Welcome to “Brand Champions,” where we dive deep into the art and science of building unforgettable brands. Join us on Advertising Champions TV as branding gurus share their secrets to creating brand loyalty and driving impact. Discover the strategies behind iconic brand stories and learn how to stand out in a competitive marketplace. Today our hosts, Janine Hogan spoke with Hans Bernard Lagerweij.
Hans Bernard Lagerweij
Owner, Founder, Growth Architect at Flying Dutchman Consultancy
Website Address: https://hanslagerweij.com/
Short company description:
Flying Dutchman Consultancy helps founders, boards and owners of travel and luxury experience businesses grow faster. Led by Hans Lagerweij, formerly President and CEO of Quark Expeditions, Victory Cruise Lines and Albatros Travel International, it works as a fractional executive team: strategy, go-to-market, distribution and digital demand, delivered remotely worldwide.
If you had one message to get across to future customers, what would it be?
A great strategy is worthless until it’s executed. I make sure it is.
What differentiates you from the competition?
Former CEO of Quark, Victory Cruise Lines and Albatros: I bring operator experience in expedition and luxury travel plus digital growth skills. As author of The Why Whisperer, I make sure strategy gets executed, not just presented.
How do you help a brand maintain consistency across multiple channels and platforms?
Consistency starts before any channel: with a clear brand architecture. I define what the brand stands for, who it’s for, and the few things that never change (positioning, tone of voice, visual identity, the core promise). Then I turn that into a simple playbook every team and agency can use, so channels adapt the format but not the message. Next I make it operational. One source of truth for assets and messaging, one owner for brand decisions, and a shared customer data platform so email, social, web and sales teams all work from the same information. At Albatros, for example, I rebuilt the marketing and sales approach around a HubSpot CRM, so every touchpoint, from newsletters to social to B2B outreach, told one story.
Can you share a rebranding project that taught you valuable lessons about brand identity?
One project that shaped my thinking was the rebrand of Sawadee Reizen, a Dutch specialist tour operator, which I led as Managing Director from 2008 to 2010. We were in the middle of a financial downturn and a turnaround, so the rebrand had to earn its place commercially, not just look good. We launched a new visual identity, backed it with TV campaigns, and built a strong social media presence, which was unusual among Dutch tour operators at the time. Alongside that, we opened the product to B2B distribution. EBITA rose from €400K in FY08 to €900K in FY10. Three lessons stayed with me. First, a brand identity is a promise, so the product and the service have to deliver it, or the new look is just packaging. Second, a rebrand works best when it is tied to a clear commercial goal, not done in isolation. Third, consistency across touchpoints matters more than any single campaign: the identity has to feel the same in an ad, on the website and in conversation with a customer.
What strategies do you use to build and maintain brand loyalty in a competitive market?
Loyalty is earned in the product first. I build experiences that score an NPS above 70 (I’ve worked in the 80s), then I underpromise, overdeliver, and add small surprises nobody expected. Then comes timing. I ask for the review, the referral or the rebooking at the emotional peak, at the end of the trip, when the guest is most enthusiastic, not weeks later in a cold email. After that, I keep the relationship alive. Guests go into a CRM and get relevant content and early access, so the brand stays in touch between trips. Past guests and their stories become our best marketing: at Quark, our video and virtual reality content won industry awards.
What’s your approach to navigating a brand crisis and rebuilding trust with audiences?
Honesty, transparency and communication are the base, but I treat a crisis as a sequence. First, protect people: guests, crew and staff come before the brand. Second, get the facts straight quickly, then speak early, plainly and in one voice. Silence and spin do more damage than bad news. Third, tell each audience what they need to hear (guests, travel partners, staff, owners and regulators) through the channels they trust. Then comes the part that actually rebuilds trust: fixing the cause and showing it. Words calm things down, but visible action wins people back. I make specific commitments, report progress, and let results speak.
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