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Ads on Instagram Stories: An Introduction

If you haven’t heard about Instagram Stories yet, you probably belong to Gen X, or are maybe a Baby Boomer, but you’re definitely not a Millennial. So, in case you’ve missed it, open up your Instagram app and check out those little circles above your feed.

You can watch an Instagram Story for up to 24 hours and you can play them continuously. You can see all of your friends’ stories with just one tap of your finger.. It’s similar to Snapchat, but it takes place under the watchful supervision of Mark Zuckerberg.

Competition

Snapchat claims that 40% of Snapchatters are not using Instagram, so there’s a serious chance you won’t reach everyone you want, though we’re not sure if this claim is justified.. What would be awesome, is if there was an app that would allow us to send out a Story/Snap in both apps simultaneously. That way, none of our friends or followers would ever have to miss a moment of our fantastic, adventurous lives. (Un)fortunately however, there isn’t one.  

Instagram Stories ads

But wait. This article is about Instagram Stories. If a popular app or app feature within the Facebook empire hits an X amount of active users, they will start monetizing it. And you guessed it, that’s exactly what’s happening right now.

If you have been watching Instagram Stories frequently in the last couple of months, you must have seen ads blending into your friends’ feed. So, between your brother’s baby and your colleague’s trip to Bali, you might have seen Ben & Jerry’s in there promoting their ice cream with a full screen vertical video.

To introduce the new Pint Slices to their fans, Ben & Jerry’s developed unique, creative ads for Stories so they could be where their fans are with a fun message they can enjoy.. Their goal was to share creative content while keeping the feeling right within the context of Stories.

A full screen experience to communicate your message to a targeted audience. Sounds awesome, right? But do people actually want to watch a 15 second ad between the short and probably funny stories of the people and brands they’re actively following?? No way!

So, how do you get people to remember your ad? Use large branding, it helps in driving awareness and because people can’t check the ad later on, you need to get your message across very quickly, before it disappears. Keep your ad simple, and take advantage of the full screen. We also think that you should stay away from using smooth, slick cuts and edits and just keep it real, but we will test this hypothesis in the coming months, stay tuned.

You can’t use Instagram Stories Ad for all campaign objectives. Mainly, you should use it to drive brand/product awareness, to make announcements, or to drive traffic/conversions and generate app installs.

Learning by doing

Usually it takes a while before clients/brands warm up to new ad placements and Instagram Stories is still a relatively new feature, so it might take a while before it really catches on. Pro tip: start using Instagram Stories yourself to get comfortable with the feature first. If you believe in storytelling, adding Instagram Stories ads to your social media strategy could be a great choice.

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A day at The Next Web

If you ever get the chance to attend The Next Web conference: never hesitate. A full day of creative, funny and awesome insights will give you a jumpstart full of inspiration for the upcoming months of work.

I was lucky enough to attend the first day of TNW in Amsterdam and got to experience talks about technology, design, data, algorithms and Millennials. These talks presented the visitors with new methods, work ethics and insights to handle the latest trends and flaws in the digital world.

All these talks were given by highly inspiring and successful people. The sheer amount of information is hard to keep in mind if you don't take notes. So today, I like to share with you: the notes of my four favourite talks.

1. ’Calm technology’ by Amber Case

When you think about technology, you probably think about beeps, pings, buzzes and Siri who makes you talk to her like a moron to make her understand your point. In other words: the communication between technology and humans has a long way to go. So how can you design technology that becomes a part of a user’s life and not a distraction from it? Amber Case explores the concept of Calm technology, a method for smoothly capturing a user’s attention only when necessary, while calmly remaining in the background most of the time.

2. ’A practical guide to Accelerating Innovation’ by Mark Randall

So in his talk, Mark Randall (VP of Creativity at Adobe) shared an important aspect that has helped shape his career.

He explains that you should ask yourself two questions: 1. What is your passion, the problems you care about and the priorities that really matter to you? And 2. How can I step out of my comfort zone, push my boundaries and improve my skills? If you know the answers to these questions, you’re in control of creating your own dream job. And please take note: Mark Randall tells us that there is no dream job you can find, only the one you can create yourself.

