The blog

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.

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.

Mobile marketing is de toekomst, niemand die daar nog aan twijfelt. Het aantal mensen dat voornamelijk op mobiel surft en streamt, blijft spectaculair toenemen. Maar dat is niet de enige reden, zegt Dennis Peeters van The House of Marketing: “Bepaalde technologieën worden steeds toegankelijker. Volgens ons gaan ze dan ook een grote invloed hebben op de mobiele marketing van morgen.”

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.

I thought I was on the way to a VP position in 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.

Still no clue what Growth Marketing is about? No worries, you’re not alone! Our Yearly Marketing Survey revealed that more than two-thirds of all Belgian marketeers are not yet optimizing their marketing actions by applying Growth Marketing initiatives. Rearing to get started yourself and become part of the winning team? Let me introduce you to the ABC of Growth Marketing.