Real Results,
Real Growth
A proven track record of helping international brands break into new markets, bridge cultural gaps, and achieve measurable growth.
Led by Patric Sawada, with 11+ years of international marketing across 15+ markets in Europe and East Asia.
Discuss Your Growth GoalsK.K. Orchard — Taiwan Food Brand Enters 13 European Countries
Challenge
K.K. Orchard, a Taiwanese frozen food company, needed to create awareness and drive both B2B and consumer interest across 13 European countries — with a limited budget and no existing European presence.
Approach
- ●Facebook and Instagram campaigns targeting diverse interest groups per country
- ●Culturally adapted ad creative for each European market
- ●Translations and localisation for 13 countries
- ●Budget allocation strategy across markets to maximise reach
Results
"What we learned: with limited budgets, paid social can build significant awareness across many markets simultaneously — but driving direct sales requires sustained, local follow-up."
Valor — Reaching C-Suite Executives via LinkedIn
Challenge
Valor, a personal wardrobe service for executives, needed to reach CEO and C-suite decision-makers in the Netherlands. The target audience was notoriously hard to reach directly.
Approach
- ●3-week sprint: workshop, strategy, execution
- ●Custom audience targeting via executive assistants at Top 900 companies
- ●A/B testing of messaging and creative
- ●LinkedIn campaign with brochure download as conversion
Results
"What we learned: targeting decision-makers through their gatekeepers can be more effective than direct targeting. The approach validated a niche B2B strategy on LinkedIn."
TNT/FedEx — Culturally Adapted Google Ads Across 3 Countries
Challenge
TNT/FedEx wanted to improve Google Ads search performance across the Netherlands, Portugal, and Singapore — three culturally distinct markets with different communication styles and buying behaviours.
Approach
- ●Applied the ADAPT Culture Framework to analyse cultural dimensions per market
- ●Adapted ad copy based on Hofstede’s cultural dimensions (uncertainty avoidance, individualism, power distance)
- ●Tailored messaging tone: direct for NL, relationship-focused for PT, authority-referencing for SG
- ●A/B tested culturally adapted vs generic ad copy
Results
"What we learned: the same product benefits need entirely different messaging per culture. Small copy changes based on cultural research deliver measurable performance gains."
Gladskin by Micreos — E-Commerce SEO Across 4 European Countries
Challenge
Gladskin, a Dutch skincare e-commerce brand by Micreos, needed to grow organic traffic and revenue across four European markets: United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, and Germany.
Approach
- ●International SEO strategy tailored to each of the four markets
- ●Market-specific keyword research and content localisation
- ●Technical and on-page optimisation across all country domains
Results
"What we learned: international SEO requires understanding what each market searches for, how they search, and what content earns trust locally. Translation alone is not enough."
Critical Minds — Growth Hacking LinkedIn Ads and SEO
Challenge
Critical Minds, a B2B management consulting firm in the Netherlands, wanted to give their content marketing more reach and generate qualified leads from their target audience of decision-makers in the Dutch market.
Approach
- ●LinkedIn advertising campaigns targeting relevant B2B audiences
- ●SEO optimisation to increase organic visibility for consulting services
- ●Growth hacking methodology: rapid experimentation across channels
- ●Continuous A/B testing of ad formats and targeting parameters
Results
"What we learned: combining LinkedIn advertising with SEO creates a compounding effect for B2B lead generation. High CTR at low CPC is achievable when targeting and messaging are tightly aligned."
Global Sustainability Ratings Leader — Cross-Cultural Training for International Teams
Challenge
A leading global sustainability ratings platform needed to strengthen cross-cultural communication across its internationally diverse workforce. With teams spanning Europe and Asia-Pacific, cultural gaps were creating friction in client interactions, internal collaboration, and market expansion efforts.
Approach
- ●Designed tailored cross-cultural training programmes for multiple audience segments and objectives
- ●Partnered with a specialist trainer with 35+ years of cross-cultural management experience across 20+ countries
- ●Conducted pre-training interviews to customise content around real team dynamics and company values
- ●Delivered interactive, live sessions covering communication styles, business practices, and client engagement techniques
- ●Created dedicated modules for both internal team alignment and external client-facing skills
Results
"What we learned: cultural training has the biggest impact when it goes beyond theory. Customising content to real team dynamics and business challenges makes participants feel seen — and drives lasting behavioural change."
Belgian Telecom Company — Performance Marketing and Brand Relaunch
Challenge
A fast-growing Belgian telecommunications company needed to reduce subscriber churn while scaling its customer base in a fiercely competitive market. A major rebrand added complexity, requiring the entire digital marketing strategy to be rebuilt from the ground up.
Approach
- ●Omnichannel advertising across Google Ads, Meta, TikTok, and LinkedIn — tailored to the Belgian market in Dutch and French
- ●Full SEO strategy including keyword research, content optimisation, and backlink campaigns
- ●Conversion rate optimisation and user journey improvements across the subscription funnel
- ●GDPR-compliant tracking setup with consent management, server-side tagging, and attribution modelling
- ●Growth experiments including referral programmes, remarketing segmentation, and A/B testing across channels
Results
"What we learned: rebranding in a competitive telecom market is a high-stakes moment. Getting the performance marketing foundation right from day one — tracking, attribution, channel mix — determines whether the new brand gains momentum or loses ground."
EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation — Cross-Cultural Growth Marketing Webinars
Challenge
The EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation needed an expert-led webinar series to help European SMEs understand how to enter and grow in the Japanese market. The audience ranged from Swedish to Polish and Romanian companies — each with different starting points and cultural contexts.
Approach
- ●Delivered two tailored webinar sessions for distinct European audiences: one for Swedish SMEs and one for Polish and Romanian SMEs
- ●Covered market entry strategies, customer acquisition and retention, and cross-cultural marketing for the Japanese market
- ●Used real-world case studies of European companies that successfully entered Japan
- ●Addressed culturally adapted communication, trust-building, and Japanese business etiquette
- ●Interactive format with Q&A to address audience-specific challenges and industry contexts
Results
"What we learned: European SMEs are eager to enter Japan but often underestimate the cultural complexity. A structured webinar format that combines strategic frameworks with real examples gives them the confidence and clarity to take the first step."
Nationale Nederlanden (via Aimforthemoon) — Lean Validation for a Corporate Sustainability Startup
Challenge
Nationale Nederlanden, one of the Netherlands’ largest insurance and financial services companies, launched a corporate startup focused on home sustainability (Powerly). The challenge: validate the concept fast, generate early leads, and prove product-market fit — all within a corporate innovation framework.
Approach
- ●Led lean startup validation experiments to test assumptions and de-risk the concept
- ●Designed and executed lead generation campaigns using landing pages, targeted online advertising, and remarketing
- ●Built automated outreach sequences combining e-mail marketing and web scraping for prospect identification
- ●Analysed conversion data to validate assumptions and iteratively improve the funnel
Results
"What we learned: corporate startups need the same scrappy, experiment-driven approach as independent ones. The difference is navigating internal stakeholders while moving fast enough to actually learn something."
Baas BV (via Aimforthemoon) — Lean Validation for an EV Fleet Charging Startup
Challenge
Baas BV, a Dutch company specialising in fleet solutions, launched EVReady — a corporate startup offering EV charging solutions for large commercial fleets. The goal: validate demand, build an acquisition funnel, and generate qualified leads from fleet managers at enterprise companies.
Approach
- ●Ran lean startup validation experiments targeting fleet managers and facility decision-makers
- ●Built targeted landing pages and ran online advertising campaigns to test messaging and positioning
- ●Designed remarketing funnels and automated e-mail outreach to nurture early-stage leads
- ●Used web scraping and data analysis to identify and prioritise high-potential prospects
Results
"What we learned: in the EV infrastructure space, the buying cycle is long and involves multiple stakeholders. Early validation experiments need to account for that complexity — a single landing page test won’t cut it."
DSM (via DEA.Amsterdam) — SEO Analysis and Optimisation for a Global Science Company
Challenge
DSM (now dsm-firmenich), a global science-based company active in nutrition, health, and sustainable living, needed SEO improvements for its Engineering Materials division. The website served both English and Dutch audiences and required a structured approach to improve organic visibility.
Approach
- ●Conducted a comprehensive technical SEO audit of the Engineering Materials website
- ●Performed keyword research and competitive analysis for both English and Dutch markets
- ●Delivered on-page optimisation recommendations and content improvements
- ●Provided SEO training and advisory sessions for the internal team
Results
"What we learned: large multinationals often have the content and authority — what they lack is a structured SEO process. A focused audit and training engagement can unlock organic growth that’s been sitting dormant."
Opel Benelux (via DEA.Amsterdam) — Trilingual SEO Training and Website Optimisation
Challenge
Opel Benelux needed to improve the SEO performance of its website across three languages: Dutch, French, and German. The site was managed by a team of data entry assistants who updated content in the CMS but lacked SEO knowledge — a common bottleneck for large automotive brands with localised web presences.
Approach
- ●Executed a full SEO scan of the Opel Benelux website across all three language versions
- ●Identified and mapped relevant SEO keywords and content gaps per language and market
- ●Trained 10+ data entry assistants on SEO best practices for CMS content management
- ●Provided ongoing advisory on copy optimisation, keyword targeting, and technical SEO improvements
Results
"What we learned: for large brands with distributed content teams, the highest-leverage SEO intervention is often training the people who touch the CMS every day. One round of structured upskilling compounds across every page they update."
Nuon/Vattenfall — Introduction to Growth Hacking
Challenge
Nuon (now Vattenfall Netherlands), one of the largest energy companies in the Netherlands, was exploring modern growth methodologies to stay competitive in a rapidly changing energy market. They invited an external expert to introduce growth hacking concepts to their marketing and innovation teams.
Approach
- ●Delivered a presentation on growth hacking principles, frameworks, and real-world applications
- ●Covered the AARRR pirate funnel, experiment-driven marketing, and data-informed decision-making
- ●Shared case studies from startups and corporates applying growth hacking at scale
- ●Facilitated discussion on how growth hacking methods could be adapted to the energy sector
Results
"What we learned: energy companies are sitting on massive customer bases and data — but their marketing teams rarely get to experiment. Introducing growth hacking to a corporate audience is less about tactics and more about shifting the mindset toward structured experimentation."
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