Member in the Spotlight: Daniëlle van Hengst

In our Members’ Spotlight this week, we’re delighted to welcome Freelance Copywriter and Copycoach, Daniëlle van Hengst. Having previously worked for agencies including GUC, J. Walter Thompson and TBWA, Daniëlle recently decided to go freelance, focusing on writing copy for brands and offering workshops to improve brand language. Through a series of both personal and professional questions, we get to know Daniëlle a bit better and find out where the most unforgettable place she’s travelled to is, which phase of the creative process excites her the most and what for her makes a hero client.

As the Club for Creativity, we'd like to ask you to get creative and draw a self portrait.

PERSONAL

What is your favourite website/app and why?

It used to be luckytv.nl but since they moved everything to YouTube, it’s YouTube. Check out Reclame de Pame.

What is the most unforgettable place you have travelled to?

The Majapahit Hotel in Surabaya. We stayed there for the festive movie premiere of Bumi Manusia, in which my man has a role. The contrast with the gruesome history of the hotel couldn’t be more extreme.

What is your favourite book and why?

Everything is Illuminated, the novel by Jonathan Safran Foer. It’s about all the things in life that make you wonder: about memory and the pain of recall, about identity, about the past and how you are connected to it. Impressive, moving and funny at the same time.

What music could we find on your favourite playlist?

Lots of different things: Antony & The Johnsons, Khalid, Disclosure, César Franck, James Brown, Childish Gambino and Jesus Christ Superstar.

If you didn't live in the Netherlands, where would you live?

In Sweden. I am attracted to and fascinated by that country ever since I saw the Swedish series Den Vita Stenen (The White Stone) on TV. I am a fan of the language, I even did a minor in Swedish.

Who is your style icon?

Loys Bakker.

PROFESSIONAL

If you could pick one recent campaign/project that makes you think, ‘I wish I’d done that’, what would it be and why?

The copy for De Korte Termijn Tonijn, for ASN Bank. Clever, witty and credible despite the fact it’s a fable. I opened an account. And if only I had come up with Ookworst, the name for the vegetarian Hema sausage.

Out of the campaigns/projects you’ve worked on, which makes you the most proud?

I really enjoyed writing Nogal Lange Koekjes, a manual for do-it-yourself copywriters on the client-side, with Willemijn Menken. Publishing that was truly rewarding. Not so much financially as socially. That was a lovely surprise, an insight almost. The most fun project was writing the catalogue for IKEA, with Nikki de la Rambelje.

What makes a hero client?

My hero clients are the ones who genuinely have a purpose and the ones that value craftsmanship.

If you weren't working in the creative industry, what else would you be doing?

I would be a newsreader. As a child, I had a wooden puppet theatre that I used to stick my head through while reading my dad’s paper. When I was a student, I read the news at a local broadcaster. You never know what the future will bring.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

The best advice I ever received was a reassurance: don’t be nervous when presenting, you’re the only one in the room with an idea.

Which phase of the creative process excites you the most and why?

The execution – where things come together, get real and become concrete. It’s the phase where you can’t hide behind empty phrases and claptrap.

What professional skill do you value the most?

Decisiveness.

Through our Members in the Spotlight feature, we aim to get to know both professionally and personally the unique qualities of our ADCN Members. If you would like to join ADCN, the Club for Creativity, you can find out more here.