3. ’Using Data for Content’ by Kodi Foster

Now that social media algorithms are functioning as the proxy between people and content, content creators and marketers must now design and target the machines to understand and reach fans. If these machines and tools are surfacing content based on audiences responses to either fakes news, biases or our own social mistakes, what does this mean for how we need to analyse the data to understand these audiences so that we can effectively engage them? Kodi really had a good point regarding the fact that we rely too much on these social tools and that we aren’t questioning if the data we receive gives us the right impression of our audience. To fully explain his story have a look at his full Using data for content talk

4. ’What are millennials thinking?’ by Ray Chan

From cereal to sex, from Asians to Americans, what exactly are Millennials thinking? Ray gave us a sneak peek of all the secrets and truths 9GAG finds in a global study among its 150 million audience. From Germans who rather give up social sharing to keep their right to vote, to the majority of Italians giving up internet if they had to choose between the www and sex. Nobody really knows what Millennials are thinking unless you research them actively like for example 9gag does.

In the end

This of course is just a fraction of what the event has to offer, but hopefully this TNW knowledge will give you a great head start. So fill out your agenda for 2018 and good luck and see you next year at TNW?

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Millennial Marketing: must do’s in 2017

Irritatingly long dial-up sounds to access the internet, hours of Mario Kart on your Nintendo64, a colored tongue from fireballs, empty Gameboy Color batteries, swapping Pokémon cards in the school yard, Mambo No.5 on your discman and addicted to playing snake on your Nokia 3310. Sounds familiar? Then you must be a Millennial.

Currently the biggest generation alive; everyone aged between around 17 and 35 is a Millennial. According to Wikipedia, Millennials are generally sociable, socially engaged, creative and broad-minded. Brands are fighting over Millennials as their target group, but how can you truly reach them? How can you genuinely make an impact?

1. Be where they are It will come as no surprise that Millennials are above-average ‘mobile’, they spend on average 33% more time on their mobile phones than Generation X (aged 34-47) and 113% more than the Babyboomers (aged 48-67) (Source: TNS Nipo).

Must do 1: Ensure that ALL your content is designed mobile first. And do it properly. Think accelerated mobile pages (AMP) in Google, vertical videos with legible subtitling and, well, just … mobile-friendly everything.

One example of a company that does this well is Walibi Holland. With the aim of attracting 14-25-year-old Millennials to a theme park, TamTam (part of Dept) helped to transform the family park into an amusement park for teenagers and young adults. To show that Walibi is the place to find excitement like no other, the term #HARDGAAN (go fast) was claimed. It started with the roll-out of a smart, mobile-first website focusing on perception and conversion, and a smart Snapchat campaign to bring #HARDGAAN to the right target group. With success: using mobile campaigns and optimizing the mobile channels increased mobile ticket sales by 305%.

The figures further demonstrate what we already know: the use of traditional media is in decline compared with previous generations. Compared with Babyboomers, Millennials watch less TV (-43%), listen to the radio less (-60%) and read fewer newspapers and magazines (-67%). Millennials' interest lies increasingly with online TV and online videos. They use social media as much as 100% more than Babyboomers.

A strong presence on Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram speaks for itself nowadays. But what about your YouTube channel? Did you even set up your page yet? According to TNS Nipo and Google, Millennials are "mad for YouTube" and "consume enormous volumes of video". YouTube reaches 68% of Dutch 15-34-year-olds each week. Almost half (45%) of Dutch 15-34-year-olds use YouTube every day for around 20 minutes.

Must do 2: Build a YouTube community! Make someone responsible for your video strategy and make sure it's followed up. Start with a video that properly reflects your services. Consider engaging with an agency, or a freelancer, who knows how it works.

2. Speak their language Literally and figuratively. In the literal sense, you need to understand that the ‘corporate language’ that gave the Babyboomers a feeling of trust comes across as fake and dull to Millennials. Fluffy use of language and emojis, on the other hand, often feel unprofessional to the experienced communication and marketing employee. Nevertheless, we are witnessing a major shift from linear communication (text) to associative communication (imagery). In its research into Millennials, the Platform Innovatie in Marketing reports: “All millennials communicate with and understand this visual language, they grew up with it. Brands that want to be relevant experiment with new, smarter visual forms of communication."

Must do 3: Send your first mailing with emojis in the message title.  😄 👍

Given the high volume of visual and textual content that a Millennial encounters on a daily basis, susceptibility to traditional broadcast is in constant decline. Susceptibility to new marketing that is based on building relationships is growing. While we may doubt the actual social aspect of social media at times, the average Millennial is in digital contact with an awful lot of people every day. Millennials are addicted to interaction, so you need to be sure that they can also interact with your brand, and have the opportunity to build a relationship.

