Tim Van Doorslaer on the importance of media research
In the world of media and marketing, change is the only constant. Innovation and insight are crucial to staying ahead. In an exclusive interview, Tim Van Doorslaer, Head of Research at DPG Media Advertising, shares his vision on the role of media research, the impact on client campaigns, and the challenges of a rapidly shifting market. With a wealth of experience and a passion for connecting consumer behaviour to business goals, he leads the Research Team that delivers essential insights to advertisers, agencies, and DPG Media Advertising itself.
Can you tell us something about your role as Head of Research and how you ended up at DPG Media Advertising?
"My main challenge as Head of Research is making sure our media deliver impact for all our clients," Tim begins. He brings a long career in market research, with experience at companies such as GfK, VRT and Publicis. It was at Publicis that he first came into close contact with DPG Media Advertising — a connection that ultimately led to his move.
"It was in my role as Research Manager at Publicis, during an ROI study for DPG Media Advertising, that I noticed how closely their vision aligned with my own drive: understanding the market and the consumer, and translating that into strategies*. That made the switch both logical and irresistible."*
What are some of the key research projects your team is currently working on?
"We've evolved from a classic sales service team into a full-service research team," Tim says with pride. His team works across a broad range of projects under the 'Proof' label, measuring the impact of media on advertisers' business and brand objectives.
"We offer, for example, our Brand Tracker by DPG Media Advertising — a completely free brand survey that now covers 60 sectors. These insights will soon be accessible via a user-friendly dashboard. The project grew out of feedback from marketers who found it difficult to conduct this kind of brand research themselves, while it's essential for monitoring the health of their brand."
"We're accelerating our research into the impact of DPG Media exposure on our clients' business KPIs — think in-store or website visits and sales. We're currently testing a range of research methods that we aim to bring to market in 2025. Examples include Drive2store in collaboration with Accurat, Direct Response TV with Realytics, sales uplift analyses via digital retail data, and Marketing Mix Modelling (MMM)."
Tim also sheds light on new initiatives, such as 'DPG Media Lighthouse', an ambitious project launching at the end of 2025. "With Lighthouse, we'll link exposure to our media to concrete outcomes — website visits or online purchases, for instance. It's a significant step forward in measuring media effectiveness."
How does the research your team conducts contribute to the strategic goals of DPG Media Advertising?
Tim underlines that the strategic goal of DPG Media Advertising is to build a strong local ecosystem with both broad and targeted reach. "We want to demonstrate whether our Trusted Web works for our stakeholders — and explore how we can support them even further," he explains. The research and data teams at DPG Media Advertising work closely together to integrate their insights into Ad Manager (DPG Media Advertising's digital buying platform), which is becoming increasingly central to campaign management.
"Our knowledge doesn't just benefit our clients — it benefits DPG itself: we measure the effectiveness of our own brand campaigns in collaboration with our internal media agency. That way, we contribute directly to the growth of the business."
Content is king, Brands are queen, Proof is our knight.
How can your research improve the results of clients' campaigns?
"Our research shows when a campaign was successful for your brand or action objectives — but it can also turn out differently," says Tim. "Then it's up to us to share and explain those insights. We make a local difference by offering a deeper understanding of how media can help our clients reach their business KPIs."
Tim also describes how they develop tools that not only measure impact but also enable optimisation. He stresses the importance of collaboration: "We call on advertisers to share data. Without data transparency and collaboration, techniques such as Marketing Mix Modelling cannot be put to use."
What challenges do you see ahead for media research, and how do you plan to tackle them?
"Consumers are increasingly consuming media 'Any Time, Any Where, Any Device', and measurement needs to follow that evolution," Tim explains. With DPG Media Advertising, he responds to these changes by investing in the new Cim One framework, which will measure media behaviour across all platforms.
"Measurements must follow the evolution towards 'Any Time, Any Where, Any Device' consumption behaviour."
Looking ahead, Van Doorslaer sees several challenges for media research, including the further development of measurement methods to link media exposure to business KPIs, ensuring data privacy, and bringing transparency to sources and methods such as AI. Yet Tim is also optimistic about the role of AI in this process: "AI will help us enormously in the further development of media research, allowing us to work faster and at lower cost."
Curious about how research can strengthen your brand?
With his dedication and forward-thinking vision, Tim Van Doorslaer contributes to the continued growth and impact of DPG Media Advertising in the rapidly changing media landscape. His driven Research Team remains committed to offering clients the most relevant and impactful solutions. Curious about how we can strengthen your media and marketing strategies too? Our team is ready to help you with the knowledge and insights you need in this dynamic market. Feel free to get in touch!