Brand Growth-arrangement

On April 10, 2025, the Brand Growth Event returned, bringing together science and practice to explore the year's key theme: Innovation.

At this year’s online event, we dived into how Innovation fuels Brand Growth, from product development and new technologies to the mindset and strategies that enable brands to stay relevant and future-ready.

Hosted by Lucas Hulsebos, CEO at DVJ Insights, the event covered:

Industry insights from Ard Bossema, Director Marketing & Strategy EMEA & Americas at Asahi, the company behind brands like Grolsch, Peroni and Asahi, sharing real-world innovation cases from beyond beer to sustainable brewing.
Academic perspective from Professor Yvonne van Everdingen (Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University), a leading expert in new product marketing and immersive technologies like AI, VR and AR.
The Newest Innovation Approaches from Martin Hellich, Global Head of Innovation at DVJ Insights
Practitioner’s experience with Ruurd Neurink, ex-Nespresso and ex-Porsche brand and innovation expert with two decades of experience at top-tier luxury and super-premium brands.

Plus, Jori van de Spijker presented the results from DVJ’s 2025 Brand Growth Study, capturing insights from over 2,000 marketing professionals across 10 European countries and the US. This year’s study revealed how innovation is being applied across categories, what holds brands back, and what sets the innovators apart.

Catch the replay and discover how we uncovered the true power of innovation to fuel brand growth in 2025 and beyond.

Brand Growth Speakers

Let us present the 2025 keynote speakers who shared their vision on Innovation and Brand Growth:

Yvonne van Everdingen

Professor of Marketing and Innovation at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University

Martin Hellich

Global Head of Innovation at DVJ Insights

Ard Bossema

Director Marketing & Strategy EMEA & Americas at Asahi

Jori van de Spijker

Global Head of Brand & Communication at DVJ Insights

Ruurd Neurink

Marketing Strategist, ex-Nespresso and ex-Porsche

Lucas Hulsebos

CEO of DVJ Insights &
Host of the event

“Innovation is the lifeblood of my academic career”

Yvonne van Everdingen
Professor of Marketing and Innovation at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University

Yvonne van Everdingen is Professor of Marketing and Innovation at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. She teaches the master-level course Marketing of New Products. Yvonne has extensively researched how consumers and organisations adopt and embrace innovation, with a current research focus on how technologies such as virtual and augmented reality can create real-world value for consumers, businesses, and society.

In addition to her research and teaching, Yvonne is the Academic Director of the ECDA Expert Practice Immersive Technologies. In this role, she actively bridges the gap between science and business, helping companies explore the potential of immersive technologies. Her work has been published in leading academic journals, including the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of Retailing, and Journal of Product Innovation Management.

At the Brand Growth Event, Yvonne highlighted the opportunities that new technologies, including AI and VR, offer in improving new product development processes and creating entirely new business models.

Ard Bossema
Director Marketing & Strategy EMEA & Americas at Asahi

Ard Bossema has over 20 years of marketing experience. After studying business economics, he began his career as Brand Manager for Bertolli at Unilever. Following several national and international roles, he moved to Omega Pharma, where he led the marketing team behind brands like Davitamon, Biodermal, Predictor, and Prevalin.

Four years later, Ard joined Koninklijke Grolsch, initially overseeing Trade & Shopper Marketing. After a stint in England, he returned as CMO for the Netherlands and France, a role he describes as the best marketing job in the country. He later relocated to Prague to take on the role of Global Brand Director and has spent the past year expanding into new markets with his team and, as he likes to say, his beers.

At the Brand Growth Event, Ard discussed innovation as a key driver of brand growth. Drawing from cases like Radler, alcohol-free beers, and sustainability initiatives such as TopClip, he showed how leading brands use insights not just to follow trends, but to shape them. He explored how to balance renovation with breakthrough innovation, foster a culture of creativity, and embrace technologies like AI, all while navigating the complexities of innovating within a corporate structure.

“The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones”

“The magic you’re looking for is in the work you’re avoiding”

Ruurd Neurink
Marketing Strategist

Ruurd Neurink has spent nearly two decades working in innovative companies, building up experience in marketing, CRM, innovation, strategy, and general management, mainly within super-premium and luxury brands. He’s passionate about brands and has developed deep knowledge in food & beverages at companies like Nespresso, as well as the luxury automotive space at Porsche.

Ruurd thrives on working with people who genuinely care about quality and always immerses himself fully in the world he's part of. He’s driven by strong consumer understanding and loves turning insights into actionable strategies that lead to standout customer experiences. Building teams and helping individuals grow is something he takes seriously, both as a leader and mentor.

At the DVJ Brand Growth Event, Ruurd shared stories from his time at some incredible brands. His key message? Innovation that broke ground yesterday in one company might still be the game changer of tomorrow in another one.

Martin Hellich
Global Head of Innovation

Martin Hellich has 25 years of experience from various Marketing Consulting and Research roles. At DVJ Insights, he serves as the Global Head of Innovation, partnering with clients to drive the commercial success of their innovation initiatives. With innovation at the core of his expertise, Martin also leads efforts to advance the field of innovation research, continuously pushing boundaries to deliver cutting-edge solutions.

Combining his enthusiasm for research, analytics, technology, and consulting, Martin collaborates with specialists to develop tailored solutions and practical recommendations for businesses. He enjoys bringing together diverse expertise to address challenges and uncover opportunities. With an extensive background in marketing research and innovation, Martin regularly shares his perspectives through publications and industry events, contributing to discussions on innovation and related topics.

At the Brand Growth Event 2025, Martin shared the latest Innovation approaches for Brand Growth.

“Innovation change the world for the better – on balance”

"Innovation isn’t about chasing the new. It’s about solving real problems for real people"

Jori van de Spijker
Global head of Brand & Communication

Jori van de Spijker is Global Head of Brand and Communication at DVJ Insights, leading the business globally in that domain. In his role, he works with global and local brands and provides senior consultancy in the field of brand, media and advertising. He has a great passion for research and topics such as digital transformation, consumer psychology, the role of new media in the media mix and innovation.

Besides his work at DVJ Insights, Jori is a member of the Board of Advisors of SWOCC. In 2021, Jori was named Insights Professional of the Year by the MOA in the Netherlands.

In this session, Jori shared the latest results from our annual Brand Growth study—based on insights from over 2,000 marketers across 12 countries. We looked at how marketer sentiment is shifting and took a closer look at the role of innovation in driving brand success. What sets the winners apart from the rest? And what can we learn from how successful companies innovate with purpose, not just for the sake of it?

Lucas Hulsebos
Host of the Event

Lucas Hulsebos is the CEO at DVJ Insights. He will host the 2025 Brand Growth Event live from a studio in Amsterdam, where he interviews keynote speakers and specialists on how Innovation fuels Brand Growth—from product development and new technologies to the strategies and mindset that keep brands relevant.

In just two hours, you’ll be fully up-to-date with the most recent insights and learnings on Brand Growth and the role of Innovation in driving future success.

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from leading practitioners and academics, and to gain practical strategies and fresh perspectives that will help shape your marketing approach in 2025 and beyond.