Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn for updates and views on the seminars at this year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

www.adpeople.com/cannes.html

The post Get our daily insights on Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity appeared first on AdPeople Worldwide.

Once again, AdPeople Copenhagen has been fortunate to have one of the best in the business join their team. This time it was Tobias Smidth-Fibiger, formally of Kunde & Co, whose new title at AdPeople will be Group Account Director. One of his main responsibilities will be business development for the company.

Previous to Kunde & Co, Tobias Smidth-Fibiger had a long career at BBDO. He was also an entrepreneur and set up the digital agency, Atmosphere, with Carsten Vigh, who later became integrated into BBDO.

A few months ago AdPeople also acquired Brian Egholm Andersen, who was the Senior Consultant, Digital at Kunde & Co. His new role at AdPeople will be Digital Director.

These reinforcements are all part of a process that Emre Gürsoy, Global President and COO of AdPeople Worldwide, is in the process of setting up – a team that will bring about the creation of new growth for the agency in the EMEA region.

Last year proved to be a banner year for AdPeople Copenhagen; they enjoyed the largest profit margin in the advertising sector. However, their overall gross profit has fallen during the past two years.

“Our profit may well be high, but this has little bearing on the future. We belong to a sector that is undergoing enormous transformation, and running a good business and living up to demands outlined by customers is tough. I believe that with our understanding of technology we have great potential with the new agenda.  Having said this, change is something we are steadily pursuing,” says Emre Gürsoy. He continues:

“Through reinforcements and conversions which we are in the process of implementing, we are endeavouring to form a team that will consist of a number of specific skills which, when combined, will come to represent a broad array of consultancy expertise.”

The European market has proved tricky for AdPeople.  In particular, Copenhagen, since this is where their European sector is managed.

Other parts of the world are performing much better. For instance in Dhaka, Bangladesh, everything is moving forward at a considerable and favourable pace.

“But it is important for us to ensure that Copenhagen functions well because we started here. Our long-standing ambition is to ensure that AdPeople is the only global advertising agency network with Denmark as its point of departure,” says Emre Gürsoy.

BY: FINN GRAVERSEN – Bureaubiz

June 04 2013

http://www.bureaubiz.dk/Nyheder/Artikler/2013/Uge-23/AdPeople-henter-kontaktdirektoer-fra-Kunde–Co

The post AdPeople Copenhagen hires new Group Account Director appeared first on AdPeople Worldwide.

AdPeople Copenhagen emerged from 2012 with quite an impressive annual profit of DKK 18.5 million, which is very acceptable when you compare the latest annual accounts from the major advertising agencies in Denmark Wibroe, Duckert & Partners and Hjaltelin Stahl.

But that isn’t good enough, claims Emre Gürsoy, Managing Director for Denmark, as well as AdPeople’s Global President and COO. Last year was a rather tough year, in which the EMEA region of the company suffered under the recession. “It was particularly apparent in southern Europe,” he says.

Gürsoy is not very satisfied with the negative trend in the past few financial years at AdPeople, where turnover fell from just over DKK 150 million to DKK 116 million. Profit margins also shrunk from almost DKK 27 million to DKK 18.5 million.

Next year will be better

“We were well aware that this would be the trend in 2012. Nevertheless, we have implemented a number of changes, which means that things appear to be far more secure for the current financial year,” Gürsoy says.

So what’s changed?

“Apart from many things, we have adapted our service structure. We have certainly changed our management structure at home and generally adapted the organisation,” he says.

One of the consequences is that the average number of employees has fallen from 112 to 94 in the course of the past financial year.

There have also been some changes on client side at AdPeople Copenhagen. The company has recently landed a few substantial clients whose presence will clearly make an impression on next year’s accounts.

Gürsoy explains: “Saxo Bank and Stibo Systems are among our new major clients. These companies complement our largest client, Dell.”

“All in all, this means that I expect we will exit 2013 with an even better result than last year,” the COO concludes.

