2020
Batenborch International talks with Tim Maas (Regional Director of Marketing Benelux, CEE, Nordics and Turkey at Hasbro)
“I am motivated by results, like market share wins or green numbers, but my biggest moments of joy are when the people in my team are shining. Businesses are built through building teams.”
What are the main factors that contributed to your success as a marketer? Personally, I became more vocal and I learned to speak up thanks to my previous work experience in sales. These soft skills are indispensable in a management role. I keep in mind to “go hard on the issue, but soft on the persons” since everything starts with the people and the level of trust. The more you are able to create a safe space, where it is okay to make mistakes, the more people grow. That is the magic formula to generate really innovative ideas. Marketing-wise, I believe in global brands and strategies, but I am a huge fan of building local campaigns. Global strategies are ten times more relevant when adapted locally. This local adaptation can be as small as a voice-over, but the more you touch the local consumer, the better your campaign gets.
Were there any hiccups along the way that you eventually learned from? Tim Maas, Regional Director of Marketing Benelux, CEE, Nordics and Turkey at Hasbro
In the past, I worked very closely with an agency. When everything between you works like a welloiled machine, you forget to challenge each other and you end up creating “artsy” campaigns that look fantastic, but don’t sell. Another mistake I made was when I started to lead teams and I was being too nice to people. However, you don’t let people grow by always giving them what they want. Even negative feedback can be considered as positive attention.
