Calendars remain a consistent favorite in marketing. This comes as no surprise since they attract attention 365 days a year with attractive images or clever quotes. Wouldn‘t this be something for your company too? www.karlknauer.com Always up-to-date. Also in terms of advertising. Order now! 8 Out of the comfort zone, being open to the new and cherishing the old And that brings us to where you come from? “I come from Rotterdam, the youngest in an entrepreneurial family. My father had his own construction company, and my brother and I had to help out, following the wellknown Rotterdam motto ‘don’t talk, just do it.’ We noticed as children whether the company was doing well because one year we would walk along the boulevard of Cannes during the summer vacation, and the next year we would be camping in ’s Gravenzande! I have an older brother who went to retail school and is now a successful entrepreneur. My sister studied law. I was a bit in between; first, I also went to retail school, but then I returned to school to get my pre-university diploma and then studied business administration. Such a choice to study or not is very determining and one of the crossroads in your life, I think. I really liked trade, but I didn't necessarily want to start my own business; I wanted to eventually take on a leadership role at a large company. I also found marketing incredibly interesting; creating something new, going to market, trying to make it successful, influencing people to make them buy a product. My mother once said to me, 'you are going into advertising because you know every tune and slogan by heart.' In a way, she was right because the world of promotional items is very close to that.” Bluff “I did have a certain bluff when I started working, but I also knew from my youth how important it was to gather good people around you and get to know them. When I was about 12 years old, I had to sweep sawdust in my father's construction company during the vacation because ‘you can't do anything else yet,’ he said. During the lunch break on my first day, I came to my father's office with my lunch package to eat there. He asked what I was doing and then said, ‘look, there's the canteen downstairs, you can eat there, not here, good luck.’ I was so angry... I had to sit and eat among strangers with diverse backgrounds with the sandwiches my mother had made for me! They talked about Feyenoord after the weekend, but also about all sorts of other things the staff had experienced; I was all ears. That was a wise lesson from my father: everyone is an important link in a company.” Does it matter to you what product you sell? ‘“I've worked for very different companies. For example, I brought Centrum Multivitamins to the market in the Netherlands, but I also spent seven years at Philips Lighting, where I was responsible for the Middle East and Africa. I've marketed anti-dandruff shampoo, painkillers, air conditioners, and heaters, and worked for a wholesaler in electrical materials, even though you really shouldn't let me take apart a plug because I'd get electrocuted!” Jumping into the deep endHeb je vaak dat soort ingevingen? ‘“At the beginning of your career, you learn the big picture: how does marketing work, what are the tricks? You can then apply this knowledge again and again at a new company with a different product. You can see it like this: when you start at a company, you jump into the deep end and walk along the bottom, occasionally taking a breath, and then you reach the other side with market and product knowledge. The promise you make must be correct, but you can also achieve a lot by distinguishing yourself from other brands through marketing. Who would have thought that a black cookie - Oreo - would become so popular? That's fantastic! Who would have ever thought that Starbucks, American coffee for which you pay about 6 euros per cup, would do so well in Calvinist Netherlands? Are you a loner? “Socially, I am a team player. So, I like to chat with everyone and see what's going on. But the higher you are in an organization, the more alone you are. At the same time, it’s not about me. I am a passerby, and if I walk out the door tomorrow, the company should be independently on track. Only then have I done my job well.” As a passerby, you are part of but never entirely part of a company… “I do that consciously. Then you always have that scope to look from the outside in and not the other way around. I see it as phases of a company's life path. There is a moment when you are in the right place until someone else is needed for the job because a different period or situation has arrived. The first time I found it difficult, after putting so "I like to chat with everyone and see what's going on" 17 2024 - number 4 - promzvak.nl
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