un webinaire en direct, les intervenants Ignace De Nollin (SmartWithFood/Colruyt Group) et Christophe Jauquet (auteur de Healthusiasm) partageront leurs points de vue et leurs expériences, inspirant les participants à intégrer la santé dans leurs propres stratégies. Le jeudi 2 juillet, The House of Marketing organise un webinaire interactif en direct consacré à l’« Healthusiasm ». Dans un monde secoué par le COVID-19, la santé n'a jamais été aussi importante. Pour répondre aux attentes en mutation des consommateurs, les entreprises doivent intégrer la santé à leur stratégie et aux trajets clients. Ce concept a été baptisé « Healthusiasm », explique Bert Van Eeckhoudt, Healthcare Specialist au sien de The House of Marketing et hôte du webinaire.

Diegem, 24 juni 2020 – Gezondheid: het is de voornaamste bezorgdheid van consumenten vandaag de dag. Maar hoe spelen bedrijven in op die nood? Tijdens een live webinar delen sprekers Ignace De Nollin (SmartWithFood/Colruyt Group) en Christophe Jauquet (auteur van Healthusiasm) inzichten en ervaringen, die deelnemers inspireren om gezondheid te integreren in hun eigen strategie. Op donderdag 2 juli organiseert The House of Marketing een live, interactief webinar over healthusiasm. “In een wereld opgeschrikt door COVID-19 is gezondheid nog nooit zo belangrijk geweest. Om tegemoet te komen aan de veranderende verwachtingen van consumenten, worden bedrijven uitgedaagd om gezondheid te integreren in hun strategie en customer journeys. Dat concept heet ‘healthusiasm’”, legt Bert Van Eeckhoudt, Healthcare Specialist bij The House of Marketing en gastheer van het webinar, uit.