“For me, BTQUE is a conclusion I’ve reached with complete conviction”
Where are the people over 40 in the agencies? That was a valid question at the start of my career, when the industry was still young and hip (it still is, but it inevitably had to grow up). Today I’m 50 and feel as though I’ve been at home in the world of creativity and ideas for 40 years. To be precise, it’s now been 27 years in which I’ve never stopped learning and looking very closely.
I count myself lucky to have been able to work with so many outstanding individuals and within so many agency cultures, and for the most exciting brands in Germany and internationally. I’ve either met many of the industry’s leading lights and current stars in person before they retired to their country estates, or got to know them – and they me – whilst I was still an intern.
My career has been full of fresh inspiration, remarkable encounters, memorable moments and challenging work. But my career has been just as full of pain and hard lessons. Overtime, 1,000 ideas for the bin, just to find THE one. Clients who still hold me in the highest regard today, and clients who didn’t like me. Ideas created for awards and ideas that have revolutionised entire markets. Above all, for me it was a quest – a quest for what endures, the essence of brand work and marketing.
I’ve had the pleasure of weathering several economic crises and witnessing several revolutions in marketing. Digitalisation 1, 2, 3, 4.0. Is there a 5.0 yet? Brands suddenly had a ‘purpose’ (didn’t they before?). Etc. But ‘buzzword bingo’ was already a thing back in the 90s. Now that the agency world has almost priced itself out of existence and AI is supposedly increasingly undermining the value of strategic and creative work, we all need to take a long, hard look at ourselves and think very carefully about how we, as strategists and creatives, can once again generate value that is indispensable.
We could also retrain… that’s always an option, and many are doing just that. But the word ‘essence’ and the irony of the previous paragraph already hint at what I’m getting at. Even McKinsey confirms in its study ‘State of Marketing Europe 2026’, that it is people who make the difference – in conjunction with technology, of course – and that the brand is the number one area of focus for companies. The brand becomes a genuine identity and operating system for companies (Thank you! That’s exactly what happens when you take it seriously). Creativity is booming like never before – technology makes creativity seem effortless and simple – at first glance. The world is overflowing with offers and temptations – but also with interchangeability.
And this is where we’ve arrived: at the essence.
Differentiation takes work. Hard work. Work carried out by professionals who aren’t satisfied with the first thing that comes along, yet still deliver solutions quickly. It needs a foundation that is unshakeable and unique: your brand. Your very own distinctiveness, identity and expertise.
It requires people who are able, within this framework, to find ways to refine and express themselves creatively, constantly anchoring these in a relevant and emotional way within the lives and realities of the people they work with and for. Your staff, partners and customers.
It must master and utilise technology, but without compromising critical thinking and common sense.
The idea behind BTQUE has given me the energy to make a fresh start and to draw on all my experience to give voice to the value of human creativity and make it accessible to everyone who truly wishes to harness that value for themselves.
Our times are characterised by ever-increasing complexity, but the best solutions have always been, and remain, simple.
That is why BTQUE relies on very simple truths:
- Large and complex structures require a disproportionate amount of time to deal with their own internal affairs. That is why BTQUE relies on small, flexible and independent structures.
- Endless decision-making processes in committees and across countless departments stifle creative work. That is why BTQUE relies on entrepreneurial courage and the ability to make decisions.
- The best people for a task are not always in the same place or at the same company, and a large team is not always needed for support. That is why BTQUE relies on many small, carefully selected partners rather than a permanent team.
- Creativity needs freedom. That is why BTQUE creates forms of collaboration that make this possible.
- Too little guidance on content makes creativity arbitrary, which is why BTQUE regards the brand’s foundation as an essential basis, and also measures creativity by its ability to create something outstanding within a given framework.
- Vanity has never helped anyone. That is why BTQUE relies on creative minds and thinkers who work out of a genuine calling and for the cause, rather than simply seeking to promote themselves.
- Technology is not optional. That is why BTQUE creates solutions which, in conjunction with technology, deliver maximum benefit for businesses, whilst specialising in the human element.
- Outstanding creative work is at home anywhere. That is why BTQUE is based in the heart of the SME sector rather than in one of the usual major cities. Yet it is equally at home in both worlds.
Intellectual effort, craftsmanship and a passion for what one does make all the difference.