Head of the week: "England and Sweden have a similar advertising culture to Holland".
Martijn Simoons Joins the McCann-Erickson Team in Geneva as Art Director
Martijn Simoons joins the team of McCann-Erickson, Geneva as ADHead of the week
"England and Sweden have a similar advertising culture to Holland"
For the sake of his French wife, Martijn Simoons left his beloved Amsterdam to settle in Geneva. However, his wife, who was born in the French Alps, also had to make a compromise and move near Geneva - for Martijn Simoons, a job in France was never an option. The French culture was still too foreign for him. Despite his French partner, he was also not yet familiar with the language. So although he lives in neighboring France, he followed the exciting presidential elections more like an outsider. And he still has to make friends with Francophone humor. The same applies to Germany, by the way.
Switzerland is the first country that the 29-year-old has left Holland for in order to change careers. He sees Geneva as an international city, and Switzerland is closer to him as a country than France. The Swiss are like the Dutch: cosmopolitan and particularly interested in what happens outside their borders. He thinks that Switzerland would do well to think carefully about joining the European Union. He secretly admires the Swiss for their courage to go it alone. Simoons could also well imagine working in England or Sweden one day, because the advertising culture of these two countries is very similar to that of Holland, he says.
Agency life in Holland is much more hectic than here in Switzerland, says Martijn Simoons after three months working at McCann-Erickson, Geneva. In the agencies in the Netherlands, he was particularly annoyed by lone fighters who defended their own ideas by any means necessary in order to achieve success, regardless of their colleagues. At McCann, Geneva, he likes the team spirit and the mutual respect with which they want to achieve a good result together. On the other hand, everyone is free to express their opinion, even if it is critical, without being intimidated.
The Dutchman has a rather distanced relationship with advertising, and Martijn Simoons is therefore more influenced by personal contact with other people. Above all, Martijn Simoons wants to contribute his experience with major clients to the team. Another challenge for him at the Geneva agency is the international nature of the team. For him, advertising is a solid craft. But if you want to stand out from the average, you have to be prepared to want to understand what is happening in the world, even if many things are difficult to understand and contradict your own thinking, he believes. Anita Vaucher
"England and Sweden have a similar advertising culture to Holland"
For the sake of his French wife, Martijn Simoons left his beloved Amsterdam to settle in Geneva. However, his wife, who was born in the French Alps, also had to make a compromise and move near Geneva - for Martijn Simoons, a job in France was never an option. The French culture was still too foreign for him. Despite his French partner, he was also not yet familiar with the language. So although he lives in neighboring France, he followed the exciting presidential elections more like an outsider. And he still has to make friends with Francophone humor. The same applies to Germany, by the way.
Switzerland is the first country that the 29-year-old has left Holland for in order to change careers. He sees Geneva as an international city, and Switzerland is closer to him as a country than France. The Swiss are like the Dutch: cosmopolitan and particularly interested in what happens outside their borders. He thinks that Switzerland would do well to think carefully about joining the European Union. He secretly admires the Swiss for their courage to go it alone. Simoons could also well imagine working in England or Sweden one day, because the advertising culture of these two countries is very similar to that of Holland, he says.
Agency life in Holland is much more hectic than here in Switzerland, says Martijn Simoons after three months working at McCann-Erickson, Geneva. In the agencies in the Netherlands, he was particularly annoyed by lone fighters who defended their own ideas by any means necessary in order to achieve success, regardless of their colleagues. At McCann, Geneva, he likes the team spirit and the mutual respect with which they want to achieve a good result together. On the other hand, everyone is free to express their opinion, even if it is critical, without being intimidated.
The Dutchman has a rather distanced relationship with advertising, and Martijn Simoons is therefore more influenced by personal contact with other people. Above all, Martijn Simoons wants to contribute his experience with major clients to the team. Another challenge for him at the Geneva agency is the international nature of the team. For him, advertising is a solid craft. But if you want to stand out from the average, you have to be prepared to want to understand what is happening in the world, even if many things are difficult to understand and contradict your own thinking, he believes. Anita Vaucher
