5 Minutes with… Joost Berends

Proving its motto of ‘Who Dares Wins’, mortierbrigade has become one of the most successful agencies in Belgian history. Honoured with the title of ‘Agency of the Decade’ by Creative Belgium, the Brussels-based creative agency has raked in over 40 Cannes Lions, 15 Effies and 3 Eurobest Grand Prix – and that’s not even an exhaustive list.

It’s also where partner and executive creative director, Joost Berends, has spent the past 20 years. Coming from a background in political science and acting, Joost saw mortierbrigade through the “crazy rollercoaster” years of its infancy and aided in cementing its reputation as a desirable destination both for up-and-coming creative talent and clients of all sizes, from major banks to small NGOs. Most recently, his creative instincts even helped protect the reputation of one such client, transforming a potential scandal into an innovative success in just a matter of days.

To find out more, LBB’s Zara Naseer heard from Joost himself, learning how he reconciles his political background with the “capitalist world of advertising”, the most memorable teachings he received from industry icons Guillaume Van der Stighelen and Georges Lafleur, and why Belgian creativity is unlike any other.

LBB> Where did you grow up and what sort of kid were you? Were there any clues back then as to the career path you’d end up taking?

Joost>My father was a Dutch teacher who came to Belgium to work at a Dutch school in Antwerp. At the time, they thought it was a good idea to have a Dutch school in Belgium – don’t ask me why. Anyway, I was born near Antwerp as the youngest of four children and grew up with an interesting mix of Dutch and Flemish culture. Literature and music were always present and inspired our family. I played music, did some acting at school, and loved to read. But I was also politically engaged, so the capitalist world of advertising felt far outside my comfort zone, haha.

LBB> How did you get into advertising? Was it a purposeful decision or more of an accident?

Joost> I studied political science, followed by two years of acting school. When my teacher told me acting probably wasn’t really my thing, I knew he was right. But it helped me a lot afterwards to understand the importance of writing, and how every word counts when you're trying to get a message across. So when my girlfriend at the time asked me to team up with her and start working at an agency, it seemed like a great plan: making money while playing and writing. I kind of set aside my political concerns about the ‘evil world’ of advertising. It turned out you could actually do the work and still have an opinion.

LBB> What’s the best piece of advice someone in the industry has ever given you? How did it impact your mindset and way of doing business?

Joost> I had many great teachers along the way. Guillaume Van der Stighelen [co-founder, Duval Guillaume] was probably the most well-known. He was full of smart quotes, I’m not sure they were always entirely his own, but as he once said: “Better to steal something good than to do it poorly yourself.” Which is very true. I discovered only later that it’s better to be inspired by others than to try to reinvent the wheel and it helped me come up with much better ideas.

Another inspiring teacher was Georges Lafleur, my boss at the iconic advertising agency Lowe, who always pushed us to think big and be inspirational. The founder Frank Lowe, used to say: “It costs as much to put up an ugly poster as it does to hang something beautiful.” That might not be 100% true in terms of cost, but it perfectly reflects what we’ve always tried to do: make advertising a little less boring, ugly and annoying. Be inspiring in everything you do.

LBB> mortierbrigade’s motto is ‘Who Dares Wins’ – how do you encourage your ‘brigadiers’ and clients to embrace that mindset with you?

Joost> Being daring is a mindset that applies to every stage of the process – writing the brief, creating the work, choosing the channels. It’s so satisfying to see a hesitant client light up when they realise the opportunity to do something different. ‘Being daring’ might sound a bit cringe, but for many advertisers it raises the bar and helps them sell more interesting work internally. I believe it’s more about the method than the work itself. It’s in our DNA and it forces us to stay fresh.

LBB> And what’s the most daring leap you’ve taken with a client? Did it scare you?

Joost> Last December, world-champion cyclist Remco Evenepoel collided with a small van from our client bpost. The driver had just opened the door when Remco passed by and he was seriously injured. It was a major reputation issue for bpost, especially in a cycling-crazy country like Belgium. A few days later, we came up with ‘The Remco Reflex’ – a small sticker on your car door to remind you to look behind before opening it. The client loved the idea and convinced Remco to participate. The campaign made it into every news segment and gave bpost a major reputation boost.​

LBB> It was mortierbrigade’s 20th anniversary this past November – what are you proudest of achieving over that time?

Joost> I think we’ve done great work for all kinds of clients. In the beginning, we had to prove we belonged in the Belgian advertising world – we had a totally new model and no one really believed it would work. But it did. And we’ve always tried to reinvent ourselves, never compromising too much, always staying true to our origins and inspiring new generations of advertising talent. That’s why so many of Belgium’s leading creatives come from our agency. They learned that you really can make a difference with your work and inspire clients. That impact on the industry is what I’m probably most proud of.

LBB> When you compare the mortierbrigade of today to that of its infancy, what’s the most fundamental difference between the two?

Joost> We’ve never become a mastodon. Even when working for big banks, the national lottery, or insurance companies, we try to tell fresh stories that help brands grow and stay relevant. Of course, it’s easier to create groundbreaking work for a small NGO with no restrictions than for a big brand with profit goals. So we had to adapt our approach for bigger clients – they also want outstanding work, but convincing all stakeholders takes more time. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. ‘Who Dares Wins’ has become our tool to push ideas through. In the early years, we didn’t need that motto – it was just how we worked. Back then, our claim was ‘confuse and conquer’ – probably not the best slogan to inspire a top-five bank. So that might be the biggest change, going from confusion to daring.

LBB> What did you foresee as your main challenges when you were first launching mortierbrigade? How did you deal with them, and how did they turn out?

Joost> When we started, we hoped to have at least one employee in our first year. By the end of the year, we had 15, making campaigns for major brands. It was a crazy rollercoaster. Our biggest worry was always how to stay true to who we were and grow into a stable agency. We did everything ourselves, with no commercial profiles to help sell our work. The big question was always: how can we keep our DNA and still become a ‘real’ agency? After 20 years, it seems we found the right balance – staying true to ourselves while maintaining a strong presence in the Belgian advertising world, which has always been known for creative and unconventional work.

LBB> Where do you wish to take the company in the next 20 years?

Joost> It’s not very original to say, but the biggest challenge for every agency today is the impact of AI. Like everyone else, we integrate its advantages into our workflow. But the impact goes much deeper. Where will our industry be in 10 years? Will creative departments still exist, or will creatives just be brilliant prompters finding genius combinations? What will remain of craftsmanship if your computer does it all? Let’s keep the faith that the most original thinkers will still be the ones inventing new stories and taking this beautiful business to the next level.

LBB> What sets the Belgian market apart from others? What about it excites you right now?

Joost> Our small country has always had its own tone of voice in advertising. What divides us also unites us – different communities with their own languages and cultures living in close proximity. It forced us to find a common language to create outstanding work, often with very little money. That led to unforgettable agencies and production companies making work no one had seen before. We lost that spark for a while, struggling to reinvent ourselves. But now it seems a new generation is breathing fresh life into the industry with design and innovative digital storytelling. If there’s one country that can bravely resist the AI monoculture threatening creativity, it’s Belgium.