There are now more than 100,000 alumni of the VU Amsterdam. Where did they end up after their studies? In this section, we feature three alumni who studied in the same programme. This time: alumni of Marketing
‘Marketing and sustainability go well together’
What kind of work do you do? “I work for COCO-MAT, an international lifestyle brand with stores in 18 countries. COCO-MAT sells bedding and home products, including beds and mattresses, made entirely of natural materials. Together with another colleague, I am responsible for the brand’s marketing communications and PR in the Netherlands.”
How did you start working at COCO-MAT? “I wanted to work for a company that produces sustainable, socially conscious products. But I graduated during the recession, so jobs like that weren’t easy to find. I had to take on temporary assignments for a variety of sustainable companies at first. I started at COCO-MAT as a temporary replacement for someone who was on maternity leave. But then my contract was extended, and I’ve been working here for more than a year now.”
At first glance, you wouldn’t expect someone from the Marketing programme to be so interested in sustainability. “To me, they go together fine. I think it’s interesting to study how you can successfully launch a service or product, and how to keep it successful. But that doesn’t mean that I think we should produce as much as humanly possible. I think it’s important that products should pose as little burden to the environment as possible, and that they are produced under good conditions. Companies are paying more attention to those issues, so they will become more important in the study programme as well.”
What is your favourite memory from your time as a student? “The moment that I heard my thesis had been approved, and that I had completed my Master’s. I had earned my Bachelor’s at a university of applied sciences, so I had to work hard to earn my Master’s. The fact that I finished within the normal time period was a huge boost to my self-confidence.”
‘To be honest, I had to un-learn some things when I started working’
What kind of work do you do? “I have my own digital marketing company: som digital. Som stands for ‘Smart Online ’. Together with my colleagues, we improve our clients’ marketing activities in order to help their sites perform better and increase their conversion.”
Did you learn anything useful in your studies? “Absolutely! But to be honest, I also had to un-learn some things when I started working, especially academic writing. It took at least three years before I was able to write active, interesting texts.”
What was your student life like? “I remember it mainly as a period of partying and comradeship. I was in the VU Corps, a student association that’s now called L.A.N.X. I was an active member, had several positions on the board of my society, and lived with eight other members in a house on the Weteringsschans. I also worked as a car courier with a lot of diverse, fun people.”
What are some of your good memories? “For three years in a row, I was a counselor at a summer camp for disadvantaged children. They were organised by the Rotary Club on Vlieland, and we were recruited via the Corps. Together with another student, you were in charge of a group of kids for 10 days. We of course knew nothing about child care, and we had no idea about the problems the kids faced at home. We were living in a bubble of carefree student life, but that also meant we could have a lot of fun together. When we said goodbye on the quay in Harlingen, all of the children were in tears, and you could see that the students were choking back tears of their own.”
‘I really love taking on the role of the consumer’
Why did you decide to enrol in the Marketing Master’s programme? “I had studied logistics and economics at Utrecht University of Applied Sciences, where I quickly realised that the commercial and strategic side was much more interesting than the purely logistic aspects. Studying was fairly easy for me, so I wasn’t too worried about the switch to university. The Master’s programme wasn’t offered in Utrecht, however, so I ended up at the VU.”
Did you live in a student house? “I moved to Amsterdam together with a friend from Utrecht. We shared an apartment and attended the same pre-Master’s course, so we had the same daily rhythm. That made it more fun: before the exams we went to the library together, and then we went to the bar afterwards. We’re still in contact, and our lives turned out pretty similar: we both had children a few years ago, for example.”
Who was your favourite teacher? “Pieter van Helsdingen from Marketing Strategy. He came from the business world, and had worked at ABN Amro for several years. He had plenty of interesting stories to tell about that. But he was also interested in us as individuals, and he often joined us for a drink after the lectures.”
What does your work entail? “I’m the Marketing Manager for the Creamy Creation department at FrieslandCampina. Creamy Creation supplies cream liqueurs to a variety of brand owners around the world. Our clients are all companies, and for our marketing activities I visit trade fairs to look for all of the latest trends and developments. I really love taking on the role of the consumer: in fact, Consumer Behaviour was my favourite course during my studies.”
