APG Netherlands. Does Holland need a Strategy Foundation?

Juli 31st, 2011 • 6 comments People
Tags: Amsterdam, APG, apgdigital, Netherlands, Strategy

I live in Amsterdam for a bit more than a year now. There is an old joke about Germans (no, not the one with the towels or with invading other countries) that whenever you put a German somewhere he will try to found some type of club. And I am no exception to this rule.

After arriving in Amsterdam I tried to get in contact with (professionally) likeminded people. And I was surprised to find out that it wasn’t quite easy to meet other Strategists.  I knew some of the local Strategists via twitter but all connections between them were 100% personal – either you knew a couple of your colleagues from other agencies or you didn’t. No real professional network structured collaboration of the Dutch and the Expat Strategists in and beyond Amsterdam.

Thanks to the support of (the perfectly well connected) Heather Le Fevre I was able to invite the major share of Amsterdam’s Brand/Account/Creative/Younameit Planners to a bimonthly ‘Stammtisch‘ event which we organize via a Facebook Group (feel free to apply for access if you consider yourself a Amsterdam Strategist). Our little group has grown to more than 60 Planners in and around Amsterdam and we meet on a regular basis.

But honestly – shouldn’t interaction between Strategists in the Netherlands be more than an informal Beer every once in a while? I think it should.  And I would like to discuss whether this should be something they call Account Planning Group (APG) in the UK and in Germany. Yes, I am talking about a formal institution.

So what is an APG and why is it purposeful? APG UK defines the mission in the following way

• Encourage dialogue among the members and provide a ‘home’ for planners, representing the interests of the planning community.
• Provide training especially for younger members of the community
• Give access to Case Studies
• Enable new publications on the subject of planning, contributing to other publications, and organising various events and debates.

APG is a not-for-profit organisation run for and by its members. That means it needs some kind of membership fees. And it also usually requires a small team to run day-to-day operations on behalf of the larger community. If you want to learn more about the role of the Account Planning Group check out the UK’s APG website.

Read more »

Blast Radius. Strategy Summit Europe 2011.

Juli 8th, 2011 • Allgemein
Tags: Agencies, Amsterdam, Blast Radius, personal, Strategy

So I just spent two great days with about a dozen strategy colleagues from our five European Blast Radius offices. The agenda for the first Strategy Summit for our (massively growing) agency was to share our individual perspectives on how to further develop strategy for our clients. And of course getting to know each other.

Quite impressive to realize that the agency I joined in 2010 really has become a major player in (and beyond) Europe. Even more so considering the fact that we built this in just one year with a number of really cool major brands as clients. Thanks to the whole strategy team for this insight. And of course thanks for following me to my local dive bar. But that’s a different story.

Blast Radius Europe has offices in Amsterdam, London, Hamburg and Paris. We are always looking for smart people. Check out our vacancies here. And feel free to tell your friends in case you stumble upon something interesting.

Hup Holland Hup! Dutch Lawmakers adopt Net Neutrality Law.

Juni 22nd, 2011 • Politics
Tags: Amsterdam, net neutrality, Netherlands, People, Politics, World

One of many reason why I love to live in the Netherlands. The Dutch Parliament has just made a groundbreaking decision:

The Netherlands on Wednesday became the first country in Europe, and only the second in the world, to enshrine the concept of network neutrality into national law by banning its mobile operators from blocking or charging consumers extra for using Internet-based communications services like Skype or WhatsApp, a free text service.

The measure, which was adopted with a broad majority by the lower house of the Dutch Parliament, the Tweede Kamer, will prevent KPN, the Dutch market leader, and the Dutch units of Vodafone and T-mobile, from blocking or charging for Internet services. Its sponsors said that the measure would pass a legal review in the Dutch Senate without hitches.

Analysts said that the legal restrictions imposed in the Netherlands could shape Europe’s broader, evolving debate over network neutrality, pushing more countries on the Continent to limit operators from acting as self-appointed toll collectors of the mobile Internet.

“I could also see some countries following the Dutch example,” said Jacques de Greling, an analyst at Natixis, a French bank. “I believe there will be pressure from consumers to make it clear what they are buying, whether it is the full Internet or Internet-light.”

