‘Do Big Things’ Is Building a Stronger Creative Community says TeamBBDO

Global positioning is, at its core, about making a statement – telling the world who you are and where you’re going. For BBDO, the direction is now bigger and braver than ever. ‘Do Big Things’ comes as a result of some fiery new leadership in the form of CEO, Nancy Reyes and CCO, Chris Beresford-Hill.

When Christian Rätsch first heard about BBDO’s new positioning in a strategy meeting in New York, he wasn’t entirely convinced. “At first, we wondered if this would be too America-centric,” admits the CEO of TeamBBDO in Germany. But after three days of intense discussions, the idea began to take shape and ultimately convinced him.

This wasn’t about a tagline, but rather rethinking how BBDO works. How it could move from a network to a community. How it could help clients navigate transformation beyond advertising. And, how it could apply creativity not just to communications, but to business problems themselves.

He recalls now the excitement that he felt at the prospect.

“Could we bring this to life in our countries and regions?” he asked himself at the time. A few months on, the answer is clear.

Once a corporate structure tying together separate agencies under BBDO Group Germany, TeamBBDO now functions as an integrated marketing group where advertising, design, digital, consulting, and experience capabilities work as a holistic and collaborative entity for Germany’s and Europe’s top clients, driven by a shared purpose. Instead of offering siloed services, TeamBBDO acts as a growth platform that pulls expertise from across its multiple expert areas from it’s brands: BBDO as an advertising agency, Marketing & Sales Consultancy Batten & Company, world-class design agency Peter Schmidt Group and Interone - one of Germany’s leading digital addresses.

“As TEAMBBDO we are perfectly set up to grow brands into their bigger future. By seeing the biggest possible space for growth for a business and unlocking the power of brand to get them there. To do that, we think marketing holistically, across all 4Ps - we are called ‘The Marketing Group’ after all," says Achim Schauerte, chief strategy officer, who joined recently from Accenture Song and Droga5. He adds, "Chris and Nancy have done a great job in bringing everyone together and making the network feel more like a community. It creates a real sense of unity and belonging, with everyone now knowing exactly what’s next. For us, 'Do Big Things' means growing brands into their bigger future.”

Germany itself presents an interesting proving ground for ‘Do Big Things’. A strong country, but economic uncertainty, industry shifts, and a digital lag have created challenges as well as opportunities for brands operating in the EU’s largest national economy.

Christian, who has been honoured as Agency Leader of the Year 2024 by clients and journalists in Germany, explains, “Our lead industry is automotive, and many Mittelstand suppliers have built their business around serving the big car manufacturers. But with the rise of electric vehicles – one of our key industries is under significant pressure.”

This, Christian argues, is why ‘Do Big Things’ is such an imperative, coming at the best possible time in Germany. “Most companies are asking us not just how to catch up, but how to leap forward. For agencies, this means playing a more integral role in helping clients transform their marketing and through their entire business beyond just making ads."

“We are born and made for this strategy in Germany. The country thrives on exports and its outstanding Germany-centred companies that operate globally. With lead mandates from companies like Siemens, E.ON, Porsche, Allianz, and LIDL, we are guiding them into that world. That’s why we need a unified philosophy and understanding of BBDO – no matter where in the world. And we need our global community, because trust lowers transaction costs and enhances collaboration.”

There is a tendency to assume that ‘Do Big Things’ is about scale, but for TeamBBDO, it’s more about ambition and impact. “Companies are facing enormous changes and huge challenges right now. Small steps are not enough,” says Christian. For Achim, “‘Big’ is a virtue and a mindset. It is also a recommitment to being proud about who we are, and how we can make a difference through creativity.”

At the core of all this change, for Christian and Achim, it’s about reframing the agency’s role. Christian says, “If you brief advertising, you’ll get advertising. Ideally, we want to be briefed by clients on their problems.” Rather than acting as what they call a “briefing agency,” TeamBBDO sees itself as a transformation agency that can help clients solve the most complex of business challenges, with creativity at its core. “To me, BBDO has always been linked to creativity – it has a creative soul,” Christian tells me. “Some say advertising is old-fashioned. I say it’s exactly what businesses need now, more than ever.”

“The industry has suffered too much from belittling ourselves. Clients deserve to get the best out of their agencies,” adds Achim. “Not receiving briefs, but going after the bigger business problem together.”

Big things in action can be seen all around TeamBBDO’s work. A favourite is its work with E.ON, one of Germany’s largest energy providers, who asked TeamBBDO to partner with them for a holistic transformation to become the driver of the energy transition in Europe. “E.ON is our blueprint case. It started small – just an initial brief around design and campaign work. But what’s grown from that is a deep relationship with the client, really understanding their journey,” says Achim. It would become an extensive, comprehensive transformation partnership. This involved things like brand repositioning from energy provider to platform of the future, as well as a new purpose statement: “It’s on us to make new energy work.” The team also took care of multi-platform activation and the entire creative execution of the campaign, which challenged outdated energy conventions.

This, says Christian, is exactly what ‘Do Big Things’ is about. “Advertising has always started with an insight – understanding tensions and overcoming them. That hasn’t changed. What has changed is the tools we use – whether it’s digital, design, or something else,” he says.

TeamBBDO has been changing how it works, setting clear KPIs for what success means. “Does what we do have a big impact on our clients’ businesses? And are our people proud of what we achieved together?” says Achim. “If we achieve that, it’s a significant win. Looking at work for both our overall and our agency clients such as E.ON, Siemens, Porsche, LIDL, and many others, including our AI-project 'The Revived', we are on a really good course. This was only possible thanks to our entirely new approach to teamwork.“

Ultimately for Christian, what makes ‘Do Big Things’ different is that “rather than a top-down mandate, it’s a bottom-up transformation. Other networks add competencies. We, on the other hand, integrate them.” And that integration – of expertise, creativity, and ambition – is already creating momentum.

“There are so many clients who might have used to think, ‘We don’t need agencies anymore.’ And now they realise they do,” says Christian. “We believe brands need to build stronger, more meaningful bonds with people to truly make an impact.”

It’s interesting that a word like ‘Big’ at first glance, may imply something intangible and distant. “But we’ve actually found the opposite,” says Achim. “It’s created more intimacy, more community.”

Achim tells me there’s a phrase they use: ‘Neue Nähe’ – which loosely translates to ‘new intimacy’. “We believe brands need to build stronger, more meaningful bonds with people to truly make an impact. You can have big ideas that come to life in small moments, in people’s everyday lives.

“‘Do Big Things’ isn’t only about scale – it’s about connection,” says Christian.