Kristel Vanderlinden

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Kristel Vanderlinden

Who is Kristel Vanderlinden? 

As the founder of FutureKind, Kristel is a cultural researcher who delves deep into communities and niche groups to understand what truly drives people. She then translates these insights into concrete opportunities for brands and organisations.

She speaks at national and international events on topics such as shifting consumer behaviour, next-generation mindsets, and new marketing insights. Her popular 'The Future of' keynote speeches, which cover topics ranging from food and hospitality to luxury retail, wellbeing, Gen Z and the AI-driven future of marketing, are always grounded in cultural trends that she identifies at an early stage. She also offers bespoke services, ensuring her work continually evolves in line with future relevance.

Female culture is a distinct area of her in-depth expertise. As the author of EVALUTIE: Why Women Are the Greatest Untapped Potential of the Century, she is a leading voice on the female economy. In her keynote 'Evalutie', as well as in her talk on 'Female Sports Fandoms — the billion-dollar sports industry', she uniquely reveals how women interweave sport, fashion, community and brand to create one of the world's fastest-growing economies.

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  • EVALUATION: Why women are the century's greatest untapped potential

    Only 1% of all innovations worldwide are specifically targeted at women, yet they are responsible for 85% of all purchasing decisions. Moreover, it turns out that investing in women entrepreneurs is not only more lucrative, but that products and services targeted at women in some cases yield 40-70% higher returns. Despite minimal effort, the growth forecast for Femtech and FemInnovations in the coming years is exponential. In the keynote EVALUATION, Kristel will not only highlight the many (biased) issues, but she will also showcase many inspiring innovations that will make a difference today and tomorrow in areas such as healthcare, wearables & IOT, AI, mobility, sports, entertainment, media, retail and much more.

  • Female sports fandoms: the billion-dollar industry

    In 2024, revenue from elite women’s sports reached a record $1.88 billion, marking a 240 per cent increase over four years. Eighty-two per cent of brands plan to increase their budgets for women’s sport even further in 2025. However, this story is about much more than sport alone.

    Female sports fans are not passive spectators. They are opinion leaders, community builders, and cultural trendsetters who interweave sport with fashion, lifestyle, identity, and brand loyalty, fundamentally reshaping the world of sport in the process. They are building a genuine community, not just a fandom.

    In this keynote, Kristel reveals how female sports fandoms are emerging as one of the world's fastest-growing cultural and economic forces. She identifies the cultural signals that have been present for years but have been overlooked by the traditional sports industry, and reveals what brands, marketers and organisations can learn from a community that is reinventing sport, culture and commerce on its own terms.

  • Gen X: Uncool to Ignore, Expensive to Miss

    They account for 31% of the world’s population, including nearly 22% in Belgium. They make 73% of purchasing decisions in their households, are willing to pay more for trusted brands, and are at the heart of the largest wealth transfer in modern history. Yet only 5% of influencer marketing budgets are spent on Gen X, and fewer than one in five Gen Xers recognise themselves in advertising campaigns.

    Generation X doesn't just perform culture. They embody it.

    In this keynote, Kristel debunks the most persistent myths about Gen X, from 'niche and in decline' to 'culturally static', and demonstrates why this generation is one of the most misunderstood yet lucrative target groups of our time. They aren’t loud, viral or nostalgic. They decide which brands survive. They have zero tolerance for bullshit.

    This is essential viewing for marketers, brand leaders and anyone who wants to remain relevant tomorrow. Gen X is not a forgotten generation. They represent a strategic growth opportunity hiding in plain sight.

  • Systems x Chaos: The New Playbook for Marketing in the AI Era

    If everyone has access to the same AI tools, they will all produce the same output. Welcome to the 'beige era': efficient, accurate, and utterly forgettable.

    But that’s not the end of the story. In this keynote, Kristel will highlight the two sides of the new marketing playbook. Firstly, the 'systems' side: today, brands are building not just for people, but also for algorithms and AI agents that make decisions on consumers' behalf. This requires structure, semantics and machine logic. On the other hand — and this is where it gets really interesting — is the 'chaos' side: the human counter-movement that wins precisely because it cannot be automated.

    Consumers aren’t looking for extra explanation. They’re looking for a way out. Relief. A glimmer of hope. The brands that are breaking through today do so with consummate craftsmanship and marketing as entertainment; they use humour as a service and embrace the dark side with a roaring laugh. They protect what is unique to them: their own perspective, cultural instinct and the courage to go where no model can follow.

    Systems x Chaos is about striking the right balance between structure and emotion, and what this demands of the brands that will still be around tomorrow.

Evalutie