Playbook of Innovation:

Can you answer this question in one word? Innovation means to you...

Bernhard Redl:

Progress.

Playbook of Innovation:

What do you mean by progress?

Bernhard:

Innovation is about not sticking to the same way of working. It's about how we develop media, our approach to customers, and our customers' customers. It's about new things, thinking about what was good, wrong, and excellent in recent campaigns, and thinking about how we can innovate and develop these further.

Playbook of Innovation:

Why is innovation important to you, your teams, customers, consumers, and the industry?

Bernhard:

It helps me stay one step ahead of other agencies and consultants. It also helps me improve my skills and knowledge. I don't like using the same methods over and over again in my work. I want to rethink and improve my personal and professional development. So innovation is necessary to make my work enjoyable and meaningful for me. I am constantly innovating to keep myself in this process.

For my teams, innovation is a team spirit. Innovation doesn't come from one person, but from the strength, creativity, and collaboration of the team. That's why it's important to increase productivity, job satisfaction, and employee retention because, let's be honest, there are a lot of very good and talented people in other companies. Mediaplus must continue to be innovative through collaborations that leverage everyone's strengths.

For the agency, innovation is a driver of organizational growth. This is important because we claim to be the most innovative media agency. For me, innovation is essential for sustainability—not in an ecological sense, but in the sense that we don't just think about numbers and revenue. We need to maintain sustainable relationships with our clients over a long period of time and bring them to the level they want to be at.

It also enables the agency to adapt to changing markets and market dynamics. As we all know, markets and customer requirements change, and being innovative in how we use media means being innovative in how we see ourselves and work internally as an agency. It is essential to adapt to the environment and the growth of the market. The result is that innovation helps us offer our clients unique, innovative solutions and services. It helps increase their satisfaction and loyalty.

Playbook of Innovation:

And do you think innovation is crucial for consumers?

Bernhard:

Not necessarily for media innovation, but we should never just talk about media innovation; we should also talk about product and service innovation for our clients. Sometimes we help customers with their products and with communicating their products. Innovation is also necessary for consumers so that the services advertised are more efficient, user-friendly, and tailored to their needs and preferences. Innovation also helps to satisfy consumers in their daily lives and perhaps save them some time, which they can then use for their families or even for sports to improve their habits.

Playbook of Innovation:

Why is innovation so valuable to the industry?

Bernhard:

The industry is constantly adapting. Over the past 20 to 30 years, the media industry and industry as a whole have changed significantly. Innovation therefore helps to drive growth and shape change in the industry, leading to the development of new technologies, processes, and business models.

Maybe I'm a dreamer, but innovation benefits everyone involved and everyone in this life cycle in driving economic progress. And as I said earlier, innovation is essential for adapting to new problems and market developments and providing our customers with first-class advice.

Playbook of Innovation:

We've talked a lot about why innovation is important. So how do you create an environment where innovation can thrive?

Bernhard:

At Mediaplus Austria, we are very open to communication and collaboration. The key to solving this problem does not lie with a single person or team. It requires the collaboration of different teams. Our strength lies in the combined knowledge of everyone involved. Some are number crunchers, others are media experts.

But when we bring everyone together and foster open communication, collaboration, and a culture of openness, we can get the best out of everyone. So it's not one single thing we can do. Instead, it's about encouraging people to be open and talk to each other.

We offer our colleagues at Mediaplus Austria various tools, from quick idea generation to trend radar, but these are just tools. The most important thing is that we promote open communication and collaboration so that our employees feel confident to speak up and say, “That's not right. Let's try it this way.” We need to create diverse, inclusive workplaces where everyone's opinions are accepted. Everyone has the right to express their opinion and share their point of view.

Playbook of Innovation:

What inspires you?

Bernhard:

It may sound silly, but I'm inspired by problems. I want to solve problems, but I don't like dealing with them. I always want to get rid of problems. It inspires me to immerse myself in something and solve it without knowing how.

We have many clients at Mediaplus Austria who defeat larger competitors with more money, influence, or long-standing market positions. I particularly enjoy working for these clients because one of my guiding principles is: “If you can't beat them, outsmart them.” You may have different rules or less money, but you can always outsmart the big players. That's what motivates me: solving problems.

