60 years vandenbusken, part 1

 

Good campaigns make you curious

In 1961, founder Pieter van den Busken shook up the direct marketing world with his progressive vision and self-willed ideas. Under the leadership of the second generation, Arnout and Caspar van den Busken, the agency has grown into an established activation agency. Over the next six months, a series of stories will appear in FONK magazine in which vandenbusken’s clients share their vision. In this first episode Floris Liebrand, spokesperson/communication advisor at the RAI Association, shares his thoughts with Arnout van den Busken,

 

How did you end up at vandenbusken?

‘We were looking for a creative small or medium-sized agency. For this assignment I checked the FONk50 (now the FONK100, ed.) and that is how I came to vandenbusken. The introduction in the FONK gave me a good feeling and you have the added advantage that the agency is located near our office.’

 

What do you value most in the day-to-day collaboration with your agencies?

‘An agency that keeps me on my toes and surprises me with creative ideas. Being on top of the ball, fast delivery and a pleasant working atmosphere are important. With vandenbusken we don’t only have a business connection, but also on a personal level there are few agencies with whom we have such a good relationship. I think that currently, sometimes too much is demanded of agencies. I strongly believe in investing and building good relationships and to me that is the basis for success.’

 

A question of conscience: what requirements do you think the best campaign ever should meet?

‘Stimulating and excels in simplicity. The most important thing is that a campaign message must be understandable to everyone and must appeal to the target group. At the same time, the message must excite and hold the recipient’s attention for a moment. Good campaigns make you curious and invite you to take a closer look.’

 

Did you make that best campaign ever already?

‘I hope not. I see it as a challenge to push ourselves and the agency every time again to get the best out of a new assignment. And when I think it can’t get any better, I turn out to be wrong.’

 

How has your brand developed over the past 3 years (including the collaboration with vandenbusken)?

‘Promoting our identity as a representative of the Mobility Industry is not our goal. Campaigns have become an important tool for us to influence behaviour or create awareness. They have a social value because they focus on topics such as (traffic) safety and the labour market. With the rapid growth of social channels, this importance has increased. In close cooperation with vandenbusken we have developed a new successful communication tool with which we can reach our target groups in the years to come and thereby contribute to the mobility of the Netherlands.’

 

In what respect(s), if any, has your collaboration with the agencies on your roster changed in recent years? What do you see as the big constant?

‘vandenbusken is the first agency with which we have a longstanding relationship. In the past, we often switched agencies because after one or two assignments the creativity was gone, or the energy disappeared from projects.’

 

Looking ahead: where do you think the advertising industry is heading in the next three years?

‘I think the importance of social channels will increase even more. Today’s youngsters will be our most important target group in a few years’ time. They hardly watch TV anymore and read less magazines. They are on YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, and all kinds of new channels. Knowledge of this market is crucial to remaining successful as an agency.’