Frontiers in Marketing

Tuesday, 4 February

Academic speaker: Dr Mirjam Tuk, associate professor in marketing at RSM
Practitioner speakers: Joost de Wit, Founder and CEO of TIMT BV

Companies constantly try to find new ways to help people reach their goals, for example saving more, working more efficiently, and making healthier food choices. But how do people set their goals in the first place? And how could companies help them in this initial stage? In this session, you will learn and discuss new, evidence-based strategies that can prompt people to become more ambitious in their goals and their subsequent behaviour. These insights may not only prove to be valuable for companies who want to further improve consumers’ lives (and society in general), but also for managers who want to motivate their employees.

Thursday, 2 April

Academic speaker: Linda van Rijn, PhD student at RSM and product director advanced solutions at Global Product Management GfK
Practitioner speaker: Marieke Bos, Marketing Manager Becel, ProActiv and Digital Perception at Upfield
Moderators: Dr Bram Van den Bergh, associate professor in marketing at RSM; and Prof. Gerrit van Bruggen, professor in marketing at RSM

Many developed markets are confronted with a rapidly aging population. Senior consumers are becoming an interesting and significant market segment, which offers opportunities for new product developments and new product categories. But when people grow older, the way they buy and consume their ‘regular’ products may also change. Marketers often seem to assume that targeting older consumers with marketing activities will not be worth the resources, because over time they have already developed brand and consumption preferences, which will be very difficult to change. But is this the case? And is the motto ‘Get them young, keep them long’ indeed true? In this session, we will cover the consequences of aging on consumer behaviour, and offer insights in the ways marketers can respond to this demographic trend. The aging population will become an important challenge for many marketers but will also open up great opportunities.