About sleek store presentations & the joy of going all out together.
An indelible impression, a conclusive process, an indispensable service: it is our people who make that happen. Everyone within their own expertise and in their own way. In A Great Fit we talk to our employees about what makes their jobs so interesting. This time the word: marketer Marjolein Tromp.
Howdo you describe your job, if someone asks at a birthday party what you do?
'Then I say that I work for Antar Shoe, an importer and distributor of shoe brands such as Ipanema and Bergstein. And that for the past 4 years I've worked on several photo shoots as brand manager for Bergstein, for example!'
'Because Bergstein is one of our own brands, we can be very creative with it. What do we want to tell, what photography concept, what location, what new colors or models do we want in the collection? Besides, it's a fun brand: cheerful and fashionable. It looks totally hip and also suits everything a child wants to do, like playing outside and running in the puddles. Everything from my daily life as a mother of two young children I can use directly, so for me it's a feast of recognition!
But now you're going to do something different! What will be your role?
'Over the past four years, Bergstein has grown a lot. I remain involved, but we have expanded team marketing and communications with two new colleagues and David will continue with my role and Bergstein. Indeed, with the focus from marcom on our four B2C brands, the pitfall is that B2B marketing gets left behind. Therefore, from now on I am responsible for the B2B marketing of all eight brands. This means that I am concerned with what our customers - retailers - need in order to sell these brands well to their customers - the consumers.
How doesyour role ensure that we make an indelible impression with Antar Shoe?
"My new role is somewhat in between marketing and sales, so I can support customers and sales with what we have to offer from marketing. For example, does a customer have multiple locations? Then I hook up to see how we can equalize the brand presentation in all those branches. It's a win-win: a piece of brand monitoring for us as a distributor, and a piece of support to our retailers: that way the brand experience goes up and a retailer can sell better.'
'For our retailers it will soon be more visible and tangible what we as Antar can do for you. At the bottom of our e-mails we have been saying for years: if you want extra store materials or POS customization: contact us. But soon we will proactively show in the showrooms what we have for you and what we can do for you.'
What do you find the most enjoyable challenges you face in your work?
"What I always like is that with the selling season to retailers we are always one season ahead: the presale. In late summer, for example, we prepare with our retailers for next summer. While for B2C brands, we simply 'live' in the current season and are still selling Ipanemas or perhaps an autumn boot. That takes some switching and being sharp with each other. The presale season is always a big challenge behind the scenes, and I like it every time again that everyone has full focus to make the presale and going live of collections a success.'
What recent development are you proud of?
'I am most proud of how Bergstein is doing now. Last year we renewed the entire branding, took steps in product development and updated the packaging - that had been a wish for years. The new collections arrive next week and the brand books including new photo and video material are ready. With my own four-year-old son in the campaign! Everything is coming together, so it also feels like a very nice moment to hand over the brand to David and step into my new role.'
Written by: Ellis Marsman, copywriter for Antar Shoe
