Helsinki or London - as long as it's E3.

A good time to network.

Nothing good happens unless you do it. And it gets even better when you do it together: "Unleash the Power of Unity". This was the motto under which the E3 annual meeting in Helsinki at the end of October explored new opportunities for intensified collaboration.

Cooperation - that is of course the purpose of any network. Each agency supports the partner agency wherever it can. For international projects. In the roll-out of campaigns in a particular country. In a particular culture. With the respective know-how of cultural and mental habits or media peculiarities. In this respect, collaboration is nothing new and is the purpose of every network.

But in Helsinki, an inventory of skills was taken. The network systematically sounded out: Where do the partner agencies have their strengths? What do agencies need from other agencies in order to better serve their and joint clients? In other words, an inventory of competencies that developed new perspectives in matchmaking formats, roundtables and keynotes based on ongoing international projects.

Not only the network and its agencies benefit from this - and this deserves to be mentioned explicitly - but in particular the customers who are involved in these projects. What they also benefit from is the network's handling of AI in all its applications. On the third and final day, Antti Vassinen, D.Sc. (Econ.), Professor of Practice in Marketing at the Aalto University School of Business, gave a keynote speech on the state of the art and the possibilities of its application. AI - that much is clear - enables a lot, but does not allow everything. So it's good to work with agencies that are aware of the possibilities and limitations of AI and its application.

Conclusion: An exciting annual meeting that unleashed the power of unity against the unique backdrop of Helsinki and thus fully lived up to its motto. Our compliments and thanks go to our E3 partner agency Valve, who organized the event.

The sales session in London.

The two annual E3 meetings are one thing. This is where the strategic course of the network is set. The practical and technical deepening across the disciplines takes place in the E3 Bootcamp sessions, which are dedicated to specific topics: For example, the Project Management Bootcamp just took place a few months ago at our premises in Meersburg. Before that, there was one on the topic of design.

And now Sales Development in London at our E3 partner agency TMP - The Marketing Practice. And honestly, what better place to do this than London? The main question here was what really opens the door to new customer relationships.

And the answer: it's the subtle difference. In ability. In the campaigns, which are only successful if they make this difference. In the pitch, when it comes to the all-important selection. And in the process of being invited to pitch in the first place. It is precisely this subtle difference between recommendation and referral. It may sound a little subtle, but it hits the nail on the head. In English, it's the leap from non-binding recommendations to concrete referrals that really make an impact.

Simply put, anyone who knows and appreciates what others can do can, should and must talk about it. Can, should and must make a binding recommendation. Because this is the only way for customers to find the perfect solution provider for them. And this recommendation management as a sales development tool will not only be used in our E3 network from now on - for the benefit of agencies that are uniquely suited to certain tasks. Our customers can also use it - and do use it.

You, by the way, can use it too: If you like our work, if you and your company have benefited from it, if you are satisfied - why not recommend us to others? And if you have not yet had any contact with us and our network - just give us a call. We can only recommend it.

More information is available from:

Sascha Schmidt

Consulting
sascha.schmidt@schindlerparent.de