Head of the week: The direct

Andreas Mädler's new workplace is located in an old building that could also be an apartment building. Only a few company names on the sonnerie reveal that this is not primarily a place to live, but a place to work. Steps that make a noise when stepped on and a wooden banister that swings elegantly around the corners lead to the second top floor. Here, in an apartment with parquet flooring and bright rooms that each offer space for two to four workstations, Noise is at home.

An old apartment for a modern company. Since its founding in 2001, the cross-media agency has relied on technology and a team that consists of consultants and creatives on one half and programmers and online specialists on the other. While Noise has steadily expanded its online expertise, the creative approach is now to be strengthened as well. For the latter, the owners Patrik Leuenberger and Christian Frey brought Andreas Mädler on board as Creative Director this summer. His task is to take the tech-savvy agency forward creatively.

But what brought Mädler, who worked at industry giants like Springer & Jacoby in Hamburg, later at Krieg Schlupp Bürge KSB and until recently at JWT/ Fabrikant in Zurich, to the manageable cross-media agency? "It was a conscious decision to move to a smaller agency," explains Mädler. Previously, as a CD, he always had people around or above him. Many decisions had to be made by consensus or approved by superiors. At Noise, he is now solely responsible for the creative output. "Here's an opportunity to prove myself. I wanted to see how much of an impact I could make." A 14-person team is at his side. "We're not that broad, but I have everything I need at Noise."

Mädler has already tried out how far he can get on his own as a freelancer. A time in which he got to know different agencies and processes. At the same time, he longed for something like "a sense of belonging to the family," for being an integral part of a team again. He regretted that as a freelancer he was left out of many processes and decisions. And there was something else he missed as a freelancer: the pleasure of being part of the implementation of ideas. So when he decided to leave JWT/Fabrikant this spring, it was clear that he wanted to be part of an agency team again. Nevertheless: Why something new again? After all, Mädler had only been with JWT/Fabrikant for a year. "It just wasn't a good fit," he explains. His time at his last employer is a topic he prefers to leave out. "We parted on good terms."

Clear and unambiguous Mädler pays meticulous attention to his choice of words. Actually, however, it runs counter to him to express himself diplomatically. The North German doesn't like to mince words. "The Hamburg way of expressing things is quite direct, which is usually not meant in a bad way at all, but for Swiss ears it is certainly very harsh. To what extent his directness is due to his origins and to what extent to his personality, however, is difficult to say. Mädler also personally dislikes having to bend. He is a fan of clear words. For the most part, he now chooses the happy medium: "I can't beat around the bush too much. Nevertheless, I refrain from making very direct statements. I don't want to step on anyone's toes." But if things do get loud, Mädler has no problem with it.

But since moving to Switzerland, the creative has had less need for the "thick skin" he acquired during his time at Springer & Jacoby. The fact that the climate here is generally milder than at the Hamburg advertising agency became clear to him when he joined KSB seven years ago. For his first internal presentation, he had 15 ideas in his quiver - even though he knew that half of them were no good. Simply "to have some cannon fodder". Because that's how he had learned it at Springer & Jacoby. All ideas were "basically crap at first" and were "blown out of proportion. Those who came up with masses of ideas had a clear advantage. Not so with the Zurich agency. Mädler was perplexed when even the bad ideas were discussed - probably out of politeness, as he explains it. Until finally he said, "Come on, get rid of the snot." Immediately his words were defused with a smile.

Direct and clear - yet cheeky and funny, that's how Mädler also likes creative output. Advertising should be understandable and informative. Nevertheless, he says, it would be a shame if the entertainment aspect were lost. "I quite like to laugh." However, he doesn't know what to do with "thigh-slapping". Mädler is more interested in dry humor. It has to be sober and "sophisticated. The creative director at KSB has demonstrated this with TV commercials for Coop, among others. Or with ads for VW that dramatized what it looks like without all-wheel drive: While the headline promises a view of a mountain landscape, the driver is stuck in the tunnel.

Creation and innovation Mädler now wants to assert his creative claims at Noise. However, there is little sign of the hunt-for-creative-prizes culture that he got to know at Springer & Jacoby, among others, at the cross-media agency. He is not sad about that. "I've never been a fan of gold ideas. Awards are great. But it's much more awesome when they come from a real brief." He finds it more exciting than "creating an ad for the dog salon around the corner" to work for a client in the longer term. Raising the profile of a brand or changing its image. Like during his time in Hamburg, for example, when it was a matter of rejuvenating the Mercedes brand, freeing it from the image of the old man's car.

Although he does not describe himself as a "big trophy collector," Mädler has a few awards in his cabinet. He has, among other things, cubes from ADC Germany and ADC Switzerland as well as lions and shortlist placements in Cannes. While Noise is not primarily about creative prizes, Mädler's primary goal is to ensure that the agency "slides forward a bit in the minds of clients." "Andreas' presence already has a noticeable effect," says owner Leuenberger. "The team is sensitized and knows that the bar is now higher in terms of creation." Conversely, Mädler wants to benefit from the technological knowledge and collaboration in the cross-functional team. He looks forward to exchanging ideas with people from different directions: "The interface is what's exciting." Mädler already has a few ideas ready for the cross-media agency's clients. For Amplifon, a company specializing in hearing solutions, for example, he could imagine handling communications even more on channels where hearing plays an important role. Or linking the segments of Post-it's cross-media campaign even better in the future, i.e. creating a clearer allocation between consumers and office workers.

A circumstance that the current campaign is still somewhat neglecting. Mädler can only benefit from the technical know-how of his colleagues. The creative hopes that the online specialists will draw attention to new forms of media use. But the proximity to technology should also open the door for his own inventions. As a member of the jury for the "Promo & Activation" category in Cannes this year, Mädler observed that it is trendy to develop products for advertising campaigns. The creative was delighted, for example, by the campaign of the German Aids Foundation, for which a machine was constructed that spits out helium-filled foam crosses. Placed behind billboards, the crosses rose into the air and drew the attention of passers-by to the advertising campaign. Mädler was also enthusiastic about the idea of an Arabic pizza delivery service that had a buzzer produced for loyal customers. The idea: In the event of a "pizza emergency", the hungry customer only has to press the button - and his favorite pizza will be delivered to his home. Calling was yesterday!

"It's about drawing customers in," Mädler said. "Any idea that creates an emotional experience is better than one that doesn't." So why not invent new products to bring ideas to life? After all, at Noise, the creative person has the right experts on his side.

Isabel Imper