creativebrief: As CEO and Founder of BSUR what is your primary focus?

Jan Rijkenberg: My primary focus is to further develop BSUR as a ‘global micro network’. Right now we have offices in Amsterdam, Shanghai and São Paulo and we want to develop further as an international player: creating universal strategies and campaigns for international clients.

creativebrief: Please share a para on your career to date – specifically talking us through the high points.

Jan Rijkenberg: I started as a marketing manager at the Netherlands National Tourist Office when I was 22. I briefed agencies in several European countries to create campaigns to attract tourists. I apologize now for the very poor briefings I probably gave them! But I got inspired by those people ‘at the other side of the table’ and I knew this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.  I worked at a number of agencies, including JWT Amsterdam when they were the most awarded agency, and there I had the privilege of learning with some really inspirational leaders. The longest and most exciting time I spent at DDB as joint client services director and strategist, responsible for 80% of the agencies revenue.  But I couldn’t suppress my entrepreneurial genes for long, and so I started BSUR in 1995.

creativebrief: What’s unique about your agency / business? Why did you form BSUR?

Jan Rijkenberg: In Amsterdam we have a saying ‘Don’t sell potatoes as melons’ and this was one of the inspirations when I formed BSUR (Be As You Are) with my business partner Joost Perik. We like to uncover the distinctive vision or soul that lies within a brand, and communicate this truthfully. As we all know, the digital landscape has dramatically changed the relationship between consumers and brands, and so it is more important than ever for brands to speak honestly and ‘be as they are’! Appealing to universal values is also very useful when building international campaigns.

The BSUR approach also applies to our people. We recruit diverse people from different backgrounds and nationalities, and work hard to maintain an environment where all can flourish and grow in their particular ways. We believe this diversity is the best way to reach long-lasting solutions for our clients.

creativebrief: Who are the people new to you (either within your business or externally) who have particularly impressed you in the last twelve months?​​​

Jan Rijkenberg: Pope Francis! It’s inspiring to see this man attempt a massive program of change within such a corpulent, corporate institution. Mainly by just staying true to himself and to his visionary leader of 2000 years ago.

creativebrief: What has been your agency’s best work in the last year?​​​​​

Jan Rijkenberg: Creating a completely new brand language for Moxy hotels (a joint venture between Marriott and Ikea), a brand-new, affordable design hotel concept for ‘millennials’. They will open 150 hotels in the next 10 years so it was a massive project. We created everything you can see, hear, feel, touch and smell when you walk into those hotels.

creativebrief: Industry wide, what work has excited you most this year?

Jan Rijkenberg: Of course, we are not a member of the UK organisation the IPA, but I was very interested to read the plans of the new President Tom Knox.  At BSUR we fundamentally believe that commercial considerations do not need to be at the expense of society, so looking forward to seeing how this new focus in the UK improves our industry worldwide.

creativebrief: Who or what inspires you?​​​

Jan Rijkenberg: I love to read books from great leaders or strong personalities, from Winston Churchill, general Patton to Agassi. In our business this means I am very much inspired by visionary leaders like Richard Branson and Steve Jobs. They inspired me to write my book ‘Concepting’ about brands starting with a vision. I particularly love the mantra from the founders of Ben & Jerry’s: ‘Lead with your values and earn some money too’. In that order.

creativebrief: How do you stay in-touch with the industry’s best work and culturally relevant news?

Jan Rijkenberg: We provide lunch every day at BSUR, and when possible encourage everyone to sit together in our lounge and kitchen. Conversations here are certainly my favourite way to stay in-touch!

creativebrief: What work or agency from outside the UK do you think is particularly influential?​​

Jan Rijkenberg: I admire the Always #likeagirl campaign enormously.  A cultural truth that transcends borders, and playing a positive role at the same time.  Wonderful work. 

My old agency JWT also came up with a great idea that I thought would get talked about a bit more – hashtag repair for Berocca. Very simple, quick, and inexpensive, and generated a nice amount of goodwill and awareness for the brand.

creativebrief: What do you think are going to be the main challenges for agencies in the next two years?

Jan Rijkenberg: With many clients increasingly moving to a ‘specialist agency’ for every communication tool, there is a real challenge (but also opportunity) for lead agencies to become a genuine partner to our clients, helping them navigate that complexity.

creativebrief: How do you see the media landscape unfolding in the next five years?

Jan Rijkenberg: The media landscape is undoubtedly more fragmented than ever before. And the possibilities for targeting are incredible. But I feel that as creatives we are lagging behind the technology. Consumers are being served content that is technically ‘relevant’, but actually deeply uninspiring.

creativebrief: What’s your attitude to the ‘traditional’ pitch? Do you think there is a better/more modern way?

Jan Rijkenberg: The traditional pitch can be a real danger to agencies when the process is no longer about building a strong partnership that will last for years to come, but (as is increasingly the case) about ‘projects’, or nonsensical changes in direction as decision makers rotate too frequently. Companies forget that brand building is a long-term process and the best ideas grow in a relationship of trust. Pitches place a heavy financial burden on agencies, and clients need to be upfront about what they can offer in terms of continuity and income.

creativebrief: What’s the best pitch you’ve been involved in?

Jan Rijkenberg: MINI global lead agency pitch in 2008. Very well led by The Observatory and a client who was looking for a long-term partner rather than a quick idea. We won and built a very fruitful relationship. All the work has been striking and effective, and a good few awards were a bonus for the agency.

creativebrief: In what ways do you think the industry can change for the better?

Jan Rijkenberg: ​I believe that agencies are generally very responsible communicators. But this younger generation of consumers are more values driven than ever before.  As the intermediary between a brand and it’s consumers we need to ensure that companies do not miss this seismic shift, and help them see that the corporate world really can affect many of the environment and ethical changes that consumers want to see.

creativebrief: What’s the next big thing for BSUR?

Jan Rijkenberg: Having a hub in North America too, to be even more interesting for global clients searching for a multi-talented, multi-nationalities ‘micro network’.