The Relevance Group

𝐆𝐞𝐧 𝐙 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲: 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 Getting to know and reaching Gen Z is becoming increasingly important in marketing and brand strategy. When it comes to money, they seek control, transparency, and above all: trust. And loyalty? That’s not a given. But if this target audience embraces your brand, you’ll have a lifelong relationship. Curious about the key insights? Feel free to send Fred van Westerop a message! 💬 This infographic is part of a collaborative project within The Relevance Group, in which several brands have pooled their knowledge and expertise to gain insight into Gen Z’s financial perceptions and needs.

𝐕𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐭: 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 & 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 Do you get excited about organizing events where every detail is taken care of and guests feel genuinely welcome? As our Event & Hospitality Marketer, you'll create unforgettable customer and partner events, including managing the hospitality experience in our PSV Business Room. You'll not only coordinate the entire event but also handle all event communications and serve as the face of our organization during events. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝘀? 💡Organizing and coordinating customer and marketing events from A to Z; 💡Creatively developing ways to position our organization at events; 💡Managing all event communications (invitations, email campaigns, reminders, and follow-ups); 💡Acting as host/hostess and ensuring an outstanding hospitality experience and customer journey; 💡Managing the PSV Business Room during home matches. Interested? Check out the full vacancy via the link in the comments. 💬

𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬: 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐞 ✨ A magazine built around one question that every organization faces: How do you stay relevant in a world that's constantly changing? Together, our Dutch companies Beautiful Lives, Markteffect, TDA Analytics, TDA Technology and Techonomy, have created a magazine filled with inspiring stories, fresh insights and practical examples from organizations tackling this challenge every day. Inside, you'll find contributions from ANWB, Swiss Sense, Rijksmuseum, and Louwman Group, including a cover story featuring Dr. Oetker, with Joost van den Berg on the cover (see photo). Over the coming weeks, we'll take you behind the stories in the magazine and explore how marketing, data, technology, and AI come together to help organizations become more relevant. Stay tuned! 👀

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 Last Friday, we gathered once again for the annual The Relevance Group Summer Event. After an insightful kickoff by Frank de Beun, Gaby Siera, and Robin Sweegers, it was time to enjoy some food, drinks, and above all, great company. It was wonderful to see colleagues from the different companies again, exchange stories, and connect outside of our daily work routines. With a setting sun, a drink in hand, and a packed dance floor, all the ingredients were there for a truly successful evening. Thanks to everyone who joined us. We’re already looking forward to the next edition! 🎉

Most loyalty programs still reward transactions. The best ones shape behavior. For years, loyalty programs followed a simple logic: buy more, earn more, save more. Points, discounts and cashback became the standard toolkit for customer retention. And yes, these mechanics still have their place. But transactional loyalty is not the same as real loyalty. Discount-driven programs may increase short-term sales, but they can also train customers to wait for incentives, compare prices more aggressively and switch brands as soon as a better offer appears. In other words: loyalty programs can create loyalty. Or they can create dependency on discounts. The strongest programs are moving beyond passive earn-and-burn mechanics. They focus on habits, engagement, participation, emotional connection and long-term relevance. That is why gamification, status systems, challenges, streaks and personalized experiences are becoming more important. They help brands become part of customers’ routines, decisions and everyday lives. At the same time, loyalty is becoming much more than a marketing tool. Modern loyalty programs generate identity and behavioral data. Every interaction creates signals about preferences, intent, price sensitivity, engagement patterns, switching risk and customer lifetime value. This makes loyalty a strategic layer across personalization, CRM, pricing, digital product development, customer service and predictive analytics. The future of loyalty will therefore not be defined by the biggest discount budgets. It will be defined by the brands that understand how to create relevance — and how to shape behavior through personalization, ecosystem integration and emotional connection. Because loyalty is no longer just about rewarding what customers buy. It is about understanding why they return. Read more in this article: https://lnkd.in/enjttpHH

𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐩: 𝐍𝐈𝐌𝐀 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 Yesterday, the doors of DeFabrique opened for the tenth edition of the Netherlands’ largest marketing festival: NIMA Marketing Day 2026. As a proud main sponsor, The Relevance Group took part in the event with three inspiring sessions (hosted by Beautiful Lives, Markteffect and Techonomy), our own booth, and of course, our much-loved worstenbroodjes, a local delicacy. A special thank you to our speakers and everyone who joined us for the sessions or stopped by for a conversation. We enjoyed connecting with so many marketing professionals, exchanging ideas, and discussing how brands can stay relevant in an ever-changing landscape. We look back on a day filled with valuable insights and new connections. Thank you for being part of it. See you next year! 💡

