Peter Schmidt Group CEO Sets Company up for Success as an ‘International Boutique’
Coming to Milan after recent international expansions to Lisbon and Tokyo was a no brainer, says Lukas Cottrell. “In Milan it is all about design. Through our international experience, a broader perspective on design, we are excited to offer something new to the Italian market.”
As part of their international strategy, the branding and design agency Peter Schmidt Group has opened a new office in Milan today. On the big day, CEO Lukas and Italian BBDO CEO Marianna Ghirlanda sit together to speak about their vision for a new chapter in Italy.
Peter Schmidt Group is a design company and part of the BBDO Group. Founded in 1972, the agency is one of Europe’s leading design firms. It is known for its holistic service offering and its work with clients such as Deutsche Bank, Mercedes-Benz, Deutsche Bahn, and Lufthansa. The agency has a strong heritage in fashion and lifestyle branding, having worked with brands like Jil Sander, Hugo Boss, and Joop.
International expansion comes with its challenges
While opening international offices, staying true to the local identity is key, Lukas stresses. “A lot of European markets are actually a little bit similar, because they have local agencies, the boutiques that dominate the market and in the design industry.”
That is why it is hard for international agencies to enter those local markets, he says. “I think that's where we are making a difference, because we see ourselves as an international boutique agency. So on the one hand, we have this local boutique concept that is about local market knowledge and about cultural context. But on the other hand, it's about having international perspectives as an international agency. So you need to combine those two aspects.”
Marianna thinks that was exactly what was missing in BBDO Italy until now. She says: “We want to learn new things and be more skilled in this specific part of the business that is branding and design, where we were already active, but we really felt that we were lacking something. So it's like that we feel more complete now. Like a puzzle piece that was missing.”
Peter Schmidt Group is currently on a path of growth, with new clients such as Deutsche Telekom, Novartis and Schwarzkopf – and an expanding team of twelve already working in the Lisbon office, which was established just three years ago. In total, 170 creative minds are currently working for the company.
Business decisions inspired by local talent
The Milan team will be launched by two experienced designers Carolina Mauri, head of graphic design, and Gianluca Carone, senior graphic designer who have worked on within the BBDO network for seven years. Lukas says: “Both of them, the talent, actually approached us and came up with the idea of opening an office here.” Peter Schmidt Group agreed and then worked with the local talent to make the move happen. “It is a main objective of ours to create a conglomerate of different creatives across the world and find innovative ways of tackling current issues.”
Coming to Italy is the right move and an “exciting new chapter” for the Peter Schmidt Group, Lukas thinks. “In Milan everything is about style. Germany is very structured and planned even in the design sector.” But, Milan is different, he says. “I think the Italian market is often overlooked when it comes to design but there is such a strong and fantastic design heritage. We want to make that part of the designs we can offer for the Peter Schmidt group and our clients.”
Managing a big and international organisation is a challenging task, Lukas admits. Making sure Peter Schmidt Group as an “integrated approach” is important to the CEO. “We need to make sure we have close contact and collaborate across offices. And one of the things that helps us to do that is that we don't have a local profit and loss responsibility. We have one profit and loss sheet for the whole company.” In that way local talent from all across the world has more opportunities as well, he adds. “That's also really exciting for the creators on the ground in the market, because you have a chance to collaborate, not only with different countries, you have a chance to collaborate with a wider spectrum of brands across continents.”
Creativity and innovation means taking risks
Free expression, innovation and new ideas are oxygen to the fire of creativity. Lukas thinks, especially in a time of political, societal and technical change, taking risks is more important than ever. “It takes courage to actually take a risk and share your ideas. In the first instance it is not about winning lots of business in an Italian market.” He laughs: “I mean, I would love to do that. After all, I am still a businessman. But it is first and foremost about the work and talent and the business will follow.”
Marianna couldn’t agree more. “Creative ideas can be wrong at first but still taking a risk is important. It is our job as creatives to show up in times of turmoil and come up with different solutions. A big chain reaction of change has started ever since covid and things have not been the same. Now, we can just accept that change is not only coming and it is here.”
Lukas jumps in again. “Absolutely. You have the choice to wake up in the morning and say ‘how can I make things better’. That is what we try to do in the Peter Schmidt Group.”
