Content and form wins Stefan Näf as Chief Strategy Officer

With his many years of experience as Chief Strategy Officer and Managing Partner at Jung von Matt in Germany and Switzerland, he brings with him the necessary skillset from which the iundf Group can benefit for the next growth spurt.

m&k spoke to Stefan Näf and Dominik Stibal, CEO of the iundf Group.

m&k: Dominik, where does the iundf Group stand today - and what are the plans for the future?

Dominik Stibal: We started merging the disciplines of creation, tech and media over six years ago and have already been able to build up a lead over the competition. However, creative and strategic excellence at the interface between creation and technology also makes the difference between mediocrity and top performance. This is where we will expand massively.

Stefan Näf: I have known the iundf Group for a long time and have been lucky enough to get to know the teams and their way of working. What impresses me is the enormous technical depth, especially in areas such as campaigning, data-driven marketing, media and web development. With my arrival, we are consciously investing in strategic development - especially at the interface between creativity and technology.

Where can you, Stefan, take content and form even further in the future?

Stefan: The market is dynamic - and demanding. On the one hand, competition between agencies is growing, while on the other, client requirements have changed significantly. I see a real opportunity here for smaller agencies like the iundf Group. We think digital-first, act agilely, use data intelligently and develop individual solutions with high efficiency and proximity to the customer. This makes us a strong partner in a market that demands speed, relevance and impact.

What exactly will you contribute?

Stefan: I come with many years of experience in marketing, brand and communication strategy and look forward to bringing this perspective to the iundf Group. My goal is not only to improve strategically together with the team, but also to further develop the creative output - bold, relevant and future-proof.

Dominik: Stefan understands the interplay of strategic insights and creative excellence along the funnel like few others in Europe. He can bring this know-how to us and implement it for our clients. We enrich his experience, which he has gained at the largest and most successful brands in Europe, with our agility, speed and interdisciplinarity. Hands on with strategic vision.

Where do you see opportunities to better develop the potential for customers in the future?

Stefan: The know-how and expertise in the specialist agencies is huge. There is a saying: "If you are the smartest person in the room, leave the room" - these are rooms I want to stay in for longer. My job will be to improve the joint processes, integrate the interfaces even better and certainly add more smart and creative people here and there.

What role does AI play at iundf in the future positioning of the agency group?

Stefan: Logically, AI plays a very big role. Fortunately, iundf is home to many smart entrepreneurs who are constantly questioning the status quo. We are constantly adapting our agency model to the new possibilities and opportunities.

Dominik: AI is seamlessly integrated into our everyday lives, in line with our claim "Creativitiy meets Technology". We are keeping pace with developments, sounding out and embracing the new possibilities. The next step will be agents to improve interdisciplinary processes.

Customer needs and requirements have changed significantly in recent years. How can you make the success of marketing activities measurable? Across all disciplines?

Dominik: We consistently focus on the objectives of our customers. It is their goals that are to be achieved. To make success measurable across all disciplines, we rely on an integrated data strategy that includes both qualitative and quantitative KPIs.

Stefan: In creation, we measure brand awareness, engagement rates and conversion optimization. In media planning, we analyze reach, click rates, cost-per-click and return on ad spend (ROAS). In the tech area, we rely on tracking implementations, user tracking and attribution modeling to clearly understand the contribution of each measure to overall success. Ultimately, our approach combines all data points in a central platform to enable transparent performance measurement and thus continuously optimize the effectiveness of our measures. We will therefore do everything we can to become even more data-driven, creative and measurably more successful.

The iundf Group unites the four agencies Inhalt und Form, iundf Marketing Technology, iundf Media and iundf Dewave under one roof.