As of this year, Sander Hooghiemstra (formerly at Snapchat) and Lennart Benthem (formerly Lead Sport Partnerships at ERA) have joined the management team of We Are Era Netherlands as Growth Director and Client Director. Together with Ruben Stuurman (Managing Director) and Renée Snaak (Executive Director), they will lead the media company, which has seen significant growth over the past year. Specializing in connecting brands and communities, the agency welcomed clients such as Amazon NL, Eurosport, Revolut, and Almhof. With this restructuring, ERA aims to strengthen its position as a one-stop shop for its partners.
Renée Snaak sees this as a crucial step to better serve existing clients and attract new brands: "The market we operate in changes daily. What mattered yesterday could be forgotten today. That’s why it’s essential for advertisers to remain agile and authentic – they need to respond quickly to trends and developments without losing their identity and values. With our new structure in Growth and Client Services, we can seamlessly integrate all specializations into our strategy. This enables us to support our clients even better across the entire social marketing funnel – from strategy and production to influencer marketing and community management."
In the new structure, Benthem will be responsible for ensuring client satisfaction, fostering growth within client relationships, and maintaining the quality of all projects. Hooghiemstra, as Growth Director, will leverage his expertise to develop growth strategies, expand the client portfolio, and establish strategic partnerships.
According to Snaak, marketing is no longer just about "who has the biggest budget." By 2025, the focus will shift to something even more crucial: earning trust, building strong relationships, and creating genuine connections with communities. Consumers expect transparency, authenticity, and engagement. For brands, it’s no longer just about broadcasting messages but truly listening to what moves their audience.
"With Hooghiemstra and Benthem joining the management team, and our organizational restructuring, we are ready to remain a constant and reliable partner for both existing and new clients in an ever-changing and fragmented media landscape. What we do best is building sustainable, strong relationships between brands and their communities. This not only ensures the success of our campaigns but also strengthens the long-term relationships we have with our clients. In an era where trust is paramount, our approach proves that success isn’t just about budget size or reach – it’s about relevance."
With around 40 employees in the Netherlands, We Are Era works daily on content strategies and productions, influencer management, social commerce, and community management. Staying true to its promise of providing the shortest route to every community and subculture, ERA is set to execute around 260 campaigns and over 1,000 collaborations with talents and communities in 2024.
