For a country the size of Wales, the Netherlands sure does have a lot of creative agencies, design bureaus and digital hot shops. When I first moved to Amsterdam from London in 2000, I was gobsmacked by a list I saw in Adformatie, roll-calling the ‘Top 100 Ad Agencies’. This statement implied that there were plenty more where these came from, the rest just hadn’t made it to the giddy heights of the top rankings. Surely, I pondered, this country wasn’t big enough for 100 of any business, except, perhaps, cheese shops?
But I was wrong. Amsterdam, in particular, is awash with creative talent just itching for an agency to attach itself to. Up until recently there’s even been enough client business (pretty much) to go round. The question is - local or international?
Obviously, there’s nothing wrong with either. Play to your strengths, do the best work you can pull off and conduct yourself with a bit of integrity - I’d have thought that was a good starting point for any business. I’m always surprised, however, at the number of people who make a sport of sneering at the prospect of either local or international projects. And, occasionally, both. What are people ashamed of/threatened by (delete as appropriate)?
In the last two or three years, in particular, there are more and more opportunities for agencies to establish themselves on a regional playing field, if not win coveted international business. Gone are the days when ‘international’ meant 180 or Wieden+Kennedy. These days, pitch consultancies and clients alike know Amsterdam through the work of TAXI Europe, Amsterdam Worldwide, Perfect Fools, Sid Lee, and de-Construct, amongst many many others. Surely, the more respected the Netherlands (Amsterdam) becomes on the international industry stage, the better we all do? If Amsterdam wins a new European festival, such as the arrival of Eurobest at the end of November, we all win.
Locally, we all know there are excellent Dutch agencies competing fiercely in the market. Some of those agencies are also highly skilled in crossing the border between local and regional markets - Grey Amsterdam, for example, or BSUR, or Lemon Scented Tea. It just seems to me that there are too many agencies who think that by saying, ‘we work internationally’, then - ding! - with a puff of fairy-dust, it becomes so. It so doesn’t.
For a start, if you are going to work internationally, please think about employing a few people beyond the Benelux map. Sounds obvious? Then you’d be surprised how many companies don’t think so. Far too many companies see ‘international’ as little more than a word in the credentials presentation. You are not going to truly get under the skin of a global A-brand if, come lunchtime, all the guys eat their boterham met hagelslag cut into quarters, with a knife and fork (the single least sexy thing I have ever witnessed, by the way). One reason for an agency like Wieden+Kennedy’s success (and a key differentiator within its own network) is the 20+ nationalities under one roof in the Amsterdam office.
A cultural melting pot brings its own challenges to any agency, but, great gods, it certainly informs the work.
Agencies come and go - some even stick around - but one thing is certain: locally, regionally or internationally, Amsterdam’s reputation as a centre of excellence for the creative industries is nowadays firmly secured. So long as agencies make an informed decision as to who they are talking to.