BIYU
Brand + Marketing Manager
Shaping and implementing the brand identity and marketing strategy.
The challenge
BIYU wanted to make renting the new buying. I joined as the first marketeer, when that ambition still lived in the founders’ living room. We talked a lot about our products and too little about ourselves. Followers grew, while reach and engagement dropped. And we were up against Praxis, Gamma and Boels. 500 customers when I joined.
The insight
People don’t rent to save the planet. They rent to get the job done, and to feel like they won.
The challenge
BIYU wanted to make renting the new buying. I joined as the first marketeer, when that ambition still lived in the founders’ living room. We talked a lot about our products and too little about ourselves. Followers grew, while reach and engagement dropped. And we were up against Praxis, Gamma and Boels. 500 customers when I joined.
The insight
People don’t rent to save the planet. They rent to get the job done, and to feel like they won.
What I did
💘 Defined the brand identity with the founders + briefed agencies.
💘 Wrote BIYU’s first marketing plan on my own: stop selling products, start telling our story. With partnerships, new hubs and guerrilla activations.
💘 Made one of the Netherlands’ first fully AI-generated OOH campaigns (2023). I owned the creative strategy and steered a creative team.
💘 Grew the brand from a belief into 10.000+ customers, two physical locations and a lot of partnerships.
💘 Came up with a rolling party for ADE: our cargo bike through Amsterdam with JBL speakers and disco lights, and everything on board was for rent. Partying first, renting made easy.
💘 Started influencer campaigns on a tiny budget. BIYU is built for people who want to do more, so we backed people just getting started, like a DJ who could try new gear without buying it. More real stories, more word of mouth.
💘 Represented BIYU in the Club van Circulaire Ondernemers, alongside brands like Swapfiets, Fairphone and MUD Jeans. We met every quarter and organised a pop-up Circular Expo on the Zuidas together. And BIYU made it into Het Parool.
💘 Hired across disciplines and left behind a marketing team of five.
The Next Closet
Brand Manager + Experiment lead
Making second hand the first choice
The challenge
In 2021, The Next Closet had just raised €3 million to grow. 250,000 pieces had already found a new owner. But second-hand fashion is a crowded game with thin margins. Vestiaire and Vinted are the big players, and fast fashion is always one click away. We wanted to be there for everyone who loves quality and design but has less to spend. Access over exclusivity. My challenge was to lower the threshold as far as I could. So I experimented a lot, always with the same question: how do we make second-hand the first choice?
The insight
People don’t skip second-hand because they don’t want it. They skip it because it’s a hassle. Blurry photos, unclear descriptions, and no idea who’s on the other side. On a C2C platform, the brand has to be the one thing you can trust.
What I did
💘 Every six weeks a new experiment, to grow brand awareness and make second-hand easier
💘 Came up with Biking to the Future in our first experiment sprint: slow fashion, fast service. We scoped it down to what mattered most: your order delivered by bike within one hour, anywhere in Amsterdam. Launched for the Christmas season with its own campaign on OOH and social. Fully booked, again and again.
💘 Took an online platform offline, with pop-up stores in Batavia Stad (Lelystad) and Amsterdam.
💘 Owned Green Friday. While everyone else shouted Black Friday deals, we asked our buyers to sell one when they bought one, because what you’re looking for is probably already in someone else’s closet. Every buyer got our Close the Loop e-book, and Trees for All planted 111 extra trees.
💘 Wrote every campaign brief, and designed a lot of it myself, from social posts to tote bags. From influencer collabs to a sportswear drop with Dolly Sports, plus the input for our performance campaigns.
The challenge
In 2021, The Next Closet had just raised €3 million to grow. 250,000 pieces had already found a new owner. But second-hand fashion is a crowded game with thin margins. Vestiaire and Vinted are the big players, and fast fashion is always one click away. We wanted to be there for everyone who loves quality and design but has less to spend. Access over exclusivity. My challenge was to lower the threshold as far as I could. So I experimented a lot, always with the same question: how do we make second-hand the first choice?
The insight
People don’t skip second-hand because they don’t want it. They skip it because it’s a hassle. Blurry photos, unclear descriptions, and no idea who’s on the other side. On a C2C platform, the brand has to be the one thing you can trust.
What I did
💘 Every six weeks a new experiment, to grow brand awareness and make second-hand easier
💘 Came up with Biking to the Future in our first experiment sprint: slow fashion, fast service. We scoped it down to what mattered most: your order delivered by bike within one hour, anywhere in Amsterdam. Launched for the Christmas season with its own campaign on OOH and social. Fully booked, again and again.
💘 Took an online platform offline, with pop-up stores in Batavia Stad (Lelystad) and Amsterdam.
💘 Owned Green Friday. While everyone else shouted Black Friday deals, we asked our buyers to sell one when they bought one, because what you’re looking for is probably already in someone else’s closet. Every buyer got our Close the Loop e-book, and Trees for All planted 111 extra trees.
💘 Wrote every campaign brief, and designed a lot of it myself, from social posts to tote bags. From influencer collabs to a sportswear drop with Dolly Sports, plus the input for our performance campaigns.