AdPeople’s Financial Ratio 

4 June 13 Offices Written by Jakob M. Larsen

The post AdPeople well in the black appeared first on AdPeople Worldwide.

Last autumn the Danish Mental Health Fund ”won” an advertising campaign in the  ”Reklame for Alvor”competition. ”It gave us unique exposure and a platform to roll out some important messages”, explains the Direction of the Foundation.

Charities, humanitarian or community-oriented ”projects” rarely have the funds to advertise for themselves. Nor did the Mental Health Fund. But last autumn the Fund won the ”Reklame for Alvor” competition, which is a voluntary initiative that once a year gathers together the expertise of the Danish communications industry and makes it available for a relevant message. “It had a big impact”, says the Direction of the Fund, Vibe Klarup Voetmann.

”We created immense awareness, both within the defined target group and in the wider domain, for example in schools.  This was helped by the fact that the campaign was controversial by nature; some people considered it  provocative, but we achieved unique exposure in a range of media and a brilliant platform to put out some important messages”, says Vibe Klarup Voetmann.

The campaign, which  was created by AdPeople (the agency won the competition for the second year in a row)  focused on substance abuse by young people and in particular on the fact that substances are not only drugs but also a major source of mental illness. Especially among the young.

The message from the Danish Mental Health Fund for the campaign was: ”Think about drugs in an informed way. Learn about how the different drugs work and what they do to you”.

In March 2013 the winning campaign by AdPeople ran in press, TV, outdoor advertising and the Internet and according to Vibe Klarup Voetmann, was a huge success and drew massive attention in the media to the drugs issue.

Airtime and internal learning
”We took part in a national debate on both TV and radio when the campaign ran, so we achieved a lot of airtime in the media. We have also run programs in which we did not take part, but which dealt with the issue that we had placed on the agenda. On top of this we have had a lot of constructive dialogue, including with critics of the campaign, for example on Facebook. So we are extremely satisfied with how things have progressed”, says Vibe Klarup Voetmann.

Vibe Klarup Voetmann explains that the Fund’s special campaign site had 33,800 visitors during March. They spent on average 3.12 minutes on the site and on average visited 4.77 pages.

”Of course it’s difficult to compare with something else since this was a temporary campaign site, but if we look at the use of our permanent site, the figures are actually really good. On an annual basis we have around 400,000 unique users there, so we are really quite satisfied with almost 34,000 on the campaign site in a month”, says Vibe Klarup Voetmann, who also says that the campaign has also provided internal learning within the Fund.

”We believed that it made sense for us to be more distinctive in our communication. Because we dared to be more controversial than normal, we succeeded in get our messages across to a wider audience. We got some flack on Facebook for the campaign, which some called provocative, but we used this strategically and actually ended up with having a constructive dialogue with the users.”

So could you enter into a Reklame for Alvor again at some time in the future?

”Absolutely. It has been immensely educational and most important of all it has placed focus on our project and our messages, for which we would scarily have the resources to do”, says Vibe Klarup Voetmann.

The ”Reklame for Alvor” competition is running again now and if anybody would like to win a million campaign, just get to your keyboard as the deadline for applications is 15 May.

All organizations, individuals or groups who work for a humanitarian or community-oriented project can enter a campaign.

And see the advertising film “Are you sure that you know what you’re doing?” (Er du sikker på, du ved, hvad du laver) here.

The post AdPeople campaign creates national debate on drugs appeared first on AdPeople Worldwide.

We are proud to announce that AdPeople Worldwide’s 24 hour production studio, GraphicPeople, located in Dhaka, Bangladesh was recently awarded as one of the top IT enabled services (ITES) outsourcing company by Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS). BASIS is the national trade body for Software & IT Enabled Service industry of Bangladesh.

BASIS Outsourcing Award 2013 recognizes outstanding performance of organizations and individuals in the field of outsourcing of software and IT services from Bangladesh.

See result of BASIS Outsourcing Award 2013

Read more about BASIS

The post Our 24 hour production studio awarded for outstanding performance appeared first on AdPeople Worldwide.

