Kasper Sierslev, the Chief Commercial and Creative Officer at ZITE, specializes in building and managing in-house agencies. With a career spanning over 20 years in advertising, he has collaborated with major global brands like Apple, Lego, and Mars. Kasper is also the successful author of two books on this subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Q1. Please give us a brief bio of yourself and your creative background.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n My name is Kasper Sierslev of ZITE where I fulfill the role of Chief Commercial and Creative Officer for a company that specializes in the creation and management of in-house agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the course of more than 20 years in the advertising industry, I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with major international brands, including industry giants like Apple, Lego, and Mars. My journey into the realm of in-house creative teams began during my time as a creative director at various agencies prior to joining Maersk in 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since then, I’ve successfully established and managed in-house creative departments at organizations like Georg Jensen and Saxo Bank, and I’ve also shared my expertise with other companies and brands in setting up their own creative teams. In addition to my professional achievements, I’m the author of two highly successful books on this subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q2. What made you become\/why did you choose to become a creative?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I’ve always been passionate about storytelling and creative thinking, fueled by my curiosity about why we behave the way we do and whether there might be more innovative approaches to our actions. My understanding of consumer behavior was a particular interest of mine, which initially led me to a position at Millward Brown many years ago conducting interviews and researching why people preferred certain commercials or aspects of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This experience paved the way to nearly a decade in the advertising industry. However, I found the industry to be too transient for my liking with a constant cycle of pitches and then moving on to the next client. I yearned for more long-term strategies, delving deeper into the customer journey and working across all touchpoints. I also wanted to work more closely with clients to generate ideas which led me to in-house work.Being in the loop and gaining such an in-depth understanding of a client’s products and brand that I could almost know them better than they do themselves was an incredible experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, I also realized that not everything can be done in-house. There are times when an outside perspective is necessary, along with someone to challenge your ideas. This realization was the genesis of our current approach: an external in-house model, if you will. We strive to combine the best of both worlds, with embedded teams working closely with the client’s own marketing team while also being able to bring in specialists when that extra ‘wow’ factor is needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q3. Tell us more about your business\/company, job profile, and what you do.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We specialize in analyzing, designing, implementing, and managing efficient and creative in-house agencies. By integrating creativity, talent, and top-tier technology into the heart of our clients’ marketing operations, we provide them with agility, creativity, and full day-to-day control of their marketing activities at fixed costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I confess, I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to processes and workflows. Essentially, that’s what we do – we optimize the ways of working within in-house setups. While it might sound mundane, it’s actually quite fascinating. Not necessarily the process itself, but the results it yields. Because by streamlining the processes and delineating roles and responsibilities, we free up substantial time and enhance efficiency. This extra time and energy can then be channelled into creating better creative solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We’ve seen this outcome time and again when we establish a new in-house agency. It’s incredibly satisfying!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alongside my primary work, I run a small school called \u201cContentlinjen\u201d (or “The Content School” in English) here in Copenhagen. This institution specializes in teaching creativity for content and social media. I teach several techniques for the ideation process, but my favorite is the \u201ccross\u201d method. It’s incredibly simple!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q4. What does \u201ccreativity\u201d mean to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n That is an interesting question: I believe that creativity can solve any problem. But for me, it\u2019s not about creating an ad or a TV spot. It might as well be a new tool or thing out in the real world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that is one of the things I really love about being in-house. Being closer to the decision-making process and having a thorough understanding of the platforms and tools you are working with allows for a quicker response time and increased efficiency. From my perspective, these efficiency gains should be utilized to enhance creativity and produce not just more, but better content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have a compelling case from my tenure as the head of the in-house team at Georg Jensen, a Danish luxury jewellery brand. We were working on a UI project for our web-shop. The web team suggested that slow sales were due to our minimalist, Scandinavian aesthetic and that we needed more colour for people to identify the \u201cbuy\u201d button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We, of course, challenged this notion. Upon examining the website data, we noticed an unusual pattern. A significant portion of our customers (mostly men) exited our site during the process of purchasing a ring for their significant other. However, it wasn’t because they couldn’t find the BUY NOW button. They found it and clicked. And clicked again. Then, they noticed the dropdown menu above which listed 13 different ring sizes. Overwhelmed, they left the page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Selecting the perfect ring is challenging enough but determining the correct ring size is nearly impossible. To address this issue, we developed the Georg Jensen RingSizer\u2014a small web application that guides you in choosing the correct ring size. All you had to do was “borrow” a ring from your loved one and place it on your phone screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This illustrates one of the key advantages of in-housing: the ability to identify opportunities and act on them swiftly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q5. To you, what makes a \u201ccreative\u201d idea and\/or design?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n To me, a ‘creative’ idea or design is one that not only catches the eye or ear but also engages the mind and heart. It’s something that stands out from the crowd, not just for being different, but for being thought-provoking and meaningful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A creative idea is one that sparks something in people, that makes them think or feel something new, or see something familiar in a new light. It’s an idea that’s simple yet powerful, one that speaks a universal language while respecting local nuances. It’s an idea that’s born out of curiosity and an openness to new experiences, a willingness to take risks and push boundaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q6. Tell us about your creative and\/or design process.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n First, you line up the elements you want to convey, then cross them. You start with a row of associations related to your brand or brand symbols. For example, if you’re McDonald’s, your first column will include elements recognized as symbols of your brand, such as French fries, burgers (yes, I know they call them sandwiches, but you get the idea), or the logo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the next column, you list the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) symbols. So, if your task is to communicate the availability of free Wi-Fi at the restaurants, you would list all associations related to Wi-Fi or the internet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The final step is to combine the two columns into images. This could result in visuals like French fries arranged in the shape of a Wi-Fi symbol, a burger box designed as a laptop, or a hand holding a burger like a mouse. It’s a simple technique, but it’s effective and serves as a great starting point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Winning Entry<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n How do you follow up on the success of an award-winning campaign like “Say Watt” for the launch of the Hyundai Ioniq \u2026 (Read more at MUSE Creative Awards<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n