Margriet de Kroon – HERC

Margriet de Kroon is Managing Director at HERC, a creative agency for brand direction, brand culture and brand advertising. The agency was founded in 2018 and Margriet joined the company in May of 2021. Margriet: “Before I joined HERC, I was Marketing Director at Young Capital. I was a client of theirs and the drive to always create top quality work was what made me want to join the company. We are part of the Ace Group but we work as a separate agency. When clients have a certain need that we can’t service ourselves, another agency in the group can step in. We have been growing fast in the past few months and because of this growth, we are now in a phase where we want to structure the organisation more. When your company is growing rapidly, you need to watch out that you don’t lose sight of your values. As a result, we have said no to some projects. We don’t want to be the cheapest or fastest agency, we want to guarantee our clients the best quality possible.”

HERC’S ROAD TO GROWTH

According to Margriet, the agency is constantly thinking about how they are perceived in the market: “We are also a brand, and for our future growth our proposition is essential. We want to make good, crafty work, and have created our own style. As HERC, we try to bring something new and better to the table each time. With Young Capital we took a completely different take on the industry. Within the recruitment business, all brands move in the same direction and focus primarily on the business target group, as they are the ones that pay the bills. Young Capital chose to focus on consumers, more specifically the younger target group. As the business-to-business market has a need for young talent, that will feed through to the b2b industry. The brand communicated in a way that is relevant for the younger audience, by speaking their language and creating work that appeals to them.”

“Everyone is in their own bubble and thinks that is reality. Especially for brands, it is important to work with an agency that pulls you out of that bubble so you can become more relevant.”

“We look at how we can connect those different worlds, in this case the corporate world with the younger generation”, Margriet continues. “Companies are often in their own world and think they have an idea of what their customers want, but the reality is that they don’t know what is going on in today’s society. ‘What is popular, what is happening on social media, what can we as a brand tap into that will bring us closer to the perception of the target group?’ I hope that people see us as the agency that understands that: connecting brands to the world so they can make a much bigger impact. As an agency, we also find it important to connect the right people in our work. We speak to many talented people in the creative industry and make sure we include talent from all backgrounds, cultures, and countries. Including people from completely different subcultures allows us to connect with different bubbles. The danger today is that everyone is in their own bubble and thinks that is reality. Especially for brands, it is important to work with an agency that comes from the outside and pulls you out of that bubble so you become more relevant as a brand.”

RESEARCH AND GUT FEEL

To break those bubbles the agency also looks towards research, Margriet shares: “Our strategy department looks at what is happening online and what can be found in literature. But we also speak to consumers to obtain insights on what they want from brands. Research is very important, but the connection to different worlds must also come from within. You need to be open minded and bring people from different backgrounds together to come to different insights. That is very valuable to reflect in the work we do for our clients.” To the question what sets HERC apart from other agencies, Margriet tells us that making crafty work and a bit of individuality differentiates the company: “When it comes to data, we often rely on gut feel and validate that with data. We are very adamant in what we like and what we don’t like, and we can be stubborn at times. You want certainty from your agency, you don’t want an agency that only carries out your idea because then you wouldn’t need to hire an agency. We are the superlative in that respect sometimes. Of course, a client has to be satisfied and you will have to compromise, but we will always carry out a discussion first to achieve better work together. Those are the best collaborations we have with clients.”

“Creativity and brand identity are incredibly important, but have often become a poor relation for brands.”

SHIFT FROM PERFORMANCE TO BRAND

The agency notices a shift in the market from performance marketing to focusing more on the brand: “For a while, everything revolved around performance marketing. Everything was measured and everyone looked at CPA and CPS. Now, because performance marketing is widely adapted by brands, it has become more and more expensive. Many companies have tackled that part of marketing and winning on SEO has become hygiene. The product development cycle has become so incredibly fast that companies can’t keep up, and delivering great service has also become standard. The only thing companies can differentiate upon is creativity. How you position your brand in the market is unique and there are many possibilities in that field.” Still, Margriet shares how some brands are not yet recognising the importance of marketing and the brand: “It also relates to the position of the CMO in the organisation. Creative campaigns are difficult to measure, and when they are judged on immediate performance, companies tend to cut back on budgets. Luckily, more brands are seeing creative campaigns as an investment into the brand. You don’t build a brand in a few months. It is about sharing your story in a unique way, and that takes time.”

DARE TO BE CREATIVE

Margriet stresses the importance of creativity: “Sometimes you get paralysed by data, and it doesn’t always help you forward. You always have two objectives: in the short term, you want to make as many sales as possible, but in the long term you are also building a brand, which will lead to even more sales in the end. Keeping that balance is very important. I believe many companies collect data for the sake of collecting data instead of working on achieving their objectives. Creativity and brand identity are incredibly important, but have often become a poor relation for brands.” Margriet shares how companies are often looking for guidance in the choices they make: “At HERC, we sail very much on our own compass instead of seeking direction. I hope that people will become less fearful and less attached to what they already know and can measure. Sometimes you have to dare to make mistakes. In the end, that is where the most impactful campaigns stem from.”