The future of business is based on an entrepreneurial mentality.

From new hardware like the 3D printer that democratizes the ability to prototype, to websites that allow anyone to create, fund, and launch a new idea, to the evolution of corporate structure being more collaborative, we see that the future is for those who think like an entrepreneur.

Keynote speaker Bree Petiss, co-founder of 3D printing company MakerBot, brought science-fiction dreams to life in his introduction of a desktop 3D scanner/printer that enables users to digitally scan objects and then print them on a 3D printer. While it is based on technology that has been in use commercially for years, Petiss’s 3D printer is still an innovation as it democratizes the iterative process. Petiss remarked, “It’s getting to the point where if you have an idea, you can make it.”

This entrepreneurial mentality is permeating business structure and culture of all shapes and sizes, not just true start-ups. In order to be successful in today’s business world, collaboration is key, success of an end product is tied to iteration and customer feedback, and your time is constantly and often simultaneously shared among your personal and professional worlds. In other words, a company’s culture (and its entrepreneurial mindset) is the product. Our colleague Lionel Felix concluded, “A different team would make a different product. Amazing culture, amazing product.”

In an increasingly digital world, innovations in products and services are taking cues from the physical.

As more and more of our interactions with each other and the world around us are filtered through a digital experience, there is also an increasing desire to connect back to our physical world in tangible ways.

The buzz word “physidigi” came out of a panel on “Creating Great Analog Souvenirs for a Digital Era,” where panelists discussed the trend toward using our digital worlds to rediscover our physical worlds. One question raised was, is this a backlash of technology or just the next evolution of it? Wired magazine may have the best answer: “If the last two decades were about the digitization of everything, the next decade is going to be about healing the digital-physical divide by pulling bits back into the world of atoms.”

The advertising industry teamed up with Twitter and a Fortune 500 company to talk about “Can Ad agencies and Brands Humanize Technology?” Adam Bain of Twitter embraced the convergence of digital and “physical” (offline) media, declaring, “Vehicles in digital can push offline engagement further and faster… we need each other.”

As our colleague Lynn Powell concluded, “The human element has not gone away in our digital world, it only becomes more important as the time we spend online increases.”

Engage with consumer’s voices, not their wallets

At last year’s SXSW, our team noted that “Brands can’t be static objects.” This year’s SXSW took it a step further, pleading with brands to push the façade away and engage with their consumers on an authentic level across all channels.

With the majority of Americans now owning smart phones, the mobile revolution is reaching the masses. Some speakers noted this trend cynically, like Buzzfeed’s CEO Jonah Peretti, who humorously observed that consumers fall into either the “bored at work” segment or “the bored [waiting in] in-line” segment. Others, like New Jersey mayor Corey Booker, suggest a more optimistic take. Booker noted that, when activated through technology, the “genius of community” can change politics and power distribution in historic ways.” Either way, the power increasingly lies with the consumer. Those who not only listen, but truly engage their audience will find success.

Panelists like scholar Henry Jenkins in “Spreadable Media” laid it out quite clearly: “Brands: Don’t try to take over the conversation. Don’t be the person you wouldn’t want at a party.” The caution here is the voice needs to be real and not simply a megaphone for brand talking points and promotions.

At the foundation of it all, a consumer is looking for a product that helps to solve a problem or fulfill a need, and the more coherently we can tell that story, the easier it is for the consumer to see themselves as part of it. To marketers, that means collaborating across media, departments, and even across (competing) agencies working on the same brand, to ensure a coherent dialog.

Common trend: Is it more about sharing than it is about social? Collectively, our takeaways all aligned around the idea that the future isn’t about social; it’s about sharing. The industry definition of social has expanded to include not only what network we use to share, but also the type of information we, as consumers, choose to share or have collected, the resources we share (money, for example in crowdsourcing), the feedback we provide to product launches, and even the way our devices share information with other devices – whether it is a 3D printer or the next evolution of Nike Fit. However, whether digital or physical, human context is still a critical ingredient.