Advocates hailed the move as a victory for consumers, while industry officials predicted that mobile broadband charges could rise in the Netherlands to compensate for the new restrictions.

“We support network neutrality,” said Sandra de Jong, a spokeswoman for Consumentenbond, the largest Dutch consumer organization, based in Den Haag. “We don’t think operators should be able to restrict the Internet. That would be a bad precedent.”

Luigi Gambardella, the executive board chairman of the Brussels-based industry group, the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association, warned that the Dutch legislation could deter operators from making needed investments in high-speed networks for fear of building expensive but unprofitable infrastructure.

“Any additional regulation should avoid deterring investment or innovative business models, leading to a more efficient use of the networks and to creating new business opportunities,” Mr. Gambardella said. He said operators needed the ability to charge different tariffs for different levels of service, to recoup the costs of data-intensive applications.

(More on New York Times)

Cognitive Cities. Now they go local.

Mai 17th, 2011 • 2 comments Allgemein
Tags: Amsterdam, Berlin, cities, city, CoCities, conference, Conferences, Cool, experiment, Germany, Lifestyle, People, Underway, World

Three months ago my friends from Third Wave and Your Neighbours in Berlin staged CoCities – a conference focused on the future of the city and how technology can transform the way people interact. I actually bought a ticket but eventually did not make it (don’t ask why). I know the guys were extremely nervous about the outcome of this experiment. Putting urban planners, designers, technology geeks, environmental experts, public officials, and others into one room in quite a new conference format isn’t exactly what you do every day. And I know the guys did not just want to stage just another conference.

Great that the conference was considered as very enlightening novely particularly in Germany. And even better – CoCities goes local and might soon be in a city near you. The so-called Cognitive Cities Salon comes to Amsterdam on June 30 to De Verdieping (Wibautstraat 127, Amsterdam).

The general idea behind the salons is simple: create an local event, from locals, for locals – curated by CoCities. Those will be small events, not larger than 100 people. A major part of those events is to find the appropriate partners. Luckily, in Amsterdam we are very well served.

With VURB, Visible Cities and Volume Magazine, we have a great lineup of partners to create an exciting event for Amsterdam. There will be an entry fee, but we will try to keep that as low as possible.

So. I am definitely going to join this time (it’s in my hometown so I cannot mix up the flights). And if you happen to be in Amsterdam, join in.

Do also check out the conference recap…

Read more »

Good Morning. Just a quick Saturday Morning Update.

Mai 7th, 2011 • Underway
Tags: Amsterdam, Blast Radius, Boss, Gerald, News, Planning, Strategy, Underway

Just a quick update on a couple of things…

• Awards! The ones who know me personally know that I passionately hate marketing awards. How cool that my team actually won one of the few really cool digital awards – a Webby goes out to Boss Bottled Night. I won’t even start to pretend I personally had anything to do with it. The proud creators know who they are. Check out the website or take a sneak peek at the embedded video at the bottom of this article.
• Drinks! My agency Blast Radius is constantly launching something these days. One of the really interesting projects is Bacardi’s new bartender community True Originals (Facebook here) that went live a week ago. It is not just a community for bartenders but a place where they can improve their really, really, really (and I mean really) important professional skills collaboratively. On August 22nd Bacardi will start challenging the community. So you better make sure the bartender of your choice is part of it.
• Amsterdam Strategists! Next week, on May 12th 2011, Amsterdam’s marketing and advertising strategists (whatever that is) will meet again. There is a joke about Germans that claims wherever a German goes the first thing he will do is to start a club. I am no exception which is why I started bringing Amsterdam’s strategists together. Actually all I did was to start a Facebook group while Heather Le Fevre actually contacted every Planner in town to turn it into an inspiring monthly event. So if you are in Amsterdam next Thursday and if you are a Planner (however you define that) or would like to become one – please contact me. I am glad to invite you.
• And more strategists! While we are talking about my colleague Heather…a while ago she had the great idea to create something that was really missing in general – a socio demographical census of the planner guild worldwide. Her planner survey 2010 was already extremely insightful and she has invested quite a bit of work to set up a new online survey for 2011. So if you are a Planner/Strategist (again: however you define that) make sure you take part in this year’s planner survey 2011. The more colleagues answer, the better the results. Here is the link to the survey…
• Something completely different! Beyond my blog davaidavai.com I am running quite a number of specific niche blogs/channels that I like to feed – simply because I think the world is quite an interesting place. So I want to highlight two little communities that I built and that I love. Feel free to join: Number 1 is the Facebook page for davaidavai which features some of the articles I publish here. But actually it’s more than that – it’s my platform for stuff that I want to share without necessarily blogging about it. So like davaidavai on Facebook please. Number 2 is PlanetWTF – a Facebook page where I share interesting useless knowledge with a focus on history, geography and politics. It’s simple, fun, and it is here.

