Brands have many ways of remaining in our memory. There are TV commercials, ads in magazines and newspapers, public billboards, internet based promotional activities and so on. Some brand owners hire brand ambassadors, but others are lucky enough to boast their own brand champion.

Brand champions, as opposed to brand ambassadors, come from inside the organization itself and they are devoted to the brand and its values. Great brand champions live by and embody the brand. You cannot buy this devotion, it comes from the heart.

I would like to introduce the best brand champion I have met, Mr Rob Snel, CEO of Grolsch.

Grolsch is a Dutch beer brand that has been around for almost 400 years, being born in the city of Grolle in 1615. In 2008 Grolsch joined the great portfolio of SABMiller brands.

Grolsch offers many different kinds of beer, but the most popular and biggest seller is Grolsch Premium Lager. This is one of the Grolsch brews that you can buy in the classic swing-top bottles. There are also “normal bottles”, but the swing-top is the most well known worldwide and really makes the Grolsch brand stand out from the crowd.

The swing-top bottle is the icon of Grolsch beer. Rob Snel tells us that it also connects to the Grolsch target group: people who think differently, are independent, and are ready to accept the unconventional. The swing-top bottle, along with the distinctive full bodied beer it contains, engages all five senses and is the key to the Grolsch brand story.

Moreover, this extremely attractive bottle is, for Rob, also an inspiration for leadership. He believes that every individual has special talents of their own, and that giving someone a role, not just a job, comes from understanding people and approaching them on more than just one level. “I believe every one of us has a role which should go much beyond the job description, like our swing-top bottle. Yes, it holds the beer but it also provides the desired pleasurable drinking effect and a recognizable statement about yourself.” says Rob.

I didn’t need to ask Rob for his favorite brand of beer. It is so obvious. The Grolsch CEO truly lives the brand and embodies everything about it. Every day he wears cufflinks in the shape of swing-top bottle and suspenders with swing-top bottles printed on it.

There are many types of brand champions. But in my opinion the best are those who are not only dedicated but also know how tell the story of the brand and spread the word beyond the company. This is certainly the case with Rob Snel. In my meeting with him he gave the most amazing chronicle of the Grolsch brand and its evolution, how it changed and has grown with its target group, and its future. But this you will have to wait to read in the next part. Stay tuned.

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