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Thijs Plug
Global Head of PR and Communications
Thijs Plug is the Global Head of Communications and PR at VanMoof, a position he assumed in late 2023 following the company's bankruptcy and subsequent acquisition by Lavoie, a British subsidiary of McLaren Applied.14
Career Background
Prior to his current role, Thijs Plug has had an extensive career in communications and media:
- He joined VanMoof in May 2023 as the Global PR Lead.3
- Before VanMoof, he worked as the Dentsu APAC marcom lead.2
- He also served as Managing Director at futurefactor.2
- Earlier in his career, he held the position of deputy executive editor at Quote Magazine.2
Role at VanMoof
Thijs Plug's role at VanMoof has evolved significantly since he joined the company:
- Initially hired as the Global PR Lead in May 2023.3
- Experienced the company's bankruptcy and subsequent acquisition during his first ten weeks.1
- Following the acquisition, his role expanded to Global Head of Communications and PR.14
In his current position, Plug is responsible for:
- Brand collaborations
- Paid and organic influencer programs
- Product and lifestyle PR
- Internal and external communications1
Approach to Communication
In the aftermath of VanMoof's bankruptcy and acquisition, Plug's focus has been on:
- Transparent communication about the company's rebuilding process.1
- Prioritizing quality over speed in their communications.5
- Balancing the need to keep customers informed while avoiding unrealistic promises.1
Thijs Plug describes his experience during VanMoof's bankruptcy as "intense and educational," likening it to "an MBA in crisis and reputation management".1 His current challenge lies in making the company's behind-the-scenes work visible to customers while managing expectations during VanMoof's rebuilding phase.1
Highlights
Couple of words about the PR strategy we used to launch VanMoof’s Undelivered Bikes initiative.
This week VanMoof introduced a programme offering discount codes to customers that ordered a bike with the old company but didn’t get it delivered. We want to push this story once in earned media - after that we let the news spread organically.
In order to do this we set up four exclusives in tier 1 media our key markets: Le Monde (France). Handelsblatt (Germany), TechCrunch (UK / US) and BNR Nieuwsradio (Netherlands). These titles were picked for reach and to give the story weight. The exclusives were embargoed until 11 am, after which a press release went out to our entire media database.
We choose to do a radio interview in Holland in order to create a single source of truth for this complicated story. The interview with our CEO Eliott Wertheimer was pre-recorded in English and uploaded to BNR’s website in advance. This allowed us to link back to the recording in the press release to give everyone additional context and get the news directly from our leadership.
We’re still running coverage analysis but the first impression is reach was beyond expectation and most coverage hit the notes we hoped they would.
Here's a first for me. This is what looks like an AI generated review for the new VanMoof. We never gave this publication a bike, and none of the bikes shown in this article are S5's. It just hit me that before the end of the year the zone will be flooded with low quality content and half-truths. Buckle up.
https://lnkd.in/ekHV6tid
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Mesh is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Mesh beneficial.
Mesh offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Mesh offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Mesh's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Mesh offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Mesh focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Mesh also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
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