Managing Director
Playbook of Innovation:
Can you answer this in one word? Innovation, for you, is…
Bartłomiej Kamiński:
An ongoing process.
Innovation is a continuous journey of finding new solutions to existing problems or creating entirely new possibilities. We live in fast-paced times when we need to monitor everything closely. That’s why innovation is an ongoing process—today, we might focus on something crucial for our business, our clients, or our organization, but tomorrow, something could happen, like new information or even fake news, that impacts the business, political climate, or specific conditions in a given country. We need to be able to react or create something innovative based on current trends and emerging developments.
This process is perpetual, and it won’t stop in the future. As an organization and individuals, we’re responsible for our business and the well-being of our people and teams. We must be prepared to adapt and innovate continually.
Playbook of Innovation:
Why is innovation important for you, your teams, your agency, clients, consumers, and the industry?
Bartłomiej Kamiński:
Innovation is critical because it drives us to develop our business, stay ahead of trends, and, in some cases, create new trends, solutions, and business models for our agency and clients.
For our teams, innovation fuels progress, enabling them to develop new solutions for our clients. Innovation helps people enhance their skills and become more creative, motivated, and engaged. Introducing something new and different empowers the team to work more effectively and successfully.
For the agency, innovation is a continuous process that keeps us competitive in the market and industry. It involves researching and developing new services and offers for our clients.
For clients, innovation propels their business forward, allowing them to improve their products and services and offer new solutions that meet their customers’ evolving needs and preferences. The companies that succeed are those that set trends and deliver new functionalities and possibilities. While not every company can be highly innovative locally or globally, even small innovations can create a significant impact.
For consumers, innovation results in better products and services, improving their daily lives.
For the industry, innovation is the engine of growth and progress. It drives economic development and technological advancement. It’s essential to stay aligned with the latest innovative products and solutions.
Of course, some clients are more conservative when it comes to innovation. For example, our recent big win in Poland came when Mediaplus secured STADA, a pharmaceutical company. Given our experience with clients in this sector, I’ve observed that it’s a conservative business, with specific regulations governing what can and can’t be advertised in different countries.
We won this client after they ran an international pitch about two years ago. Initially, they moved from Mediaplus to Omnicom, a network agency, but after 18 months, the local client reached out and said, “Bartłomiej, we’re not satisfied.” It wasn’t about offering something exceptionally innovative but meeting their specific needs—they wanted to work with us.
Now, we’re not pushing them but offering products and solutions that help optimize, organize, and develop their business in Poland. We provide innovative products and tools for data and SaaS analyses, acting as an external team that collaborates with them to enhance their business. Even with a conservative client, we’re finding ways to innovate.
On the other hand, we also have highly innovative clients. Some engage in digital e-commerce campaigns with us, where we offer advanced data analysis and MarTech solutions. For these clients, innovation is crucial, and they come to us asking how we can help. They approach us with ideas like, “We’d like to do this, and you have the tool.”
Together, we develop these tasks and projects to create customized solutions that give them a competitive edge and make them the first movers in the market. This is our approach and experience.
Playbook of Innovation:
How do you create an environment where innovation can flourish?
Bartłomiej Kamiński:
I’ll focus on three key points.
First is fostering a culture of open communication. When we communicate openly, we can exchange and share ideas, even if they initially sound unconventional. This exchange can lead to innovative solutions.
The most significant advantage of the House of Communication is the collaboration between different teams, departments, and companies within the group. We leverage this cooperation to build multitalented teams and spaces for creativity. In our organization, we’ve developed a model of multi-teams. Each multi-team consists of people working for the client, not only from the media agency but also from various specialties. The multi-team includes media experts, data scientists, researchers, and digital specialists. If additional support is needed, we bring in the necessary people. This flexible approach allows these teams to develop effectively.
Additionally, innovation should align with our strategic goals as an organization. The solutions we create and implement should be consistent with our strategic objectives and business positioning in the market.
Playbook of Innovation:
What inspires you?