That's something a brand like Chocomel has understood well. Together with a friend of mine (part of Dept), they decided at the beginning of this year to join the experiment and broadcast a daily Chocomel weather report. The ‘Nice Weather’ campaign was a mix of the smart use of social video, humor featuring Jan Weerman and full-on interaction with the Facebook fan base. Unique in social media terms. The success was measured daily; What is the perfect length? Square of 16:9? Subtitles or not? What was learnt was applied immediately the next day. It was a steep learning curve that ensured that the films scored well both in reach and in view through rate.

Must do 4: First ensure that you have a good basis, that your social channels are in fact social. All the received messages and mentions are responded to quickly and in a fun way.

3. Talk about the future Millennials have an above-average interest in the future. It is a generation that adapts quickly to new technologies and innovation. So don't think that now you've got your marketing and communication fully up and running, that you can carry on as you are for the next ten years. If you want to continue appealing to this target group, you need to move with the times.

For example BPD, together with TamTam (part of Dept), was the first developer in the world to make it possible to buy a new house online. Buyers can drag a house to the digital shopping basket and insert a digital signature on the purchase contract. With the help of virtual reality, potential buyers have the chance to stroll through their new living area, experience the atmosphere in their neighborhood and view inside their new home.

Video: Buy your new home online with BPD

Must do 5: Make someone responsible for the implementation of new technologies. Think about the smart application of, for example, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, the internet of things and virtual assistants for your business.

By 'future', we don't just mean the nerdy stuff, by the way. The future of the world is also important to Millennials. “Simply saying you're ‘doing good’ for the world is by far not good enough. It needs to be more realistic. Millennials expect organizations to make a concrete and visible contribution. In a nutshell, they are aware, positive and realistic, and expect the same of brands.” (source: PIM Trendrapport 2016)

Must do 6: Make sure that you set out what your organization means for the world. Make this concrete, add details where necessary and communicate it internally and externally! But don't pat yourself on the back too much.

4. Stand out from the crowd Millennials have virtually grown up with the ‘endless scroll’ and so are really good at filtering content. In a fraction of a second, they subconsciously decide whether something is worth the effort of taking a closer look, or whether to continue scrolling.

Japie Stoppelenburg, creative director of Facebook marketing agency a friend of mine has written a book about Millennials: “You’re a legend, and everyone else sucks." Stoppelenburg claims that you need to be something of a stand-up comedian to gain online attention. “You push a joke, a picture or a video to half a million people. Can you be sure that thirty thousand people will think it's good enough to like, share or reply to it? Then you are doing well."

Must-do 7: Set your inner stand-up comedian to work. Don't have it in you? Find someone who does.

Examples of not doing well are easy to find, according to Japie: “Open your Facebook app right now. You'll see a good half a dozen films or photos from brands or companies that are trying too much. With a strange text, a handful of likes and five negative comments. That's how not to do it.”

So what does work? A snippet from the Facebook posts from a friend of mine:

 Follow these must-dos for 2017 to take a step in the right direction in your approach to Millennials. Remember that we are living in a rapidly changing world and that the average Millennial changes with it like a chameleon. So keep a close eye on online and tech developments and think about where you want to go with it, or indeed sometimes don't want to go with it.

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DubbelFrisss chooses a friend of mine for social content and activation

Following the brands Chocomel and Mona, FrieslandCampina now also chooses social agency a friend of mine (part of Dept) for its brand DubbelFrisss.

Using the hashtag #denkdubbel, DubbelFrisss wants to strengthen its profile with teenagers. Central in the campaign, developed by Achtung! McGarrybowen, is the mission to help teenagers turn their choices into chances. According to DubbelFrisss it helps to not choose, because why choose when you can have both? A friend of mine translates the TV ad, which is on air now, to social media. “It’s the cool combinations that make the difference for DubbelFrisss. Social media is obviously indispensable if the goal is to reach teenagers. ‘A friend of mine’ understood very well how we could translate this to successful social content and activation,” says Hidde Stolwijk, Community Manager, FrieslandCampina. Bas Heijnis, Creative at ‘a friend of mine’ (part of Dept): “It’s so fun to work on the #denkdubbel campaign and to find better ways to make the campaign resonate with the target audience. By looking through the eyes of teenagers and taking the subjects that interest them, we are able to make the best content and cool activation campaigns. So fun to work on this together!” ‘A friend of mine’ is part of Dept, an international network of leading digital agencies. From Europe and the United States over 400 talents combine creativity, technology and data for digital solutions, to help brands grow and make our lives easier. www.deptagency.com.

