TIM STUEBANE
MANAGING DIRECTOR/EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR
OGILVY BERLIN
GERMANY
2018 Global Awards Grand Jury member Tim Stuebane co-founded the Berlin office of Ogilvy in 2011 and leads it as Managing Director and Executive Creative Director. Tim's one of the most decorated creatives in Germany working in all kinds of media. Throughout his career, Tim has won more than 500 awards at the most renowned festivals worldwide for clients like Coca-Cola, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Ikea, Bosch and NGOs like Gesicht Zeigen and the European Anti-Bullying Network. With his work he’s earned 25 Cannes Lions, the Global Sabre Award for the best PR campaign worldwide and the Grand Prix of the Art Directors Club Europe.
He is member of the Art Directors Club Germany and Europe. Tim has offered his creative insights as a juror at the Cannes Lions, New York Festivals, Eurobest and Art Directors Club Germany. In 2018 he was appointed to the EMEA Creative Council of Ogilvy.
THE MOTTO FOR THE 2018 GLOBAL AWARDS IS FEEL CREATIVE. IT’S ABOUT KNOWING YOUR AUDIENCE AND EMPATHIZING TO DELIVER TOP NOTCH COMMUNICATIONS TO NOT ONLY REPRESENT YOUR CLIENT FULLY BUT MAKE PEOPLE HAPPIER AND HEALTHIER. TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOUR PROCESS – DO IDEAS JUST COME TO YOU, OR IS IT A COLLECTIVE BRAINSTORM WITH YOUR TEAM? HOW DO YOU FEEL CREATIVE?
The normal process is, that my teams come up with ideas, which are good enough to solve the problem. Then I just have to pick the right ones and help shaping them a bit, sharpening them, making them extremer. Sometimes it happens that in a meeting with them the energy is boiling up. Suddenly extremely good fragments come together. An insight here, an idea there, a comment, a question. Everyone in the meeting suddenly feels the magic in the room. It's absolutely exciting, causing goosebumps.
WHAT DO YOU FIND THRILLING ABOUT THE INDUSTRY NOW THAT MAY HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT 5 YEARS AGO?
Within the last 5 years the industry shifted big chunks of business into digital space. With Ogilvy Berlin we were able and lucky enough to make the turn quite quickly and win some of these projects for us. It's a great playground with endless possibilities, new chances to create deeper connections with people and, of course, develop incredibly creative stuff. The development is ongoing, so you find yourself in a constant exploring and learning mode, which is absolutely cool.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE PROJECTS THAT YOU’VE WORKED ON THAT YOU’RE MOST PROUD OF AND WHY? COULD BE ANYTHING.
I led the project "Mein Kampf against racism" to take a stand against spreading right wing populism in Europe and Germany. Therefor we had to forge an alliance of agency, the NGO "Gesicht Zeigen!" and publishing house to bring this project to life. And this was a one of these magic moments mentioned above in which suddenly things came together like jigsaw pieces. The project created massive news coverage in Germany and abroad and we turned parts of the discussion about the danger of right wing extremism into the opportunities that everyone in society has to act to fight against it. The project was honoured in every major award show, among them the Global Sabre Award 2017 for the best PR campaign worldwide and the Grand Prix of the Art Directors Club Europe.
IF YOU COULD WORK PRO BONO FOR A BRAND, FOUNDATION, OR ORGANIZATION IN YOUR FIELD WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHY?
I don't have preferences for any field. I'm only interested in the creative potential a brand or company has. And I like to implement an idea of higher purpose into the work. Something that conveys the positive attitude and respect of society a brand or company has. And that higher purpose could be e.g. a healthcare approach. McDonalds taking care of the health of their target group? Why not!?