Anna Qvennerstedt on the Value of Awards
Anna Qvennerstedt is a copywriter, partner and the global executive chair at Forsman & Bodenfors. She's been an important part of the agency for 15 years and a vital player in building its worldwide creative reputation. From its original base in Gothenburg, F&B's network now embraces New York, London, Toronto, Montreal, Stockholm, Singapore and Shanghai. With eight offices and 700 staff, it's not easy to find time in Anna's diary. But as the chair for this year's rebooted Cresta Awards, she was happy to answer a few of the show's questions.
Q> How - and to who - are creative awards useful? Why should agencies enter and what can they learn from the process?
Anna> I believe creative awards are a great form of recognition for hard work in our industry. They also serves as inspiration to raise the bar for all of us. But once you have won an award you are back to square one and I think the best way to win another one is to focus 100% on whatever task you have at hand, and not think too much about the work that won awards last year.
Q> How do you choose which work to put into awards?
Anna> The work that has made the agency proud during the year goes into awards. If it is an international award show, the work also has to be relevant for a global audience.
Q> Where can the industry do more to attract and support the creative talents it depends on?
Anna> I believe in giving a lot of freedom to talent, even the junior talent. Make them accountable straight away but be there to help out when they ask for it. Attracting the right talent is the most important thing and constantly very challenging. I think the industry has to look beyond traditional sources for talent.
Q> In many agencies the title creative director is pretty common. At Forsman you have only copywriters and art directors..why is that? Do you see any need to evolve the names, given how changing technologies have introduced new requirements and skills, and blurred roles?
Anna> We have never had creative directors really, we have relied on client teams where no one is in charge of anyone. It is a team effort and these teams run their own businesses. I think motivation grows when you feel accountable, when you know that everything is up to you. That's when people really start to care about the client and the work. A team traditionally consists of an account director, a planner, an art director, a copywriter and a project manager — but in my view the roles don't really matter any more. You need brilliant people with creative and strategic minds. But they could just as well come from the technology, pr or media side. I don't think much about the titles, what is important is to have a small, accountable team that gives 100% to solve a problem in a creative way.
Q> What changes facing the industry are under-estimated? What do we need to pay more attention to?
Anna> Difficult question. The industry is challenged in so may ways. I think we need to be prepared to change a lot in how we structure ourselves and how we work. We have been very comfortable in our powerful AOR roles for decades, but the truth is that many clients ask themselves whether they need an agency at all these days. I am convinced that things we are really good at (when we are good) are more valuable than ever. But we need to be more efficient and package our offering more clearly.
To read the rest of this interview, head over to www.cresta-awards.com
