“Authenticity and space to be yourself, that's what we were looking for” · Accounting This Morning

Crew Federer caused a stir this week by announcing that Louis van Gaal would be the face of the company in a new campaign for the accounting and consulting firm. How and why did Crew Federer and Louis van Gaal come together? Accounting This morning we asked CEO Johan Dames and Director of Sales and Marketing Eric Kolthoff.

In recent years, Crowe Foederer (8 branches, head office in Eindhoven) has grown significantly, both in terms of turnover and staff. The staff now stands at approximately 660 employees. But the company wants to continue presenting itself as an attractive employer in the coming years and the idea is that Louis van Gaal can contribute to that.

“Last year we sat down with some people to discuss the question: How do you differentiate yourself as an office?” says Kollthoff. “All offices do nice things to be attractive, but we also questioned who we are as an office. Because that's really what defines you at your core. We used our employee satisfaction survey for this and it's actually right up there: having the space to be yourself. I just… I call it authenticity. And based on that, we started to wonder: What campaign, and perhaps also the person, or personality, would fit into it? We also did some competitive research and came across a lot of catchy phrases. Making a better world, great at this, great at that. But Often there is no feeling behind it. As far as we are concerned, you are allowed to make choices as an office: who are you really? “That's how we ended up with Louis van Gaal, because he suits us perfectly.”

“Because for me, Louis van Gaal is one of the most authentic people I know,” CEO Dames adds. “We are who we are, you can like it or not. We want to give people a lot of space and their development, but I think if you develop you have to stay close to yourself. You shouldn't pretend to be better than you are, that will only hurt you in the future.” The end. Louis van Gaal has not fundamentally changed. I asked him: Are you a different person now than you were fifty years ago? He said: Well, not really. I may say things differently and I have gained life experience, but I am who I am now. Well “We want to radiate that as well. And if you stay yourself and align with an organization that creates space for that, you'll have a sustainable relationship with each other. “And that's actually how our campaign is set up: to be authentic.”

“I think the personal aspect of our story was appealing to him: Just be yourself, and also be committed to each other.”

Van Gaal was quickly open to it when Crew Federer approached him, Dames says: “He does almost nothing commercially. I visited him in the summer of last year and I think he was drawn to the personal side of our story: just being yourself, but also being so no-nonsense about each other. He is sometimes portrayed differently in the press, but he is simply a very nice and friendly guy. Of course, a bit stubborn, more than a little, I must say sometimes. But so were we, it was the same. He liked it, otherwise he wouldn't have done it. And it's not like he has to do that anymore, of course, the guy has had a rich career. Next week, he will visit our branch in Amsterdam to meet our employees. He has already introduced himself to all our employees in a very nice video: “I am here as a colleague.” So there is a real connection with each other.

In the near future, there will be various online campaigns with national and commercial media and a billboard campaign along the highways with new leader Van Gaal, say Koelthoff and Dams. However, there will be another event in May in which the former national coach will give a masterclass. “And we'll also discuss with him what else we're going to do together,” says Kohlthoff. In any case, the aim of the collaboration is to present Crew Federer as an attractive employer, but the office does not link specific numbers in terms of results to this. Dames: “I definitely hope people recognize who we are and maybe say: Hey, I fit in there.”