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5 questions to... Ash!

1. Tell us who you are and what you do at a friend of mine? I am a graphic designer that moved to Amsterdam 2.5 years ago from Melbourne Australia. 
During that time many people have asked me why I moved here – I always tell them it was my passion for the city and the amazing design industry that persuaded me to come. For me the exciting thing about digital is I get to connect people with ideas and play with a new level of communication. Design is more than what it looks and feels like. Design is how it works. Bringing useful, fun, functional and entertaining ideas to life is the core of great digital.

2. And if you weren’t doing that, what would you be or do in life? I would buy a rundown van and get completely lost in Europe where I could meet some incredible people along the way and see the amazing sites that this continent has to offer. Traveling in a van around Europe has always been on my wish list as you can go where you want, when you want and don't have to worry about booking anything, you are completely free.

3. So, about the job – what makes this job the best in the world? The creativity, the bubbly vibe of the office and working with friends. Everyone at AFOM has been so welcoming and supportive, it’s great to know people have your back when you are working on big projects with shorts deadlines, everyone is willing to help out to get the best possible outcome.

4. What is the most disgusting designed website you know – how would you change it? www.donaldjtrump.com. 
I would change it by deleting it from existence (oh, not before contributing money first - He doesn’t seem to have enough 😜).

5. What is more important for a creative product, concept or design? Of course a good concept and design are both essential but I think the concept is more important. With a concept you can rapidly explore and refine ideas to create something never seen by somebody before. Having an experimental or strikingly different concept can lead the way to exceptional design.

BONUS QUESTION: What’s the biggest difference between Australian and Dutch design? - enough said:

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5 questions to… Tim!

Tell us who you are and what you do at a friend of mine? I'm Tim – yes, another one – people tend to give me nicknames though and currently I’m known as TJ. At a friend of mine I started as one of the new campaign managers in team advertising. And you know what’s awesome? I just live around the corner from the office – in awesome Kattenburg!

And if you weren’t doing that, what would you be or do in life? A hobo on a surfboard in Australia or somewhere in a tropical paradise. Honestly, if it would have taken me too long to find a job, I would have left Amsterdam and spread my wings elsewhere. I am always hungry for new life experiences!

So, about the job – what makes this job the best in the world? The first couple of days I heard my colleagues talking about campaigns using advertising terminology and I felt like a polar bear in the Sahara desert. But, I am learning a lot and I am enjoying my time more and more every day! It is so much fun working with very different clients in a super cool social world that changes every day. Also, we have a young and fresh team and everybody is keen to help me get through the first period! Sounds like a perfect place to start a career, right? :)  

Which brand would you love to show how to enhance its advertisement? Uhm, I would love to work with Red Bull! I just love their events, content and advertising... I guess they are doing a real good job already. ;)

What do you think is the coolest place on earth to show your ad? Burning Man – but that is probably against their principles, haha! Well, there are so many cool places on earth. I have been in New Zealand a couple of years ago, one of the coolest places on earth with the most laid back people.

Bonus question: What is the coolest advertisement you have ever seen? Maybe the Bavaria dress guerilla one during WC 2010 – I know, bad Dutch memories – in South Africa; It got a lot of media attention, it was super smart! Also tons of Nike and Red Bull advertisements are nice. By the way, don't forget that a friend of mine wins a lot of awards for their cool ads!

Any last words before going live? One day, Wouter and I will make people – especially Imminga and Mark – crawl after a fussball match!

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5 questions to... Patricia!

1. Tell us who you are and what you do at a friend of mine? Hi, I’m Patricia, the – somewhat – new (junior) designer at a friend of mine – responsible for pixel perfect designs!

2. And if you weren’t doing that, what would you be or do in life? I would go and cry in a corner, because nothing beats design, right?! No seriously, I wouldn’t know. Perhaps something in architecture or sports. Actually, I like Football, so Football Reporter comes to mind. Getting paid while watching a game... that’s something I definitely can get used to!

