How to cycle the Dutch media landscape

Influencers

Welcome to the Netherlands, a country known for their wooden shoes, chocolate sprinkles on toast for breakfast, biking culture and legislations around drug usage. The Dutch may have somewhat of a wild stereotype, but when it comes to doing business, the Dutchies are totally down to earth. We have compiled a few facts on Dutch culture and their media landscape for you below.

Here are some Dutch insights:

The Netherlands is a vibrant and multi-faceted, yet small country of around 17 million people. The same can be said for their media landscape; a small scene with a broad covering of topics in media. When it comes to fashion, they have a total of 20 publications; the perfect balance of diversity and close relationships, because in Dutch fashion everybody knows everybody.

The Dutch are known to be straightforward. Cut to the chase, ask a Dutch person anything and you’re sure to get the answer. Don’t interpret it as rude, but as their candid and honest way of communicating. Therefore in the Netherlands it is quite easy to find out the status of your business relationship, and by saying what you really mean will generally be rewarded.

Next to being straightforward, the Dutch are also very pragmatic. It rains a lot and the Dutch literally do everything by bike. Think: bringing three kids to school, doing groceries, moving house, but also attending fashion week! It’s safe to say they are a pretty practical people. Minimizing the fluff and maximizing practicality are key, so when you convince the Dutch they really need something, you are in!

Let’s talk international! They are a small country and don’t want that to define them. Dutchies love to be a part of something bigger. They also have a soft spot for the Scandinavian aesthetic and as we mentioned earlier, the Dutch can be very practical, so therefore sometimes miss out on pretty things. That’s where they envy the Scandinavians.

Five top Dutch fashion bloggers:

Popular social media channels in the Netherlands:

1. Whatsapp: 11,9 million users. WhatsApp is the platform used the most on a daily basis. (1)

2. Facebook: 10,1 million users. (2) Facebook is still a big platform, despite the shift in age. Young people (age 15-19) are leaving the platform and transitioning to Instagram.

3. Youtube: 8,7 million users. This number had grown by around 720,000 compared to 2018, an increase of nine percent. (3)

4. Instagram: 4,9 million users. As of 2019, roughly 2.7 million individuals in the Netherlands used Instagram every day. (4)

5. Linkedin: 4,6 million users. (5)

Dutch geographical and historical facts:

The Netherlands is made up of 12 provinces. The region of Holland, which consists of the provinces North-Holland and South-Holland, has always been the most important region in the country. It was where the Dutch East India Company was founded and it was where all the major ports and centers of commerce were. So when the Netherlands were established in 1584, foreigners were still dealing with Holland most of the time. That’s why Holland became synonymous for the whole country, much to the chagrin of other provinces. The region where Amsterdam is located is called Noord-Holland (North Holland), and Rotterdam is located in Zuid-Holland (South Holland).

Marina is the Dutch Curator at VOCAST. After finishing her BA Fashion Design in the Netherland she moved to Denmark to work with different designers and there she joined the VOCAST team. Currently Marina is based in Amsterdam, where she is working on various design projects and keeping a close eye on what is happening in the Dutch media landscape.

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