Sharing within the new corporate structure. A sub-theme within “sharing,” addresses the changing corporate structure as it evolves, like media, to be less top-down and more engaging. As we discussed in our summary of the entrepreneurial spirit, companies of all shapes and sizes are taking cues from the successful start-ups, whose agility, flexibility, and collaboration (especially among GenX and GenY) are getting them to new ideas faster. Whether you work at a start-up or not, technology has permeated every facet of our life. Your time is constantly and often simultaneously shared among your personal and professional worlds. Consumers are looking for products and services that help them manage and share this “new normal.”

What does this mean for brands? It means it is important to, when possible, share your process/thoughts for transparency; share a warm, human response to feedback to show authenticity; share content beyond product that adds value; and share the conversation – it’s not all about you, it’s about a relationship with your customers.

Click here to get an overview and the key takeaways from SXSW Interactive 2013.

The post Reflections from SXSW 2013 appeared first on AdPeople Worldwide.

Claus Møllebro didn’t need a lot of time to think over his next step after leaving Co+. And as rumoured, the move was to AdPeople, where he will be the new creative director for the agency.

Claus Møllebro will form a team with Jonathan Lowth at the agency’s Copenhagen office. But it’s not just the Danish market they have in their sights. They will be working for AdPeople Worldwide, which has both Danish and international clients.

“One of the things that differentiates us in the market is our international staff and the fact that we can bring them together across national borders in order to deliver work that is genuinely globally creative. Claus and Jonathan will be working in close collaboration with Renato Quaroni, who is the creative director in Singapore and Mark Ray, who is the creative director in Austin,” says Emre Gürsoy, Global President and COO at AdPeople.

He characterises the appointment as a creative rearmament. This is not a replacement, but rather an expansion with a new creative director – and for Emre Gürsoy this is a long-standing wish. The two have known each other since Leo Burnett’s heyday in Denmark.

“I know Claus well. He’s one of the best creatives I have ever worked with, which is why I have been trying to get him to join us for a number of years,” says Emre Gürsoy.

“Claus has a great understanding of the business context and has a talent for transforming this into a creative expression of great relevance. And he’s one of the very few Danish creatives who can work with creativity in an international environment.”

The job change is sensational. AdPeople works with a platform on which “creativity meets efficiency,” but until now the agency is probably best known for the efficiency part. But it’s the combination of efficiency and creativity that attracts Claus Møllebro.

“The opportunity to be able to produce creative work based on a sophisticated and market-relevant setup at an international level is an extremely exciting challenge,” says Claus Møllebro.

“Jonathan is not only a strong strategist, but also an extremely sharp copywriter. This can only result in good work and the aim is not just to produce strong creative work for our clients, but also to strengthen the creative culture of the agency.”

Emre Gürsoy says that the appointment of Claus Møllebro is part of a general strengthening of the agency. He also has a clear idea of what type of creativity the agency needs to strive for.

”Creativity is not just about creative expression, but about the whole manner in which it is developed and implemented. We work with creativity and new ways of thinking across the entire marketing process in order to always be at the forefront. This ensures that our clients are ready to meet the digitalized world in which their brands operate,” says Emre Gürsoy.

“In order to pursue this type of creativity and to develop, we need to be able to bring different people and competencies together, and this is how we’re approaching the rearmament of the agency.”

Claus Møllebro came to Co+ from Leo Burnett almost eight years ago, and before that was at Bates, which took him to a number of different places, including Australia.

He has worked with a number of leading brands, including Novo, Arla, SAS, 3, Cocio and Orangina.

5 APRIL 2013
BY: FINN GRAVERSEN, BUREAUBIZ, http://www.bureaubiz.dk/

The post New creative director for AdPeople appeared first on AdPeople Worldwide.