3. Ah yeah, we heard you’re quite the football type. Can you describe your ultimate dream team? Oof, that’s a tough one. The best team would be the team of which I’m already part of, my futsal-team: ‘The Counters’ - dames 1 – that’s my personal dream team :) But ok, if we’re gonna take the pro’s in consideration, I would go with an offensive team with players such as Andrea Pirlo, Xabi Alonso, Thiago Alcântara, Mesut Özil, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Douglas Costa for all kinds of creative combinations in the midfield and front. In the back I would like to see Thiago Silva, Vincent Kompany and Laurent Koscielny. And to finalise the dream team: Gianluigi Buffon on goal.

4. Sounds great! ...can you design their shirt? 😁 Haha, I’m afraid they would NEVER wear it. But I heard we got quite the football talents in the office, so here’s a better idea; how about an AFOM-shirt? (Adidas of course, because it’s our boss’s – Japie – favourite clothing brand.) And if we we’re not gonna use it, I bet our table foosball players will. Anyway, I already made the design. Take a look:

5. Looks awesome! Now tell us how we, a friend of mine, can even become a better team – don’t worry, this is not a trick question! Ok well, above all: I think we need to stay eager to learn. Every day. And when we learned something, we need to share that information. So we can benefit from it as a team, resulting in the best work for our clients, I’m sure!

BONUS QUESTION: What’s your favourite football team? Haha, you expected me to say Ajax didn’t you? Well, I like them, but FC Barcelona is my favourite team of all time – I love their combination of teamplay and creativity. Next to that I’m a big fan of FC Twente’s woman’s team, because a ‘real’ friend of mine plays there.

…anything else on your mind? Well, I’m planning on moving to Amsterdam… But it’s tough finding something. So if you – the reader – know something, please let me know :)

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Dept agencies scoop six awards at DIA and SAN accenten

Dept agencies a friend of mine and TamTam scooped six awards at the Dutch Interactive Awards ceremony and the SAN accenten.

Now in its seventh year, the Dutch Interactive Awards, which celebrate the best interactive work in the Netherlands, was held in the Beurs van Berlage last night, where a jury of heavyweight industry experts rated 78 projects on strategy, design and results.

a friend of mine won gold in the ‘best social’ category with its creative social media strategy for UK-based drinks manufacturer Yazoo, and also scooped a silver DIA in the ‘brand’ category for the results of its work with Dutch insurance firm Coöperatie DELA. In the same category, fellow Dept agency TamTam picked up the gold award for its work with Doctors without Borders, for its effective use of content and storytelling.

TamTam visual designer and upcoming talent Dionne van Dijk was awarded the prestigious Dutch Interactive Professional Award for ‘Best in Visual Design’ in the Netherlands.

Meanwhile in Hilversum at the SAN accenten, a friend of mine won two awards for the best campaigns of the year. Coöperatie DELA won in the ‘financial’ service’ category with its ‘Wat je meegeeft’ campaign, delivered in collaboration with Ogilvy & Mather Amsterdam. In the ‘corporate’ category, a friend of mine won the top prize with its ‘Dutch Masters of Light’ campaign for Philips Benelux, also delivered in collaboration with Ogilvy & Mather Amsterdam.

a friend of mine and TamTam are both part of Dept - an international network of leading digital agencies. Together with sister agencies Building Blocks, Expand Online and Second Degree, they combine creativity, technology and data to deliver digital products and services that build brands, grow businesses and make people’s lives easier.

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A friend of mine launches Dept and expands to three countries

Today digital agency a friend of mine and its sister agencies launched Dept, a new overall brand that will serve as the foundation for the network’s growth ambitions. The first step in international expansion has already been accomplished with digital agency Building Blocks, with offices in the UK, US and Spain, joining the network.

Within Dept, each brand will continue to operate under its own name. “The added value of our partnership is obvious, but we believe in the power of the existing brands,” said Paul Manuel, co-founder of Dept. “Over the next few years we will roll out Dept internationally in a way that supports the individual labels. Our approach is based on the principle of ‘specialist first’, rather than ‘network first’, because we want to keep the entrepreneurship and knowledge within the individual agencies.”