𝐍𝐈𝐌𝐀 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐚𝐲  Tomorrow is NIMA Marketing Day and we’re proud to be attending as the event’s main sponsor. Join us for three inspiring sessions, visit our booth, and grab one of our local delicacy (worstenbroodjes). 📍 Session 1: How can an app influence young people’s return behavior? 🕚 11:10 AM – 11:40 AM | Perserij Gaby Siera (Beautiful Lives) and Maikel van Dijk (Statiegeld Nederland, part of Verpact) will share how behavioural insights formed the foundation of the deposit return app. The focus is not on the technology itself, but on a key question: what truly motivates people to return cans and bottles? 📍 Session 2: Fan engagement, data and partnerships: KNVB’s digital growth engine  🕚 11:50 AM – 12:20 PM | Perserij Damian François (Techonomy) and Arjan Dijk (KNVB) will discuss the World Cup campaign ‘Be Bold, Be Oranje’. They will explain how digital and interactive campaigns help engage fans, generate deeper audience insights, and create commercial value for KNVB and its partners. 📍 Session 3: Gen Z and money: from uncertainty to confidence 🕑 1:50 PM – 2:20 PM | Perserij Thomas Huigen (Markteffect) and Robin Remmerswaal (NN) explore how Gen Z views financial security. Why is trust in banks relatively high, while loyalty remains low? Based on research, they share key insights into the needs and motivations of this generation and show how brands can build stronger relevance and lasting trust through propositions, communication and activation. We look forward to welcoming you to one of our sessions and meeting you at our booth throughout the day!

There is no such thing as the Dutch consumer anymore.   What looks like one market from the outside is, in reality, a set of very different lifestyle realities. And that difference is exactly where marketing performance is decided.   The new TDA Analytics Lifestyle Research 2026 makes one thing clear: Averages hide more than they explain.   Across shopping behavior, media usage, and sustainability preferences, the report shows how strongly households differ: Price vs. quality vs. assortment in supermarkets Streaming vs. traditional TV vs. social media Online vs. offline purchasing behavior across categories   These are not small nuances. They fundamentally shape how people respond to products, channels, and communication.   Yet many brands still plan with broad target groups — age, income, geography. Important, yes. Sufficient? No.   Because the real question is no longer where you reach people. It is how they actually live, decide, and behave.   This is where lifestyle segmentation becomes critical. Not as an additional layer, but as the lens that explains why marketing works (or doesn’t).   👉 If you want to understand what sits behind the averages and where relevance actually starts - The full article is worth your time: https://lnkd.in/dcb2c25X  

Dutch households are not spending less. They’re spending smarter.   The latest TDA Analytics Lifestyle Research 2026 highlights a clear shift: Consumers in the Netherlands are becoming more selective, more price-aware, and more deliberate in their decisions.   What does that mean in practice? 77% consider price a key factor in grocery shopping 76% prioritize affordability in clothing 60% use tech products as long as they still work 65% own a second-hand car 55% actively review contracts like energy, telecom, or insurance   This is not a short-term reaction. It’s a structural change in how households define value, relevance, and necessity.   👉 For marketers, this changes the game.   Broad assumptions about willingness to spend are losing relevance. What matters now is precision: Where is caution increasing? Where does value still trigger action? How do these patterns differ across households?   Because one thing is clear: Caution does not mean inactivity. People are still buying, switching, traveling, streaming. But with a sharper filter. And that filter is where growth happens.   Understanding how people choose is becoming more important than understanding how much they spend.   If you want to go deeper into the findings and what they mean for marketing and sales strategies: 👉 Read more here: https://lnkd.in/d69fxTRH

Loyalty is having a moment and this time, to not just talk.   The latest Global Customer Loyalty Report 2026 makes one thing clear: 👉 Loyalty programs are no longer a supporting act. They’re becoming a core growth driver.   A few signals that stand out: • 83% of loyalty program owners report satisfaction — the highest in 5 years • 92.7% see positive ROI, with an average return of 5.3X • Over half of marketing budgets (51.5%) are now allocated to CRM & loyalty   What’s behind this shift? Loyalty is proving its value where it matters most: → deeper customer engagement → stronger repeat purchasing → richer, more actionable data   And with that, expectations are changing. Loyalty tech isn’t just infrastructure anymore, it’s a business enabler. Ease of use, scalability, and continuous innovation are now non-negotiable.   The real takeaway? Loyalty has moved from the edge of the business to the center. From “nice-to-have” to strategic asset.   If you’re still treating loyalty as a campaign tool, you’re missing the bigger picture.   👉 Curious what this means in detail? Read more here: https://lnkd.in/d-8CEsxW