BERLIN PITCH KREIG … SOLVE PROBLEMS, BE HAPPY
Late summer means it’s time for my annual pilgrimage to one of my favourite towns where 50% of the population’s single, you can drink in the street 24 hours a day and it’s so safe you can get gold out of the ATMs.
Apart from London, more than any other European city, Berlin is in constant flux. Arguably the hipster capital of Planet Earth, I’m amazed by the pace of gentrification. A mecca of artists, bohemians and Europe’s creative class, Berlin is an old, historic city made new again thanks to a torn-down wall, a reunified country, and an influx of young, pathologically cool individuals from around the world. Whether for world-class nightlife, new tech start-ups, funky fashion, cutting-edge art, or culinary diversity, millions fall in love with Berlin’s gritty vibe, staying longer than expected and returning frequently. I’m always surprised how places in the city one never considered sexy or interesting are now centres of its creative life (think: Kreuzberg). Berlin is exciting because it’s both edgy and glam. How long will it be before that edgy evaporates anyone’s guess. I’m tipping on at least a decade before that happens––but with this city you never know. More than ever, Berlin, the capital of Europe’s biggest economy, feels like a powerhouse… especially in the kind and supportive world of advertising.
According to the German version of Campaign, spend on brand films generated sales of around €360 million in the 2016, an increase of just under 4 percent compared to 2015. Huzzah! Moderate growth = more work but margins are not keeping pace. Seems like the increased demand for different moving image formats not only brings full order books, but also new problems.
This is particularly intense at the sharp pointy end of the business, the pitch. Here things have got so wretched that it’s now the norm to invite between six and eight production houses for TVC/content jobs. That means the bigger players are burning up to € 40,000 a month in pitches. Very ironic since agencies have always bitched about how client do this to them and now are guilty of the exact same sin.
So now the good burghers of the moving image are agitating to change this by making a stand against such corporate treachery. Risky game – if you don’t play ball, there’s the risk of getting blacklisted. According to some producers, a defined industry pitch best practice could help companies in the future by inviting only three to four participants to the rodeo instead of six to eight. Senior producers are also demanding that pitches be more transparent so that the opponents are known and that production concepts and research will be kept confidential and will not be passed on to competing production houses.
A client recently sent an an open letter to the members of the German Producers’ Association, requesting an market assessment of how much the creative services of the productions and their directors are worth.
Another constant bugbear is that greenlight decisions are often made by the purchasing department. Cost-cutting has always existed. But now what is new is that even creative projects are decided on a purely commercial basis even when there’s very little difference in the quotes. Rather, it’s assumed that an agency can provide at least three completely comparable directors and approaches which is bollocks, since there are never three really equivalent approaches. Such practices devalue the work of the directors in the treatments. And since German production houses are in competition with the USA, the UK, France and other countries, there is a risk that the German market will lose out. Depressed? Don’t be… advertising is still the most fun you can have with your clothes on. Time for a peek one of the most awarded spots of the past award season is “Laughing Horses” by VW produced by Czar Film in Berlin.
If adland seems righteously indignant, the rest of Berlin seems indifferent as always. The huge ex-pat (notice how they are immigrants, we are ex-pats) community, seems to have a touch of Never Never Land about it. Not everyone for sure but spend time here and you’ll see why in LA and NY, Berlin’s referred to as the ‘City of Lost Children’. It’s a paradise for party people and society dropouts. Professionally Berlin was a blast. I caught up with some old clients and met some new design partners. I was busy with jobs coming in from India, Sydney, NY and Indonesia. I love the thrill of writing under a tight deadline. It just comes down to scheduling, discipline and great coffee. My working haunt of choice became the ridiculously hip Hallesches Haus – a winning combination of vintage store and coffee shop, lunch bar and event space. It is a fine place for a late breakfast (only opens at 10am) or lunchI also caught up with a bunch of friends at Werkstatt der Kulturen including my gorgeous friend from HK (and Bali, Atlanta and London) Jenny who’s back to her fighting weight and unleashing herself on an unsuspecting Europe.
The lawyers are on standby.
