How have France and Austria helped you keep pushing boundaries, and what’s next?

Crossing international borders

"How did France and Austria help you push boundaries,and what’s next for you?" Let's see, where do I begin?

Yes, well, our agency went beyond Germany's borders many, many years ago.

And we've worked internationally.We opened an office in France in 2019.

In Paris, and in the same year, another one in Vienna, Austria.

For now,

On the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and the Schaalsee Lake we have...

other hideaways, so to speak, where we can recharge our batteries,regain energy.

Well, overall it's clear that it's very exciting to have influence in other countries, in other markets.

Things are rather similar to Germany in Austria.Of course, that... has to do with linguistic similarity.

France usually works in a slightly different way.The market... behaves differently there, also in our business.

Obviously, the language is also very different, but...

It's truly inspiring for us that, lately,we've been able to engage in other markets,as well as work together with other cultures.

What impact does understanding the local context have on, for example the offer or the prices? What do you think?

Pricing in Austria is quite similar to that in Germany.

There aren't major differences there.In France, our service is understood differently.

That's the first thing to understand.When one talks about art direction in France,it's mostly photographic curation, and not so much communication design,which is what we understand as art direction in Germany and Austria.

So someone who, let's say, directs artistically a design project, in France will always be linked to imagery, but not in our market.

Regarding processes and expectations,where do you notice cultural differences?

Well, it's clear that in our business you must always focus on what the other person wants.

And in France, one needs to be a bit more attentive,because they have different definitions of the services we offer,or of the services one wants to receive.

In other words, our daily business is paying attention,to find out what our clients... need.

And to define the tasks well,in order to offer an appropriate proposal.

And this way, ideally both parties know exactly what is going to be done.

Before we started, you mentioned the term "satellite studios." Could you define more precisely what it means in this context?

Well, it's clear that we are a small agency led by its founder,with barely 25 employees.

Therefore, we're by no means a holding or a network that enters a market and immediately sets up a company or sets up an office, and so on.

We have small satellite studios.This is greatly encouraged by the people we work with,both in Paris and in Vienna.

There is a creative person working on site,with whom we've worked for years, and who is responsible for that branch.

That's a defining trait of ours.The opportunity to enter a market is often promoted by a person who, as in Marcel's case in Paris,decides to build their life in Paris,and we went along with him and, quite soon,we were able to celebrate some success,gaining great clients, such as the football club Red Star FC,which fitted very well with our portfolio,since we had already worked with FC Sankt Pauli in Hamburg,and we have a very close relationship with them.

Their political stance and their approach as a club give them an added value,they stand for a set of values,that are closer to a collective than to a football club.

And in Austria, with Matías, it's something similar.

He had worked with us in Hamburg for years on many large projects and, upon having a child,he decided to return to his homeland, Vienna, and we set out to go with him and then, together we secured a major client, the Volkstheater in Vienna.

And that first client served as a bridge to open an office there.