Bart Manuel, also a co-founder of Dept: “By working together closely and learning from each other’s expertise, we are able to produce work for clients that keeps getting better. For clients we also have the advantage of being able to combine international scale with the speed and knowledge of local specialists. Dept is a blend of creativity, technology and data that enables us to articulate our client’s digital business all the way up to boardroom level.”

We are.. Dept from Dept Agency on Vimeo.

Today Dept welcomed digital agency Building Blocks, with offices in Manchester, Boston and Zaragoza. The new agency brings with it additional expertise in Sitecore and SDL Tridion. Building Blocks is known for its experience in rolling out complex international platforms for clients such as Guinness World Records, BT and Regus. The agency employs more than 75 people and saw a 19% increase in revenues last year.

Speaking of the partnership with Building Blocks, Paul Manuel said: “We are delighted to have our colleagues at Building Blocks on board. We were a good fit from the start. We are closely aligned in terms of culture, business ethos and wanting to produce the very best work for our clients. It will also help us put Dept more firmly on the international map.”

Dept currently consists of five companies: TamTam, Expand Online, a friend of mine, Second Degree and Building Blocks. As a whole the group employs around 350 people in four countries and generates about €45 million in annual revenues.

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Facebook Video Takeaway

Silent Engagement, Effective Video Creative and New Opportunities brought to you by Wouter!

Silent Engagement

When we use video (ads) on Facebook and Instagram, we often report on loud engagement metrics; likes, shares and comments. But what if I told you Facebook’s algorithm is not only based on these metrics? I would like to drop this statement: silent engagement is as important or even more important than loud engagement.

I will tell you why. Actions people take on videos such as turning on sound, turning the volume up, enabling HD or making the video full screen are now part of the algorithm. This is on top of recent changes that included video views and time spent watching the video into the algorithm.

So make sure you encourage people to take action the silent way, as well as the loud way. Likes, shares and comments still count, but please be conscious of silent engagement as well!

Effective Video Creative

What creative elements help video ads stand out in the users’ mobile feed? First of all, you have to overcome the sound barrier by using visual signals.

Facebook researched this matter in Q4 of 2015 and it turns out only 24% of the rated ads were understandable without sound. So what can you do about this? It’s easy! Use subtitles and brand cues – preferably in the first few seconds – to make ads more fitting for the feed-based environment, even without sound. Or, do like Red Bull did, by referring to the sound in the copy of the post.

In the same research Facebook says that video ads need to be adapted for mobile (compared to eg TV ads) to drive better results. The strongest ad recall scores occur when the video ad showcased the product or services, included conversations and brand links and got the message across succinctly with the right amount of information.

The best way to ensure that video creative works in the mobile feed is to build with mobile in mind from the start. If that’s not possible; cutting, editing and reworking long-form video ads can be an effective way to create proper video ads for the mobile feed. Make sure to check out some examples here.

New Opportunities

Video opportunities on Facebook and Instagram are increasing. The recent news that all iPhone and Android phone users can broadcast live video on Facebook is great and we recommend you to read the Live Video Best Practices.

Next to this, 360° video is quite new on Facebook. A 360 video is created with a camera system that simultaneously records all 360 degrees of a scene. Viewers can pan and rotate a 360 video's perspective to watch it from different angles. This format is available on most Desktop browsers (excluding Safari or IE) and on iOS (iPhone 4S / iPad 2 or newer) and Android (4.3 or later) mobile devices as well. You can learn how we can boost a post with 360 video here and the video can be embedded on your website of choice as well. Also, make sure to check out some example 360 videos.

Oh, and two more things. Did you know Instagram not only supports square videos? You are allowed to use a 1.9:1-1:1 aspect ratio. Next to that, the maximum video length was recently extended to 60 seconds.

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5 questions to… Wouter!

Tell us who you are and what you do at a friend of mine? I’m Wouter, the brand new Campaign Manager in the widely praised Advertising team at a friend of mine. I live in the picturesque village of Nieuw-Vennep, nearby Schiphol. I have a broad experience in media, as I worked for SBS Broadcasting (television) and Zoomin.TV (online video) before I joined a friend of mine. I’ve always been passionate about Social Media, so I’m super happy that I can finally combine passion with work!

And if you weren’t doing that, what would you be or do in life? I would love to have my own bed&breakfast on the Gili Islands, help the orangutans in Sumatra, have my own kitesurf school in Aruba or teach Bolivian kids how to speak English. Really, everything is possible and maybe someday I will do one of these things for real!

