The Cornerstone for Successfully Selling a Great Idea with Martine Hammink

Martine Hammink sets the global creative vision and offering for the business as vice president of creative studio and creative solutions at Vistar Media by presenting her creative philosophy on digital out-of-home (DOOH) creativity on stages and to teams worldwide.

With over a decade in digital marketing, Martine has built her expertise at the intersection of technology, creativity and consumer engagement. Previously, she served as head of creative studio and brand marketing at Sage+Archer, where she developed cross-European brand strategies and led a design team creating innovative DOOH solutions.

She has been instrumental in developing dynamic creative solutions for the DOOH industry. For example, she led the development of a self-service creative builder tool at Sage+Archer, empowering clients to create dynamic content for DOOH.

Her career also includes leadership roles as managing creative lead at 24AM and brand manager at MobPro, where she pioneered mobile-first advertising approaches focused on sustainable brand growth rather than short-term performance.

LBB> What does creativity mean to your brand?

Martine> As media technicians, we understand that the success of a campaign depends heavily on creativity. But we also see that even the best creative can perform poorly if it is not placed correctly or not tailored to the strengths of the platform. That’s why we see ourselves as technology specialists who bring together automation, data and connectivity with bold creative thinking, rich audience insights and strong visual design.

We don't just support media buying, we create environments where creativity can realise its full potential through intelligent, data-driven use.

Essentially, we're redefining what creativity means in the programmatic age – making it smarter, more responsive and infinitely more effective.

LBB> And more broadly, what does creativity mean to you, outside of work, outside of the sphere of advertising and marketing?

Martine> For me, creativity isn’t some grand, intangible concept. It’s simply the ability to see something differently than you did before. It’s that moment when, after gathering new information and experimenting with an idea, you arrive at a fresh perspective or insight.

Take Rembrandt’s ‘Night Watch’, for example – at first glance, it might seem like just a massive canvas featuring a group of wealthy white men. But then you shift your focus, not to the painting itself, but to the people observing it. You realise that despite its stillness and lack of flashy elements, it captures the attention of viewers, young and old, for surprisingly long periods. That shift in perspective, that awareness of how people engage, is what creativity means to me. It’s rooted in the mental and behavioural process of discovering new meaning in the familiar.

LBB> What have you learned is the key to nurturing fruitful relationships with your creative partners?

Martine> The key is mutual respect and curiosity. I’ve learned that the most fruitful creative relationships happen when both sides genuinely value what the other brings to the table – not just in theory, but in practice. That means learning each other’s strengths, blind spots, working styles and building from there.

Creativity, at its core, is about seeing things differently. So a good partnership needs to be built on that same principle: different perspectives, openly shared, not defended. That’s especially true now.

In the past, creatives often owned the ‘magic’ and guarded it fiercely. But today, marketers have sharper insights, better tools and a stronger seat at the table – and that’s a good thing. When both sides are open, collaborative, and challenge each other constructively, the work gets better. Full stop.

LBB> Which creative campaigns from other brands (past or present) have inspired you most in your career and why?

Martine> For me, a pivotal creative inspiration came over 15 years ago from a government recycling campaign. It wasn't flashy, but deeply smart. Simple, mysterious outdoor ads showed an orange character with cryptic lines like, ‘I am in your juice box.’ It was a puzzle that genuinely hooked my mom and me – we debated endlessly about what it could mean.

Then came the reveal: perfectly timed across news, direct mail and follow-up ads, it was unveiled as a message about recycled plastic. The execution blew me away. The orchestration, the simplicity, the channel synergy – I was completely in awe, a feeling that sticks with me today.

Yet, looking back with years of experience in consumer behaviour, I honestly wonder: did that mystery resonate with everyone, or just enthusiasts like me? Did the ambiguity connect broadly, or did it leave many behind?

That critical question – balancing captivating intrigue with clear, widespread impact – is the profound lesson that the campaign left me with. It's the tension that drives my work today, pushing me to find ways to create campaigns that are not only memorable and engaging for those who lean in, but truly effective for everyone they need to reach.

LBB> You must see so many ideas pitched to you, and have had to sell so many ideas to the rest of your company. So what’s the key to selling a great idea?

Martine> The cornerstone for successfully selling a great idea lies in its foundation: a core insight that resonates with the target group. As we know so well now (in this political age), people are naturally attracted to information that confirms their existing views and may resist information that contradicts them. Therefore, the most compelling ideas are those that illuminate a shared reality in a novel and convincing way.

This is about more than simply confirming existing beliefs. It's about identifying an underlying tension, an unmet need or an emerging cultural shift that the audience suspects but may not have explicitly recognised. The goal is to present a solution that seems both innovative and inevitable.

LBB> How do you encourage creative excellence among your team?

Martine> I encourage them to approach or look at the design problem or question in front of us from a different set of eyes. Instead of brainstorming for yourself, you imagine how another person might approach the issue. This can be the client, or the consumer persona, but also someone like Beyoncé or Basquiat. It’s a creative technique called role storming.

LBB> The big question. We know creativity is effective, but when you’re assessing an idea that’s totally original and new, how do you figure out if it’s brilliant or indulgent?

Martine> If you study the biggest hits in culture - songs, films, ads - you’ll rarely find pure originality.

What you’ll actually see is a smart balance: something deeply familiar, dressed up in something fresh. Derek Thompson calls it the familiar surprise. You see it every year in the best Christmas commercials. They tap into emotional anchors like nostalgia, warmth, and tradition – but then add a twist.

Take Rosewait’s 2024 ‘Sweet Suspicion’ ad. They borrowed the structure of Britain’s most beloved detective genre and applied it to something as universal as a family Christmas dinner. Add in some unexpected casting, and suddenly the old feels new again.

So, when I look at a truly original idea, I’m not just asking, “Is this creative?” Instead, I’m asking: “What does this idea emotionally anchor to? And what makes it unexpected enough to get noticed?” Going by this philosophy, creativity isn’t magic; it is a kind of science. And yes, a quick gut-check from people outside the room – colleagues, friends, even your partner – is underrated. Fresh eyes reveal blind spots fast.

LBB> What one piece of advice do you have for marketers at the beginning of their career who are still figuring out how to drive impactful creative marketing?

Martine> GO OUT THERE! After you are done reading about the fundamentals of marketing in books like ‘How Brands Grow’ by Bryon Sharp and ‘The Long and the Short of It’ by Les Binet and Peter Field, immediately look beyond your screen. Witness firsthand how people interact with different media and how consumers truly engage with brands, not just in curated case studies on stage and slick showreels on LinkedIn. Pay attention to their genuine reactions. This direct, unfiltered understanding of human behaviour will fuel a creative intuition that truly resonates and drives impact.