Product owner Brand at Validators Marceline Veen and PhD student VU/Validators Noud Schartman speak together during Nima Marketing Day 2022. MarketingTribune interviewed them for a brief introduction.
1 What is your personal motivation to speak at Nima Marketing Day?
Schartman: 'I think our topic (mental availability) is very relevant to all brands, but not yet applied by everyone. Personally, I also like to explain some science in practice.
2 What do you like best about a meeting like NMD?
Schartman: 'It gives a good overview of what the field is doing and what direction we are going in.
3 What do you hope visitors take home from your session?
Veen: 'We hope that visitors take two things home with them after our session. On the one hand, that mental availability is an important concept. Understanding the consumer is crucial for building a good brand and creating relevance. Mental availability is therefore not only applicable to specific situations or sectors, it really is a framework that you can use almost everywhere. On the other hand, we don't want to send them home before we've also given them examples of how they can use branded content or advertising to grow their own brand's mental availability.
4 What is your personal motivation?
Schartman: 'To put my scientific knowledge into practice, to make sure that people within the organisation are aware of new scientific developments or even old scientific theories that are not widely known'.
5 Is there still marketing outside the Internet?
Veen: 'Yes indeed! Channels such as TV and radio are still very important, especially for reaching a broad audience. Almost all studies also show that synergy between multiple channels has added value.
6 How much content should content marketing have?
Schartman: "That is partly dependent on how much marketing there is in content marketing. As long as the link between the content and the brand is relevant and understandable, you can promote your brand. I think content should always predominate, but a bad link with your brand is always a big waste.
7 Do serious topics, such as #metoo and Ukraine, lend themselves to use in a marketing campaign?
Schartman: 'I think it's risky to use topics like that. As far as I'm concerned, this is only possible if your campaign also has a positive effect on the topic and not only aims to improve the company's results. If you want to do a good deed, do it without fuss and take the good deed in itself as a reward.'
Noud and Marceline will speak on 16 June during NIMA Marketing Day, at De Fabrique in Utrecht.