Dept Fest 2019: ‘Prepare to Have Your Mind Blown’

For the fourth year running, over the course of a September weekend, 3,500+ people will descend upon Amsterdam. Made up of 1,500 Deptsters and 2,000 clients, hailing from over 13 countries, these professionals will not only dance and celebrate their successful year working with one another, but will spend a day being inspired by an array of interesting and talented people. This is Dept Festival, a yearly event that is set to inspire staff and clients through a series of world-class speaker talks, interactive sessions, awesome acts and surprising experiences. 

“For three years in a row, we’ve succeeded in setting up a festival where our customers, relations, and Depsters feel at home, are inspired and can share knowledge,” said Dimi Albers, global CEO, Dept. “Our goal is to bring the Dept Festival to the next level this year with a full-day program in which in-depth content, interactive sessions and creative experiences are central. We can’t wait!” 

Dept is global but not a network; it’s an agency. Projects are worked on by many different offices, depending on the talent and skillsets of each. This September, many Deptsters will be meeting one another in person for the first time, even when they might have been working remotely with one another for months. 

“We like to say we’re big enough to cope, small enough to care… Big enough to be able to serve clients at scale; the magic is in being small enough to be nimble, fast, fun; to retain a culture of 50+ person agency, with little hierarchy and much entrepreneurship,” added Dimi.

 

Never happy with the mediocre, this year’s line-up is by far its most staggering. A varied array of speakers and topics have been added to the 2019 program:

- Dr Dava Newman was the first female engineer to serve as NASA’s deputy administrator nominated by President Obama. Currently she’s Apollo Professor of Astronautics at MIT. Best known for developing a next-generation spacesuit called the BioSuit. During Dept Festival, she’ll reveal what it will take to put humans on Mars

- Antoine Renault, Global Head of Marketing at Bose, plans to share some of the latest innovations that will push the brand beyond speakers and headphones and into audio AR platforms and how they team up with developers, creators, and makers around the world to build amazing experiences

- Joshua Davis, the New York based virtual artist – the mouse is his brush and pixels are his paint - was named one of the Ten Most Creative People by the IPPA, and awarded the 2001 Prix Ars Electronica Golden Nica, the highest honour in international digital art and design.Joshua will explain his projects that, by his own admission, are not always useful, but bold, inspiring, and a unique combination of creativity and tech.

- Ynzo van Zanten, As Chief Evangelist at Tony’s Chocolonely, Ynzo’s mission is to spread the brands mission across the world. Sharing his views on modern day slavery and the cacao industry, he will explain his roadmap towards 100% slave-free chocolate and how technology has aided the company in this journey. 

- Paul Kemp-Robertson, Co-founder Contagious will explore how you make a great story spread. Taking inspiration from disruptive campaigns from the likes of Patagonia, Nike, LEGO, and dozens more, he’ll explore how companies fuse creativity, technology and behavioural psychology to achieve truly original marketing ideas 

- Blake Cahill, the Senior VP and Global Head of Digital Marketing and Media at Philips, shall examine the future of healthcare, what it takes for brands to survive and the current challenges facing brand marketers in this ever-changing world.

The full list of speakers is available at deptfestival.com. This is an invitation only event, but If you believe that being at Dept Festival would be rewarding and you’d like to be considered for a place, email Dept and let them know how you think it will inspire you!