Nordic Managing Partner
Playbook of Innovation:
Can you answer this in one word? Innovation, for you, is…
Eva Bodecker Thunborg:
Rethinking.
Innovation is rethinking everything. It’s not possible or necessary for us to always think in completely new ways. But it’s essential to rethink our situation, the challenges presented by our clients, and the challenges within the media landscape. This can always be rethought, but until we do it ourselves, innovation won’t pop up or come across our path.
Playbook of Innovation:
Why is innovation important for you, your teams, your agency, clients, consumers, and the industry?
Eva:
It’s a personal driver for me to be innovative and rethink existing situations. That’s how I’ve been in the media agency business for 25+ years: my drive toward new solutions.
For my team, I believe in developing together as team players. Thinking and rethinking our situation and coming up with new and different ideas is the glue in the team and what makes us progress and move forward.
Our agency, Mediaplus Nordic, is born out of innovation. In the Nordic region, we’ve had all the network agencies with their place in the market forever - but when Mediaplus came into our arena, it came in as an independent, innovative player, creating a healthy competitive noise in the media market.
Our clients demand innovation. We can’t just copy and paste a media plan or solution. We need to rethink to meet the client’s expectations and demands. We’re very proud to have those kinds of clients because the opposite would be regurgitating the same ideas, and we don’t want to work that way.
Consumers are pretty ad-fatigued in the Nordics. We have so much cluttered noise in everyday life for consumers. We need to think innovatively, and that means being able to reach through to them.
For the industry, it’s our responsibility to maintain a tone of voice and communication style that encourages consumers to communicate with us and our clients. Innovation within our industry is critical for standing out from the crowd and creating effective media solutions.
Playbook of Innovation:
How do you create an environment where innovation can flourish in your agency?
Eva:
The environments set by our leaders. It’s a humble but firm innovative approach from Matthias Brüll, Markus Noder, and Florian Haller. It’s inspiring for us in the international markets to feel the drive from headquarters. It also motivates us locally to have creative freedom within media borders and share ideas and innovations to learn and grow together!
We have innovative hubs within the company and are always invited to different task forces and environments. So, it’s easy to be creative. When Matthias Brüll appointed Max Schöngen, it represented a valuable sign to the local markets towards where Matthias Brüll wanted to lead Mediaplus. Max Schöngen is exceptional in many aspects. He includes the local markets in Mediaplus’ innovative journey and everyone on my team through the Creative Collective and all other creative initiatives.
Playbook of Innovation:
What inspires you?
Eva:
New situations. New people. New challenges. But, this involves existing situations, people, and challenges that we can rethink. That inspires me: how can we be innovative in all we do? That’s what drives me. What can we do differently? What can we rethink?
Playbook of Innovation:
How do you inform yourself?
Eva:
Spending time around creative people and staying on top of the news helps me gain insights. Whether reading an article or seeing innovative out-of-home creatives, it’s about being out in the right crowd and taking all possible chances to be a part of something new!
Playbook of Innovation:
How do you inspire your team to create innovations?
Eva:
We’re a creative bunch of people. It’s easy to ask questions. Has everyone seen that? What are your opinions about this? We try to think innovatively by sharing pictures of solutions and situations, talking about experiences, sharing knowledge, asking people what they think, and giving opinions. It’s about communication and learning together!
Playbook of Innovation:
Is there a tool, service, or product inside your agency or location that you consider a great example of innovation?
Eva:
The portfolio of Mediaplus Realtime. It’s the way to go if we want to collect all the different products and services we can pick from and have spot-on motivations and arguments as to why we should use emotional ads or CTV through Mediaplus Realtime. I think it’s the way forward to enhance that portfolio. Mediaplus Realtime and global client development are crucial hubs for going forward.
Playbook of Innovation:
In your opinion, what’s the most innovative thing about Mediaplus?
Eva:
The most innovative part of Mediaplus is our drive to make a client succeed. That’s the bottom line, the baseline. It’s inspiring to think that, at all times, we want the client to succeed. By that, we automatically should rethink everything because there is no success without rethinking. Either you continue with already explored and existing ways, or you devise new ones that might be better. That’s the mindset of Mediaplus. It’s about always striving for success for our clients and us as partners with our clients.
Playbook of Innovation:
Which aspect of innovation do you push at Mediaplus?
Eva:
My mission is to try and incorporate new tech or business products into Mediaplus portfolio. It doesn’t matter if it’s one, two, three, or however many, but to have this goal-setting mentality helps to drive me towards that objective.
Playbook of Innovation:
Did your view of innovation change in recent years? If yes, then why?
Eva:
Yes, my view on innovation changed. One topic where I changed my views is how we gather insights and what type of insights we look for. For example, in the cookieless environment we’re moving towards, we need to think deeper about how we collect relevant insights. We must enhance or adapt our view on innovative approaches within our assignment. From the insights to the strategy to the tactics and planning into execution, we need to innovate.
Playbook of Innovation:
Which innovation has surprised or impressed you recently?
Eva:
We had a MD meeting where the House of Communication in Berlin showed an AI-based solution that helps us not to forget the past. It was touching and highly innovative. These are the types of solutions we need to come up with.
Playbook of Innovation:
Thanks for sharing your perspectives, Eva. Now, to change the pace a bit, we have a fun question for you: Nike or Adidas?
Eva:
For me, someone born in the ’70s, Nike was early in advertising in a cool way. Before I even bought a single shirt or pair of shoes from Nike, I was in love with the brand. That’s how strong the advertising industry was in the ’80s because we didn’t get many ads back then, but when we did, they were spot-on. I remember one of Nike’s first posters said, “There are no finish lines,” with a visual of a guy running in the woods. I play basketball, so, of course, I pick Nike gear - because I already love the brand.
Playbook of Innovation:
Thank you for your time and insightful answers, Eva. It’s been a pleasure hearing about your journey and perspectives on innovation. We look forward to seeing your continued development at Mediaplus Nordics.