Bartłomiej Kamiński:
In my personal life, my family inspires me. I have a 15-year-old daughter, and watching her grow and change her preferences is fascinating. I observe her classmates and how quickly they adapt to technological solutions. It’s interesting to see how rapidly they’re influenced by and adopt new trends, whether in fashion or technology. Of course, this is only a part of marketing, but it’s inspiring.
From a business perspective, I’m inspired by the people I work with daily. This includes people from the client side because we have many discussions and strive to build a model of true business partnership. We’re not just an agency that plans and buys media; we’re a group of people who genuinely understand the business.
The third source of inspiration is the ongoing advancements in technology and technological revolutions, such as the potential of artificial intelligence. This is what drives my interest in innovation.
Playbook of Innovation:
Is there a tool, service, or product inside your agency that you consider a great example of innovation?
Bartłomiej Kamiński:
We offer a wide range of innovative products and solutions for our clients daily.
The scale of innovation varies depending on the business needs and challenges they address. These range from solutions that streamline and optimize our work processes to highly advanced tools that help us and our clients implement the most effective strategies.
One interesting and technologically advanced tool in our portfolio is sMMMart AI. It’s an automated, real-time data modeling tool that offers new budget scenarios with trustworthy predictions powered by AI. This tool provides daily suggestions on all media spending, like Meta, SEM, Programmatic, Display, TV, Radio, etc. The AI module delivers performance predictions based on budget distribution and maximizing return on investment. It also offers sales forecasts based on assumed budgets.
Playbook of Innovation:
In your opinion, what’s the most innovative thing about Mediaplus?
Bartłomiej Kamiński:
From the beginning, I’ve known our four I’s, one being innovation. Our strong positioning is rooted in how innovation is in our DNA, and we’re part of the House of Communication project as a business model. Mediaplus is an integral part of the House of Communication, and from the outset, innovation is a core part of our identity. We’ve built our reputation as an innovative agency by developing and implementing tools crucial to supporting our Mediaplus Realtime framework.
I’ve been with Mediaplus since its inception in Poland, and I have friends working in Mediaplus and other agencies abroad. We have a strong presence in the German market and are dynamically expanding internationally. This global strength and dynamic growth could be an innovative differentiator for Mediaplus.
Playbook of Innovation:
Did your view of innovation change in the last years? If yes, why?
Bartłomiej Kamiński:
Yes, definitely. We live in a rapidly changing world, with shifts in climate, geopolitical situations, and consumer behaviors. Everything that we once considered stable is now in flux. These circumstances are ideal for fostering all kinds of innovation. They impact our daily lives and create a perfect environment for innovation to thrive.
Playbook of Innovation:
Thank you for sharing your insights on innovation. To lighten things up, here's a fun question: do you prefer summer or winter?
Bartłomiej Kamiński:
Summer. I could say it’s because I like summer, but unfortunately, it’s more accurate to say that I dislike winter. When I was finishing high school, I worked in a small place where you could rent skis in Warsaw. Warsaw is not close to the mountains, but I had friends who ran this business. I was young, and one day, someone came in and asked if anyone could train kids over winter break. I didn’t have any special papers, so I took a course to become a ski instructor. Then, I got my papers and attended special ski trips with the kids to teach them how to ski.
I mentioned before that I have a daughter and a wife. Unfortunately, they hate winter, so my pain is that I’m a ski instructor. That’s why in the winter, even if I’d like to ski, we choose destinations with hot weather. Of course, I enjoy skiing, but I saw it as a point of honor that my daughter should ski. But, alas, she will not. Maybe in the future, it’ll change, but this is the story of my life as a ski instructor in a family that doesn’t ski. That’s why I chose summer.
Playbook of Innovation:
Thank you, Bartłomiej, for sharing your thoughts and experiences. It’s been a pleasure getting to know you better and hearing your insights on innovation. We appreciate your time and look forward to seeing the continued impact of your work at Mediaplus and Group One Poland.
