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Fonk for Thoughts: Jan Rijkenberg
Dutch creative entrepreneur Jan Rijkenberg of internationally active 'creative consultancy' bsur ('Be As You Are') talks about his Fonk for Thoughts...
Photo Jan Rijkenberg: 'Be As You Are.' BlogFonk: Who is Jan Rijkenberg? Rijkenberg: An idealistic creative entrepreneur. BlogFonk: Do you love your work? Why? Rijkenberg: Yes, because I am not working, but building on the ideas Joost (Perik) and I have, together with around 35 independent characters who make BSUR Concepting. Creating an internationally active 'creative consultancy' based in Amsterdam is something we dreamed of five years ago, but it is a reality now! Which makes it even more fun: more international clients with exciting requests, more international staff in the house and more travel than ever before to do so, picking up inspiration wherever we are at the same time. BlogFonk: What is your book 'Concepting' all about? Rijkenberg: The subtitle on the cover says: 'Creating successful brands in a communication oriented area'. And that's what it's about. That brands should be based on strong concepts (visions etc.) rather than on product claims. And since 80% of the marketing world the last decades has become an analytical, rational product oriented exercise, my book is also a crussade against 'marketing by the checklist' that leads to me-too 'solutions'. I hope my book stimulates people to be more creative and entrepreneurial in marketing and communications. Use your guts and creativity!! 
BlogFonk: What are the latest important developments you've noticed in advertising? Rijkenberg: The main development is that advertising, previously seen as the main communication tool, now has become only a part of a much wider totally integrated mix. Unfortunately the advertising industry is the last to see this. The advertising industry is the least innovative I know. And doesn't see that we go from 'mass' to 'multi-micro' approaches, including internet, SMS etc. As far as advertising style is concerned you can see in West Europe, that advertising becomes more 'realistic', more unpolished. It looks less like advertising and therefore doesn't work at all in countries like for instance Spain and Greece. You can also look at it differently: the West European consumers have had more than enough advertising to consume, they increasingly ignore fakeness and polished sellingstories. BlogFonk: Is there difference in mentality of creatives in the countries you've worked? Rijkenberg: I have only worked out of Amsterdam, but we do work with a lot of creatives from other countries. I believe the real talents are not that much different from each other, they all go for 'essence' and the 'big idea'. What I do see is the way they communicate. Our English designers are more listeners, they work hard and produce a lot. Where Dutch talk a lot, debate and 'negotiate' to get the best out of creative processes. Next to that I enjoy to see young Canadian and Australian talent come to Europe, bringing a lot of world knowledge and views at a surprisingly young age. BlogFonk: Which project for a client are you most proud of? Rijkenberg: That is like asking a father which of his children he prefers most. You don't ask such things! But when you force me, I think what we do for Wrangler in Europe at the moment is something big. With a very simple theme 'WANTED' and a very new way of more fashionable advertising, I believe the brand will be better connected with the younger target groups throughout Europe. Not 'one TV commercial every two years', but being in the streets and magazines a couple of times throughout the year with a great variety of 'unexpected' Wrangler fashion. All of them only have one line: WANTED. BlogFonk: If you'd be given the chance to do something over again, what would that be? Rijkenberg: Eight years ago: a couple of TV commercials for an insurance company where we wanted to be funny, but failed. That means: the board didn't approve them after production; it was not their kind of humour. And that was the big lesson: we should have involved those board people earlier. Then either they 'had grown into the idea' or we had created something else. BlogFonk: Finally, what is your motto, your 'Fonk for Thoughts' (inspriration to be creative)? Rijkenberg: Be As You Are. |
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posted by BlogFonk: Thursday, September 16, 2004 [#] Erms Suripatty