Well…that’s all for the moment. And here goes the award video for BOSS Bottled Night…

Read more »

Good Morning. The Return of ‘The Media Award Tram Station’.

April 29th, 2011 • Media, Underway
Tags: Ads, Agencies, Amsterdam, Awards, Funny, Ideas, Media, Outdoor, Truth, Underway, visual, World, WTF

It’s not always easy to work in the center of Amsterdam. Well, most of the time it is. But then there are days when you step out of your tram at the central Leidseplein square and the first thing you think is WTF?

Quite often this has got something to do with my particular tram station which I call ‘The Media Award Tram Station’. Simply because it serves as award entry for pretty much any Media angency in the world. You know…when they spend EUR 1 million on media…and EUR 995,000 run just into this installation there to make the campaign look great in Cannes?

I have seen everything being built on top, attached to or dug underneath the tram station. But I haven’t seen what I have seen this morning. It looked a little something like this…

Campaign + LinkedIn. Just a more serious Facebook Connect?

April 27th, 2011 • 2 comments Brands, Experimental, Social, Tech, Tools
Tags: Agencies, Amex, Amsterdam, Brands, Creativity, Experimental, Ideas, LinkedIn, Social Influence Marketing, Social Networks, Strategy, Trends, Volkswagen

Yesterday I stumbled upon the first major digital campaign that builds upon LinkedIn’s open API – Volkswagen’s LinkedUit campaign here in the Netherlands (Source). The online special builds up on the Volkswagen Passat campaign ‘Nogal vol van zichzelf’ (‘quite full of himself’) and uses your LinkedIn connections to discover profane information in your profile and compares it to an opponent’s data in your LinkedIn circle of connections. The more information your profile contains the more likely you will win against an opponent of your chosing.

Volkswagen’s online special is light weight fun, looks nice and is well integrated with LinkedIn – which is of course the actually interesting aspect of this digital campaign. Because of course – Achtung Amsterdam and Volkswagen could have alternatively used Facebook Connect. But they went for innovation and decided to use LinkedIn’s open API.
Read more »

A new Hotspot. Amsterdam wants to become Appsterdam.

April 23rd, 2011 • 4 comments Mobile, Underway, Work
Tags: Amsterdam, Apps, Creativity, Development, Experimental, Jobs, Lifestyle, Mobile, People, Strategy, Tech, Trends, World

“If you want to make movies, go to Hollywood. If you want to make musicals, go to Broadway. If you want to make apps, go to Appsterdam.” – Mike Lee, mur.mu.rs

About a month ago I praised the qualities of Amsterdam in an article I wrote for the German ad magazine Page. One thing that struck me in this city is the level of innovation here as well as the city’s clear objective to support new industries and get them to Amsterdam. I have never met anyone from Amsterdam’s city council but in contradiction to many other cities there seems to be a clear vision here on how to shape Holland’s capitol from both, a cultural AND economical perspective. That’s why Amsterdam is also hometown to some of the most creative agencies in the world – the city father simply subsidize taxation here to relocate the right blend of industries on the rivers of the Amstel.

