The expression “He’s quite a character” (or “ne kastaar” in local dialect) could easily apply to this Heart-hunter. His ideal day is fully programmed with nature documentaries, yet at the same time, he couldn’t live without people—or animals. We’d like to introduce you to Maarten, our creative strategist.
Within Team Expliciet, he makes up one half of the duo Maarten&Maarten, as well as the strategy_cell, which consists of those same two members. ‘Together, we map out the broad strokes of campaigns, content marketing trajectories, and go-to-market plans for clients and develop them further. That’s the creative part. Once the trajectory is running for the client, the analytical part begins: dissecting figures, adjusting, and optimizing.’
‘We try to involve the rest of the Heart-hunters as much as possible in this process, so we can continue to guarantee high quality for our clients in the long term. This doesn’t always have to be done in a serious way. For example, we designed a loyalty card that colleagues can have stamped when they call us in for an improvement project. A full card means a fun prize!’
Not too serious: you could easily call it one of Maarten’s mottos. ‘I mainly want to make people smile. Whether that’s with a creative hook for a campaign or a silly remark among colleagues. Working at a marketing agency is hard work, so every bit of humor is a welcome bonus.’
That is exactly why Maarten loves helping to create the atmosphere at the office. ‘Small moments of happiness like after-work drinks or personal cards for a birthday are very important to me, because you certainly don’t see that often within companies. But it shouldn’t stop there. My goal is to involve as many people as possible, both the veterans and the new Heart-hunters. In an ideal world, everyone will soon have at least one small moment of joy per day.’
As a child, Maarten dreamed of becoming a veterinarian, but he crossed that future profession off his list early on, just like archaeologist. ‘Marketer it is then (laughs). Looking back, it was a logical choice. As a young boy, I was already standing next to my grandparents during All Saints’ Day to sell flowers at the cemetery. They gave me my first marketing lesson: Put the most beautiful flowers at the front, the most expensive ones at the back. And thanks to my mother’s shop, I threw myself fully into the webshop story when it turned out that no more customers were coming in during a heavy snow period. That was my personal eureka moment, which not much later led to my first steps in the world of online shopping and Google Ads.’
‘Since then, the entrepreneurial spirit in me has continued to bubble up. Last year, that led to my first test as an entrepreneur: kastaar. Together with my girlfriend, I bake cakes, cupcakes, and donuts for dogs, cats, and horses. A combination of my two biggest passions: animals and entrepreneurship. We started with few concrete goals and mainly wanted to gain more insight into what entrepreneurship actually means. But we immediately received positive feedback and a lot of publicity. Our ambition now is to build kastaar and eventually link an experience center and perhaps a small cafe to it. With puppuccinos instead of cappuccinos.’
‘I think my totem name summarizes me perfectly. A “kastaar” is apparently someone who can be a bit mischievous at times, so that’s accurate. And I am someone who thinks a lot, maybe sometimes a bit too much (laughs).’
‘Louis and Snowy are our own two “kastaars”. In terms of character, golden retrievers fit perfectly with who I am: calm, social, playful, and yet also a little bit mischievous. You can see it in their eyes: if they can pull your leg, they will! We’ve even been told at a cafe that the dogs really look like us (laughs).’
‘I love going on adventures, preferably off the beaten track. Looking for animals, climbing trees, exploring special places. In Norway, I once spent four hours in a derelict SS bunker. I found a German bullet casing there. It now sits among the rest of my finds in our specially decorated travel room.’
‘My guilty pleasure. I love nothing more than observing animal behavior. I’m a big fan of their raw but honest emotions. My ideal day would consist of watching nature documentaries non-stop. Did you know, for example, that an elephant will spontaneously mourn next to the carcass of a stranger of its species, even if there is no trace left? Amazing animals! It’s no coincidence that I volunteered for several years for Bring The Elephant Home, a Dutch organization dedicated to protecting elephants in South Africa and Thailand.’
Would you like to get to know Maarten even better? There are still a few vacancies open; who knows, you might be colleagues soon!