“When the Danish company PeopleGroup (now AdPeople) with the assistance from Danida entered into a partnership with the small new IT Company in Bangladesh in 2004 there were 5 employees. Today, GraphicPeople in Dhaka have 250 IT employees and make ads for companies such as Dell, Nokia and Flügger. That is certainly a great success story.”

Read more about our 24 hour studio facilities here

The post Danish Minister for Development Cooperation – Christian Friis Bach visited our production studio GraphicPeople appeared first on AdPeople Worldwide.

Together with AdPeople, Flügger has developed its strategy and on Monday will go live with an intensive campaign to recruit members.

The message is aggressive. Every member of the customer club will receive a 15 % discount – the focal point of the campaign.

“With a customer club, you can’t get much more aggressive than introducing a 15 % discount,” says Kasper Søvsø, head of Brand Communication, CRM and e-commerce at Flügger.

He describes this as a very significant venture – partly in relation to the resources involved and partly in relation to a completely new way for Flügger to capture a larger share of the market.

Long-term marketing strategy
The perspective is also far broader than just an aggressive offer. This campaign is the first part of a long-term marketing strategy that will gather communications under one umbrella and set Flügger apart from its competitors. At the same time, the company will become the standard bearer for quality.

The plan is also to develop a number of content products for the customer club.

“The first step is to get the message out and acquire members. Then we will gradually build up a greater arsenal of online-services relating to the customer club, for example consultancy,” says Kasper Søvsø and points out that the customer club will be closely linked to the shops.

He also points out that member data is a very interesting aspect of the customer club.

“As we acquire members, we will gain access to a large amount of data, which will be exciting to work with. And once the club has grown to a reasonable size, the data can also make us interesting to collaborate with,” says Kasper Søvsø.

Flügger has 200 shops in Denmark and the ambition is to rapidly acquire 1000-2000 members per shop. The club will then be rolled out in other countries where Flügger is active. In total, the company has 600 businesses in Scandinavia.

Close collaboration with AdPeople
As mentioned, AdPeople created the new brand platform and provided a new approach to the campaign image for Flügger – an image which can function across offline and digital channels (see the film here).

AdPeople has been working closely with Flügger since the end of 2011 when it outsourced a share of its advertising department to AdPeople.

Read more sector news on Bureaubiz.dk

—

MEDIA by Finn Graversen
18 March 2013 at 9.53 a.m.

Dear Reader. It is in contravention of legislation governing copyright to copy and forward articles without using the official link

The post Flügger is Committed to Aggressively Developing its Customer Club appeared first on AdPeople Worldwide.

Jabra wanted to reflect their product leadership in their marketing. They engaged AdPeople Worldwide to help support in the transition from a fragmented marketing setup to a truly global setup, both in terms of creative effectiveness and efficient roll-out processes.

The solution: A voice heard clearly above the crowd

To begin, AdPeople developed the “YOU’RE ON” brand platform – a platform that works across all business silos and focuses on how Jabra empowers its stakeholders to live life on their own terms, while simultaneously positioning Jabra as a confident market frontrunner.

Using this brand platform as a springboard, AdPeople’s next step was to produce Jabra’s global product launch targeting both B2B and B2C segments. The concept was based on the universal insight “one device compatible to all standards”. This umbrella message helped to strengthen Jabra’s market influence and clearly define them as a stand-out leader locally, regionally and globally. In addition, the message helped to create a versatile communication platform, which has the capacity to carry both a serious, business-benefit driven message as well as an entertaining consumer-focused line of communication.

The result: Effortless roll-out, excellent outcome

The launch campaign was developed as a marketing toolbox containing both digital and offline collateral to ensure consistency. This guaranteed the global roll-out was as flexible, relevant and cost-effective as possible. Jabra’s B2B and B2C divisions implemented the campaign globally with resounding success – proof of a true global concept.

Jabra Motion launch film. The film was made in one take with no subsequent cutting.

Jabra Motion launch film behind-the-scenes.

Key visual

The post A global product launch with a unified voice appeared first on AdPeople Worldwide.