I wasn’t really suprised when I read Mike Lee’s open letter on mur.mu.rs. It’s a call for conquest. And appeal for app developers to settle over to Amsterdam and to rebrand it as Appsterdam. Funny to read because it really reads like a letter from the colonies but at the same time strong and intelligent.

I have traveled the world looking for the most livable city on earth, a place with the ideal balance of quality and price, history and vibrance, culture and innovation. That place is Amsterdam. (…)

The success of Apple’s platforms has been in no small part due to its unique developer community. Our community is unique not just in technology, but in business. (…) We cooperate, because we are friends. If one of us does something to piss the other off, we don’t call out the lawyers, we call up our friend, and talk it over like people. We don’t just attend conferences, we get together at conferences, go out together, and have a good enough time together to generate blackmail material sufficient to nip litigation in the bud.

Mike’s point – a new industry needs a friendly hospitable place that invites them to work together and to exchange ideas. And his call to app developers all over the world to relocate to Amsterdam isn’t just an abstract one…

Read more »

My Amsterdam. A Love Letter to a Great City.

April 7th, 2011 • 2 comments Interview, Jobs, People, Underway
Tags: Amsterdam, Article, Page, People, World

If you happen to be in Germany and if you come across a kiosk try to get the May issue of Page. The guys asked me to write an article about my hometown Amsterdam and its agency scene. And that’s what I did. What I like even more about it is that my freelance colleague Wouter Boon (who also runs the Amsterdam Ad Blog) and up and coming Kiwi cartoon superstar Toby Morris were willing to get interviewed. Toby presents a couple of his great Amsterdam cartoons from his book Alledaags in this article. And if you are interested to see more of his stuff check out his latest project ‘200 people I used to know‘.

Unfortunately I am not allowed to publish the article yet. Just wait one more month or go to the kiosk and $#%%&#*@ buy the thing.

Daddy? What is a Corporate Community Manager?

März 9th, 2011 • Jobs
Tags: Agencies, Amsterdam, Blast Radius, community management, Interview, Jobs, People

I work as a digital strategist – a job profile that did not exist 5 years ago, as many of my colleague’s professions are also more or less new. One of my colleagues here at Blast Radius Amsterdam is Henry Greaves, a fresh Amsterdamer who originally came from the UK. Henry is a full time Community Manager and my real time counterpart on one of our key accounts. It’s still not too common for an agency to employ full time Community Managers. And I think some of you are pretty interested in a similar position.

Time to ask Henry what he actually does.

How did you become community manager?

It was a happy accident. I graduated with a degree in Theology five years ago, and then worked in various jobs in the media. I worked in PR for Amazon, but also loved writing and got published by some reputable magazines, like Dazed & Confused and Monocle. That led to work as part of two-man team writing a blog for French Connection, Manifesto. From then on my focus was working in Digital. The fact that there are no rules in Digital, and that you can try so many new ways of getting people’s attention makes it an incredibly exciting area to work in. So I was keen to stay in it.

Eventually Blast Radius offered me a job as Community Manager for a major client. I think they liked me because my experience of cultural writing suited the client. And the fact I had a small bit of digital experience helped. But I lacked many skills a CM needs at that time, but it was relatively easy to pick up, as the team at Blast is full of experts. So the SEO specialist taught me a bit of SEO, strategists taught me how to deal with analytics, and I could pick up all the specialists bits and pieces a Community Manager needs to know as I went along.

Henry, we are working together for quite some time now. Can you describe your daily routine as a corporate community manager?

I think the most important thing to point out as a Community Manager is that there is no all-encompassing job description. I solely work on my account, and other CMs work entirely on their projects. Each role is entirely dependent on the job and client specifications. So there is no “Community Manager’s routine”.

In my job, I spend most of my time planning and making content. Whether that’s blogs, or helping to concept for competitions, or writing creative briefs. I spend roughly half a day each week compiling statistics relating to the performance of the site, and monitoring Listening platforms. And whatever time I have left I am seeding the site, pushing the social media aspects, and dealing with individual queries from members of the community.
It’s quite a full-on job, as by its nature you can never be finished. There is always more work you could do to try to bolster community growth etc.

Do your parents understand your job? What do you tell them?

Read more »