So, about the job – which channel do you think generates most revenue in ads, Tv, Radio or Internet? Ten years ago it would have been television, but right now Internet is where the television revenues have shifted towards and I believe it's already the medium with the highest revenues. Besides that, it has the most possibilities in terms of (measurable) performance and targeting. A lot of advertisers think we still need television to reach a large (and old..) audience, but I've heard Facebook is pretty big too, right!?

Which brand would you love to show how to enhance its advertisement? I'm not saying they're not doing a good job now, but I have some major brands in mind that I would love to help, like Nike, Coca-Cola, Heineken, McDonald's, IKEA or Canon. Dream big or don't dream at all! But on the other hand, it might be even cooler to help relatively new global brands like Uber or Airbnb enhance their advertisement.

How does it feel to spend all this money for your clients? It's not about spending, it's about results. As long as we deliver, keep the money coming :)

Bonus question: tell us; is it true that all advertisements lie? Red Bull really does give you wings and Subway's footlong sandwich is actually a foot long. So what are you talking about?

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a friend of mine and Second Degree join forces with TamTam

On April 1st, a friend of mine and Second Degree will join forces with digital agency TamTam. Together they will continue to build an international network of digital agencies that can create digital customer experiences from A to Z.

Last year a friend of mine led the Emerce 100 list as the number one social agency in the Netherlands. Second Degree is market leader in LinkedIn marketing in the Netherlands. After similar partnerships with Supersteil (UX & Design) and Expand Online (Online Marketing), these are the third and fourth specialists to join the network around digital agency TamTam. The group now includes more than 260 digital specialists.

Marcel van der Heijden, founder of a friend of mine: “Having started out as a ‘Facebook agency’ four years ago, we have now grown into a digital agency with a social heart. With a team of 30 people we work for well-known national and international brands, and now it’s time for the next step. Our shared passion for entrepreneurship and love of digital make us feel very much at home within the group. Our aim is simple: keep growing and making extraordinary work together.”

Martine Meijburg, founder of Second Degree: “We have been in business for three years and every day we see further proof that B2B marketing on LinkedIn is an enormous growth market. We work with top clients and our turnover and workforce have tripled in size in the last year, but we have had to turn down many promising projects to maintain the quality of our work. This is a great opportunity to get Second Degree to the next level.”

The four agencies will each retain their own name while offering clients the advantages of shared knowledge and joint project teams. The partnership will give them instant access to key Facebook, Instagram, Google, Twitter and LinkedIn business partners in the Netherlands. This will ensure that wide consideration is given to digital customer journeys and the media that can be used most effectively to create digital customer experience.

Dimi Albers, Managing Director of TamTam: “We are very proud of the fact that two of the best agencies in the Netherlands in the area of campaigning, social and LinkedIn marketing have chosen to join us. We complement each other perfectly in terms of our range of services and culture and we can’t wait to start working in partnership for clients!”

For more information please contact Marcel van der Heijden (marcel@afriendofmine.nl / 06-38306863)

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5 questions to... Ronan!

Tell us who you are and what you do at a friend of mine? Hey, I’m Ronan. I recently moved to Amsterdam from the distant shores of Dublin, Ireland (a whole hour away by plane). I’m a front-end developer at a friend of mine, a role with requires a healthy mix of creative and logical thinking. Together with the rest of the development team, I make the awesome concepts of the creatives and designers into realities. And if you weren’t doing that, what would you be or do in life?  I'd love to own or work in a music store if I couldn't work with web stuff. 

So, about the job – what is the most beautiful line of code you have ever seen?  stop(); // hammer time Moral question: torrent downloading – crime or privilege? I used to download lots of torrents when I was younger and had no money to buy music. By doing so I discovered a huge amount of stuff that I wouldn't have heard otherwise. Now that I'm a bit older, I've built up a record collection, and a lot it is made up of music from artists I found by downloading torrents. So, in my case it has resulted in artists and record labels earning more money in the long run. I'd definitely say it's a privilege. Which would you liked to have had invented, Facebook, Google or Amazon? I'd choose Google. I remember using Altavista as a search engine for years before Google rose to prominence and internet search was still an open market. Google since became synonymous with the internet for most people, and I think it would have been incredibly exciting to have been involved in the company at the time when it was experiencing its rapid growth and on its way to becoming a household name. Bonus question: what’s the biggest difference between Dublin and Amsterdam? For me, there are two things which really stand out since I arrived: The first is the great cultural life in the Amsterdam - between concerts, art, festivals and theatre there's always a lot of interesting things to choose from. The second thing is how easy it is to get around... the compact size of Amsterdam and how well it's set up for cycling means it never takes long to get anywhere.