Playbook of Innovation:

Is there a tool, service, or product at your agency that you consider an excellent example of innovation?

Bernhard:

It's less of a tool and more of a way of working. As I mentioned, the most important thing is working together. The tool is the quick idea-generation session where we brainstorm different methods. In this session, we work with colleagues from other teams. It's not just the consulting team. It's also the purchasing department, the innovation team, the strategy team, and the management team. People bring different perspectives and different angles to the problems, briefings, or projects we're brainstorming. The cohesion increases performance.

Of course, we have structured approaches for client presentations or strategies. For example, we have “strategy on one page,” where we look closely at the briefing to gather all the data and analysis we can generate and summarize it on one page. We then read through that page and go over it again to learn more or less everything about the problem, the client, and the desired campaign. From there, we start with the solution.

I also talked about the trend radar. We have our strategy and business innovation teams, and one of the best results is the trend radar, which is where we regularly update all the trends. We discuss them internally and then with our clients. We use them for the newsletter and send them to our clients so that we can all get away from standard thinking. We do this to stimulate the thought process so that they ask themselves: “What innovations are there? What trends are there? What do I need to do to adapt my way of thinking and working? And how do I adapt my product to this?” We then use this to create a campaign and innovative communication.

Playbook of Innovation:

Could you repeat the names of the tools?

Bernhard:

To name just a few: Trend Radar, Strategy on One Page, and Rapid Ideation Session.

Playbook of Innovation:

What do you think is the most innovative thing about Mediaplus?

Bernhard:

The best way to be innovative is not to work alone. Innovation happens in a team, when ideas from all perspectives come together. The best example of this is that we can involve our media team from Mediaplus Realtime to find technical solutions, and Max Schöngen and his creative team to help us think outside the box.

Playbook of Innovation:

Has your view of innovation changed in recent years? If so, why?

Bernhard:

Of course. I started 15 years ago at a large agency in Austria. Back then, innovation was all about outdoor advertising and print. For example, we designed billboards with something hanging on them or expanded their normal size. That was the standard approach. That was the only thing we added when the budget allowed and we wanted to be more or less creative.

In recent years – and this is one of the best examples of Mediaplus' innovative strength – we strive to develop unique ideas first and then build everything around them. This innovative idea, the solution, is the cornerstone of everything and influences all other areas – TV, digital, regardless of the channel. And it's not just an add-on, it's at the heart of a campaign. From there, we start to gain reach for this idea. So yes, it has changed.

Playbook of Innovation:

Thank you for sharing your valuable insights with us and telling us more about your experiences. Before we say goodbye, let's ask a round of fun questions, starting with PC or Mac?

Bernhard:

That reminds me of the ad from 20 years ago: “Hi, I'm a Mac. Hi, I'm a PC.” I always wanted to be the Mac. Now I use a PC for work. But I'm an iPad and iPhone fan. Maybe you should change the question for me. So, yes, iPad and iPhone. That's me.

Playbook of Innovation:

Cats or dogs?

Bernhard:

Lazy cats. Definitely.

Playbook of Innovation:

Tea or coffee?

Bernhard:

Coffee, always, even at night, after a good meal with friends. Espresso is the last thing I drink after a meal. I'm not a tea person. I'm a coffee person.

Playbook of Innovation:

Star Wars or Star Trek?

Bernhard:

Please don't make me choose.

Playbook of Innovation:

Disney classics or Pixar movies?

Bernhard:

The modern Pixar films. I have young children, and they're more practical.

Playbook of Innovation:

Beer or wine?

Bernhard:

I like both, but I prefer wine. I grew up in Lower Austria. You may be familiar with a region called Wachau. It's on the Danube and is famous for its wine and vineyards. I really like wine, especially white wine.

Playbook of Innovation:

Country or city?

Bernhard:

Country, but I enjoy both ways of life, the very focused and modern way of working in the city and the opportunity to turn off my cell phone and go to the river or the forest. That's why I live in the country and have the best of both worlds.

Playbook of Innovation:

Thank you very much, Bernhard, for taking the time to talk to us today. It was a pleasure to learn more about your vision, and we look forward to seeing what Mediaplus Austria will achieve in the future!