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5 questions to... Jordy!

Tell us who you are and what you do at a friend of mine? I’m Jordy, producer at a friend of mine. I live in Rotterdam – the city where I was born 27 years ago. As a producer I make sure we get sh*t done. That’s all there is to it really, haha.

And if you weren’t doing that, what would you be or do in life? I can’t imagine a life without a friend of mine, but there are some things on the side I enjoy very much. For example: I’ve taught New Media en Media & culture at university a couple of times, that was really cool. I might do that more often. Next to that, I got a sneaker fetish. So yeah, probably something with sneakers. Perhaps an online store, not sure yet.

We believe you’re quite the party animal. Could you describe us your dream festival? Haha, are the bags under my eyes showing? But yeah, I like parties. My dream festival is probably a combination of a couple of Dutch festivals: Pitch, Lowlands and Appelsap. Mainly because I enjoy Lowland’s camping vibe – you can find me at the camping ground instead of the festival terrain. And then there’s Pitch. Their program is boss. I would definitely leave the camping ground for that one, haha. Oh and I picked Appelsap third because of their Hip-Hop line-up. I love Hip-Hop.

By the way, we like your clothing style. What is your favourite brand, and why? Why, thank you! Well, I can’t get around this one: for me it’s Nike all the way. (Don’t tell Kanye, haha.)

What is the last thing you posted on Facebook? I don’t post often to Facebook, really. I think my last post was about some event promotion I did for a friend of mine – a real friend of mine ;)

Bonus question: 010 or 020? 010. Easy one!

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5 questions to... Frank!

Tell us who you are and what you do at a friend of mine? I’m Frank Ouwerkerk – a copywriter, but first and foremost a creative at a friend of mine. Everyday I try to connect the dots between brand and target audience by creating relevant content.

And if you weren’t doing that, what would you be or do in life? Next to writing, I play the drums in a rock band. But then again, I ain’t exactly rock ’n roll material so instead, I’d just stick to being a creative at a friend of mine ;-)

Are you more a cat or a dog kind of person? I operate sneaky and silent, while plotting and scheming… Er, I mean, I’m man’s best friend but I prefer things to run smooth and steady instead of making noise without any clue. (I just noted we have a company dog, so forget what I said.)

What is the best invention since the internet? Flying cars, hoverboards, robots and… Well, actually anything SCI-FI. Although I must admit: some of these inventions only work through internet. So the next gen internet might be the best invention!

What is the last thing you posted on Facebook? That I was browsing furniture online while listening to The Sims soundtrack (Buy Mode). It was quite soothing, but made me spend A LOT more :-P

Bonus question: plata o plomo? Hey, that’s my line!

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AFOM wishes you a happy 2016!

2015 came, saw and conquered. The past year was crazy busy, filled with fun, a beer here and there and amazing projects! We want to thank each and every one of you for the last twelve months! Without you guys we couldn't have done it. For real. 2016, here we come!

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5 questions to... Bas!

Tell us who you are and what you do at a friend of mine? My name is Bas Heijnis. I’m a creative here at a friend of mine. The contemporary creative culture is what keeps me busy. My role here is creating captivating campaigns by concepting and designing, storytelling and with that, creating data with a soul.

Are you more an Adidas or a Nike kind of person? I'm right in between, wearing Adidas sneakers right now, but the tower of Nike shoeboxes in my bedroom says it all...

Which award in the business would you most like to win? I’d be happy to write my speech for my Grammy.

What is more important for a creative campaign, concept or design? Design has to catch someone’s attention first for them to acces the concept of the idea. So I believe design is probably more important.

What is the last thing you posted on Facebook? A product called The Pussycat Riot, a ‘heroic cat collective that fights against internet censorship’. They created a scratching pole in the shape of a so-called dictator (for instance Kim Jong-Un) which you can buy to support their cause. Because you know: Freedom is knowledge. Knowledge is power. Cats know everything.